Chapter 2

Dilshad was pacing anxiously in the living area of the Khan Villa, the sign of unease and tenderness was clearly visible in her eyes and her face was looking so shriveled. She was trying a number from her cell phone constantly and after every second her turmoil was increasing rapidly, when she was getting the same answer from the other side again and again.

This condition of her didn't left unnoticeable by a pair of eyes, she was wondering why her mother was so disturbed, her brows narrowed in amusement but Dilshad, she was so occupied in her own thoughts that she couldn't even sensed the presence of the second person, besides her. 

Dilshad startled when a soft but cold palm suddenly touched her shoulder as she was completely unaware of the second person's presence besides her. She turned around and found her daughter Najma near her. Dilshad released a sigh of relief, but she was still upset. Najma came nearer to Dilshad and asked her in a low and soft tone, "Ammi! What Happen? Why are you looking so worried?"

Dilshad again continued the job she was doing, she tapped the buttons of her cellphone and while taking it near to her ear she answered with unease, "Asad Ab tak ghar nahi aya...muje bahut fiqr ho rahi hai mujhe...Allah janey kahan hoga woh!!" 

At her answer Najma nodded her head in to and fro motion taking a deep sigh and consoled her mother, "Ammi!! Don't worry Bhaijaan will be back soon"

Dilshad sighed a little and uttered in disbelief, "why shouldn't I worry Najma! He is my--", she stopped herself in between and gulped down the fresh lump formed in her throat and closed her eyes tightly and continued while massaging her temples, "Ah! I am scared Najma! He is not at home since night, woh ab tak nahi aya...pata nahi kaha hoga mera Asad", the fresh tears of anguish rolled down her cheeks.

Najma softly caressed her cheeks to wipe her tears from her cold palm and helped her to take a seat on the couch lying near them. She herself get seated on the floor, gripping her body on her toes, she took Dilshad's hand in hers and started rubbing her fingers from hers and explained her in a serious and a responsible tone, "Ammi!! Ap bhool rahi hain aj kya hai...today is not an ordinary day for us...not at least for bhaijaan...alike every year when will he come home, we can't say that na!!...please ap fiqr mat kijie.. wo rat tak aa jayenge!!". 

Najma tried to console Dilshad but a mother being mother, Dilshad stood with a jerk from the chair and replied with moist eyes and deep thoughts, "Mujhe yad hai ke aj kya hai, isiliye hi to fiqr hai...wo har saal sabse itna door akele kyu chala jata hai ...hum sab ko apni fiqr mein chodkar", it seemed that she was not complaining she was worrying for her son.

Najma let herself stood in front of her and again persuaded her, "It has been three years Ammi!! Bhaijan leaves home in the night, every year on the same date without informing anyone and...and...when will he come back...nobody knows that ...then what is there which is making you so anxious...so worried? He needs some alone time on this date!! It has become routine for him and for us also", she told all this cupping her mother's cheek in her left palm as a daughter is not consoling her mother but a mother is trying to console her child and she requested while leaving her cheek, "Please don't stress yourself!!"

Dilshad was going to say something, but she dotted a sequence and said, "I should call Ayaan! He can find hi--", before she continued herself she turned around to face Najma and found her numb as someone has hypnotized her and forced to watch at the direction of the main door. Dilshad herself shifted her eyes in the direction of main door and realized that the person about whom they both were discussing, Asad Ahmed Khan was entering. 

Asad's entrance was so oblivious and unexpected because it has become the routine for him to leave home in the mid-night and enter at the next night or the next midnight every year on that date. Anyways, He suddenly entered the house at the time, for the first time in three years, which was a matter of shock instead of pleasure. But he rushed towards his room and shut the door in angst; he didn't even pay attention on the two most important ladies of his life, his mother and the little sister due to unawareness.

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Zoya entered the house gazing at something but nothing, lost in her own planet of thoughts, the deep thoughts of her present, past, future and so on. She was so involve in herself and her reverie, that she did'nt realize someone elses existence. She was about to depart for her room from from the Liviing area of the suite, 

"Zoya!!", uttered by a familiar female voice which jerked her and forced to stop.

Zoya didn't reply to the person and stayed there where she stopped like a freezed statue, she did'nt even bother to face the person, so the lady herself came in front of her, who was none other than her Aapi, Zeenat. Zeenat folded her arms on her chest and asked strictly, "Where were you?"

"Wo a-aapi! Mein...", stuttered Zoya Farooqui, the chatter box was now rested wordless as she had nothing to explain her Aapi because didn't wanted to disturb her aapi by informing her that she was highly disturbed and visited Dargah to soothe her inner turmoil. 

Zeenat unfolded her arms and started scolding her without bothering to take a single breath, "Mein wo kya Zoya? It's not New York where you can leave house anytime and roam here and there without even informing us...do you have any idea how worried we were!! Anwar is searching for you in the whole city since 5.a.m and see...", she turned Zoya in the direction of wooden wall clock and showed her the time and kept continuing herself, "see!! What's the time...", and held her by her arm and shrugged Zoya in her direction, "its 8", her eyes were piercing Zoya's but she didn't argued as she knew that her sister was right at her place, being a older sister. 

Zeenat realized that she has scolded her enough and this was the time to explain her instead of scolding, so she stopped herself closed the lids of her eyes and took out a sigh and continued explaining Zoya in a calmly, "Zoya why don't you understand! It's not our place, we are not familiar with this city...intact we are not familiar even with the country...", she stopped herself in between and cupped Zoya's cheeks in her palms and continued herself in a patient and low pitch,   "Please try and understand Zoya, it's not safe to roam alone in a strange place...Okay?", hearing Zeenat's words Zoya tilted her face up in her direction with disbelief.

While Zeenat asked, "Is it Okay Zoya?", in a strict tone this time, at which zoya nodded her head in agreement. 

Zoya was now finally leaving for her room when Zeenat called her from behind, called would be an understatement, she ordered, "Pack your bags, we are leaving for New York tomorrow!", and took her phone nearer to her ear to inform Anwar that Zoya is back at home but before she could Zoya exclaimed, "I am not going anywhere!"

"But Zoya! How can I leave you here, here the place which is completely unknown f--", but Zoya interrupted her older sister in between and uttered, "Because this is not a strange place. This is my place, our place" ,and the tears rolled down from her eyes and destined to the floor.

The concerned elder sister Zeenat who knew that it's not right to leave Zoya alone in an unknown country that too alone again said, "Zoya!! Try and understand, we can come here later, now situations are not in our favour please."

Zoya calmed herself down and pleaded in tears, "I know Aapi you and Jiju are not in circumstances to stay here for more than few days, your pregnancy have major complications but please try to understand my part also"

Zeenat cupped Zoya's cheek in her cold and soft palms and said with moist eyes, "No one else is more important for me than you! You are my first child. Stupid!"

Zoya's lips were going to curve in a smile as she thought that Zeenat was allowing her to stay Bhopal alone but her smile vanished when Zeenat completely herself strictly, "And I am not going to leave my daughter alone here". Zoya tried to say but Zeenat shook her head negatively and while showing her forefinger she stated, "And that's final. Go and pack your stuff. Go!"

Zoya's face fell down and she left for her room quietly.

When Zeenat turned around to see Zoya and murmured in her mind, "I can't leave you here alone!"

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Asad has not reached home before night at that day. He had never been addicted to alcohols or drugs; he was depressed with the date, 21^st July. Dilshad being a mother, was confused that what should be her feeling, surprise, happiness or Shocked. She got confuse that were the happiness was coming again in her son's life or does it was a sign of new hazard.

So, she ran towards Asad's room behind him to check, what that reason was, which dragged her son so early at home, especially on that day. But stopped when a thought came to her mind, it is not right to ask him now! He must be depressed, let leave him alone for some time.

But she jerked when Najma called her, "Ammi!" and she turned to face her, "Ha!"

Najma smiled with astonishment and asked, "Kya soch rahi hai ab! You were worried for Bhaijaan, now he is back, then again what are you worried for?"

"What do you think? What that reason was which took Asad so early", Dilshad asked again lost in her thoughts.

Najma creased her brows and said, "Which kind of question is this Ammi?"

and continued calmly, "Ho sakta hai Bhaijan ne khud ko us din ke liye maaf kar diya ho...us galti ke lie jo unhone kabhi ki hi nahi"

Dilshad turned her head in her daughter's direction and uttered with moist eyes, "Inshallah! Allah karey jo tum keh rahi  ho wo sach sabit ho!!", and mouthed some hymns.

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The darkness of winter night was on its peek and Asad Ahmed Khan was furiously stumping the tabs of his laptop, nailing his eyes on the desktop screen. But the sequences of morning started dropping in front of his eyes like a colourful painting, with different shades. His eyes were kept twinkling when these sequences painted in front of his eyes one by one and his lips curving in a smile automatically. Her alone tears rolling down on the floor, the shawl tembling down in sequence from head to shoulder and then the floor, she falling down on the floor when his car has hit her, she struggling to collect herself from the muddy floor.

But his smile faded when her face stroked his eyes, he stood up leaving his work in between and approached the window-cum-door wall and with his two hazel orbs started showing their rage to the Moon, as they are scolding it, and are not ready to welcome it. The eyes, without even a single mark of tears but, drench in emptiness, intensity and questions. His soul was standing like a lifeless stone of the winters, not even moving an inch, not with the cold, but stilled due to his stubbornness. He has decided to ask his questions from the beautiful Moon and he wants his answer now. The moon is smiling with brightness at his behavior, as it is saying that the time is the best answer. But he was not ready to obey; he kept on asking and asking.

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 When the whole atmosphere was drenching in fog and the cold of the midnight of winters, Zoya farooqui was still awake, the one who preferred to sleep early in the night and late at the mornings. She opened her cupboard and picked up a wooden box. After closing the cupboard, and sat on the window sill while opening the box. She took out the stuff which she has stored in it, some old pale papers, and hazy photographs and so on. She kept the box aside and the material inside it in her hands. She caressed them and the cold tears automatically started rolled down her eyes. She kept crying and crying as there was no end. She started staring at the moon with her two red puffy moist eyes, full of pain, silence and umpteenth questions. Alike the Moon, the eyes have hidden some darkness inside them, which they never want to show to anyone. Her long hairs started blowing in the flow of breeze, the cheeks had changed their color into crimson due to cold and the pink rose petals like lips have withered. But the eyes, those chocolate orbs have the depth of the sky. 

 She came to reality when the papers started blowing from her lap in the storm; she quickly collected them and clutched them tightly near her heart, when a teardrop rolled down from her eyes.

Asad closed his eyes tightly and a tear droplet touches the surface of his cheek. 

Until they could feel the warmth on their respective cheeks, the clouds started roaring in pain, pain of two wounded hearts, full of anger, emptiness and hidden questions. The hidden sides of themselves which they do not want to show anyone except, the Moon. The screams and cries of clouds kept on increasing, as the rain wanted to drench itself in their unknown pain, and finally the water droplets destined to the muddy floor.

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