Good night .... Just One Dance.

Her MP3 player was on with non stop  Nayyara Noor singing

"Aey ishq humain barbaad na ker"

("O Love do not desolate me")

Clad in her black pajamas, lying on her stomach with a pillow under her chin, her eyes closed , legs crossed , it was her late night hour , her very own, when she was alone with herself.

Sometime ago she was busy with her assignment that was due to submit in the morning when she saw her cell phone displaying a number from Spain. And then she turned it to a silent mode. Still she could see the number blinking and it was enough to distract her from studies and to disturb her to the very core.

And now when Nayyara in her tender voice was singing this sad ghazal, a single tear was blinking in her eye. She put the cell phone under another pillow so she could not see who was trying to reach her.  

"You can not reach me now, its over." She said to an unseen image.

She could not know when her father came inside her room and tapped her shoulder.

For a minute she was surprised and then next moment she turned the music down.

"You are listening to music at this late hour Mawra, and I thought you were sound asleep", He said gently.

"Sorry Baba I was about to go to sleep. Is everything OK? Do you need coffee?" , his father occasionally asked her for a cup of coffee in the late hours.

"No honey, its Daniyaal, calling you for sometime and when you were not responding, he called me to know if everything was alright,  told him you might be sleeping but he was right, you are still up listening to ghazals!"

he smiled and handed over his cell phone to her.

Oh gosh, she never knew he could find the alternative ways to reach her.

It was not easy maintaining a normal attitude when she started speaking to him, but she had to do it. It felt like she was listening to him after ages.

"I was listening to loud music and my cell phone is not with me, i think its in my bag" , she was bad at lying she knew.

Her father left the room soon then and she was alone with him. The sad ghazal was still playing  in the backdrop making her feel like being a character of an epic sad love story.

"And what about so many other times when you did not respond to my calls, it made me worried Amiga."

"I was busy, really"

"I don't know but let me tell you I had a feeling it was something else. Anyways what is that music in the background? I seem to like it."

"Its a ghazal sung by Nayyarra Noor, my favorite singer"

"A ghazal as those sung by Nusrat fateh Ali? I love listening to this kind of music, can you send me its link?"

"Sure, Do u listen to urdu music?"

His laughter was instantaneous. What is urdu music , english music, spanish music? Music has no boundaries and  I happen to understand urdu, remember?" 

"Yes" , she lied. She forgot he knows urdu language, just as she was trying to forget how his eyes sparkled and how his smile melted her heart.

"So hows preparation for tour de Spain?"

"I dunno, mom is doing all the preparation"

"Actually I called up specially to inform you that I have found a very secluded swimming pool for you here in my neighborhood, its one of my female colleagues who has gone out on a project to US and her house is big enough to accommodate a pool. She had handed me over the keys with the permission that my guests can use her swimming pool area. I was so excited to let you know Amiga. Now when you are here in Madrid you can enjoy swimming as much as you can , so bring along your swimming gear." 

It was such a big surprise to her, she could not imagine he could go to such an extent to ask a favor from his colleague for her. She was touched deeply.

"Thank You. " She could not say much.

"Tengo el placer Amiga"

"I am waiting for you guys to come over. You don't know how I miss a family around me and you people are all I have."

There was this ache in his voice that made her single dangling tear fell off her left eye.

"We'll be there soon and we'll keep you so much busy that in the end you'll want us to send us back. So Beware." she replied smilingly, this was the first genuine smile she had in days.

He laughed "You bet senorita. Now be a good girl and go to sleep and pick up my calls or you will miss big fun in life" 

She laughed and bade him good night