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"Anwar, ye main kya sun rahi hoon? Zooni India ja rahi hain." Zeenat rushed to Anwar with a stricken face.
Anwar who was quietly reading news paper in his upstate New York home's garden sitting under the morning sun looked up. His old wrinkled face had a determined look.
"Zeenat, sit down and please be calm. Your BP shoots up. Hamare liye to aap aaj bhi Eid ka chaand hain per kya karein hum ab itne jawan nahi rahein."
"You are asking me to calm down? Calm down? How can I calm down when Zooni is going to India?" Zeenat continued in impatient tone.
And, suddenly she dropped on the opposite chair, as if her old body could not take it anymore. Next she spoke in a defeated voice, "Woh desh hamein raaz nahi aaya, Anwar. Pehle Zainab aapi, phir Zoya ke saath jo hua, uske baad kya main apni Zooni ko us desh main kaise jaane de sakti hoon? Main Zooni ko nahi jaane dungi. Kabhi nahi." Zeenat broke into tears.
Anwar hugged his wife of 37 years, but kept quiet and let her cry. He knew her tears were not only for today, but for many pains of the past. Old wounds that were mostly healed, but they still throbbed with pain sometimes. Zeenat had a good cry, but calmed down after a while. He looked up at Anwar with a resigned face.
"So, there is no way we can stop Zooni, right?"
Anwar nodded. "Zeenat, just have faith in Allah and have trust in Zooni. I have to say each generation of Farooqui women are stronger than their previous generation. Our Zooni is a very strong and sensible person. And, it must have been Zoya's wish that she knows her father, that's why she had planned this all along and Zooni got the key to that bank locker on her 21st birthday. Zooni has kept this all inside her for two years and concentrated on her studies. Now, she has completed her studies and wants to go to India. She needs answers and she needs a closure. Just the way, Zoya needed them once. We should allow our dear child all the answers she needs. Don't be afraid of her being hurt, Zeenat. Our Zooni is strong. She is a very strong woman." Anwar said with a pride.
Zeenat still had a pained look on her face, but she got up and said, "I will go and help Zooni with her packing."
Anwar smiled. "And, do you think Rehaan will let her be alone for long?" Even Zeenat smiled at this and went inside house.
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Bhopal
A man in early fifties is taking turns in garden of a beautiful villa. Impeccable lawns, neatly trimmed hedges, quietly murmuring fountains, lush greens and colourful flowers - that garden could have been a part of heaven. But, it seemed that all the beauty lacked soul. Birds chirped but they lacked song. Butterfiles and bees fluttered around, but they looked dull. And, the man in white kurta-pajama with salt and pepper hair - he had a strong and steady gait. His steps were determined. He was blessed with good genes and age hadn't done much damage. Women of older generation compared him with George Clooney of their generation. But, one look in his eyes, and you could see that he was a defeated man who survived but had forgotten to live.
"Sir, one young woman wants to see you. She didn't give her name, but she said it was important." A servant interrupted him.
The man asked to send her to garden.
After a few minutes, a young woman in her early-twenties wearing a simple T-shirt and jeans stood before him and his world stopped or did it start moving?
He took support of the nearby garden chair and kept looking at the woman before him. His vision started clouding. "Why can't I see clearly?", he panicked first but then realized that he had tears in his eyes. He quickly wiped them to have a clear look at the woman.
"Mr. Khan?" The woman asked. The man did not reply, but the woman already knew the answer.
"I am your daughter. Zooni Zoya Farooqui." The woman who was a spitting image of Zoya Farooqui said.
Anupamaa
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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