Arbaz never knew he was such a clumsy and nervous person before meeting Kifayat. Every time he met her he would always end up losing his composure and end up talking nonsense.
Now he is standing in front of the mirror in his dorm, holding a banana which is being used as a mic. He had never rehearsed anything so seriously in his life, not even for any presentations, debates. Not even at the time when he had to apologize to his teacher for accidentally emailing a meme instead of his assignment.
"Well Kifayat, I actually liked you for a long time. I don't know how to approach you. I was afraid you would reject me. Actually...blah blah."
Arbaz's roommate who was watching his rehearsal felt ridiculous. "Man, are you going to propose like this. If you talk like this, she will leave before you can finish speaking." Samir said.
Neil and Aman nodded. "Be normal. She is not going to kill you. Don't be nervous buddy. I feel she already knows something."
"Yeah, I thought so too. Kifayat is so smart. There is no way she would not guess there is something wrong with our guy."
Arbaz threw the banana at Aman listening to his teasing. Aman skillfully caught it and laughed. Arbaz also knew Kifayat might have guessed him too. He already gave her a lot of clues. But he was always thinking why did she never confronted him. Nevertheless all his questions and her questions would be cleared tomorrow. Hopefully she would not be mad at me. This is Arbaz's only wish.
The next day, inside a cafe by the street, a girl was sitting by the window. She was wearing a white dress, with her long hair loosely tied up, and a few strands of bangs naturally falling when she lowered her head.
She was engrossed in reading a book, but her gaze occasionally wandered towards the window, where she would watch the passersby for a while as if she were waiting for someone. The waiter had been observing her for a while. Her skin was fair, her nose was well-shaped, and her eyes were big with a innocent charm. On both sides of her cheeks, a pair of shallow dimples appeared when she smiled faintly. The girl is really beautiful. The waiter thought so.
When Cyra entered the cafe, the first thing she noticed was the waiter sneaking glances at Kifayat.
"Look at the waiter. He has been looking at you for a while." She whispered.
Kifayat didn't pay attention to it as she was accustomed to these glances. "I know."
"Tsk.I can't blame him either. Normally you are beautiful, today you are almost glowing. Even I would want to confess to you now."
Kifayat knew Cyra was making fun of her. She put down her books and looked at Cyra, "Confess then, since I am in a good mood today. I may accept your confession."
"Are you sure you want to accept my confession, not someone else's....." Cyra prolonged the last sentence.
Kifayat rolled her eyes. "I have to go now. It's almost time."
"Hey didn't you say you want to let him wait for a few hours first before you go there."
"I thought so but then changed my mind."
"Why?"
"I just thought instead of listening to your nonsense, it's better to hear someone else's."
"You..." Cyra was about to scold Kifayat. But Kifayat hurriedly appeased her saying the bill is on me. Order whatever you want.
Kifayat came to the place written in that letter. It was a garden behind the old science building. Maybe because the students don't come here often. So the place is quiet. Only the Sounds of rustling leaves and chirping birds can be heard.
Arbaz was already there, nervously walking back and forth and mumbling something. When Kifayat came he saw this scene.
"Hi." Kifayat spoke first.
Arbaz was startled as he didn't Kifayat's coming. Seeing Arbaz didn't speak, Kifayat asked, "Am I late?"
"No, no. You came at the right time."
"Umm." The two were silent for a while.
"That..."
"So where is the letter guy? Weren't you supposed to come with him? Why are you here alone?" Kifayat asked all these questions in one breath.
Arbaz cleared his throat, "I brought him with me."
Kifayat glanced around, "Where?"
"Close your eyes first. Then he will reveal himself. Promise me you'll not run away."
Kifayat was quite amused by his behaviors. She still followed his words and closed her eyes. Arbaz turned slightly, ran a hand through his hair to change his hairstyle. Then nervously said, "Open your eyes."
As soon as Kifayat opened her eyes, Arbaz turned face to face, "Hello, Kifayat. I am the pen pal who had been sending you the letters. I apologize for not confessing earlier. Please, please, please don't be mad." Arbaz said while clasping his hands.
Though prepared, Kifayat still got startled by him and took a step back. Unfortunately her foot caught on a rock.
"Whoa--" When Kifayat was about to fall Arbaz rushed forward, pulling her towards him to stop her from falling. Their faces were inches apart, and everything became still for a moment.
"I am sorry," Arbaz said softly, helping Kifayat to steady herself. "It's okay, no I mean thanks for catching me."
"Are you angry?"
"Not really. You were really bad at hiding." Kifayat smiled, "But it took you so long to confess senior."
"When did you know?"
"Maybe from the start. I always thought you were suspicious. But I confirmed it when you gave me the list and deliberately wrote with ugly handwriting."
"Was I that obvious?" Arbaz rubbed the back of his head.
"But senior, why did you do all these?" Kifayat stared at Arbaz unblinkingly.
Arbaz looked at Kifayat, eyes full of sincerity,
"Don't you know...it's because I want to be your pen pal."
Kifayat chuckled, "You are really unexpected senior."
"Do you agree then?"
"Umm I will think about it." Both of them smiled lightly.
Then walking slowly on the garden path, they started talking about their first meet, how he came up with the idea to send letters and how would he try to meet her. Arbaz also asked one of his doubts, "How did you burst the ball with one kick?"
Kifayat remembered the event, could not help but laugh. "I don't know either. Maybe the ball was already half dead." But she never thought that kicking a ball to stop my brother's fight would led her to meet him.
And just like that what started with a bursting ball, secret letters led to something unexpected. A new chapter of their story began as natural as the turning of seasons.