Chapter 1 - Screaming matches and hurt.
'I'm so sorry Ayaan. I can't be with you in your time of need. It's the first time I haven't been able to, despite knowing the situation. Forgive me. Forgive your older brother this once?'
The sight that met Zoya Farooqi's eyes as she entered the living room was an absolutely astonishing one. There were, quite possibly, tears in Asad Ahmed Khan's eyes as he muttered to himself. Even though his back was to her, she could tell by the way he was mumbling that everything was most certainly not well. She inched closer to make sense of anything that came out of Mr. Khan's mouth but to no avail. She stopped just as she was an inch away from him, just in time to catch the words that stunned her to no end. She couldn't help herself as she blurted 'brother?' not realizing how close she was standing to the man in question.
Asad Ahmed Khan whipped around at the sound of her voice, berating himself for not being alert enough. If he knew this woman, she wouldn't let go off whatever she'd heard; she was so manner less! Why must she interfere in everybody's life? Why must she be so nosey?
'Brother, Mr. Khan? You have a brother? But, I don't get it. How? Does Phuphi know? Of course she knows. This is so silly of me. Mr. Khan, I had no idea. Is this another secret code thing? Are you calling some agent by the code name 'bhai?' Zoya had too many questions; she knew she shouldn't but something about the man in front of her intrigued her to no end. She wanted to know more about him, his life.
'Ms. Farooqi, could you please leave me alone for the time being? I need my space'. It wasn't the first time that Ms. NYC had tested his patience but he prayed to Allah that she would leave him alone. He didn't need all the questions. All he needed was some peace of mind; and Ayaan's support. But he knew that the latter wouldn't be possible, so he desperately wished he'd get his first wish.
'Mr. Khan, you can tell me. I won't tell anyone. I'm really good at keeping secrets. You know, when I was younger, in school and everything, I used to be voted as the..'
'Ms. Farooqi. I ask you again. Could you please leave me alone?' The woman was testing his patience and he didn't like it one bit. He knew if this went on, he'd snap and that was something that he didn't want. After the Haseena Bi and Firoz fiasco, he knew that blurting things out in the spur of the moment wasn't the best solution to any problem.
'Mr. Khan, I'm telling you. I'm brilliant! You can really see my skills as I..'
'Zoya! Why can't you just leave me ALONE? Is that so much to ask? Why must you be so persistent? You're clever, you say? Can't you tell I'm not in the mood to tolerate any nonsense? LEAVE!'
That was the first time Asad had called Zoya by her first name, but she didn't like the context one bit. She knew his patience wasn't to be tested in any shape or form, but she couldn't help it. Curiosity killed the cat, she'd heard, but everyone missed the memo that she wasn't a cat! She was perfectly capable of handling things that were potentially dangerous. In this case, that would be Mr. Khan's temper. It didn't take her long to realize that this matter wasn't anything to do with her 'spying' theory. This was something much bigger than that. It had to be bigger than that. She hadn't seen the Six-pack Khan in such a vulnerable state before.
'Mr. Khan, I can't leave you alone because I know you need someone to be with you right now. The 'brother' isn't a code, is it? You have a brother, don't you Mr. Khan? I am persistent because I can't desert you like this after having seen the torment in your eyes. I was merely curious to know the spy-world but now, I really feel that there is more to it than that.'
Asad couldn't believe her! How dare she just infer that he was weak? How dare she? Did he really look tormented? Well, of course he did; he had been asked to stay away from his brother, someone who was a really important part of him; someone who completed him. With a deathly glare at her direction, he left the room before he could do or say something that he'd regret later.
Zoya was surprised. The emotions that she had seen flickering in Mr. Bond's eyes made her want to reach out to him; ask him what the matter was. Then it hit her; she would have to ask someone else in the family; someone who she could talk to freely. Of course, Mr. Akdu wouldn't tell her anything despite all her efforts; he wasn't a spy for nothing!
'Tamaaatarrr!' Zoya called out loudly as she entered Najma's room. The latter was sitting on her bed, book open on her lap, yawning. Her eyes lit up at the sight of Zoya and in an instant, her book was shoved aside, her smile bright.
'Zoya! Come in, kya hua? Actually, it doesn't matter agar kuch nahin hua. I'm glad you came here. I was so bored out of my mind; I can't study anymore.' Najma ranted in a single breath, shocking Zoya.
'Actually Najma, I wanted to ask you something important. It's a little personal, so I wouldn't mind if you didn't tell me or anything and I thought it would be better if I asked you since you are a neutral person and I didn't want to bother Phuphi with it because I don't know how she would react and I didn't want her to be all sad unless the story is sad, which I'm assuming it is and-'
Najma blinked a thousand times, trying to catch on to every single word uttered by the girl that had become like family. 'Zoya, calm down. What is it?'
'Erm, Najma the thing is..Gosh, I don't even know how to ask you this. If Akdu Ahmed Khan finds out that I asked you, he'd murder me. Or worse, cancel my visa'. The younger girl rolled her eyes and laughed. 'Zoya, you need to sort out your priorities!'
'Najma', Zoya took a deep breath and decided to just ask instead of beating around the bush, it'd be like ripping off a band-aid. 'Doyouhaveanotherbrother?' Najma's face bore an extremely confused look as she tried to make sense of what the older girl had just uttered. When realization dawned, her face fell. She looked everywhere but at Zoya and began to fumble with her book that lay forgotten. 'Um, Zoya. Ayaan is..erm..'
'Najma, don't. I know it's your family's business. Mr. Khan told me to leave him alone and I overheard him talking about something and he mentioned brother and I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have asked. I'm really nosey.'
'YES. YOU ARE!' The booming voice startled the two girls out of their minds. Zoya turned around to find Asad Ahmed Khan looking furious. 'I asked you to leave it alone, didn't I? Whatever is the matter with you? Why can't you just let people be? Why is it that you HAVE to know what goes on in anyone's life? What is it to you?'
'Mr. Khan, I simply..'
'NO! Not another word! This is my house and I decide what goes on and what doesn't. Before you, the house was disciplined, well-mannered, quiet. Now even if someone wants some peace, they can't have it because you are yelling, screaming or just talking non-stop.'
Dilshad Ahmed Khan came running into Najma's room as she heard her son bellowing on the top of his voice. In front of him stood Zoya, eyes lowered, her cheeks reddening.
'Where are your manners, Ms. Farooqi? Why must you poke your nose in businesses and matters that do NOT concern you in any manner? You want to know who Ayaan is? Ayaan is my brother! He's the one who completes me! There! Is that enough for you? Now can you please leave everyone in this house alone? Or do you want to know more? Because frankly, I really have no time for your nonsense about secrets and spies and agents. One more thing, I'm NOT a spy, I'm NOT a secret agent so just please, leave me ALONE. Or have your parents not taught you that either?'
Zoya felt tears prickling and she cursed her tear glands as the drops of salty water gushed down her cheeks all through Mr. Khan's rant. She had no idea that he had a brother. Oh, it made sense now. He wasn't a spy but he was meeting this brother secretly. Why though? And why was he dragging her parents into this? Enough was enough. She had had enough of his judgmental comments. Who was he to tell her about manners? She looked up and saw Phuphi standing behind her son, her hands clasped to her mouth, and Mr. Khan fuming.
'Yes, Mr. Khan. My parents haven't taught me anything. You want to know why? Because my mother is dead. My mother died in a fire when I was 2 and I saw her dying right in front of my eyes. And yes, I should have died with her but I survived. I have no idea who my father is. That's why I'm here. That's why I'm here looking for my father. I want to look at him right in the eye and ask him the same thing you're asking me. Why did he not teach me anything? Why did he leave me and my mother? Why didn't he save her? Why didn't he come looking for me? You say you have a brother who completes you? Well guess what Mr. Khan? I have nobody. I have my cousin and her husband who love me more than their lives. I got here and the first thing my sister asked me is to get married. I didn't want to but how could I say no to a woman who has raised me like her own child ever since I can remember? So, I agreed. But I couldn't move on, Mr. Khan. I wanted to be fully aware of who I was and where I was from. I wanted to know myself and my identity. I wanted closure so that I could fully accept my future.' She stopped for a breath and pulled up her sleeves revealing her burn marks. 'There, I thought you would want proof, since you've done nothing but judge me for what I do and what I wear. I thought you might need something that would make you believe that I'm not lying. That I'm capable of feeling something. That I'm human just like you and your family and that whatever you say, hurts!' Zoya wiped her tears and fled from the room, locking herself in the bathroom.
Asad Ahmed Khan stood rooted to the spot, not sure of how to react. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he whipped his head only to find his mother looking at him with tears in her eyes. 'Asad. Why?'
Those two words from his mother were the last ones that he needed to hear. Without another word to anyone, he too left and made his way to his bedroom. He had some serious thinking to do.
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..to be continued
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Edited by CutielovesChocs - 12 years ago
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