Love Stories

Bitter Sweet Love

It was a sight of an underground railway station of one of the busiest cities of the world, London. People were waiting for the train.

She was one of them, dressed in a black jeans with knee length grey velvet top, clad in a black overcoat. Her short brown hair was falling on her shoulders. She had a cross body bag around her chest.

She was reading news on her mobile phone, when the train arrived.

She aboard the train and opened the article on her mobile phone which she was reading a few seconds ago.

She was visiting a Pakistani website. She was reading an article about a homicide case of a young couple from the city of Lahore.

She sighed and closed the website. She didn't want to further read about any depressing news.

She put earpods in her ears and played a podcast of a Pakistani YouTube channel, named youth club.

She aboard the train again in the evening to reach her home. Distance of her home from train station was only five minutes.

She used to walk daily in the evening from the station to her home. The evenings in London were spectacular.

When she entered her home, her eyes fell at the couple sitting in the living room. She hanged her coat, removed her boots and walked inside living room.

"Is everything alright?" She asked watching their faces.

They looked sad and depressed.

"Come beta! We were waiting for you" Wasif asked her to sit.

"Mama are you crying?" She asked worriedly looking at the teary eyes of her mother.

"Maliha!" Her mother called her lovingly.

"I want you to go to Pakistan. Your father wants to meet you" Lubna wiped her tears.

"Did he call you again? Why the hell you guys attended his call when I forbade you. Why don't you listen to me? I don't want to hear anything about that person you are calling my father, because he isn't. My father is sitting in front of me. Right here" She said loudly with hint of sadness in her voice.

"Maliha! Rekax please, don't shout at your mother please. She doesn't deserve this" Wasif tried to cool her down.

"Do this deserved what that did to me?" She shouted.

"Maliha" Wasif called her name strictly that only meant no more shouting would be tolerated.

"Dad I don't want to hear anything about that man or Pakistan. I am simply not interested. Please understand it" She moved her hands in annoyance.

She didn't know how to made them understand.

The decision was hers, which they already knew.

What was the fuss then?

She walked upstairs to her room. Falling on her bed, she clutched a pillow to her body, her eyes had tears in them.

She blinked her eyes.

She didn't want to cry,

And she didn't.

...

'Work has nailed me down' Burak muttered to himself.

He opened the back door on the first floor which opened in the back of the house. He wanted some fresh air and seclusion. Back lawn was the best place in the whole house for it.

But he wasn't the only one who needed seclusion. Someone was already present there.

His eyes fell at the person sitting on the stairs.

"Chachu why are you up at this time?" He asked sitting next to him.

"I was looking at her" Mateen showed him the screen of his mobile phone.

Burak's eyes fell at the screen. It was a photograph of a girl. Dressed in a white shirt and skin high wasted pants, she was smiling.

Her cheeky smile was most prominent in the photograph.

Burak averted her eyes from the picture to his uncle.

"Kitni piyari hy na ye bilkul apni ma jesi hy. Nahi balky uss sy bhi piyari hy" Mateen smiled to himself.

(Isn't she beautiful. She is like her mother. No, she is more than beautiful than her)

Burak saw him with pity.

This uncle destroyed his life with his own hands and now he was sitting there alone in the darkness looking at the picture of his daughter, whom he left willingly.

"From where did you get her picture? As I remember she doesn't upload her pictures on social media" He asked.

"I got this from Shabana. Her daughter is Maliha's friend" He mentioned his second cousin who was recently moved to London.

"You should sleep now. Chachi must be waiting for you" He asked him to look at his mobile screen.

"I don't want to sleep now. Can you leave me alone" Mateen asked him politely.

"Of course" He muttered getting up from the stairs.

"I hope you will come to me beta. Baba is waiting for you. Please come for one time. Just for once. Baba loves you a lot beta" Mateen was muttering to the photograph.

Burak was hearing his slow voice.

He felt, Mateen was crying at the end.

He was astonished looking at the remorse of his uncle. He always knew that Mateen regretted his decisions, but he never knew, he wanted to meet his daughter so badly.

The daughter who used to mean nothing to him.

........................................................

Here is another story. It's going to be emotional too...

I will appreciate your comments.

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