AsYa FF:|And the past comes to Visit| Banner+Very Imp. Note pg-120 - Page 30

Meanwhile in the Siddiqui Mansion:

Ayaan finished his call with Asad and sat down on the edge of his bed. He was perplexed art the sudden turn of events. Toh Zoya ke abbu zinda hain... iska matlab uss aadmi ko kisine paise diye honge bhai se jhoot bolne ke liye, kyunki mujhe nahi lagta woh itna bada galti karega... Par usey paise diye kisne honge? Aisa kaam karega kaun? Aur kyun? "Yahan Zoya ma banne wali aur wahan un dono ke sar par itna bada pahaad toot pada... pataa nahi yeh ho kya raha hai..."

"Kya? Zoya bhabhi ma banne wali hai?" came an excited screech from the doorway. Ayaan jumped up at the sudden scream... it was Nuzhat. Ayaan had never realised thet he was actually muttering his thoughts out loud... and that's probably when Nuzhat must have heard him. "Maine sahi suna na? Oh wow!!! Asad bhaijaan kitna khush honge hai na bhaijaan? Aur aj toh un dono ki anniversary bhi hai na? Kya din hai!! Main Humeira baaji... oops! Bhabhi ko bata ke aati hoon!" she exclaimed and ran off before Ayaan could answer her. Ayaan shook his head exasperatedly and smiled at his kid sister's antics... meri pagal behen, he thought as he headed out of the room.

He was passing through one of the many corridors of his house that he heard something... no, someone. Mumani... he thought as he hid behind one of the pillars and listened. She seemed to be threatening of the poor servants. He caught bits of the conversation...

"Yeh tasveer maine tumse yahan lagane ko mana kiya tha. Kiya tha ya nahi?" There was a cold threat in her voice... he shuddered as he heard it. Yeh kaunse tasveer ki baat kar rahi hain? he wondered, as he listened further. "Yeh tasveer issi waqt yahan se hatao aur issey kisi ke bhi haath lagne mat dena. Main issi doosri baar ghar mein nahi dekhna chahti. Samjhe?" Razia ordered . "Ji maalkin. Kaam ho jayega" the servant replied as he left hurriedly with the frame. Ayaan waited for Razia to leave and then he followed the servant... as quietly as possible.

Mujhe pata lagana hi hoga ki yeh kis tasveer ki baat kar rahi thi... bhala inhe kisi photo se itni chid kyun hogi ki woh usey aise hatane ke liye kahengi? Zaroor koi na koi gehra raaz chhupa hoga us photo mein jo woh kisi ke saamne nahi laana chahti... nothing that she wants to hide can be harmless, even if its a photo, deduced Ayaan in his mind as he continued following the servant out of the house.

The man went outside to a nearby garbage bin and cautiously looked around for any followers. Ayaan quickly hid himself behind a bush to avoid getting seen by him. The man took the photo and dumped it in the bin and hid it with other garbage and left hurriedly.

Just as he left, Ayaan came out of his hiding place and searched the bin carefully... and at last he felt it... a metal frame. He pulled it out and dusted it. And now the picture that revealed itself shocked him to the core... It was the same picture that Asad had given him a bit more than an year back... the one which which Zoya had... the one that would lead her to her father... But how?! How on earth did mumani come to posses the same picture that Zoya had? And why did she want to hide it?

As these questions and millions more raced through Ayaan's mind he felt a desperate need to calm down. He took a deep breath and tried to think rationally... something that was beyond him not so long ago. He tried to piece his thoughts and calculations together. If mumani had this picture, then it very well had something to do with her and mamujaan... and if Zoya had the same photo... then they had something to do with her as well? But mumani and mamu didn't even know her properly... what could they possibly have to do with her?! And even if mumani had that photo it made no sense as to why she wanted it to be disposed... afterall what harm could an old, black and white, battered picture of some men sitting together whose faces couldn't even be seen properly,possibly do? He couldn't even recognise anyone from the picture... not before and definitely not now. Ayaan palmed his face and ran his fingers thorough his hair, racking his brains desperately to find a logical answer to all his questions... but came up with nothing. But suddenly, an idea struck him... Humeira! Of course... she could tell him something about this photo if it had anything to so with her parents, coudn't she? Deciding to ask her, he tucked the frame inside his shirt and headed back to the house. He had to set his detective mind rolling now.

By this time, Asad and his family had reached the the dargah. Not the Badi Masjid in the marketplace... the one that they usually visited, but the one in the outskirts of Bhopal... that place where he had seen Zoya for the first time... That heavenly place brought back the happiest of memories.

They covered their heads as they entered the dargah, and kneeled down on the ground and closed their eyes in silent prayer. Although seated in different places, away from each other, they all prayed for the same thing... for blessings to keep their newfound happiness safe and to prevent any force from turning their lives upside down. While Dilshad asked Allah to keep her children safe and happy, just as they were now, Asad prayed for strength. Strength to stand by Zoya at the most difficult of times, protecting her from all harm. He prayed to become a good father, the best... something that he couldn't get. Zoya asked for the health and happiness of her family, and blessings for the life that was blossoming within her womb. She wanted to become the best mother a child could have... like Dilshad. She prayed to get back her father, her hope which had once been dead had sprung into life again...

Asad finished praying and peeped open his eyes and slightly to get a glimpse of the angel sitting right across him. Zoya still had her eyes closed in prayer, and at that moment looked like the most beautiful and innocent soul on the planet... which she was. And he knew it for a fact... He noticed Dilshad opening her eyes too so he quickly shut his eyes again and started praying, so that he wouldn't get caught while worshipping his wife.

But unknown to him, he was caught. Not by his ammi though, but by his own little Tamatar, who smirked at her perfect timing while planning for an hour- long leg pulling session later on her bhaijaan...

They all finished their prayers soon and came out of the dargah. The car ride later was full of lame jokes, shayaris and lots of laughter, courtesy, the one and only Zoya Ahmed Khan. Asad was driving through the crowded bazaar when Zoya suddenly noticed someone on the street...

"Asad! Rukiye! Abhi!!" she screeched, making Asad brake and bring the car to a halt abruptly.

"Kya hua Zoya? Achaanak se aise chillaya kyun? Kya baat hai? Maine chaunk kar toh gadi hi rok di!" Asad inquired, while trying to figure what his begum sahiba wanted suddenly that she asked him to stop... and he had his worst fears confirmed when she exclaimed excitedly, "Pani puri!!"

"What?! Zoya yeh kya keh rahi ho tum?" Asad asked, praying incessantly in his mind that he had heard wrong... that Zoya did not say the name of that thing... not that thing... But he braced himself for the worst when she pointed to the street side pani- puri vendor.

"Asad mujhe pani- puri khaane ka mann kar raha hai, abhi!" she demanded.

"Zoya tumne isliye mujhse gadi rukwa di? Yeh... yeh khaane ke liye? Tumhe pata bhi hai yeh kitna unhygienic hai?" Asad's OCD was kicking in.

"Itna bhi nahi hai Asad! Aur mujhe yeh khaani hai aur abhi isi waqt khaani hai. Bas!" she wasn't going to listen this time... and why couldn't he see what she saw?

"Par Zoya..." Asad said, sounding totally exasperated now. He never wanted her to eat unhygenic things before and now that she was pregnant, he could not have her anywhere near a mile's radius from a cart like this...

"Pleeaaassee Asad?" Zoya said while batting her eyelids. "Aap hi ne toh kaha tha ki aap aaj woh sab kuchh karenge jo mujhe achha lagta hai... toh fir yeh kyun nahi? Please?" she said and pouted cutely, giving him the best of her infamous puppy- dog looks.

Asad gulped nervously... his resolve was breaking. How on earth was he supposed to resist that look his wife gave him? He has never been able to do so before... And to weaken his resolve further, his ammi spoke, as if on cue.

"Khila do na usey Asad! Kyun zidd kar rahe ho? Yeh sab itne bhi unhygienic nahi hai jitna ki tum sochte ho. Aur waise bhi, aise waqt mein ladkiyon ko ulti- seedhi cheezein khaane ka mann kabhi bhi ho sakta hai... aur unki ichhaon ko pura na karna tumhare jaan ke liye khatarnak saabit ho sakta hai beta... Le jao usey"

Asad sighed. No matter how hard he tried, he could not resist his wife's cutest face and his mother's request, both at the same time! And that combined with his mother's warning, made a deadly combination powerful enough to break his resolve immediately. He finally smiled "Chaliye fir mohtarma. Aapka hukum sar aankhon par!"

Zoya giggled like a lovestruck teenager and rushed out of the car before you could say "pani puri". Asad got out of the car too and started walking with Zoya towards the vendor. But Zoya suddenly stopped walking. Asad, on noticing her not by his side looked back to find her standing, with her arms crossed at her chest.

He walked up to her. "Kya hua mohtarma? Iraada badal diya kya?" he joked, while wishing that she actually had... he knew it was a bad idea when he said he'd do anything she wanted that day...

"Iraada toh badla hai janaab par puri tarah se nahi. Actually jo maine gaadi mein kiya woh sab ek naatak tha." Zoya replied.

"Naatak? Par kyun...?" Asad asked... confused now.

Without answering, Zoya pointed towards the opposite direction.

Asad looked at her questioningly and then looked at the way she was pointing. And then he felt all his confusion go away instantly. The frame- maker. The same person who had turned Zoya's life on its head within a second. He realised why Zoya had pulled that act in the car, and looked at her with surprise... and admiration.

Zoya looked at his mixed expressions and said "Maine gadi mein yeh sab naatak isliye kiya taaki aap mere saath bahar aayen, ammi aur Najma ko bina yeh paata chale ki humein kya pata chala hai. Main chhipana nahi chahti lekin... jab tak koi thos saboot nahi mil jata aur humlog sachhai ke kareeb nahi pohonch jaate, tab tak main unhe pareshaan nahi dekh sakti. Kitne khush hain dono... isiliye abhi nahi. Waise bhi, sachhai ke kareeb pohonch ne ka issey zyada achha mauka humein na hi mil sakta hai. Aap samajh rahein hain na?"

Asad looked at her with pride shining in his eyes... that's how selfless his wife was. Although she was going through such a huge emotional turmoil she chose to keep her loved ones out of the loop... lest they would worry and not be as happy as they were now... "Main nahi samjhoonga toh aur kaun samjhega Zoya? And this means ki aap woh sab nahi khayengi... how can I not be happy?!" Asad finally replied, adding the last part to cheer her up and confirm that she had actually dropped her idea.

Zoya gave an evil smile at his answer "Aapko kisne kaha ki I changed my mind? Maine kaha tha ki mera iraada poora nahi badla hai... uss aadmi se baat karne ke baad, unka jawab jo bhi ho, achha ya bura, mujhe pani- puri khana hai, aur aap bhi khayenge!"

Asad sighed in his second defeat. Chal beta Asad, apne pair pe kulhaadi tune khud hi maari hai... ab bhugat! He told himself as he followed Zoya to the shop.

They both needed answers, and true ones. It was now, or never.

A/N: And all that paani-puri nonsense coz I haven't had them in 6 months!!! 😭😭😭

Wrote this update in the free periods at school again... been getting them a lot these days!! 😆

And I love all your comments!!! I think I managed to reply to all of them and I thank you guys from the bottom of my heart for encouraging me this way to keep writing 😃 Please keep showering me with all the love and criticism (don't hesitate please😊)

Next update... God knows when... 🤣