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Winter, just a season and much more. It is a season of dullness and many people find it as a time of gloominess. But at the same time there are people who see this season as a chance to witness a complete different side of nature, a side which has a melancholic touch to it but still never fails to pull some hidden chords of our hearts.
This season has a very unique beauty and charm of its own and strangely it has some very beautiful similarities with our lives which makes this particular time of year more special to us. We never notice that the sun whom we see everyday but never gives much importance , suddenly becomes the most precious thing to us only in winter. We understand the importance of sunshine in our lives only when we lack it. We realize the value of the warmth which sun provides us because winter wraps us in its coldness. Just like this, in our life also, we find our ray of sunshine only when our lives completely drown in the endless ocean of darkness, from which recovery seems impossible. We understand how much their support means to us to face every misery with a brave face and emerge as a winner at last, only after we lose them.
It is really fascinating and somewhat magical to find that how much winter resembles our lives. People often want winter to end quickly because they are not able to see the nature so dull and lifeless and the trees empty like some blank pages of a book. But what they often fail to realize is that the spring gets the chance to fill the nature with more liveliness and more colors and the trees with new young and more beautiful leafs because winter removes the old ones to make place for the new and sucks the past life out of the nature to let it embrace the new life ahead and a writer gets the chance to narrate his story because the blank pages of the book provide him enough space to fill it with emotions. The same goes for our life also. God snatches some happiness from us to fill the empty spaces of our lives with some greater joys. We just have to open our to see that.
This story is of two people who were completely different from each other, who came from totally different social backgrounds but still were connected by their souls. These two started their journey as childhood besties , towards a destination unknown to them. Like everyone they also failed to understand that the pages of their lives were kept blank because god himself wanted to write their destinies together by filling those pages with their story. Miseries were put in their way to let them find each other while overcoming them. Fate separated them to make their bond more stronger and to let them unite permanently when destiny brings them face to face again.
Their story is just like the winter season and co-incidently their story also started in a winter...
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It was a normal late winter morning. But in a place like Dehradoon even a simple winter morning also offer you a bunch of breath-taking views. The hills give you a brilliant view of the whole city and the fog-clad jungles force you to think about all those super-natural creatures about whom you used to read in fairytales as a child.
That morning also people were out of their houses in open to absorb the mildly warm heat of the winter sun which made its appearance few minutes ago, as much as they could before the chilly wind re-entered again. Everyone had a smile on their faces but however the scene in siddiqui Mansion was quite different. Mr. Gafoor Siddiqui was brooding over something standing in the front veranda of his house. Well the reason behind the appearance of those frowns on his face wasn't the global warming or the upcoming rail budget but a very normal problem of our lives called servant problem. As simple as it may sound but finding this simple thing was proving to him as more difficult then finding an unicorn. And what made this more difficult was the job description. He had offered a good amount of money and arranged for the living in his house but the problem was his daughter Zoya. Zoya is the 6-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. siddiqui and the apple of their eyes. Mr.siddiqui was a busy businessman and his wife being the high class elite, was always busy socializing. So both of them had very little time for their daughter and needed a full-time baby-sitter for her and this was the main source of the problem. Though Zoya was a epitome of innocence, this little angle could also turn into a little devil if she intended to and it looked like the poor caretakers were the targets whom she wanted to show her naughtiness by irritating them to no end. When she was asked about it she simply stated that she didn't like them because they were either too scary or too strict. Being her parent's princess she was never scolded but when her naughtiness caused the resignation of the 6th babysitter in 1.5years, this forced her parents to start worry. Mr. siddiqui was lost in his thoughts when he heard a question directed towards him which sounded like the most blissful words to him at that time.
-'Do you need a servant sir?'
Mr.siddiqui looked towards the main entrance of the house to see a boy who was probably 10 years old, standing with a medium-sized bag in his hands. Though his clothes were very old but the boy seemed clean and didn't look like belonging from bad family. He called the boy inside and asked him his name.
-'What is your name?'
-'Asad.'
-'Are you sure you will be able to do the work I will give you?"
-'I will do everything you will tell me to do. You just name it and I will do it. I badly need a job. I promise I will not give you a chance to complain.'
-'Have you worked somewhere before?'
The boy started to fumble and finally answered without meeting his eyes-'I have worked in the doctor's bunglow who lived near the market outside the town.'
-'Hmm. But why did you lost the job?'
-'They left the town.' He gave a stock reply still looking at the floor.
Mr. siddiqui seemed to think something and then called his wife. His wife, Razia, along with Zoya came to him. When he explained the whole situation to his wife, she said-
-' I think we should give him a chance. He doesn't seem to me worse than the others we have had. We have appointed the the best baby-sitters of this town but all of them failed to handle Zoya. This fellow is older than Zoya, so he can take care of her and at the same time he is still a kid so maybe Zoya will be more comfortable with him and he will be able to handle her. If god has sent help at our doorstep, we shouldn't ignore it.'
-'But...' Before he could complete his sentence, he felt a tug at his pant.
All this time Zoya was silently hearing her parents' conversation and was looking at the boy who never lifted his eyes from the ground even for a second. She tugged at her father's pants and said-' Please don't send him away Abbu. I like him. Please keep him here.'
And this simple statement of her decided it all. Asad was hired as Zoya's caretaker. It was then when Asad looked at Zoya for the first time with gratitude filled eyes. That sunshine just gave him a huge dimpled smile which forced him to smile a smallSmile and the moment marked the beginning of a fairy-tale, their own fairy-tale...
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Asad's train of thoughts were broken by the sudden ring of the landline. It was his PA Prasad who called him to remind him about the meeting which he had with Mr. Mehta in an hour. Asad thanked him and cut the call. A sigh escaped his lips as he closed his eyes and rested his head on the backrest of his huge, leather chair while he passed a hand across his hair, tugging at it. He then opened the drawer of his desk and brought out a picture. He got up and went out his huge and lavish cabin which portrayed the elegance and simplicity of his owner. He came to the balcony, adjoined to the cabin, and looked over the whole city. His cabin was in the top floor of the building and this balcony of 15th floor gave a breath-taking view of Bhopal, with the lakes looking like small pots filled with glittering diamonds in the bright sunlight. Asad brought the picture in front of his eyes. It was a torn , half picture. It had a 10 year old girl smiling brightly at the camera. Her eyes were gleaming with happiness and mischief, while two dimples were sitting cutely on her lips. She was holding someone's hand but that person wasn't visible as the picture was torn from there. The picture was taken on a very special day, a day they couldn't forget ever.
A lone tear drop escaped from his eyes and landed on her smiling face. For the outside world , he was the Asad Ahmad Khan, the owner of India's biggest construction company, Dilshad Constructions, which was also one of top 10 construction companies in whole Asia. For the world he was a strict, principled, cultural angry young gentleman who is very passionate about his work. No one never heard him talking more than what is necessary but still everyone respected and admired him for his honesty and for what he has achieved at such a young age. An outsider never saw any display of emotion on his face but only his family knew how sensitive, emotional and golden heart he ha. His ammi, his sister Najma and his brother Ayaan meant the world to him but still they never saw him breaking down. It was just this picture which saw his break down every night and it was just this smile in the picture gathered him every morning. This picture was his only remembrance he had of her, of his only blessing in his curse full past. No one knew that this strong business tycoon was haunted by his past every night but still he never wanted to forget it because it had her, his Sunshine. She alone was enough to make his nightmare a beautiful dream. Destiny brought her to him when he was drowning in immense darkness with no rays of light but she filled his dark life with colors and lights, her friendship made him strong to face his demons. She was truly his sunshine who came to his life only to be snatched cruelly one day by the destiny. Though fate tore them apart but with time her memories became more valuable to him and she, his most precious sunshine.
Asad looked again at the smiling girl and a word came out of his lips in a mere painful, helpless whisper-
-Zoya...
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If one soul was in pain there, another soul was also not in peace. Zoya looked at the torn picture in her hands. The calm, peaceful face of a 14 year old boy looked back at her with a soul-soothing, gentle smile on his face. Unshed tears glistened in her eyes while her mind drifted back to the memories of past...
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it had been two days since Asad had started working in the Siddiqui mansion. Since he didn't have any luggage except a small bag which was with him, he started working from just the time his job got confirmed. Other than taking care of Zoya he was assigned to run errands. Everything was perfect but still Asad was irritated as from the very moment he started his stay thee, Zoya was never leaving him alone. She followed him everywhere he went like a magnet. Asad was losing his cool but wasn't able to say anything.
Asad entered the kitchen for some work and as usual, Zoya also came there following him. She sat on the kitchen counter , swinging her legs and munching an apple and was following his every move with her eyes, while he tried his best to ignore her. But when it become too much for him, he finally spoke up-
- Why are you following me? Asad spoke annoyed.
- I am not following you. It is just a consimdens that I have I have work everywhere you go. Zoya replied nonchalantly in her broken language with a mouth full of apple.
- What are you doing here now? He tried again.
- I was hungry. She stated simly.
Asad sighed and decided to resume his work, ignoring her but her next statement froze him in the spot.
- You lied to abbu.didn't you? Zoya said looking straightly at him. It wasn't a question but more of a statement.
Asad looked at her baffled. He didn't know what shocked him more. Her statement or the way she said it. But still he said meekly-
-I didn't lie.
Zoya smiled at him, convinced that he never lied before. She just said again-
- Don't lie. I know no doctor lives near the market. My friend Leela stays there and she told me this. She said softly. Asad now felt more guilty for lying. He hated lying but he didn't have any other option than that as he feared they won't appoint someone inexperienced.
- When you knew I was lying, why did you support me? He finally voiced his confusion at a low voice when his surprise finally lessened a bit.
- Well, you were not looking at him the whole time you spoke. So this proves that you are a bad liar and also probably lying for the first time. Zoya explained while Asad looked at her amazed.
- You look like you are very experienced in this. Asad teased her, finally getting at ease with her. he tried to stifle his laugh seeing her cute offended expression with her mouth forming a perfect O'.
- Hawww. How can you say something about me? I saved you and in turn you are teasing me? For your kind information , I am a very good girl and I never lie. I have only lied a few times, like when I ate jam without ammi's permission, when I broke the vase, when I lost my teddy...
Zoya continued to count the incidents on her finger but stopped when she saw Asad laughing like crazy, finally losing his self-control. Zoya pouted cutely at him but smiled seeing him laughing so freely for the first time in two days.
- You know, our mam says if a person's eyes are honest , the person can never be bad and your eyes seemed honest to me . that's why I helped you. She finally said with a smile, maing Asad stunned.
-do you know that you are smarter than your age? Asad asked, amusement and admiration was clear in his voice. She was really a different girl.
-I know. Zoya added cheekily, at which Asad smiled.
-will you be my friend? Zoya asked, forwarding her hand towards him with him with a bright smile and expectant face. Asad looked at the extended hand and her beaming face. As much as he wanted to be her friend, he also knew that he couldn't do so. The rude realities of life which he was forced to face, had matured him beyond his age and this maturity knew that his employers won't like it if he befriended with their daughter, being just a mere care-taker. So he just shook his head in denial and said softly-
- I can't be. Please leave me alone and don't follow me. He said sadly and left from there, leaving her hand hanging in the air while her face was adorned with a cute frown.
- why did he behaved so strangely? She wondered aloud while pouting, confused at his sudden change of mood. But then suddenly her face lit like a bulb, like she finally got the answer of this riddle.
- he must be having an upset stomach. Last month when ammi was having an upset stomach, she was also behaving strangely. Poor Asad. I will ask him tomorrow again. He must be alright till then. Zoya exclaimed happily, clapping her hands and went out of the kitchen, still munching the apple.
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Zoya chuckled softly through her tears remembering her stupid logic. She was brought out of her thoughts by a loud scream near her ear which scared her so much that she jumped on her sit was almost about to fall. She placed her hand over her racing heart to calm it down. But that fear soon gave way to anger as she turned to her left and saw the culprit laughing like a crazy holding her stomach.
- What the hell was that Piya? You scared the hell out of me!! Zoya screamed at her best friend, throwing a pillow at her who dodged i5t successfully and replied with a huge grin-
- Well, that was the only way to bring you out of your dreamland and to get your attention to give the good news. She said cheekily.
- Good news? What good news? Zoya asked confused. Piya smiled at her confusion and clearing her throat dramatically, announced proudly-
- Well my dear Ms Zoya Farooqui, you have got a job in Dilshad Constructions as Mr. Asad Ahmad Khan's assistant architect.
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Hey guys. I am back again. I got this idea of this story while reading R K Narayan's small story Leela's Friend which was about a little girl's bonding with a servant of their house. So please leave your likes and comments behind and let me know your views😊
Part 2-page 6
Part3-page 11
Part 4-page 25
Part5-page35
Part6-page44
Part7-page50
Part8-page58
Part9-page63
part 10-page67
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