This lovely banner is done by my Dearest Aroo. Thank you so much sweety.
Chapter 1:
The vibrant golden beams intruded a bedroom immersed in darkness through the mettalic blinds and casted sharp shadows on the pristine white floor. The shrilling sound of the doorbell broke the silence that prevailed in the apartment, disturbing the owner that slept peacefully, tightly hugging her large pink bear. She mumbled incoherently and pulled the comforter above her head trying to drown the noise and go back to sleep but in vain. The unannounced, early morning visitor was adamant on ruining her beauty sleep. She peeked at the digital clock on her bedside with one eye closed. It displayed 09: 00 in neon green color. She threw the covers in irritation and stomped her way to the door.
"Good morning Rahul." She said groggily rubbing her eyes, which were drooping due to lack of sleep.
"Morning Zoya. Looks like you didn't sleep well last night."
"Yeah, couldn't sleep due to the emergency case last night. I returned few hours back only." Zoya replied stifling a yawn.
"Breakfast?" He asked balancing a paper bag and tray in his arms . Zoya took the tray and moved with him to the high chairs placed in the kitchen besides the sparkling black marble counter.
"Thank you so much Rahul, you are my savior, what would I do without you?" She said inhaling the aroma of freshly brewed coffee.
"Oh please Zoya; don't start with your "Thank you" song all over again. I can understand that you don't get tired of repeating the same thing for the past 7 years but believe me I'm fed up. Yaar why can't you say something else that's nicer to listen every morning, like Rahul you look hot, handsome or even smart would do, but please.." His banter was stopped by a napkin shoved on his face by Zoya, who was shaking her head at his stupid talks.
"So all done?" He asked passing her half of his sandwhich which she refused.
"Yup all done, just a little left. I'll do that now." She said getting up leaving the food untouched.
"It's ok, leave it to me. You go and get dressed; Sohail will be dropping us at the airport." He told her.
"Ok. The luggage is in guest room, you just have to put it in the suitcase that I've left open." She said going back to munching on her cold, left over slice of pizza making him scrunch his nose.
"O My God! Zoyaaa." Zoya rushed to the room on hearing Rahul's scream.
"What happened Rahul?"
"What is all this? Please say you are not taking all this with you. We have already exceeded the limits; you know that, don't you?" He said frowning at all the new packages that lay on the floor; which was hidden beneath all her mess.
"Of course I am Rahul, it's ok we'll get the luggage through, you just don't worry." She said trying to walk in without tripping on the bags.
"As far as I remember I had helped you pack all your stuff, where did all this come from?"
"I went shopping yesterday morning." She said smiling sheepishly.
"I can't believe it! Why did you have to go again, you finished buying gifts for everybody last week, didn't you?" He asked counting the number of shoppers in the room.
"I did, but you know I'm going back after such a long time, so I wanted to buy more things and then the matching accessories for Zaina's dresses were left and on the way I picked a few things for Aapi and Hadia, so it resulted in all this. Its ok I'll do it. You don't worry."
"Chup. You don't have to do anything, go and change fast if you don't want to be late." Rahul started working thinking about Zoya. She had a heart of gold, which could not bear anybody's pain and speaking about her friends; she loved and considered them her family. She could do anything for them. Rahul was glad to have her in his life.
"Zoe your suitcase can't carry all this stuff, it's overloaded, so I'm taking the remaining things with me. I'll finish this and change. You wait for me over here." He said closing the door of the apartment behind him.
They arrived at the Logan International Airport, Boston, to take a flight to Delhi scheduled at 4 pm. They still had 4 hours left but due to tight scrutiny at airports they had to come early. After the luggage was booked and they had received their boarding passes, they made way to grab a proper lunch.
"Oh God, I'm so tired now. Don't know how I'm going to sit this long in the plane." She complained.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine, you'll go to sleep with in an hour the flight takes off and I'm sure you won't even wake up for meals. I wonder how you never get up on your own." He said looking through the menu card.
Zoya was lost in her thoughts, thinking of what must be awaiting her once she reached home. She had tried her best to delay her trip to India and had been successful but now this sudden wedding had forced her to go back. She loved her family and friends a lot and missed them too but she had her reasons for staying away. Rahul noticed the lost look on Zoya's face and understood she was disturbed due to something but he knew her very well, she would never share her problems with anyone.
"What is disturbing you so much Zoya that you are least enthusiastic about your trip back home? I've seen you lost somewhere from the day we planned our vacations. Now don't deny! I know you don't want to share it but just remember that I'll always be there for you whenever you need me." Zoya's eyes moistened hearing Rahul. She placed a hand over his left hand on the table and squeezed it lightly mumbling thanks.
He was gem of a person and the only one with whose help she had settled here in Boston. It had always been impossible for her to adjust in new surroundings but Rahul had made it all easy for her. He helped her in every way possible yet never interfered in her space and she was thankful for that, because she was one of those who didn't speak out her heart.
They had boarded the flight and were waiting for the plane to take off. Zoya closed her eyes and clutched the armrests of her seat tightly as the plane started moving, she was scared of take offs and landings. Rahul chuckled seeing her scared expressions. He put her head on his shoulder and held her hands firmly. She opened her eyes and saw Rahul smiling at her; she smiled back and put her head on his shoulder.
Rahul moved out of Indira Gandhi International Airport with a trolley loaded with suitcases followed by Zoya. Nobody had come to pick them up because she had kept her arrival a secret for her family and friends. So they hired a cab to her house. After a good hours' drive they reached the Farooqui Villa at 11pm. They nodded towards each other and moved to the entrance which was open.
"Bi. Meri pyaari Bi." Zoya slowly tip toed inside and hugged an old lady, who was folding dresses. The lady turned around and stood in shock. Zoya giggled at her shocked expressions.
"Zoya?" Bi spoke softly, unassuredly. Zoya nodded. Bi cupped her face in her palms and looked at her affectionately. She kissed her forehead and hugged her tight. Both had tears in their eyes.
"Bi ye lo ap ne jo saree..Zoeee" Inaaya dropped the sarees in her hands and rushed down the stairs towards her sister.
"Zoe tum yahan achanak. I mean tum to next week anay wali thi phir, sab theek to hai na?" She asked hurriedly, scanning her for possible injuries at the same time.
"Aapi, main bilkul theek hun or main ap ko surprise dena chahti thi to isi liye wrong date bataya. Ab ap aise hi mujhe dekhti rahein gi ya hug bhi karien gi?" She asked pouting. Inaaya engulfed her in a tight hug.
"I suppose you've forgotten me, already." Rahul cleared his throat to gain the ladies attention who were now busy chatting.
"Oh I'm so sorry Rahul. Bi, he is Rahul, my friend from Boston. We've been together since I moved there. Rahul, meet my Bi." Rahul bent and took Bi's blessings and thrn hugged Inaaya.
"You both must be really tired, go get fresh, till then I'll get the dinner served." Bi said.
Both Rahul and Zoya moved to their respective rooms. After dinner, Inaaya gave them a tour of the villa, since it was built in Zoya's absence. Later, they all settled in Zoya's room chatting about the happenings of the past years when they weren't together. When Bi noticed that the trio was nowhere near stopping their talks even at 5 am, she forced all of them to sleep.
The birds were chirping in their musical voice and the sunrays peeped in through the glass roof of the plant nursery where Bi was busy in her morning prayers. The serene atmosphere was disturbed by the sound of slow steady steps that were approaching the nursery. A tall, well built, handsome man emerged through the back doors and made his way to where Bi was sitting.
"Bi, ap yahan hain, maine apko sab jagah dhoond lia. I went home and found you haven't returned yet. Is everything fine, why did you stay here?" He asked bending down on his knees.
"Asad tum kab wapas aye? Mujhe laga tum aj shaam tak aao ge isi liye main ruk gayi, ghar per bhi koi nahi tha na." Bi asked turning to look at him
"Jee Bi, mujhe shaam mein ana tha but kaam jaldi khatam ho gaya to socha laut jaon. Per ap yahan kyun ruki?" He asked still confused why she stayed here?
"Zoya returned home last night."
Asad stood motionless with eyes wide open and a thousand thoughts running through his mind. He was having a hard time accepting what he heard. Maybe his over worked, sleep deprived mind was playing games. When he didn't respond for a few minutes, Bi nudged him to break his trance.
"How is she?" Asad questioned after looking at Bi for a few seconds for any signs of it being a joke. He took a deep breath realizing it was true but it didn't make things easy for him at all.
"She has grown into a very beautiful, young woman. I forced her to sleep an hour ago because her talks weren't ending although she was really exhausted. She's in her room, go." Bi replied with a smile knowing how eager he must be to see her. He nodded and moved upstairs to her room.
Asad stood at the entrance staring at the beauty in front of him. He slowly moved towards her and kneeled down beside her bed.
"Welcome back ZaZa." Asad whispered caressing her head. He held her soft palm in his hand and stroked it lightly with his thumb. He was lost in the memories of their past. A smile came on his lips as he remembered all the moments they had spent together, but then his smile vanished and got replaced by a frown and his eyes turned moist, remembering how he had to stay apart from her for seven long years. This happened because Zoya had pushed him away for some unknown reasons and cut complete contact with him. But now he was determined to find answers to all his questions. Asad raised himself and kissed her forehead lovingly and then walked backwards towards the door, whispering something while continuously looking at her.
"Bi you can stay here, it's okay, Zoya needs you. I'll manage, please don't worry." He said descending the stairs.
"Nahin Asad, it's okay, I've informed Inaaya about it. Zoya to ab dopehar tak hi uthey gi. Main phir aa jaon gi us key paas." She said wrapping her shawl. Asad nodded and picked his coat from the couch and left the Farooqui Villa.
It was around 3.30 pm that Zoya woke up due to the grumbling of her stomach. She sat up with her head rested on the headrest. She looked around her room and admired the interiors. All was done just according to her likes, although she wasn't here. Zoya's eyes stopped on the full blown poster on the wall of her friends. She stood up from her bed and walked towards it; lost in the memories of all the masti they did together. Zoya's hand rose on its own accord and caressed the face of one particular person who she'd been running away from but unsuccessfully. He followed her everywhere during the days and haunted her dreams at nights. She sighed deeply closing her eyes and went for a hot bath to relax her stiff body.
"Oh at last the sleeping beauty is awake." Inaaya teased her younger sister.
"Aapi! Please, I know I'm late but don't make fun of me. What could I do? No one came to wake me up." Zoya complained with a pout.
"Oh we are so sorry sleeping beauty, we thought you were waiting for your prince charming to come and wake you up." Rahul spoke up from the other side of the room, where he was watching the repeat telecast of the football match he had missed due to his flight.
"Aapi, I'm hungry. What's for breakfast?" Zoya spoke ignoring Rahul's comment.
"Breakfast? Zoe are you okay? I mean, have you seen the time, it's past lunch time and you're asking for breakfast?" Inaaya asked.
"What it's past lunch time?" She turned around to look at the large black clock in the lounge, it was 4.45 pm. She turned back to Inaaya and Rahul smiling sheepishly.
"Chalo Baith jao, I'll serve the lunch." Her sister went into the kitchen.
"Rahul have you eaten?" He showed her a thumbs up. She nodded and settled at the table.
"Mmm.. Bi you are the best. Ap ko mera favorite yaad tha!" Zoya exclaimed inhaling the delicious smell coming from the kitchen.
"Pata hai Bi, I used to crave for these kachoris over there but sirf saal mein aik baar hi milta tha khanay ko at the mela we had annually. Per ap ke haath jaisa maza kahin nahin." She continued talking loudly for Bi to hear in the kitchen. Inaaya stepped out to inform her that Bi had left.
"What? Per Bi said she wouldn't go till evening. How can she go without meeting me?" Zoya whined.
"Asad wapas aa gaya tha na subah, isi liye wo wapis chali gayin. She'll come back in evening." Inaaya smiled and ran a hand on her head lovingly.
"She went back alone?"
"No Asad had come to take her back. And he only brought the lunch for you when you were asleep." She said happily while serving her a big portion of her favorite spicy kachoris with mint chutney.
"So he didn't want to meet me even once? Why will he, after all I am nobody to him." Zoya's face dropped and so did her mood on hearing this.
"Zoe, Rashid uncle ka phone aya tha, he wanted to talk to you. But you were sleeping, so he said not to disturb you." Inaaya said breaking her reverie.
"Okay Aapi, I'll call him now."
"No, he's out of country now. He has asked us to come over for a day tomorrow and be there at Khan Mansion before he arrives in the morning. He's so eager to meet you. They all missed you a lot." Zoya sighed thinking that it was time for face off now.
"Why the long face Zoe?" She nudged her sister who looked ahead with a forlorn expression.
"I have just the thing to turn these lips upwards. Blueberry cheese cake." Zoya's face brightened seeing the delectable dessert.
"Aapi, I loveee you! Thank you soo much!" She exclaimed leaning to side hug her sister.
"I'm not the one you should be thanking. Asad brought this for his Princess ZaZa." Inaaya replied laughing though her reply wiped Zoya's smile which she went unnoticed by her sister.