AsYa FF: Only in the darkness can you see the stars THREAD #1 - Page 4

Originally posted by: shreya11mehra

Interesting start...

LoOking frwrd fr nxt part

Originally posted by: starslinedup

An interesting start...continue soon...😃

Originally posted by: Missvishtoofani

Aww i lik dTilte

Nd a gd strt

Originally posted by: DancingDiva.

Loved it hun!

Originally posted by: aashiqua

i am hooked into it.
Ahh poor Zoya..plz pm me when u update

Originally posted by: SONIRAJ1

awesome n interesting start ... countinue soon 😊

A/N: Hi folks! Here is the second chapter! I had this one half-way written down already so here it is so fast!! 😃

I am not sure about how fast I will be able to upload the upcoming chapters.

Enjoy!

Chapter 2: Heaven forbid

"Call me when you get there, okay? And please make sure that you reach the house safely. Take care of your health and no wandering here and there on your own after dark. We hear all kinds of things happening to girls who are alone. Have your phone on you all the times. Do you understand me, Zoya?" Zeenat was an emotional mess as they stood in the departure section in JFK. Anwar and Zoya merely chuckled at her.

"I'll be fine, Zee! Don't worry about me!" she tried to pacify her friend.

Zeenat huffed and said, "How can I not worry! You are going to a strange country to look for a person you know nothing about! I know this is a bad idea, Zoya!"

*flashback*

"The return address is from somewhere in Bhopal, India. I want to go there. I want to know who my father really is."

Zeenat immediately launched into one of her motherly rants, "No you are not! Absolutely not! You are not going anywhere. It's Bhopal, Zoya! In India! You will do well to recall your geography lesson to remember how far it really is! You are not going there to look for some person you know nothing about. For all that we know, it could be a farce, a lie. And you have never been there! You are not going anywhere. Anwar, tell her!"

Anwar nodded at her wife, "Zoya, Zeenat is right. It's not a practical thing to do. How can you even be sure that he is your father? This letter could very well be a lie. Have you even ever heard of this man's name?"

Zoya looked at her friends and understood their concern.

"No, I haven't. But, I am not sure about anything in my life right now, Anwar! But then why is it that the moment I read that letter, I knew that it was true? That it holds my real identity. You have no idea, Anwar, how it makes me feel that it is possible that the man who claimed to be my father all my life, may actually not be my Abbu. I feel relieved, Anwar. I may actually not be the daughter of the man who has not given me anything put pain and tears my whole life.

"All I have ever known is how unwanted I was in my own home. A man who claimed to be my father never loved me; he did nothing but hurt, frighten and threaten me." she rasped out.

Her friends looked at her with tears in their eyes at the mention of the terrible childhood Zoya had experienced. Aashif Farooqui had never treated Zoya as a parent should treat their children. For him, she was always a burden. His harsh words, the yelling, screaming, blaming and shoves were all that Zoya ever knew. Her mother, Zainub had never intervened, she always pretended to not hear or see her husband verbally attack her daughter. Anwar's friendship, support and encouragement was the only thing that kept Zoya going all those terrible years.

"I want to know if there is a person out there in the world who IS proud of me! Who does not think I should never have been born! If this turns out to be a lie, then at least I would have tried! Please, Zeenat, I have to go! You know that you can't stop me, so please be with me. I need your support and help." Zoya pleaded with her friends.

Zeenat choked back her tears, "Where will you live, meri jaan? I cannot even think of you living in some hotel there for any length of time."

"I have relatives in Bhopal." Anwar spoke up, realizing how important this was for Zoya. He smiled at the hopeful expression on Zoya's face. "I have an aunt who lives with her family in Bhopal. I'll call her and see if she can accommodate you."

Zoya ran to hug Anwar and Zeenat. The three of them stood in a group hug in the middle of the room with tears falling from everyone's eyes.

*end of flashback*

It was two weeks later now and Zoya was boarding her long flight to India. She finally managed to calm down Zeenat and bid her farewell to her friends. She cleared all the security and immigration checks and waited in the lounge for the call for her flight.

Zoya was nervous. She had not let Zeenat and Anwar see her anxiety because she knew that if they did, she will never be able to go, not alone at least. And she needed to do this on her own. She had no idea how long it was going to take to track down the man from the letter and Zoya did not want her friends to get roped into her mission. And moreover, she did not to deal with Zeenat's emotional outbursts, because rationally, there were chances of a lot of those happening on this trip.

She was, however, very glad that Anwar had contacted his aunt, Dilshad Khan, in Bhopal who was very kind and had agreed to give Zoya shelter. Anwar had told her that Zoya needed to look for something important and do some important work there. All Zoya knew about her was that she and her husband, Rashid Khan, lived in a nice house with their three children. Unfamiliarity of her temporary home did unnerve her a little, but she trusted Anwar to have found her a good place to live.

As she boarded her flight, she prayed to Allah to give her the strength to find what she was looking for. She was starting the journey with almost nothing to guide her, just her instinct and the gut feeling that her destination was going to bring her answers she had craved all her life. Allah Miya, please show me the path. Don't get my hopes up for nothing. I just need some peace of mind. Help me, Allah Miyan.

Zoya ended her prayer and closed her eyes. A lone tear fell down her cheek as the plane took off.

***

After the long journey from New York to India, a much disheveled Zoya was finally in Bhopal and looking among the crowd to look for any sign to let her know that someone was there to pick her up. Anwar had told her that someone will get her from the airport.

While she waited for any sign of recognition, she decided to inform her friends back home that she had reached Bhopal safely. Knowing Zeenat, she was probably checking her flight status on the internet obsessively. She dialed her number and was immediately greeted by a frantic voice.

"Zoya? Are you alright? Why didn't you call me sooner? Your flight had landed right on time."

Zoya chuckled and told her about the luggage delay. She talked to Zeenat for a couple of minutes and assured her that she was going to be fine. As she ended the call, her eyes caught her name on a board, held by a man who appeared to her age. She grabbed her luggage and went over to her person looking around, presumably for her.

She went right up to him and cleared her throat. He turned his head towards her and she gasped. He had the prettiest eyes and was very handsome; all chiseled and dapper. Shaking herself out of the haze, she held her hand out for him.

"I am Zoya Farooqui. You must be here on Mrs. Khan's behalf?"

He shook her hand and nodded at her. "Nice to meet you, Ms. Farooqui. I am Asad Ahmed Khan, Dilshad Khan's son. Please follow me."

Despite of her protests, he took hold of her luggage and led her outside towards the parking. Loading her stuff in the boot of a nice SUV, he opened the passenger door for her. Thanking him, she climbed in. He went around the car and got in and started the car. He asked her if she wanted anything to eat or drink, but Zoya declined politely.

As they pulled out of the airport parking, Zoya looked around the area. It was late evening and dark outside. She looked at the shops around, which were twinkling and saw a couple names of the shops written in Hindi and Urdu. She let out a tiny wow' sound at the happy commotion outside a dhaba. Asad looked at Zoya, gave a tiny smile and said, "Welcome to India, Ms. Farooqui. I hope you'll love the place and the people here."

Heaven forbid you end up alone and don't know why
Hold on tight, wait for tomorrow, you'll be alright
Heaven forbid you end up alone and don't know why
Hold on tight, wait for tomorrow, you'll be alright

- Heaven Forbid by The Fray

A/n: Hi guys! So, this was the second chapter. I hope you liked it and it cleared off some confusion.😆

Let me know you liked it! As I have mentioned, I loveee long reviews!😳

Leave me love,❤️

Simi