Silent hearts..
Late afternoon, the next day.
Noor stood at the kitchen door, arms folded, eyebrows raised, watching her sister for quite some time.
Noor: "My sweet little sis, care to explain what you've been doing in the kitchen for the past two hours? ""I know you're a die-hard fan of Chef Keka's cooking videos, but seriously. what Frankenstein recipe is this?"
Nazli (grinning): "I'm making Busted Pakoras—spicy Indian fritters—thank you very much."
Noor: "Wait—what? Busted Pakoras? What even is that? I've never heard of such a thing in my life! You better explain the name and the recipe before I throw you out of this kitchen." (half-mocking anger)
Nazli: "Well. since our little banana-eating stunt this morning backfired right in front of Adil Rahman, I invented a new snack to mark the occasion."
Noor looked stunned.
Nazli (dramatically): "But wait! Before the recipe, you need to hear the whole story."
Earlier That Morning…
Nazli and Noor had gone out for a morning walk and a bit of light grocery shopping. Just as they were crossing a street, a motorcycle skidded to a stop in front of them. Nazli instantly lit up, waving her hand like she saw a celebrity.
Nazli: "Hey there, Mr. Biker Adil! Fancy seeing you here!"
Adil removed his helmet, blinking in confusion. Noor chuckled and said:
Noor: "Hello, Mr. Adil! I'm Nazli and this is my sister Noor."
Nazli (laughing): "No, no! I'm Nazli, and she's Noor."
They both pointed at each other, confusing poor Adil even more. The guy looked like he was about to short-circuit.
Adil narrowed his eyes.
Adil: "Miss Nazli—whoever you are—what's the point of confusing people like this? And seriously, Miss Cheater Nazli! Using your twin privilege to prank me? Bravo. You and your sister Noor completely fooled me. Honestly, you should be reported."
Shaheen (popping up from behind): "Adil brother, file a fraud case on them. Immediately."
Nazli: "Hey, Pet Shaheen—as Noor calls you! What's up? How's Nadia?"
Adil (frowning): "Wait. who's Nadia?"
Shaheen (even more confused): "Yeah, who is Nadia?"
Nazli (smirking): "Only Pet Shaheen knows that!"
She giggled. Adil realized she was messing with them. Shaheen, on the other hand, was still trying to figure out whether he was dreaming.
Nazli: "Anyway, I'm Nazli Khan, and this is my older-by-fifteen-minutes sister Noor Khan. Identical faces, different people. And hey—twin perks are real. Don't judge, Mr. Adil!"
Adil smiled for the first time. These girls had really done a number on him. Something about this Nazli girl—he couldn't figure her out. She was kind of. endearingly mischievous.
Seeing him smile, Noor frowned.
Noor: "Okay, Mr. Adil, I apologize. We didn't mean to trick you. I just couldn't say no to her. She's the naughty one, always pulling me into trouble."
Shaheen: "Before all that, please clarify—who's Noor and who's Nazli?"
Noor (smirking): "What do you think, Pet Shaheen?"
Shaheen: "You've officially fried my brain. One of you calls me Pet Shaheen, and the other just Shaheen—that's the only clue I have!"
Nazli: "Exactly. We love confusing people. But, Mr. Biker, how'd you even know we were around here?"
Adil: "We keep tabs on our neighborhood, Miss Twin Terror." (mock serious)
Shaheen: "Adil brother." (narrowing his eyes)
Adil: "Okay fine. Truth is, Shaheen called me this morning and said, 'Adil brother, if you want to die of confusion, come to the market immediately. Nazli elder sister's pulled off a next-level prank!' So of course, I came running."
Nazli (batting her lashes): "I'm sincerely sorry for fooling you." (huge toothy grin)
Shaheen: "You don't look sorry."
Nazli: "It's all Pet's fault! If not for him, we wouldn't have been caught."
She stuck out her tongue and waved him goodbye. Noor and Nazli walked away laughing. Adil just watched them go.
Later that day, after they shared the story at home, everyone had a good laugh. Even Adil's mom said she wanted to meet the twins. As for Abir, he quietly walked off to his room, smiling to himself.
Lately, he'd been thinking about Noor a little too often. Maybe. just maybe. she was starting to grow on him. He still remembered how he first noticed her—arguing passionately with a vegetable vendor over tomatoes. There was something strangely charming about her fire. He didn't know her name back then, but he kept asking around—until finally, someone told him.
Her name was Noor Khan.
Back at home…
Noor: "Alright, Your Highness. Spill the recipe for these 'Busted Pakoras.'"
Nazli (dramatically): "Fine, fine! Here we go—First, I cooked up a pack of ramen Noodles. Then I started beating egg whites to make a cake. Halfway through, I figured, hey! Noodles taste plain—so I mixed them into the foamy egg whites with a dash of sugar. Then added chopped onions and green chilies. But it looked weird, so I threw in some rice flour. Still weird—so I added gram flour, turmeric, chili powder, coriander, cumin, ginger-garlic paste, and salt. Fried it all up. and ta-da! Busted Pakoras!"
She finally paused for air. Noor stared like she'd just witnessed a crime.
Noor (horrified): "Oh dear lord. Only you could create such an abomination. I'm not eating that."
Noor: "Why do you act like such a menace, hmm?"
Nazli: "Because I'm the younger twin! It's in the job description. Mischief keeps the soul happy!"
Noor: "Alright, enough. No more essays on 'The Joy of Mischief.' Now go fix the disaster zone you've created in the kitchen."
Nazli (grinning): "Fine, I'll almost fix it!"
Noor bonked her lightly on the head.
Noor: "Less drama, more cleaning."
They cleaned up and carried the pakoras to their room. Nazli dipped one in ketchup and took a big bite.
Nazli: "Mmmm! Delicious! Come on, sis—just try one!"
Noor turned green. No thanks.
Instead, she packed a few and delivered them to their landlady. In a few weeks, the landlady's daughter Ishita was moving abroad with her husband. She'd offered to hand over her cooking blog "Ishita's Kitchen" along with leftover baking tools and ingredients to the girls.
Ishita was a friend of Nazli's cousin, Rayhan, who had helped them settle in this neighborhood and rented them his aunt's old one-story house. Rayhan covered their expenses at first, but the girls didn't want to rely on him forever. That's why they were now job-hunting. They'd even asked Ishita to help find tutoring gigs.
Ishita had shown them around and helped a lot.
Days passed.
One Friday afternoon, Noor and Nazli decided to stroll through the local park. They found a bench, chatted, clicked pictures, laughed like only sisters can. They never needed anyone else. They never needed a crowd. Just each other.
Nazli rested her head on Noor's shoulder, still talking.
Suddenly, a peanut vendor's bell rang.
Nazli jumped up, eager.
As she handed the peanuts to Noor, Noor suddenly stopped smiling. She looked past Nazli and said.
Noor: "Uhh. Nazli? Who's that little kid holding onto your scarf?"
To be continued...