The Ramadan Series|Updated on Pg 20| - Page 5

~Day 3~

Zoya looked around the room quite happy with herself. Carelessly strewn clothes, empty pizza boxes and Diet Cokes cans no longer cluttered the pristine marble floor of the Khan Household. Vacuum cleaner in hand, she stood tall and high like she had won a competition.

"Arre waah, Zoya! Itna saaf kamra dekh kar to lag hi nahi raha ki yeh mera hi karma hai! Mr. Khan kitne khush honge yeh dekh kar…. Not that I care. Mujhe kya farak padta hai woh khush ho ya…." Zoya's monologue was cut off by Dilshaad's voice.

"Zoyaaa! Zoya beta zara yahaan ana!"

"Aayi Phuphi," she called back equally loud.

Dilshaad and Najma, who had been standing by the entrance, ready to go out it seemed, stopped in their tracks to gape at Zoya. The beautiful salwaar suit she had picked out for the second day of Ramadan was crumpled, her hair was tied in a messy bun, and she seemed to be dragging a vacuum cleaner.

"Zoya beta, ye sab? Tum safaai kar rahi thi? Humare paas maid hain na, to phir…?" Dilshaad looked at the beloved girl, who she had come to consider her daughter, baffled.

"Haan Phuphi! Aap mera kamra dekhiye, itna saaf horaha hai jaise ke Mr. Khan ka kamra ho!" Zoya was evidently pleased with her handiwork.

"Wo sab to theek hai, lekin tum roza main itna kaam kyun kar rahi ho beta? Weakness hogayi to?"

"Isiliye to! Allah Miyaan, itna bara roza! Mera to time hi nahi guzar raha tha to socha ke kuch kaam hi karloon. Waise aap ye sab choriye aur batiye aap ko kuch kaam tha mujhse?"

"Arre haan, maine tumhein yeh batane ke liye bulaya that ki main aur Najma bazaar ja rahein hain iftaar keliye kuch samaan khareedne. Tum ghar pe akele reh logi na? Actually, Asad bhi nahi hain…"

"Ammi, Bhaijaan ne kaha tha ke woh jaldi ajayenge," Najma interrupted.

"Nahi bhi ayen to main theek hoon Phupi! After all, I am an independent girl!" Zoya beemed at Dilshaad to ease her worry and ushered the mother-daughter duo towards the door after making them promise that they would bring back kachoris.

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"Maine Phuphi aur Najma ko bhej to diya lekin ab main akele kya karoongi?" Zoya looked around the empty house, as if hoping to spot an indulging activity to busy herself with. How she wished Mr. Khan was home. His presence alone makes time fly so quickly and if she was being honest with herself, the roza was tiring her out and she needed the strength that emanated from him. Wait a minute. No she didn't need him nor did she want him at home. Why would she want to bother herself with Mr. Akdu Ahmed Khan?

"Abhi to Asr ki namaaz main pura aik ghanta hai. Aisa karti hoon main nap le leti hoon." Pleased with her own idea, she slumped down on the sofa in the living room. Tired from her day's work as well as the roza, she fell asleep. Such deep slumber overtook her that she didn't even hear the lock turning loudly as someone opened the door an hour later. Nor the footsteps or the voice of the man on the phone.

"Prasad, main tumhe isliye nahi pay karta taaki saara kaam main khud kar sakoon. I'm already home aur waise bhi, mujhe family ke saath roza kholna hai. I hope that you prove yourself competent enough to solve this matter on your own." Angry from his day at work, Asad rubbed his temples willing for the slight headache to go away. He looked around the house feeling odd because of the silence. Najma had called to inform him that she was going to the market with Ammi, but Ms. Farooqui was supposed to be home. And silence didn't exactly go hand in hand with Ms. Zoya Farooqui. He looked around the house before he finally found her on the sofa in the living room.

She was sprawled on the sofa in a diagonal manner. Her hair was strewn across her face which was almost hanging off of the sofa along with her arm. Judging by her position and her pallor, she looked like she had fainted.

"Ya Allah! Ms. Farooqui behosh to nahi hogayin? Pata woh New York main roza rakhti thi ya nahi? Aur phir upar se Bhopal ki garmi!" Worry lining his faced, he approached Zoya and kneeled beside the sofa. He took her hand in his and started rubbing it, all the while telling her to wake up.

"Ms. Farooqui, uthiye! Aap theek to hain! Zoya, utho! Zoyaaa!" He gently patted her face and continued rubbing her face.

"ALLAH MIYANN, WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU MR. KHAN!" Zoya had woken up to an urgent voice that seemed to be bordering on hysterics. She had half opened her eyes to see Mr. Khan who seemed to be rubbing her hands with the utmost concentration. And as a reflex, she had snatched her hand away and stood straight up, causing Asad to lose his balance and fall.

Asad blinked his eyes, twice. The girl who appeared to have fainted was screaming at him at the top of her lungs. What had just happened?

"Aap, aap theek hain!"

"What astute observational skills! Of course main theek hoon, mujhe kya hona hai? Iss ghar main kya main sukoon se so bhi nahi sakti?"

Asad squeezed his eyes shut, feeling foolish. Well, it had been his mistake so he would have to explain himself.

"Woh actually, mujhe laga… Woh mujhe laga ki roza ki wajah se…" Feeling foolish by the minute, he tried to find the words to justify his irrational reaction.

And realization dawned on Zoya. So he had been worried that she had fainted. He was worried for me. But he thought that I fainted because of roza. Allah Miyyan, he thinks I am not strong enough to fast!

"Aapko laga ki main faint ho gayi thi! Mr. Khan, aap ki ittala keliye, main jab se 12 saal ki thi tab se poore roza rakh rahi hoon! And Bhopal ki garmi itni bhi sakht nahi hai ke mujhe weak karde!"

"Ms. Farooqui, isse living room kisi reason keliye kehte hain! Yeh aapka kamra nahi ha jo aap yahan so rahi thi." Realizing that he had been at fault to assume, he tried to change the direction of the conversation.

"Mr. Khan, ek to aap ne mujhe inti achi neend se uthaya aur upar se…."

"Yeh koi sone ka time nahi hai Ms. Farooqui. Aur waise bhi, zyada sone se roza makrooh hojata hai. Itna to aap ko pata hi hoga." Asad blurted out the first thing that came to his mind to keep Zoya from taunting him about his overreaction.

"Nahi khaane or peene ka to pata hai, ab so bhi nahi sakte? Mr. Khan aap ek dum…" Asad never did find out what he was as the inevitable argument between the couple was interrupted with the sound of the doorbell.

"Lagta hai Ammi agayin. Main dekhta hoon." Impatient to flee the situation, Asad left for the door.

Asad looked around the kitchen. Ammi and Najma had gotten back from the market with bags full of food for iftaar and suhur. After putting away everything, they had departed for their rooms in order to freshen up. Spotting disarrayed fruit on the table, Asad impulsively went over to fix it. As he neared the tray, a funky odor seemed to be coming from the fruits. He picked up an apple to smell it when….

"MR. KHAN YE AAP KYA KAR RAHE HAIN!" Zoya, having performed wudu, was just making her way to kitchen to see if she could help with iftaar when she spotted Mr. Khan holding an apple to his mouth.

"Ji?" Asad stood rooted to his spot from confusion. Judging by the look on Ms. Farooqui's face, it seemed like he had committed a sin.

"JI? KYA JI? AB AAP ITNE INNOCENT NAHI BANYE! AAPKO SHARAM NAHI AATI! Waise to aap bare religious preachings dete phirte hain! Zyada sona nahi chahiye, aise kapre pehen chahiye, wo nahi karo, ye nahi karo. AUR AAP KHUD?! Itne bare hokar aap chup chup kar kha rahe hain? Phuphi ko yeh sun kar kitni disappointment…"

"KYA BEHUDA BAATE KAR RAHI HAIN AAP!" Finally understanding what Zoya was implying, Asad's temper rose a few notches.

"Chillaaye mat Mr. Khan! Maine apni aankhon se dekha abhi aap woh apple khaane waale the! Woh to main time par agayi! Aapke liye to meri zubaan par aik sher araha hai….

Arz kiya hai...

Janti hoon ke bhook se kar rahe hai choohe pet main race,
Janti hoon ke bhook se kar rahe hai choohe pet mein race,
Lekin itna giri hui harkat karke to aap dhika bhi nahi sakte kisi ko apna face!"

"Kya bakwaas kiye ja rahin hain. Aap bachnaka hai itna to main pehle se hi jaanta tha, lekin beintahan bewakoof bhi hain is baad ka andaaza mujhe aaj hua!"

"Allay Miyyan what's wrong with you! Ek to aap ne ghalti…" Asad interrupted her before she could continue berating him.

Squeezing his temple in order to control his rising anger, he continued with the calmest tone he could manage.

"Kabse bole ja rahi hain aap. Main who apple smell kar raha tha kyun ke usme se mujhe foul odor arahi thi. Main usse phenk ne se pehle confirm karna cha raha tha ke woh waqai main kharaab hai…"

Whatever he said next, did not go through Zoya. She had squeezed her eyes shut and was grinding her teeth together at her outright display of idiocy. How could she even think that Mr. Khan would do something so childish as secretly eat during roza?

"Smell karahe the, to woh bhi kyun kar rahe the! Kafi parhe likhe hai aap, itna to pata hi hoga ke taste aur smell bauhat closely linked hain… aur smell kiya to aadha taste bhi kiya." She bit her tongue at the end of her defense realizing how stupid she sounded. Oh well, Mr. Khan already thinks I am stupid.

Asad stared at her incredulously. The nerve of this girl!

"Incredibly fooli…."

"Acha, acha, ab jo bhi! Main ja rahi hoon Quran parhne!"

She turned back to laugh at him once before finally making her way out of the kitchen. And Asad was left to shake his head at what he has to put up with by himself.