UNSAID LOVE

"UNSAID LOVE"
BY ZAINAB CHAUDHRY

    It was a bright sunny morning, Zaira woke up and got ready for her 1^st day at university. She came all the way from Pakistan to Canada to study at the University of Toronto. She was living here with her Aunt.

    On the way to her university, she was very excited and nervous at the same time. As they arrived at the university, she said goodbye to her uncle and got off the car. She entered the university and was amazed to see the building and atmosphere. She felt like she was living her dream. She was walking and looking at the building with astonishment. Then suddenly she bumped into a guy and was just about to fall but the guy held her hand. She said thank you and walked away.

    She went to the class and sat on the chair in the corner. A few minutes later the same guy walked in. He looked for the chair here and there but the only chair that was free was the one right next to Zaira. He sat next to her. Zaira was feeling a little embarrassed from what had happened earlier so she stayed quiet. The guy initiated and said hey I’m Harris. She also told her name and they started a conversation. Coincidentally, he was also from Pakistan but had only been there twice. He was born and brought up in Canada.

    They became friends and started hanging out together. Zaira noticed that Harris was one of the most famous guys on the campus. He was on the soccer team and was very handsome as well. A lot of girls were after him but he never talked to any of them. She was happy as she found him to be a really good guy. She started spending most of her time with him and when he wasn’t around, she used to think about him. She felt like she was falling in love with him and wondered if he also felt the same for her or not.

    She started noticing him. Whenever they were together, he would always look into her eyes while talking, he would laugh at her silly jokes, would complement her, help her, and made her feel secure. She had a strong feeling that he was also in love with her but she was too shy to express her feelings so she thought of waiting until he says it.

    A few days later, he got busy with his soccer practice and would spend less time with her. Initially, she understood and was fine with it but as days passed by she started thinking that he was avoiding her. Then one day she also saw him standing in the hallway and talking to some other girl. She got jealous but didn’t say a word.

    A few more days passed, then one day Harris came up to her after the class and told her that he had his final match of soccer the next day. He invited her to come and see his match and told her that he wanted to talk to her about something important after the match. Zaira said I'd be there tomorrow and left.

    She went home and her Aunt was cooking food. Her Aunt told her that some guests were coming for dinner. She started helping her with the chores and while working she asked who are coming. Then her Aunt told her that, “they are our family friends, your mother also knows them and we like their son a lot for you. Today they’re coming to see you, if they’ll also like you, we’ll get you both engaged in the next month when your parents will be coming here,” She was in a state of shock and didn’t understand what to say. Her Aunt told her to leave everything and get ready before they arrive. She got ready while constantly thinking about Harris and how much she loves him.

    The guests came. Zaira had a really nice conversation with them. They seemed to be really nice people. They loved Zaira a lot so they gave her some money and made it official. Zaira was shattered. It all happened too fast for her to even understand. The family discussed that they'll get them engaged once Zaira’s parents come to Canada.

    When the guests went, Zaira’s Aunt asked her if she was happy with it. She thought to herself “I don’t even know if Harris even likes me or not, so I should think about my family right now. They’re all so happy and they must have made the right decision for me.” She replied to her Aunt yes, I’m happy.

    The next day she went to the university but didn’t go to see Harris's soccer match. After the match, Harris came looking for her and found her in the locker room. He told her that they won the match and said you should’ve been there to see how we defeated them. She kept silent. Harris said, anyway come with me, let’s celebrate my victory.” He took her for dinner. And as they were eating, he told her about his feeling. He told her that, “I’ve been in love with you since the first day we've met but it took me a lot of time to realize it. I realized it when I missed your presence. And now I cannot imagine my life without you.  I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

    Zaira was completely heartbroken. She so wanted to say yes, I love you more and I was waiting for you to say this to me but all she could say was “I’m engaged” and she left sobbing. Harris felt awful and he had a regret that he got late in expressing his feelings.

    Harris went back home and he went straight to his room. His mother came up to him and told him, “we went to meet our family friends back from Pakistan yesterday and we really loved their daughter for you. I know we should have told you this before but you were so busy with your soccer practice and we didn’t want to distract you then. If you want to meet her you can" he said, “no, it’s a yes from my side.”

    A month passed by, and they both didn’t go to university or see each other. They both were just trying to get over each other so that they can get engaged to the one, their parents like for them. But the fact was they both couldn’t forget each other. They both buried their love deep inside their hearts and pretended to be happy for their families.

    The day of engagement came, Zaira was sitting on the stage. The guy came in. Zaira kept looking down. Even the guy didn’t look at her. When the guy came up on the stage, his mother said, “Zaira, this is my son Harris.” They both looked at each other and were out of words. They had tears in their eyes and a big smile on their face. They hugged each other and said I love you.