A wanderer Episode 20

 

Almost four weeks later, one day, with tears glistening in her playful eyes, Bazlah was sitting cross-legged on the green grass of the Fatima Jinnah Medical College lawn in the bright sunshine of January. She was unaware of Momina's arrival. Momina was standing behind her. A few moments later, Momina sat down in front of her in the same pose.

"Oh hello... What happened to you?" Momina asked, shaking Bazlah's left shoulder with her right hand.

Bazlah looked at Momina with tear-filled eyes, and the tears overflowed; perhaps she had been waiting for Momina all along.

"Why are you crying? Do tell me..." Momina asked, this time with a bit more concern. Bazlah steadied herself and took refuge in a forced smile, saying, "I’m not crying... It’s just that my heart got full, and I didn’t even realize when the tears came out."

Bazlah took out a tissue from her shoulder bag and wiped her tears. Momina picked up the glasses that were lying on top of the books on the grass and, putting them on, remarked, "People seem to get attached to their glasses, but you look like a witch without them..." Hearing Momina's comment, Bazlah smiled.

 Seeing her smile, Momina spoke again, "Let’s go to the canteen... Eat whatever you want; I’ll pay the bill."

Momina said in a regal manner. The two of them walked toward the canteen. They arrived at the underpass that connects Fatima Jinnah Medical College and Ganga Ram Hospital. As they walked through, the traffic noise decreased somewhat. Taking advantage of that moment, Momina stopped Bazlah and asked, "Why did your heart get so full...?"

Momina's questioning gaze was fixed on Bazlah's face. Bazlah replied in a choked voice, "Because of Morgan bhai. He has suddenly become quiet. He didn’t talk much to begin with, but now…"

After saying “now,” Bazlah couldn’t bring herself to say anything more. "Maham Aapi is in the same situation..." Momina shared Maham's plight. Momina held Bazlah’s hand and said as they continued walking, "Let’s sit in the canteen and talk."

A few minutes later, they were in the canteen. "Have you read the novel 'Love is a Pain Without Compassion'?" Bazlah asked as they settled in. Momina looked at her with a puzzled expression and replied in a sharp tone, "Why are you bringing up this novel now? I want to know the reality, and you’re asking me about a novel."

"Just tell me, and then I’ll tell you..." Bazlah insisted earnestly. Momina cast a glance at the thick medical textbooks on the table and said, "I can’t handle these course books; where would I read a novel?"

"Morgan bhai read a nearly five hundred-page novel in one night."

"Bazlah! Stop! You seem off today. I brought you here to talk about Morgan bhai and Maham Aapi, and you’re recounting about novels."

Momina said with a hint of annoyance. For the first time, Bazlah noticed her concern. "Why are you upset... Listen to my words..." Bazlah said somewhat gently.

"Yes, what would you like?" a boy of about fourteen or fifteen asked. Momina glared at him and replied, "Kid! You served us juice mixed with water that day too. Get me two seasonal juices that do not contain a single drop of water or salt, or tell your teacher!"

Momina expressed her pent-up anger on the waiter. He quietly took the order and left. "Now, go ahead..." Momina continued in the same tone.

"Morgan bhai was very opposed to the novel 'Love is a Pain Without Compassion.'" Bazlah said. Momina, with a look of fatigue, asked, "Now, who is this Lana Aapi?"

"Let me talk… I’ll explain everything." Bazlah innocently replied, as if making a plea. Momina gave a nod to continue. Bazlah began, "Lana Aapi is a famous novelist."

"Oh yes... I remember... I think that writer's name is LanaHerry."

"Yes, that's her."

"Then just call her LanaHerry, not Lana Aapi. You’re raising my blood pressure, Bazlah!" Momina said, pointing her finger at her.

"Control your blood pressure. Just don’t interrupt me; I'm explaining everything. I have been a huge fan of Lana Aapi from the start. I have all her novels. I once shared the main ideas of her novels with Morgan bhai. I had an inkling that he didn’t like novels at all. He had an intense hatred for the word 'love.' Lana Aapi talks about love in her novels, which is why Morgan bhai started to dislike her too.

Until matriculation, everything was fine, but my percentage was terrible in the first year. At that time, Morgan bhai thought that my reading novels had caused this; he strictly forbade me from reading them. I promised that until I became a doctor, I wouldn’t touch any novel or digest. I made that promise, but I couldn’t keep it, and I borrowed novels and digests from my college friends, read them, and returned them.

A day before Basti bhai's wedding, I accidentally let slip that I read novels. Morgan bhai got angry but said nothing."

"You’re such a fool... Just stop," Momina interrupted Bazlah again.

"Waiter...! Juice..." The waiter placed the juice in front of them. Momina released the remaining anger she had on Bazlah and said to the waiter, "Kid! If you can prove that there’s a drop of water in this, I'll give you a thousand rupee note as a reward."

The waiter joked.

"Alright, kid! Let’s see if that’ll be proven. Why are you staring at my face? Go away now," Momina scolded him for his jest. She quickly sipped half of her juice through the straw, while Bazlah was still stirring the straw in her juice.

"Bazlah!! Let me tell you what your problem is. Everyone praises you. Because of that, you’ve started to think you’re clever. When I saw tears in your eyes, I thought you felt more sorrow about Morgan bhai and Maham Aapi than I do, but that’s not true. All you’ve been sharing are your stories."

"In that novel, both the boy and girl die," Bazlah interjected sadly.

"They both die in that novel?" Momina repeated Bazlah’s sentence with great difficulty, wide-eyed and mouth agape. Bazlah's face wore a look of melancholy. Despite her sadness, Bazlah began to speak, "I went to give coffee to Morgan bhai, and at that moment, a call came from one of Morgan bhai's clients, so he went out to the terrace. While placing the coffee mug on the side table, I felt there was something under the pillow. I lifted the pillow, and underneath was 'Love is a Pain Without Compassion.' There was a bookmark on page forty.

Seeing it, I put the novel back there. This morning, when I went to place fruit chaat in Morgan bhai's refrigerator in the bedroom, he was in the washroom. I quickly lifted the pillow again, and the bookmark was on page 472. Only one page of the novel was left."

"Why was there one page left?" Momina asked.

"The story of Rafat and Ramiz ends one page before."

"What do you mean?" Momina asked, sounding a bit frightened.

"What I mean is... they both die!!" Bazlah said seriously.

"How…?" Momina asked in a sorrowful voice.

"Now you’re asking about the novel, and I’m just thinking about the reality of what will happen next…" Bazlah went silent, having not taken a sip of the seasonal juice, while Momina had already drunk half of hers. Both remained silent for quite some time.

"Momina! I'm afraid that Morgan bhai and Maham Aapi might do something...," Bazlah said in a voice heavy with pain. "Only a week is left... until the wedding..." This time, Momina spoke in the same tone.