AsYa FF: Destiny Comes Calling *CH 20* 11/11/13 Pg 134 - Page 79

Originally posted by: manognasai

Nice update...So Azam is very close to the Khans!Azam despised himslef as Chand bii?Zoya is trying her levelbest to find abt her parents and Asad,Dilshad are helping her!Im stil confused abt Nazma's behaviour...Waiting for next part.update soon😃

Chapter 19: Revealtions

Zoya had spent the afternoon at the library going over the rest of the newspapers. She came across the ads that Anwar had put looking for her family or relatives. It looked like they were placed in every single newspaper for weeks.

When she was looking at the very last set she came across a torn page which had obituaries listed. For some strange reason she felt pulled to this page and started to glance through it. And then she saw it. There was an orbituary for a little girl who had drowned and died. Could this be it? Could this be the clue she was looking for?

Zoya read the entire thing a few times over. There was not a lot of information about the deceased nor was a name mentioned but somewhere deep down, she felt certain that it was for her. She read the family names. Siddiques and Khans. Both very common last names. Wasn't her uncles name aslo Khan? Her hopes went up. Now she just needed to be certain that the child in the ad was her and figure out who the families are.

Elated she called the newspaper office and requested them to find out if they had information about this ad too. Next, she packed up from the library to head home but only after she stopped by the icecream shop and bought some icecream to celebrate. It was too soon to celebrate, but she was willing to take that chance.

XXX

Once home, she shared her findings with Dilshaad who was just as happy as her. She did comment that there were a lot of Siddiques in and around Bhopal and this was just the people she personally knew. A number of these were families that had been living in Bhopal for generations.

Dilshaad promised to help her find the correct Siddiques using all the resources she could think of. The family was just as happy as her with the little progress she had made. They just had to wait for the guys from the newspaper office to get back to her, which could take another week. That would still leave her a week to meet with the family.

XXX

"Najma, aaj tum breakfast bana rahi ho? [Why are you making the breakfast?] Where is Phoopi?" Zoya asked as she entered the kitchen, surprised at not finding Dilshaad in her usual place by the stove.

"Woh Ammi ko aaj kuch theek nahi lag raha. [Ammi is not feeling well today.] I think she is coming down with something, she was complaining of some body ache and looked a little pale too when I stopped by her room this morning. So I asked her to rest and offered to get the breakfast ready. Sorry for the simple fare, but I can only get so much done."

"Don't worry about the food. Let me know what I can help you with. Why did you not wake me up? I could have taken care of the breakfast, while you took care of Phoopi."

"I am almost done with the breakfast Zoya. I just need to make the coffee and herbal tea for Ammi. Can you set the table, while I get a tray ready for Ammi?"

"Sure thing. And you sit down to breakfast and serve Akdu too since you both have to get to college and work. I will go to Phoopi with her food and make sure she has had something."

Both the girls finished up their work in comfortable silence. Zoya piled some dry toast, with some butter on the side and a cup of steaming tea for Phoopi. She was not sure Phoopi would like to eat the parathas but carried one with her anyways. She aslo carried a couple of fruits with her as another alternative

XXX

Dilshaad had just started to nibble on the toast when the door to her room burst open and a worried Asad stepped in.

"Ammi! Aap theek to hain? Najma bata rahi thi ki aap kuch kamjori mehsoos kar rahi thi? [Are you alright? Najma mentioned that you were feeling a little weak?]Should I call the doctor? Did you take medicines?" Asad came and sat besides Dilshaad on the bed across from Zoya.

"I am fine beta. Just a little under the weather. Nothing much to worry. I guess I should have avoided the kachori's yesterday." Dilshaad placed her hand on his jaw, trying to calm him down.

"What kachoris? Did you eat roadside food? How many times do I have to tell you not to eat out especially in this rainy season?" instead of calming, Asad was only getting more agitated.

"Barsaat ke mausum mein hi to garma garam kachoriyan khane mein mazaa aata hain, kulhad ki chai ke saath. Zoya aur mein kal Badi Masjid ke paas wali market gaye the. Bus dekhi to mann kar liya...[ Its in the rainy season that the kachori's taste best with hot tea. Zoya and I were at the Badi Masjif market. I happened to see them and felt like having some..]"

"Ms. Farooqui I should have guessed it was all you doing. Musibat shoud be your middle name." Asad started, disrupting Dilshaad and glaring at Zoya. "I am sure it was on your insisting that Ammi ate that oily food from a roadside eatery. And you were the one who brought the icecream too, didn't you? Dekha aaj aapki laparwahi se Ammi ki kya halat hui hai? [See what your carelessness has done to my mother now.]"

"Allah Miyah, what's wrong with you Mr. Khan? How was I supposed to know this would happen? Do you think I would knowingly put Phoopi in harm's way? I may be implusive but I am not an imbecile and definitely not a sadist. And for your kind information, eating icecream does not make anyone sick." Zoya glared back in indignation at being accused for Phoopi's condition.

"Bas. Stop it right now. I knew that this peace between the two of you cannot be long lived. Asad, it is not Zoya's fault. She was hesitant to eat there, but I insisted. Afterall kachori meri bhi favorite especially us wali dukaan ki. [Afterall, I love kachori's too especially from that store.] Zoya, he did not call you imbecile. Najma, why am I stuck with these two kindergartners? Just take them away wiil you?" she turned over to her side and pretended to sleep.

Najma who got the hint, pulled Asad and Zoya out of the room. They were still involved in a staring match, challenging the other to blink first. It was only when they started going down the stairs, did they finally give up.

"Najma, do you want me to cancel my trip? I know you have extra classes all week this week and I have not seen Ammi sick in a long time and I don't get a good feeling about this." Asad asked as they settled down at the breakfast table.

"Najma, you don't need to worry about Phoopi or the house. Just concentrate on your college work and tell others to concentrate on their work too. I will be home anyways. I can just as easily take care of her." Zoya responded but directed her comment to Najma.

Well, two can play this game.

"Najma, please tell Ms. Farooqui that we can take care of our mother ourselves. We don't need her help. I think I am going to cancel the trip."

"Najma, like I said. I have nothing better to do. This will give me a chance to bond with Phoopi, return her kindness."

"Ammi is right. We are living with two 5 year olds, who do not even know how to fight properly. I am sure, neither of you even realize why you are fighting. Bhaijaan, Zoya is right. Between the two of us we can handle Ammi. If her condition gets worse, you are only one flight away. Now I have got to go. Zoya, you have our numbers and also the doctor's number is on Ammi's cell and in the diary. Alla Hafiz." Najma got up and started collecting her things.

"Alla Hafiz Najma. I am trusting you but let me be clear, I don't trust some other people. I will check on Ammi once more before I head out." Asad gave Zoya one last look before he got up and headed upstairs to his Ammi's room.

XXX

Zoya quickly finished the cleanup in the kitchen and made her way to Phoopi's room, I-Pad and MyJaan in tow.

"Are you sure Ammi, it is okay for me to go? I'll call you as and when I get time to check on you." Asad was talking to Dilshaad when Zoya made her way in.

"Yes I will be fine Asad. Stop worrying so much. Mere pass Najma aur Zoya hai mera khayal rakhne. [I have Najma and Zoya here to take care of me.]" Dilshaad gave Asad and Zoya both a smile.

"And you will be honest with me. You will not hide from me if your health worsens."

"Promise." She smiled indulgently.

"Phoopi, skype kar lena jaise hum karte the. Apni aankhon se dekh lenge aap theek ho. [Phoopi, just skype with him the way we used to. He will be able to check on you himself.]" Zoya winked at her as she settled besides Dilshaad on the bed.

"Skype? Ammi?" Asad looked on confused.

"Yeah. Skype. You know the software that lets you do face to face chats using webcams?" Zoya explained as if she were talking to a 3 year old.

"I know what skype is. But Ammi, how do you know about it? And you used it to chat with Ms. Farooqui? Before she came to India?"

"Yeah...woh kya hai na Asad, [the thing is, Asad] I have been taking some computer and internet classes. I have so much free time on my hands, I decided to learn something new. I did not get a chance to tell you before." Dilshaad explained slightly uneasy that Asad had to find out like this.

"Are there any more secrets you have kept from me Ammi that I will find out about accidently? Anyways. What is your skype ID? I will send you mine in SMS. I have to go now. And Ms. Farooqui, take good care of my Ammi."

"Mr. Khan, how many times do I have to tell you that there is nothing Zoya Farooqui cannot do? And we are talking about my Phoopi. Have no fear, when Zoya Farooqui is here." Zoya chirped as she waved bye to Asad.

XXX

Asad talked to Dilshaad later that day. He was still in shock at his mom's revealation. He knew that they were both busy, Najma and him, but he had not realized how lonely that had rendered their mother. He made up his mind to spend as much of his free time with her as possible from here on.

He had also been going over his outburst at Zpya earlier in the morning. He knew that he was again in the wrong, but he just did not know how to right the wrong. There was no way he was going to own up to her that he was wrong or say sorry. He was hoping that they could just brush up this argument under the carpet like the ones before.

Right before he headed for Dinner he decided to Skype with Ammi, just to check on her, since her voice was now beginning to sound raspy. He noticed that she by herself and was abut to ask her why when he heard Zoya's voice in the background.

"Phoopi aapka garma garam dinner tayaar hain. Ab aap I-Pad ko side mein rakhein aur ise pi lein. [Phoopi your hot and piping dinner is ready. Put the I-Pad aside not, and get some of this in while it is still hot.]" Zoya got on the bed with Dilshaad, the tray with the soup on her lap. She noticed the skype session only after she sat down and quickly put the tray on the side table.

"Or you can wait till you are done talking to Mr. Khan." She said making a face at Asad, who looked away to hide the half smile that formed on his lips. Looked like she was still upset about the morning incident.

"So Ammi, what are you having for Dinner today? Let me guess - pizza?" he asked in an attempt to rile her.

"Nahi. Zoya ne soup banaya hain mere liye. Najma aur who pizza kha lenge. [No. Zoya has made soup for me. Najma and she will have pizza.]" Dilshaad smiled at how her son could guess the dinner menu.

"Packet ka?" Asad mumbled.

"I heard that Mr. Khan. Allah Miyah, what's wrong with you? I just spent an hour in the kitchen preparing chicken noodle soup from scratch and you think I just boiled the contents of a packet? And for the record, I do know how to make dinner too. We just chose to order in so that I could spend as much time with Phoopi as possible."

Asad could not hide his smile anymore and raised his hands in defence seeing Zoya's seething face. Dilshaad too burst forth laughing seeing Zoya's face but quickly sobered down seeing how Zoya's reaction to her.

"Asad. She did make it herself. So don't bother her." Dilshaad hugged Zoya as she reprimanded her son.

Asad was only too happy to see that his mother was being well taken care of and seemed happy despite not being well.

XXX

A couple days later, when Asad returned home late at night, he was surprised to see Azam's car parked in the driveway. Must be visiting Ammi, after finding out about her ill health.

He opened the door to the house, only to be surprised to find Zoya and Azam sprawled on the couch, laughing hard about something and high-fiving each other. He stepped in the house and saw that Azam was whispering something into Zoya's ears to which she responded with another burst of laughter.

When neither of them seemed to pay any notice to him, he cleared his throat to gain their attention.

"Mr. Khan, when did you get back? Azam and I did not see you come in or even hear you." Zoya was the first to speak as the two of them straightened up and sat putting some distance between them.

"Obviously." Asad responded in a monosyllable and headed straight to his room without sparing either of them a look.

Originally posted by: mottali

Nice one...

Originally posted by: starsinmyeyes

Asad is jerk number 1...I am so glad Zoe hit some paydirt during her investigation😊...I love her bonding with Dil...really nice...should we expect an jealous Asad😉

Great update Rivs...Monday ka intezaar rahega