The Sand and the Sea’
Anomalous
Was it always that easy to be happy or relieved?
What exactly changed in hindsight?
Did the therapy finally work?
Or did the universe actually listen for once?
What’s so cute about two strangers falling in love?
One who is so detached from the reality and
the other immersed in emotions too much…that it hurts.
What really transpires When a nihilism extremist met a philosophical optimist.
When the pseudo existentialist faces a staunch absurdist.
Why did their paths cross in the first place? Was it fate calling its another masterpiece consipiracy?
Or was it destiny weaving red threads connecting two strangers… in an inexplicable bond that transcends mortal form of love in theory?
Shall the tragedy be rest in peace..?
***Lahore, Pakistan, 19 September 2002***
In the faraway reality of the rich elites society, around midnight, A figure stands a little too close to the railing of the third floor apartment, almost leaning with the elbow resting on the surface. In the quiet comfortable space, a quiet sorrow flickered in the eyes of the spectator who viewed everything as a tale to be forgotten… but even she can’t help but get mesmerised by the beauty of the moon twinkling with the stars that most probably have already died in the past.
Was it Nostalgia or melancholy?
Only she knows, only she understands…
Just then, someone entered the bedroom connected to the balcony. suddenly, he halted in his steps when he saw her back facing him. His gaze seemed to soften with every passing second as if her presence fills the void inside him with tenderness.
He lingered on the door that lead towards the porch for a few seconds before calling her in a concerned voice.
Who is him? Is that her brother? her friend? Or… her husband?
That’s zannah… She didn’t turn around. She knew exactly who was standing behind her- the moment he entered the room.
it’s not intuition, it’s neither a habit, it’s pure observation, she knows her partner’s scent, his abruptive schedule and… the way his boots bypassed her sensitive ears by four steps because of the way he walks just confirmed his identity to her.
Zannah didn’t need to look to realise that her partner stared at her with a degree of softness that can’t be faked, she has seen that gaze countless times to confirm the doubts. His intrusion didn’t startle her and neither made her flinched by any means.
However, don’t misunderstand her little hum here. zannah will never leave her back to someone she doesn’t trust, tariq presence didn’t alert her, it solidify her mind into her thoughts securely where she zoned out once again before he finally exposed his position.
Tariq
Is your insomnia acting up again?
Insomnia? Surely not a severe one? Well that explains the introspection going through her head at 3 am, though that has already became a part of herself at every moment of her life. She knows it’s unhealthy but she can’t stop now… Sometimes embracing the drugs does make someone alive through the highs.
Zannah finally turned around and said in a soft delicate tone, there was no fluctuation in her voice as if the cold doesn’t affect her at all, the poker face remained where it is, she blinked her eyes once and then twice.
Neither she trembled nor she breathed a little louder. Behaving completely different from what she just spoke is baffling, yet there is no answer prior to anyone… except zannah herself.
It’s not surprising to tariq that zannah seems to feel cold since the winters are coming near to begin soon. No matter how much calm and composed she might look from outside, she is really just a fragile girl in the end, isn’t she?
While thinking along those lines, outside a warm close lipped smile appeared on his face and he started walking towards her in light steps.
Tariq
Let me warm you up then, Jaan?
In front of her, just two steps away, he halted his steps and immediately pulled her towards himself by grabbing her waist as if she is some kind of ticklish feather… as if touching her remains sacred and divine. Zannah didn’t protest, her body didn’t even try to hold up any visible tension… she slide in his arms as a flow of current that never faced any resistance to be insulated.
Edging the gap, Both stared at each other, one with a tender gaze that doesn’t rush but conveys the meaning perfectly while the other who doesn’t express yet, the willingness in her eyes to his every action is undeniable.
Nevertheless, In zannah’s mind, something doesn’t feel right… it shouldn’t have been noticeable but she spotted the difference, she was certain it was there… except the concept of anomalous doesn’t match any memory of them she has till now.
Zannah breathed out for three seconds longer while her lips parted slightly as she sought to wet them.
Zannah
You came early today.
Tariq
Yeah, I was missing you a little, so I rushed to home.
When the dizzy rush of exhaustion hits you, it only takes a moment before your gloominess consumes you with thoughts that sound more like conspiracy rather than romance.
That’s what happened with zannah when tariq pulled her in a familiar hug… the only sound that persists in the midnight was of winds crashing against each other, which depicts a cozy scenery as the warmth connects them while the cold breeze caress both of their cheeks and naked feet.
Finally, Zannah closed her eyes in her lover’s loosened embrace, letting both of her arms fall down while her head drop backward in the direction of the moon, the moon as if already prepared and needing no instructions gazed at her reflection… breathing her presence and turned her into a glowing princess in an oversized gown.
The little moonlight shining on her slumped cheeks and chin while her hairs touched down the handrail in a smooth motion.
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