Chapter 17: Zoya's Search
Zoya had spent a good time of the night thinking through all the information she had discovered that day. She had called her Jeeju and discussed everything they knew so far. They concluded that she will have to start from scratch since most of the information they had, had gaping holes. There was no point revisiting the cops just yet, since the information on their end had gone missing years ago. They did not know much about her uncle, but it was safe to assume that the other man in the picture with her mom was her uncle. The men did look like they were related, they had just not realized it yet. So they decided that they needed to concentrate on finding her uncle, the bearer of the news that declared her dead.
She pulled out her I-pad and made a bullet list of things she should try -
1. Investigate the missing and found ads from that time period. See if someone had responded to Anwar's ads later or if someone had posted a missing ad for her.
2. Find the maker/seller of her mother's earring. Use that to find the purchaser or clues about him.
3. Locate her father and/or uncle based on the picture she had.
4. Search for her maternal uncle based on the name she was provided.
She was finally able to get some sleep once she had the basics of a plan in her mind.
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Everyone except Zoya were up early the next morning. They had to get ready and head over to Salma's place since today was the day of the Nikah. Even Rukhsaar's parents had arrived earlier that morning.
When Asad stepped out of his room, ready for the day he was surprised to find Zoya missing. Everyone was already assembled and Dilshaad was just stepping out of Zoya's room. She explained that Zoya was still too tired from her outing yesterday and will most likely join them later. Asad could tell from the look on his mother's face that there was more, but he did not wish to pry in front of people who were complete strangers to Ms. Farooqui.
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Zoya ended up staying in her room for the rest of the day. She looked up information for her maternal uncle but could not find anything substantial. There were way too many men who went by that name and still quite a lot who originated from the Bhopal/Itarsi area. She could not bring herself to join the festivities that day despite the repeated calls from Phoopi and Najma and even the one call from Mr. Khan asking her if she needed anything. The only times she did leave the room was to take Jaan on his walks, which he had to remind her of.
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"MQ, app theek to ho? [Are you feeling good?] Why did you not come? It was so much fun. But I missed having you there." Najma was in Zoya's room later that night, after everyone had retired. Zoya had been staring into space, scratching Jaan's fur while he dozed off in her lap before Najma stopped by.
"I am glad you had fun Tamatar. I was just not in the mood for socializing today. I think I may come for the Walima tomorrow, let's see." Zoya added, the gloominess still very much evident on her face and in her voice.
"No worries Zoya. We all have our days, right?" Najma gave her a quick side hug.
"True that." She hugged Najma back. "But you know what? It reminds me - we still have not talked about that sangeet incident. What was that all about Najma? I have never seen you behave like that. And now that I think back, you were behaving weird even when, you know, Chaand bi was here. Care to explain?" Zoya was now sitting facing Najma, all eager now.
Najma just shrugged her shoulder's in response.
"Is it because he is most likely gay? Or maybe coz he is cross dressing? This happens everywhere Tamatar, don't let it get to you. Are you guys closely related? Is that why you were so upset with him?" Zoya asked when Najma refused to answer.
"Yes. Distant cousins." Came a clipped reply conveniently ignoring the initial questions.
"So he is my cousin too? How come I never heard about him before? I am sure I have never been told that I was related to royalty, yes I know pseudo before you inform me again." Zoya winked.
"No he is related to the other side of the family. Let me explain." With this Najma grabbed a paper and started to draw a family tree. Zoya stared at the piece of paper as Najma continued to fill it up with all her relations on both sides of the family.
"Yeh dekhiye... [See this...]" and she proceeded to explain to Zoya. She talked about all her cousins, the many who lived far away and the few who lived closer by. When she was finally done, she looked up at Zoya and noticed that she was staring at the paper with tears in her eyes.
"Kya hua aapko Zoya? Aap theek to hain? [What happened Zoya? Are you feeling alright?] Did I say something wrong?" she watched as her lips quivered trying to word her thoughts, but instead only the tears escaped her eyes.
"My family?" she finally whispered before breaking down completely.
"I am so sorry Zoya. I did not mean to hurt you. I don't know what I was thinking. Actually I was not thinking at all. Please aap mat roiye. Aapko aapke Abbu jaroor milenge. Aap yakeen rakhein. Aur waise bhi hum to hain na aapki family? Ammi, Anwar Mammu, Zeenat mumani, hum sab? [Please do not cry. You will find your father for sure. Just don't lose hope. And we are there right, your family? Ammi, Anwar, Zeenat all of us?] Please Zoya." Najma tried to console Zoya the best she could.
Zoya took a few minutes to quiet down but it was a while before she could finally speak.
"Please don't get me wrong. I am very thankful to Allah for giving me such a wonderful family. By His grace I got a family that not only made me their own but never let me feel like an outsider. However, deep down I knew and that always reminded me I did not really belong there. Somewhere in the back of my mind I was always waiting for my father to come find me. I lived with the hope that someone was looking for me, missing me. Now, I don't know what to think. And I am only meeting dead ends with every new search I start." Zoya finally spoke between her hiccups.
Asad who was passing by had heard the last bit of the conversation between his sister and Zoya and was once again touched by her story. He decided that he would try to help her as much as possible with her search.
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The next morning Zoya left home early since she needed to be back in time for the Walima. She had informed Dilshaad of her plan for the day, but had declined the offer of her company. She knew that Phoopi was extremely busy today due to the guests at home.
She started her day with going to the oldest public library in Bhopal. She searched their archive sections for old newspapers, from the time of the accident, for any clue she may find about her family. She found most of the editions but some days were missing. It did not take her long to realize that this work could not be accomplished within a day. By noon, she left the library with the intent of returning the next day.
Next she stopped by the newspaper offices to gather information from there about the missing person advertisements. She was refused help by almost all the offices since they did not see the need to dig through rooms full of old records to find the information she sought. Only one office was willing to help out in this matter and asked her to return in another week.
By the time she left the last newspaper office, she was dejected and also extremely exhausted. Just as she lifted her hand to hail a cab to get her back home, a sleek, black SUV came to a screeching halt right in front of her, mere inches from where she stood.
"Mr. Khan! Allah Miyah what's wrong with you? You almost killed me." She exclaimed as he stepped out of the car and approached her.
"And what's wrong with you? Who steps onto the main road, unmindful of where they are going? It was a good thing I was paying attention and hit the brakes just in time." He retorted.
"Oh...sorry. I was a little preoccupied I guess." She said as a disconsolate look descended on her face.
Asad remembered Ammi informing him that she was going to be out this morning investigating. He opened the passenger door of the car and gestured her to sit in. She took her seat with a sigh. It was clear from her face that she was tired and also disappointed.
"So how was your day? Any luck?"he asked once the car was back in motion. She proceeded to tell him about her findings from the day and also the unwillingness of the newspaper offices to help. He offered to take her to the offices again the next day to see what could be done.
To her horror, he also explained to her that if they were not willing to help out, she could have offered them some monetary compensation for their hard work. She had heard about corruption in India, but was not prepared to see it happen right in front of her own eyes. She was also surprised to learn that the always proper Mr. Khan could talk about bribing someone so nonchalantly. She was seeing new aspects of his personality every single day.
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The evening was spent at the Walima where Zoya met several of Najma's cousins that she had spoken about last night. The whole experience was bitter sweet for her, since everyone welcomed her with open arms yet she constantly felt like an outsider.
At one point Zoya found herself standing alone since both Phoopi and Najma had gone off to talk to some elderly relative. She looked around her casually and observed the people. She saw Rukhsaar silently standing besides her Ammi and Abbu while they interacted with a few people. After meeting her parents and observing them for a couple days, Zoya was finally able to understand Rukhsaar. She felt sorry for the girl, since she would be leaving her father only to be tied to Mr. Khan for life.
She also noticed that Azam had made an appearance sometime back and was making sure he talked to all the important people present there. There was something mysterious about the way this guy behaved and the dual life he lived. When he was amongst people he appeared to be aloof and haughty. But as soon as he found himself alone, his mask was off. He seemed to be looking for someone when no one was observing. Could it be that girl from the terrace? Or maybe someone else? By the end of the event, she was convinced that there was something very fishy about that guy.
She was just turning around when she noticed that a couple of ladies were looking intently in her direction. But as soon as their eyes met they hastily looked away which seemed weird to Zoya. After a couple minutes she felt like she was being watched again and looked around her but found only a sea of unfamiliar faces. The two ladies from before were nowhere to be seen and Zoya chalked it up to her being paranoid about nothing.
Bored of standing in one place, Zoya decided to get some fresh air. She had seen an open balcony near the entrance that looked out to the front lawns and headed in that direction. She had barely gone a few steps when she ran into a wall nee a solid chest. Not again!!! The tragedy of her life!!!
Even as she was preparing for the inevitable, a pair of strong hands grabbed her waist and saved her from the impending fall. She did not even have to open her eyes to know who had saved her. As she opened her eyes, she found the same pair of deep brown orbs staring down into hers. This trip, fall and save routine was happening too often since she landed in Bhopal. Way too often for her comfort.
{Maula Mere Maula Mere}
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Looking forward to the comments. I love hearing from you all.
Rivs
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