Author: Rizwan Ahmed Memon
As love is boundless; so are the ways of expressing it. However, some ways are romantic and realistic; others are not. A boy might say to his girl that he would bring stars to her from the sky. Holding her hands in his, he might also say that he can’t really tell which are her fingers and which ones are his. Every man on earth finds a way to express his love in some way.
It was a windy day. Nurdem was out in the forest near his home. His village was so full of trees that it looked like a forest. He had been trying to propose to Naina for seven years. He always had a ring in his pocket that he had tried to give her many times in different ways. She would always tell him that she didn’t love him, but in the bottom of her heart, she had a love for him as deep as an ocean. Nurdem knew she would say yes, someday, so he never gave up.
That day he collected some leaves instead of flowers, tied them with string, added a ring, and hung them near the window of Naina’s house. In the afternoon, when she opened the window, she saw the beautiful leaves. Naina used to sit by the window and knit after she finished the household chores. “Oh, poor man! I don’t know how many other ways he will try to make me say yes,” she sighed.
Nurdem and Naina were both educated. Naina liked to live freely. A life with no sorrows or worries. Nurdem liked to deal with difficulties and liked to take risks. Both of them had enough wealth and land to live off without working for themselves.
The next day, Naina came to his house with the leaves. “Hi, Naina. Good to see you,” said Nurdem.
“I came to return what you left for me.” Nurdem became sad and silent. Naina left the leaves on the table and stepped to the door.
“Before you go, please tell me how I can tame my heart? It just wants to live with you forever.”
She turned and looked at him with a smile and said, “Tie your heart with a rope!”
Naina was fond of reading novels. Jane Austin’s novel “Pride and Prejudice” was her favorite. She would often tell Nurdem about it. One night, Nurdem was watching a movie based on Thomas Hardy’s novel “Tess of the D’Urbervilles” when he wondered what was Naina’s favorite movie. He remembered that Naina had often talked about Pride and Prejudice. So he decided to go to the market the next day and search for the movie based on the Austin’s novel. Luckily he found a DVD of the movie “Pride and Prejudice” at the market. He decided that he would give it to Naina on her birthday, on the second of February, which was just three days away.
On February 2, 2015 at the break of dawn, Naina heard a rattle at her door. She wondered who might be so early? Doing up her hair, she reached for the door and opened it.
“Oh, Nurdem it’s you! Is everything all right?”
Nurdem had both his hands behind his back where he held a gift and a birthday cake for her. He answered her with, “Yes. I just wanted to see you.”
“See you! You know it’s 5 in the morning!” She thought that he must have come to propose again.
“Yes. Can I come in? It’s too cold.”
“Oh, sorry. Please come inside.”
Naina dragged a chair near the fire for Nurdem. “Please sit here. I’ll be back in five minutes. I need to wash my face. I can hardly open my eyes.”
“No problem.” As Naina went to the bathroom, Nurdem dragged the table closer, opened the cake box, and lit some candles. He took the cake and put it in her bedroom. He came back and sat by the fire again.
“I think your heart still hasn’t been tamed!” she said with a smile.
“I guess not. I only came because it is a special day for you.”
“Yes. It is my birthday today.”
“I came to wish you a happy birthday before anybody else does.”
He approached Naina. She looked into his eyes and said, “Thank you.”
Nurdem took her hand, “Come with me.” He took her to her bedroom. She became a little frightened.
“No, wait. What are you doing, Nurdem?” she said with a loud voice.
Nurdem stopped. “Relax. I am not going to hurt you or anything. Come on!” He asked her to keep her eyes closed until he told her to open them. He made her sit on the bed, revealing the cake before her, he asked her to open her eyes.
“Happy Birthday!” said Nurdem as she opened her eyes.
Naina was so happy. She blew out the candles and cut the cake. They both ate it.
“This is your birthday gift. Open it after I go.”
After some time, when Nurdem intended to go, she asked him to stay and have breakfast.
“I cook a delicious omelet. You will like it.”
That day Nurdem spent all day with Naina. They played the Ludo together, watched TV, and went for a walk in the evening. It was getting darker.
“I think I should go home now.”
“Yes. I need to go home too.”
“OK, see you next time. And thank you for making my birthday a special day,” she said as she shook his hand.
Nurdem looked into her eyes and said, “Marry me, Naina.”
“To tell you the truth, Nurdem, I love you, but I cannot marry you.”
“Why?”
“It is just I don’t want to lose my freedom,” She said with a slower voice and let his hand go. “I will see you soon, Nurdem. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye. Take care.”
At night, Naina opened the gift and was glad to see the DVD of her favorite novel.
Days kept going and Nurdem’s love for Naina was getting stronger and stronger. Whenever he felt tremendously sad, he would go for a walk in the forest, sit by the river, and watch the birds. A nest fell in the river from the top of a tree. Nurdem removed it quickly thinking that there might be some little birds or eggs in it. As he checked the nest, there was nothing in it. He held the nest in his hands, stared at it for some time, then went home with it.
He kept the ring and a note in the nest and went to hang it in Naina’s window. In the afternoon, Naina saw the nest and liked it. She took out the note out and started reading it.
“Dear Naina, this is my last proposal. The love that I have for you is so powerful that it will keep you away from all your sorrows and worries. I will keep you safe in my house, but you can fly anytime. I will not clip your wings. Your freedom matters to me. Together we can live a better life. Please be my bird so that I can make my nest and feel a sense of perfection. Without you, I feel that I am a lonely bird flying in the sky seeking my partner.”
Tears fell from Naina’s eyes onto the note. She took the ring and ran out of the door. Running like thunder, she reached Nurdem and giving him the ring, she said, “I am your bird. Make a nest for me and keep me safe in it.”
Nurdem went down on one knee, took her hand and slipped the ring onto her finger and said, “I will do anything to keep you safe."
