Chapter Three....(Present)
The room door suddenly opened. Aliza was completely startled, and the room once again became empty of that presence.
"Aliza Bibi! Begum Sahiba has sent me. She says the room setting needs to be changed. So tell me, I will move the things around."
The servant had broken the continuity of Aliza's thoughts. Aliza stared at him blankly for a few moments, then seemed to regain her senses. Aliza placed the perfume on the dressing table.
"Hmm, I want some things moved around, but before that, you go to the store room and bring those curtains you took down from here last month." Aliza started giving him instructions.
"The blue ones?" the servant asked Aliza.
"Yes! Those ones, and listen, bring the vacuum cleaner too." The servant started nodding at her instructions. He was turning to leave when Aliza stopped him again.
"Okay listen, when you come back, bring Hakim along too. I want the room to be cleaned quickly." Aliza stopped the servant and gave him further instructions.
"Ji, okay!" The servant left the room.
Aliza began looking around the room again. Many indoor plants were kept in the room, and all of these were Umar's preferences. Gardening was one of the few things he was interested in. For as long as Umar was here, he had filled the room with his favorite indoor plants. Once a month he would sit with those plants. He would prune their branches, give them fertilizer, spray pesticide on the plants, and keep changing their places in his room. After he left, Aliza had taken this task upon herself.
"Take these plants outside to the lawn."
When the servant brought the curtains, Aliza gave him a new duty. Aliza herself had come out of the room. The servant brought all the plants outside one by one. Aliza started looking at the plants, began pruning their branches. Aliza was looking at the money plant; some small branches had dried up and were hanging; Aliza started pruning them. She was very carefully cutting the vine's branches and leaves. Her attention wandered for just a moment, and along with a dry branch, a fresh green branch was also cut. Aliza suddenly froze.
"It's okay. This happens. Look, now it will grow very fast and become even more beautiful than before. Whenever any plant of mine gets cut like this, it becomes much better than before."
Chapter Four..... (Past)
Aliza had left her perfume in the room and come to the lounge. Umar was already sitting there with Naani. Naani was smiling at seeing her.
"What gift did Umar give you?" she asked as soon as she saw Aliza.
Aliza smiled lightly and sat on the sofa next to her.
"Didn't he tell you anything?" Aliza said, looking at Umar, who was watching Aliza with interest.
"No! Umar said it's a secret, but Aliza can tell you." Naani said.
Aliza looked at Umar again.
"He gave perfume." Aliza said softly.
"Which perfume?" Naani's curiosity grew.
"Chanel No. Five."
"Your favorite perfume... Umar, how did you know that this is Aliza's most favorite perfume?" Naani asked Umar. As Umar looked at Aliza, Aliza averted her eyes.
"I know everything." Umar answered in one sentence.
"Next time I'll give Aliza 'Joy' and the time after that 'Eternity'."
A few moments later, Umar revealed his plan. Aliza looked at him attentively; Umar was looking at Naani, not paying attention to Aliza. Aliza tried to guess.
"Is this..." and Aliza couldn't think further. Naani said to her,
"Look Aliza, Umar has made such long-term plans, you should also give him something." Aliza focused on Naani.
"What should I give him?" Aliza asked Naani with a confused expression.
"Oh dear! That's for you to think." She evaded the responsibility from her.
"Gifts are always taken from elders, not from younger ones, and Aliza is younger than me." Umar very skillfully turned the statement around.
"Yes! If I have to give any gift, Grandpa! You give it, because you are older than me."
"What gift do you want?" Nana also suddenly became interested.
"Anything good... An Armani suit, denim jeans, a Christian Dior watch, or Playboy or Lomani perfume." Umar rattled off a long list.
"Better than that, why don't I write you a check."
"Yes, that's an even better idea. You are very innovative."
Umar said in a mischievous tone. Aliza was silently listening to their banter...
Nana was of a very serious nature. He didn't talk much, but since Umar had arrived, everything had changed. He now often laughed heartily. Umar talked a lot, and his sense of humor was also very good. Umar always said something or the other that forced them to laugh. Nana on ordinary days only spoke when necessary, but the day any of his children came to stay with him, he would be very happy. But after Umar's arrival, that joy seemed to have doubled. After anyone else's arrival, such a change had never come in Nana and Naani as much as it did after Umar's arrival.
At this moment too, Aliza was observing Naani's mood. Naani was now laughing uncontrollably at Umar's words. Umar was telling them a story about some friend of his. Aliza's attention was elsewhere.
"Can Naani laugh like this hearing anything I say?" Aliza tried to think and shook her head disappointedly.
"No, she can't laugh like this hearing anything I say. Rather, she even tells me not to laugh loudly." Aliza thought.
"Can I ever be like Umar..." Aliza tried to think again. Once again, her train of thought broke.
"Aliza! How many friends do you have?" Umar asked her.
"How many?"
Aliza was somewhat surprised by Umar's question. For a few moments, Aliza gave no answer.
"Quickly count and tell me." Umar himself reached this conclusion from her silence.
"Count what?" Aliza was even more surprised.
"Friends, of course!" Umar said.
"I have only one friend."
"I can't believe it. Girls can't have at least one friend?"
Umar couldn't believe Aliza's words, and Aliza became annoyed seeing the expression on his face.
"Man, women are more social than men, so naturally they do have friends." Umar immediately understood Aliza's annoyance, controlled himself, and gave a justification.
"I am not very social." Aliza seemed to imply.
"But you should be, right Grandpa? Am I correct?" Umar said, looking at Naani. He suddenly fell silent.
"No Umar, it's also not right for girls to be too social. Nowadays you never know what other people are like!" Naani said somewhat cautiously, giving his own reasoning.
"What do you mean?" Umar became somewhat surprised.
"Nothing, just like that. Actually, Aliza doesn't like mixing up with too many people." Naani tried to deflect the topic.
"No, but one friend is very few." Umar was still surprised. Aliza didn't like being discussed about like this.
"Everyone has their own preferences; I like having only one friend, so what's strange about that?" This time Aliza told Umar bluntly. Umar started to say something in response but stopped. Perhaps Umar understood her inner state from the expression on her face. Aliza suddenly felt the harshness in her own voice, and she felt somewhat remorseful.
"Umar just gave me such an expensive perfume and yet I am behaving like this with him." Aliza seemed to try to remind herself.
"My friend is very good. She's my friend from school; I didn't like anyone else besides her, that's why I have only one friend."
Aliza seemed to try to reassure Umar; this time her voice was weak.
"Do you have many friends?" Aliza asked only to change the topic.
"Yes! I have many friends. I really like making friends. Like today I made you my friend." Umar said, talking to her with a smiling face.
"Having more friends is more fun."
"Maybe." Aliza didn't disagree but rather gave a vague answer.
Aliza fell silent again. Umar looked at his watch and then stood up.
"I have to go to the library, I'll be back in two or three hours."
Umar informed Naani, then left the lounge. Sometime after he left, Aliza came out to the lawn. Sitting in one corner of the lawn, she started thinking about the events of some time ago. Aliza couldn't reach any final conclusion about Umar. Aliza couldn't understand whether Umar was really as sincere as he appeared to Aliza, or whether Aliza's own assumptions were correct.
Aliza couldn't understand Umar. His personality seemed very strange to her. His mood changed faster than the hands of a clock. Whenever Umar would come out of his room to the lounge, it was as if a new wave of life swept through the house, from Nana-Naani to the servant, everyone liked him and kept his likes and dislikes in mind.
He definitely had some quality through which he made others his admirers. However, Aliza was still very cautious about him.
"What need did he have to give me perfume?" Aliza was thinking then.
"He probably thought I would be happy getting a gift, and like the others, he would also be able to influence me. But!" Aliza was now caught in this dilemma about what to think about the gift.
"Did I do the right thing by taking the gift from him? Or was it my mistake?" Aliza was still lost in thought. After being lost in thought for a long time, she decided.
"No! I shouldn't return the gift, because Naani might get angry." This thought came to her mind.
"But I won't take any more gifts from him now, because I don't want to be friends with him." Aliza had finally decided this.
A few days later, when Umar gave her another perfume, Aliza couldn't refuse, and then it became a routine. Whenever Umar went out of the house for some work, he would bring something or the other for Aliza. Sometimes it would be a very ordinary thing, like a cup of ice cream, a corn cob, a packet of chewing gum, sometimes a notepad, sometimes a novel. Each time Aliza would decide that next time she wouldn't take anything from him, but the next time she would silently take his gift. Umar would give everything to her as a gift.
"Aliza! I have brought a gift for you. I swear... no one has ever given you such a gift before, rather not just you, no one has ever given anyone such a gift." Umar would say coming from outside, and Aliza would become curious.
"And this gift is a corn cob."
And Umar would hand her a corn cob wrapped in paper.
"Aliza! Today I have brought the most special thing in the world for you, and this thing is given to very special people."
Next time his words would be different. Aliza would be forced to take interest again. Umar would put his hand in his pocket and hand her a packet of KitKat.
"Today I will give you the most dangerous and effective thing in the world."
Aliza would again become busy guessing, and Umar would present a 25-30 rupee ballpoint pen before her with a smile.
"This time I will give you such a gift that will stay with you your whole life, and you will keep using it your whole life."
Aliza would again fail to guess. And a book would be presented before her.
"This time my gift is the most unique. It will keep you fit and smart, and you will never have to diet."
Placing a packet of chewing gum before her, Umar would say, "Just put this in your mouth whenever you feel hungry." He would say jokingly and walk away.
Sometimes Aliza would feel like laughing, sometimes she would be in a dilemma. Sometimes she would get angry, and sometimes she would sit down thinking about Umar.
To be continued, Insha Allah.......