Anum& Umair _A love written in destiny

*Chapter 1: Anum was not a girl who believed in love at first sight. For her, love was something that only lived inside books. In real life, she believed in more simple things. She believed in the soft smell of old books, in a hot cup of chai at sunset, and in those small secret dreams that she kept hidden in her heart. Her world was small and quiet. She was twenty two years old, a college student in her last year, and she did not have many friends. After college, she did not like to go to cafes or markets like other girls. She liked to go to one place only. The old city library. It was not a modern or fancy library. It was a very old building with big wooden shelves full of books, old ceiling fans that made a slow creaking sound, and big arched windows where sunlight came in. There was also a small canteen outside that sold very bad coffee and cold samosas. But for Anum, this library was the most peaceful place in the world. No one shouted there. No one judged you. You could sit for hours, read a book, and just be yourself. She had her own fixed seat there, in the corner near the second window. The librarian, an old man with white hair and glasses, knew her very well. Every day when she came at four o clock, he would smile and say, "Anum beta, your corner seat is empty, go sit." Anum loved to read love stories. Not normal love stories, but fantasy love stories. Stories where the hero was a little possessive, a little jealous, but his love was true and deep. Stories where he would never leave the girl no matter what happened. Her friends in college would often laugh at her choice. They would say, "Anum, come on, real boys are not like that. Real boys are rude, they are always on their phones, they don't care." But Anum would just smile and say nothing. In her heart, she thought, maybe somewhere, someone like that was waiting for her too. It was a rainy day in November. The sky was grey since morning and there was light drizzling. Anum had a small umbrella, but still her shoes and her pink dupatta got a little wet when she entered the library. She wiped her shoes on the mat and walked inside. That day the library was more crowded than usual. Because of the rain, many students had come inside to wait. Anum went to her corner, but she saw that someone was already sitting on the chair next to her usual seat. It was a boy. He was wearing a dark blue kurta. He was tall, with broad shoulders, and he was sitting very straight. He had a very thick book open in front of him, it looked like a psychology book, and he had a notebook where he was writing notes with a black pen. His face was very calm and serious. He was not looking anywhere else. He was totally focused on his book. He looked like someone who does not talk much. Anum did not want to disturb him. She quietly walked to the other side, to the romance section. She was looking for a book that she had been waiting for almost two weeks. The book's name was "My Jinn Lover - Part 2". It was the second part of a novel she had loved so much. The first part ended on a very sad note, where the Jinn hero had to leave the girl. Anum wanted to know if he came back. She had requested the librarian uncle to keep it for her. And luckily, it was there, on the top shelf. Anum tried to reach it. She stood on her toes, she raised her hand as high as she could, but her fingers could not even touch the book. The shelf was too high for her short height. She looked around for help. The librarian was busy talking to some students at the counter. There was no stool nearby. She tried again, she jumped a little. Still nothing. She felt a little irritated at herself. "Need help?" She heard a deep and calm voice from right behind her. Anum turned around quickly, a little scared. It was the same boy in the blue kurta. He was standing right behind her. He was so tall that she had to look up to see his face. He did not even wait for her answer. He just looked at where she was trying to reach, raised his long arm, and easily took the book from the top shelf. It was so easy for him. He gave the book to her. Anum took it from his hand and said softly, "Thank you so much." The boy looked at the cover of the book in her hand and a small smile came on his lips. It was the first time Anum saw him smile, and his serious face suddenly looked very soft and kind. "My Jinn Lover?" he read the title out loud, and his smile became a little bigger. "You like fantasy love stories?" Anum felt her cheeks turn red. She always felt shy when someone saw what she was reading. She held the book close to her chest like a child and said, "Maybe I do. Maybe I like stories where love never leaves. Where the hero stays, no matter what." The boy looked at her for a moment. He seemed a little surprised by her honest answer. Most girls would just say "yes" or laugh. But this girl spoke from her heart. "That is a nice thought," he said slowly. "But in real life, it is very hard to find that kind of love." "Maybe it is hard, but not impossible," Anum replied in a low voice. He nodded, and for a few seconds, they both just looked at each other in silence. Then he said, "I am Umair." "Anum," she said. "I know," Umair said. "I have seen you here many times. You come every day at four o clock. You sit in the corner near the window, and you always order that bad coffee from the canteen which no one else drinks." Anum's eyes became wide. "You... you notice me?" Umair shrugged his shoulders a little. "This library is not that big. And you are the only girl who talks to her books. Sometimes you smile while reading, sometimes you become sad, sometimes you even whisper something to the book. It is hard not to notice." Anum did not know what to say. No boy had ever told her that he noticed her like this. Her heart started beating a little faster. Before she could say anything more, the librarian made a loud "Shhhh" sound from his table and looked at them. Umair smiled and said in a very low voice, "We should not talk here, otherwise uncle will throw us out of his library." He went back to his seat. Anum also went to her corner seat with her new book in her hands. But she could not focus on reading at all. The book she had waited for two weeks was finally with her, but her mind was somewhere else. Her eyes kept going to Umair. She was watching him from the corner of her eyes. He was reading again, writing notes in his notebook. His handwriting was very neat and clean. He looked like a very intelligent and serious student. Anum wondered what he was studying. Psychology, maybe? Or law? She wanted to ask, but she did not have the courage. Almost an hour passed like this. Anum tried to read, but she only read three pages. She was too distracted. On the other hand, Umair was still studying with full focus. Then it started raining heavily outside. The sound of the rain was hitting the big windows of the library loudly. The sky became dark very quickly. Some students started to leave because they wanted to reach home before it got too dark and the rain got heavier. Anum was also worried. She had to go home too, but her umbrella was very small and she did not have a raincoat. She was thinking how she would go in this heavy rain. Umair closed his thick book. He packed his bag and put his notebook inside. He stood up to leave. While passing by Anum's table, he stopped for just two seconds. He quickly tore a small piece of paper from his notebook, wrote something on it fast, folded it, and put it on top of Anum's open book. Anum looked at him, completely confused. Umair just said in a soft voice, "Bye," and walked away towards the door. After he left, Anum picked up the small folded paper with shaky hands. Her heart was beating very fast now. She looked around to see if anyone was watching her, then she opened it. It was written in very neat and clean handwriting: "If you finish the Jinn story fast, please tell me what happens in the end. Does his love really never leave? - Umair" And below that, he had written his phone number. Anum could not control her smile. A big, real, happy smile came on her face after a long time. She folded the paper again carefully and put it inside her book, like a precious thing. Outside, the rain was still falling heavily. But for Anum, the library did not feel like just a library anymore. It felt like the start of something new and beautiful. She looked out of the window where Umair had just left. She thought to herself, maybe fantasy love stories can become real life stories too. And she had no idea that from tomorrow onwards, this old library would become their place, their own little world where their love story would slowly begin.