Episode 10
1572 Words
Lahore ki galiyon mein chahal pahal thi, log sarrak kinare par aik dosray se baat karte huay ja rahe thay. Aise mein sarrakon par gaariyan zan se aage barh rahi thi. Har koi apni apni dhun mein ja raha tha.
Inhi gaariyon mein se aik car Ayesha ki thi, black car jo wo office ke liye istemal karti thi. Gaari mein halki si awaaz mein music laga hua tha. Aik taraf Ayesha aage dekhte huay driving kar rahi thi to doosri taraf Shanzay aik kone se lagi bahar dekh rahi thi, albata baar baar chehra mod kar Ayesha ko dekh leti jo sanjeeda si baithi thi.
Message ki notification ne usay apni jagah se hilaya aur wo jaldi se us ka jawab dene lagi. "Haan hum pohanch gaye hain, tum batao wahan kya ho raha hai?" Ayesha apni business woman ki tone mein baat kar rahi thi. Shanzay us ki taraf mutwajeh hui thi. Pata nahi wo kis ki baat kar rahi thi.
Najane aaj kya hone wala hai...
Gaari aik shop ke samne ruki to Shanzay ne Ayesha ko dekha.
"Shanzay, main zara aati hoon okay..." Wo ye kehti huay bahar nikal gayi.
Shanzay ne us ke taaqub mein us shop ko dekha jo bohat bari thi, aise jaise is mein har saman mojood ho.
Kuch pal hi guzray thay ke Ayesha aati hui dikhai di.
Car mein baithte huay us ne aik nazar Shanzay ko dekha aur phir aaram se baith kar phone milane lagi.
"Haan, aik kaam karo tum log yahan arrange kar lo, main address bhejti hoon."
"Hum kahan ja rahe hain?" Shanzay ne usay ta'ajub se dekhte huay poocha.
"Haan bas kahin nahi, tum kyun tension le rahi ho, main hoon na tumhare saath..." Ayesha ne muskurate huay kaha aur phir steering sambhala.
Shanzay kuch had tak mutmain ho gayi. Ayesha ke hote huay usay kya fikr thi...
Kuch dair mein bari bari buildings nazar aane lagi.
"Ahaan, ye wali..." Ayesha ne aik ke samne car roki aur bahar nikli, doosri taraf se hoti hui wo Shanzay ke qareeb aayi aur us ka darwaza khol kar jagah di.
"Main... main kar leti hoon aap..." Shanzay ne pareshaan sa ho kar kaha.
"Nahi koi baat nahi, aao mere saath." Ayesha us ka haath thaam kar aage chalne lagi.
Aik building ke samne wo ruki, message kiya aur phir andar chali gayi.
Andar ghap andhera tha... Ayesha ne ehtiyaat se Shanzay ko pakar rakha tha.
Shanzay bohat darr rahi thi... Jab wo darmiyan mein pohanch gaye to aik aik kar ke lights chalne lagi.
Shanzay ne idhar udhar dekha, har taraf bohat se log thay. Wo hairangi se har taraf dekhne lagi aur phir Ayesha ko dekha jo us ke qareeb aayi aur boli:
"Happy Birthday Shanzay..." Aur sath hi aik surkh balloon jo dil ke shape ka tha us ki taraf barhaya.
Shanzay ko apni aankhon par yaqeen nahi aaya, dheere dheere sab log usay wish karne lage.
Usay apni salgirah to bhool hi gayi thi... Wo to bachpan mein hi ise manaya karti thi lekin aaj usay sab ajeeb lag raha tha. Kaash us ke maa baap bhi wahan hote...
Un sab hajoom mein wo kho gayi thi.
Wo kis duniya mein aa gayi hai?
Aik aansu toot kar us ki aankh se gira.
"Shanzay, kya hua? Tum theek ho na?" Ayesha us ke paas aayi aur apna haath us ke chehre par pherne lagi.
Shanzay neechay munh kar ke rone lagi.
"Shanzay, kuch to kaho, kya hua?" Wo ab apni ungliyon se Shanzay ke aansu saaf karne lagi.
Shanzay ne chehra upar kiya to Ayesha ne usay seene se laga liya.
"I'm sorry, agar meri wajah se tumhein takleef hui hai, to mera maqsad tumhein rulana nahi tha..."
Shanzay us se alag hui, us ki aankhein surkh ho chuki thi.
"Nahi aisi baat nahi, mujhe bas..." Shanzay ne us ki aankhon mein dekha.
"Mujhe bas kya, Shanzay?" Ayesha ne betaabi se poocha.
"Mujhe bas apne maa baap yaad aa gaye thay, is liye..."
"Oh... I'm so sorry Shanzay, mujhe nahi pata tha."
"Chalo, aao bahar chalte hain..." Ayesha usay sahaara dete huay bahar le gayi jahan bohat kuch un ke intezar mein tha.
Ye jagah hall ke andar hi thi, lekin bohat hi khuli aur badi thi. Ab yahan jagah jagah gubaare aur sajawati cheezein rakhi thi. Aik taraf bohat bara cake pada tha aur doosri taraf bohat se log jama thay jo shayad Ayesha ke fans thay.
Wo sab Ayesha ke paas aa rahe thay, lekin Ayesha ne haath ke ishaare se unhein roka aur Shanzay ki taraf mutwajeh hui, jo ye saari sajawat dekh kar pehle to hairan hui, phir Ayesha ko dekhne lagi.
Ayesha ke kehne par sab log Shanzay ko wish kar rahe thay aur aik aik kar ke gift de rahe thay.
Phir sab cake kaatne lage. Shanzay ke haath kaanp rahe thay. Ayesha ne us ke haath thaame to wo ghabra gayi.
Sab cake khane lage aur khilane lage.
Is ke baad Ayesha sab ko autograph dene lagi aur aane ke liye shukriya ada karne lagi.
Shanzay ke liye ye sab khwab ki tarah ka tha. Wo baar baar aankhein band karti aur phir kholti, lekin ye khwab nahi, haqeeqat thi...
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There was a lot of activity in the streets of Lahore.
People were walking by the roads, talking to each other.
Cars were rushing past, and everyone seemed busy in their own world.
Among those cars was Ayesha's black car, the one she used for office.
Soft music was playing inside.
Ayesha was driving, looking straight ahead, and Shanzay was quietly sitting in the corner, looking out of the window.
But again and again, she would glance at Ayesha, who looked serious.
A message notification broke the silence.
Ayesha quickly picked up the phone and replied,
"Yes, we've reached. You tell me, what's happening there?"
She was talking in her usual businesswoman tone.
Shanzay looked at her, wondering who she was talking to.
She had a strange feeling, like something important was about to happen today...
The car stopped in front of a big shop.
Shanzay looked at Ayesha.
"Shanzay, I'll be back in a minute, okay?"
Ayesha said and stepped out.
Shanzay looked at the shop—it was huge, like it had everything inside.
After a few moments, Ayesha came back.
She sat down in the car, looked at Shanzay once, then calmly made a phone call.
"Yes, do one thing—set it all up here. I'm sending you the address."
"Where are we going?" Shanzay asked in surprise.
"Nowhere far. Don't stress. I'm with you, right?"
Ayesha smiled and held the steering wheel again.
Shanzay felt a little relaxed.
With Ayesha beside her, there was nothing to worry about.
Soon, tall buildings started to appear.
"Ah, this one..." Ayesha said, stopping the car in front of one of them.
She came around and opened the door for Shanzay.
"I-I can do it myself..." Shanzay said nervously.
"No worries, come with me."
Ayesha took her hand and started walking.
They stopped in front of a building.
Ayesha sent a message and then walked inside.
It was completely dark inside.
Ayesha held onto Shanzay carefully.
Shanzay was really scared.
But when they reached the center, the lights began to turn on one by one.
Shanzay looked around—there were many people everywhere.
She looked at Ayesha in shock.
Ayesha came closer and said with a smile,
"Happy Birthday, Shanzay..."
She handed her a red, heart-shaped balloon.
Shanzay couldn't believe her eyes.
Slowly, everyone around started wishing her.
She had completely forgotten it was her birthday.
She used to celebrate it only in childhood...
Everything felt strange and emotional.
She wished her parents were there too.
She felt lost in the crowd...
What world had she entered?
A tear fell from her eye.
"Shanzay, what happened? Are you okay?"
Ayesha came close and gently touched her face.
Shanzay looked down and started crying.
"Say something, Shanzay, what happened?"
Ayesha softly wiped her tears with her fingers.
Shanzay lifted her face.
Ayesha hugged her tightly.
"I'm sorry... If I hurt you somehow, I didn't mean to. I didn't want to make you cry," Ayesha whispered.
Shanzay pulled back. Her eyes were red.
"No, it's not that. It's just..."
She looked into Ayesha's eyes.
"Just what, Shanzay?"
Ayesha asked gently.
"I just... remembered my parents, that's all."
"Oh... I'm so sorry, Shanzay. I didn't know."
"Let's go outside,"
Ayesha said softly and held her as they walked out—where more surprises were waiting.
The place was still inside the hall, but it was huge and beautifully decorated.
Balloons and decorations were everywhere.
On one side was a large cake, and on the other side were many people—probably Ayesha's fans.
They were coming toward Ayesha, but she stopped them with a hand gesture and turned her attention to Shanzay,
who was surprised to see all the decorations, then looked at Ayesha.
Everyone started wishing Shanzay and giving her gifts one by one.
Then came the cake-cutting.
Shanzay's hands were shaking.
Ayesha held her hands, which made her nervous again.
Everyone was eating cake and feeding each other.
After that, Ayesha started giving autographs and thanking people for coming.
For Shanzay, it all felt like a dream.
She kept closing and opening her eyes—
but no, this wasn't a dream.
It was real.
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- Writer
