* * *
Part 3- The Past and The Present
Once Aditya had shut the door and locked it, he turned to Zoya. A sudden silence filled the room.
Zoya sat at the edge of the couch, fingering her duppatta. He walked up to the dinning table and filled two glasses of water. The sound of the pouring water and the ticking clock were the only ones in the room. He quickly gulped in some water. Placing the empty glass back on to the table, he sighed, looking at the empty wall.
Closing his eyes momentarily, he mentally prepared himself. He had to be strong for her sake.
"Zoya!?" He extended the glass towards her.
She refused, putting her attention back to her dreadful thoughts. He sat beside her, gently offering the glass again. She looked at him, her eyes sacred.
He made her drink some and let her rest her head on his shoulder.
"Zoya!" He called out softly, caressing her hair.
"I m scared Aadi!" She held on tighter to him.
"Our past will never let us be peaceful in our present or future." She spoke staring away at the wall-clock.
"Zoya. We are not wrong." He said firmly.
"We are not right either, are we?" She pulled away looking at him. He looked away."Things weren't right, Zoya! " he said.
"But..."
"Let's don't go there again, please. We have come a longvway since then." He turned to face her and held her hands.
"Don't we deserve true happiness!?" He whispered.
She nodded tears appearing in her eyes as she saw in his eyes the vulnerability once again, the same she had seen when his parents were leaving him at the Valley School in Dehradun.
* * *
"Mom, Dad, please." A tensed up and rather scared Aaditya spoke up, looking at his parents. Not in a bit did he want to be here at the popular, Valley School.
"Aadi beta, this is the best school. " his dad said the same thing over to the boy who was to complete his grade ten in the said school.
"Mom, please. "
"Aadi beta Dad, has decided the best. " she said giving a cold stare to her husband.
He walked down the slope towards the room that was supposed to be his new class. He hated the fact that he had to be away from home. He knew ,it had to be because of the labyrinth of scandals and politics that kept his parents on front foot. The never had time for him.He had started accepting, that, and not really complained anymore. He had his younger brother whom he played with, and grandma from whom he loved listening tobtales at night. At school he had his best friend Pooja. Things weren't that bad. Until one day when his parents broke the news of him having to go to the boarding school.
He had to leave everything he had learned to find life in. He din't care orcwant his parents, but all those things!?
A tap on his shoulder make him look up from the monotonous path ahead.
"Hi! Zoya!"
He frowned and forced a formal smile and walked ahead.
"I saw you there. Its hard to leave parents initially. You will get used to it." She spoke on and walked beside him. "When you miss home, their is a church there, go there. Miss Ella always loves having us there. Make her your best friend, she is the best. " Smiling Zoya, stopped. "Bye Aadi!" She said and turned to the right.
Zoya was a jaunty joyous little girl. She hated to see people sad. She would do whatever she could at least to do away someone's sadness. While entering school today she had witnessed, rather noticed the scene of Aditya talking to his parents. She had been through the same at a point, when she was much younger, so she knew how it must have felt.
Once she was gone Adi looked up. He turned to the church building. Mentally making a not of what the girl he din't even know the name of had said he found his way to the be class.
* * *
He switched on the study lamp, and blew the dust off the file, that read Hooda-Siddiqui-Accident with the date alongside. Powering on his computer, he sat in the cold room of his quarters. Keying in the names finding as much as he could from the database.
He clapped his hand against the table on finally finding it. Aditya Hooda had spent one year in the same school that Zoya had done her entire schooling in. There it was, a link! Most profiles din't display the valley school as Aditya had not completed his grade ten there, but in the same school in Mumbai.
But they couldnt probably know each other through it, could they!?
The morning, arrived to witness the officer, half asleep on his desk. He had worked through the entire night to find some more information that could prove to be game changer in the case. Found none.
* * *
"Good Morning!" She spoke cheerfully as he walked out of his room, yawning.
Sleepily he sat on the chair and rested hisbhead on the dinning table. She looked at him adoringly.
"You can look at me like that, our entire life Zoya!" He rested his chin on the table looking at her.
She looked everywhere except atvgim immediately.
He chuckled.
"Get ready fast, we need to be at the church in thirty minutes!" She reminded him.
He looked up confused, "Its a Sunday today!"
She grinned. "Mr Hooda which world do you stay in?"
"How about a church wedding Zoya?" He asked out of no where.
She looked at him suddenly. Silence filling the room. It had been only the previous day he had proposed to her. She of course loved him, but was still sceptic of entering into the same phase again. She saw him waiting. Maybe this way it should be.
"I am not asking you to marry me today, Zoya. You know, you have all the time right!? I will wait."
"I m in for it!" She spoke up killing the unpredictable silence. He smiled. He could not go through the entire never ending process again- Mehendi, Haldi, Sagaai, Shaadi-phere. No. Bitter memories were all he had from them and was sure about the same for Zoya.
He smiled from across.
* * *
"People get what they deserve? Wasn't it this that you told me Mr. Hooda." Khanna, the officer walked up before the couple, who were exiting the church hands in hand, smiling.
At once, Zoya's hand gripped Aditya's arm.
"I thought we were strangers again officer. " Aditya stepped forward and met the man's eyes, he had just unveiled by taking off his shades. While his other hand was securely resting on Zoya's hand.
"Come!" He spoke looking at her and made his way to the parking.
"Valley School, Dehradun." The officer said aloud at their retreating figures.
Zoya's eyes went wide and her clutch over his arm tightened. The man was slowly getting to know everything about them .She wondered whether he would get to know everything?
Aditya looked at her and nodded in a negative. Asking her not to be scared. She blinked positively. While the officer walked up to them beside their car, parked in a relatively quiet corner of the church's back lawn.
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P.S
The next part will be the epilogue - to settle all the unsettled.
Would love to read a feedback/suggestions.
Anupamaa
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon
Indian Mythology
Sampoorna
