Phew! i managed to write another chapter of this FF... it's quite long but hope those who are following this will like it.😃
CHAPTER 7:
It was 5.30pm of a slightly warm late winter evening when the door bell of Khan Villa rang. Najma Ahmed khan ran and opened the door and wasn't a bit surprised to see Zoya standing at the door, because it had become a regular event for Zoya to visit Khan Villa after she came from her office. She usually came around the same time and stayed for an hour or so before she went to her own home. Dilshad always requested her to stay for dinner but after the way her first dinner at their home ended, Zoya was reluctant to stay for dinner and she declined except on two occasions when Dilshad had prepared some of her favourite dishes and had pleaded with her to stay.
Zoya's visits to Khan Villa had become something that the three ladies of that house looked forward to daily, and if for some reason she failed to visit, they really missed her on those days because during the time Zoya stayed there, their otherwise quiet house would be filled with sound and laughter.
Zoya brought happiness and some excitement to the mundane life of them. To Dilshad, Zoya had become almost like another daughter and to Najma, Zoya had become a friend as well as an older sister with whom Najma can confide things and discuss things which she was not able to discuss with either her Ammi or her overprotective and strict elder brother.
And to Zoya in turn, Dilshad, Najma and Naina had become like family. She loved to sit at the dining table of Khan Villa munching on cookies and sipping tea which Dilshad made for her or eating a slice of her faourite pizza which Najma would order for her, and talking to Dilshad whole heartedly about the events of her day, or listening to Najma's whining about some of her professors or the antics of her over ambitious classmates.
And then there was Sunaina who had become so attached to Zoya in a short span of time, which really surprised Dilshad and Najma in the beginning, but the more they got to know Zoya, the more they realized that even a child like Naina would understand how selfless and loving Zoya was towards people.
Part of Zoya's daily visit to Khan Villa would be spent playing with Naina, and soon after her visits started, Naina had opened up to her and started to speak to Zoya, laugh with her, and these days even more than Dilshad and Najma, it was Naina who waited for Zoya's visits every evening. And the moment she saw Zoya, she would run and hug her. In Zoya's presence Naina became really alive and has started to behave like a child of her age would do so.
"Zoya, why don't you stay for dinner tonight?" Dilshad called out to Zoya who was sitting cross legged on their living room floor, dressing up Barbie and ken with Naina.
"Yes Zoya... please, please, please... stay tonight." Najma who was sitting on the sofa not far away, trying to multi task; doing some home work, listening to her Ammi and Zoya's chatter and giving on and off tips to Naina and Zoya on how to dress the dolls, pleaded with Zoya.
"Puphi please... not tonight." Zoya as usual tried to avoid her Puphi and Najma's request of staying for dinner. She had not told either Najma or Dilshad about the incident that happened on her first dinner with them, and she felt guilty refusing their invitation every time by making lame excuses.
And her thoughts went back to that night and what happened later after that first dinner.
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She had enjoyed the food and Dilshad and Najma's company, even though she was feeling a little bit uncomfortable due to the silence of the other member of the family; Asad who was sitting at the head of the table.
After refusing to eat the muffin that Dilshad served him and giving an apologetic look towards Zoya, Asad had abruptly left the table and had gone to his room, and Zoya actually sighed in relief because she could then be herself and talk more freely with Dilshad and Najma if Asad was not around.
Najma and Zoya then helped Dilshad to clear the dishes and sort out the kitchen and soon after, Najma excused herself and went upstairs to her room as she had to prepare an important presentation for the next day.
Afterwards, Dilshad made some tea and Zoya and Dilshad were sitting in the living room sipping tea and talking, when Naina came there and stood shyly besides Zoya carrying some things in her hand.
Dilshad and Zoya looked at her surprised when without saying anything Naina held her hands towards Zoya and showed the items in her hand to her. Zoya saw that she had brought some pencil colours and a book for drawing and understood that Naina wanted to draw and paint with her, but was feeling too shy to ask her verbally.
"Hi Sweety... come here... Let me see what you have brought." Zoya drew Naina close to her and made her sit beside her on the sofa.
"Do you want to draw something?" Zoya took the pencils from her hand and asked.
Without saying anything Naina nodded and smiled at Zoya shyly once again and Zoya looked at Dilshad with a smile and Dilshad nodded with a smile indicating to go ahead with what Naina wanted. Dilshad was so happy to see Naina reaching out to Zoya and wanting to play with her even though she had just met her only on three occasions.
Zoya sat on the floor near the small table in front of the sofa and Naina brought her small chair and sat next to her. Zoya flipped through the book that Naina had brought and saw that it was already almost filled with drawings, some filled with colours and she realized that Naina was actually quite good for her age at drawing.
"Did you draw this?" Zoya pointed to a drawing and asked and Naina again nodded shyly.
"Zoya , drawing is what my Naina does most often. Give her a book and pencils and she would sit quietly for hours engrossed with it." Dilshad told Zoya.
"Oh that's nice..." Zoya answered Dilshad but at the same time she wondered if it's something really healthy for a girl of her age to sit quietly for hours with a book drawing, when she should be doing so many other things.
"Let's colour this drawing you have made." Zoya told Naina, pointing to a drawing which was not colored.
After sometime, seeing that Zoya and Naina were engrossed in colouring, Dilshad told Zoya that she was going for her Isha prayer and went upstairs.
"Wow... that's beautiful" Zoya exclaimed, holding the just finished coloured drawing of a children's park that Naina had drawn earlier and Zoya had just now helped her in colouring. Upon hearing her compliment, Naina smiled broadly at Zoya, and Zoya was surprised to see that smile on her cute face instead of the timid shy smile that she used to give earlier.
"Do you want t colour some more?" Zoya smiled at Naina and Naina nodded happily.
"Umm... let's see what we can colour next.." as Zoya flipped through the pages of the book something struck her. In most of the drawings that Naina had made, there was a man and a woman along with a little girl. The background places varied; in one it was a park, in the other it was a beach and in the next drawing which caught Zoya's attention, it was outside of a school. The school building was on the background and it was surrounded by a wall with a huge gate which was open. There were other children on the school grounds enclosed by the gate but in the front, outside the gate, stood a man and a woman holding the hands of a little girl from each side.
Zoya glanced at Naina to see that she was staring intently at the drawing.
"Do you want to colour this one?" Zoya asked Naina and hugged her from the side. Naina again nodded in answer and Zoya gave her the pencils and told her to start. But she remained looking at the picture for some time before she tentatively started to colour the woman on the picture first. Zoya's curiosity and concern for Naina increased and she felt that it could not just be a coincidence that Naina keeps drawing a man and a woman with a little girl, which obviously represents a mother and a father with their daughter in her drawings.
"Umm Sweety... is this your school that you have drawn in this picture?" Zoya asked Naina and this time instead of her customary nod she answered "Yes" softly. And encouraged by this progress, Zoya talked to her more and started asking her some more things.
"Do you like your school?" Zoya asked her and Naina again answered her with a "Yes''
"Who is your favourite teacher?"
"Miss Ria." This time, Naina looked at Zoya's face and answered her with a broad smile without any awkwardness or shyness.
"Really.. she must be nice. I would love to meet Miss Ria... Is she here in this drawing?" Zoya...
"Yes". Naina answered with a grin and pointed to a young woman holding the hand of another little girl, and standing just inside the school gate.
"Oh... she s beautiful" Zoya smiled at Naina.
"Let's continue colouring... shall I colour miss Ria's dress for you?" Zoya asked Naina.
Zoya started colouring but out of the corners of her eyes, she watched Naina as she continued to colour the woman in the front of the picture. Zoya waited for sometime before she tentatively asked her next question.
"So Naina... this is Miss Ria and these are your classmates right?... And let me see... who is this little girl here? She looks like Princess Naina... am I right?" Zoya squinted her eyes and tapped her cheek with her index finger as if she is thinking deeply trying to recognize who the little girl was and then she looked at Naina questioningly.
Naina looked at her face and a slight smile tugged at one corner of her mouth before she nodded her head again to say yes.
"And who is this here?" Zoya pointed to the man holding Naina's right hand.
Naina sat for a while staring at the picture without giving any answer and Zoya thought that she was not going to answer this time when Zoya heard her say "Abbu'' very softly.
"So this is Princess Naina and her Abbu... and let me guess. This must then be her Ammi right?" Zoya pointed to the woman on her left. Naina again hesitated in answering and Zoya saw that the cheerfulness which was on her face a while ago when she answered questions about her teacher and school was gone and she looked sad and lost. She sat for a while staring at the picture and then she hesitantly pointed her finger to the woman and nodded her head and said Ammi', again so softly that Zoya could barely hear it.
"OK... let's finish colouring your Ammi's dress." Zoya smiled at Naina cheerfully pretending as if nothing has happened and to her relief Naina smiled back at her.
"Your Ammi also looks beautiful Princess... Does she still have long hair?" Zoya asked after a while, pointing to the long hair that Naina had drawn cascading down her shoulder. Naina looked at the picture and then at Zoya's face blankly and Zoya suddenly realized that Naina actually did not remember how her mother really looked like and that this is a figment of her imagination.
"Oh Sweety.. I am so sorry... you don't remember your Ammi right?".
"Miss Farouqui... what do you think you are doing?" Zoya jumped, hearing Asad's harsh angry voice from behind. She did not even hear him come up and she suddenly wondered how long he had been standing behind and listening to them. Zoya actually felt guilty as if she was caught at doing something which she should not have done. She got up slowly and faced Asad.
"What... do you mean Mr.Khan...? Zoya stammered a little.
"I meant about what you were doing Miss Farouqui... asking Naina questions about her mother and prying into our lives... You have no right to do that Miss Farouqui."
"I wasn't prying Mr..." Zoya's voice faltered seeing Asad grab Naina's hands suddenly and pulling her.
Naina go to your room right now." Asad said angrily And Naina ran from there, but Zoya did not miss seeing the tears which formed in Naina's eyes hearing her Abbu's angry voice.
"If you weren't prying then what were you doing Miss Farouqui?" Asad turned towards her once again.
"I was just playing with your daughter Mr.Khan... she had drawn a picture of herself with her parents and I was just trying to make her talk about her feelings, as she appeared to be missing her mother." She wanted to retort to him that she appeared to miss her Abbu as well, but she thought better.
"Her mother has no place in her life Miss Farouqui... and even if she does miss her, she has to learn to live with it... you are an outsider Miss Farouqui and you have no right on Naina... so stay within your limits and hereafter don't ever talk to Naina regarding her mother." he declared harshly and started walking away.
"Alright!... I will not talk to you daughter about her mother and I understand it's you and your daughter's personal life and I am no one to interfere in it... but one thing I have to say Mr.Khan... the way you talked to your daughter just now, that's also not right. There was no fault of that little girl in this." Zoya muttered into his retreating back. Asad heard what she said and turned towards her angrily once again and Zoya cringed seeing the look in his eyes.
"As you rightly said, it's me and my daughter's personal life... so however I talk to her is none of your business." Asad's jaw and hands clenched in anger and seeing him in that state, unknowingly Zoya took a few steps backwards. But to Zoya's relief, he turned abruptly and hurried towards his room without saying anything more.
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"Zoya... Zoya... where are you lost?" Najma shook Zoya's shoulder.
"Umm.. I was just thinking about something." Zoya answered.
"Hmm Zoya I can see that... I have been asking you if you have finally agreed to stay for dinner tonight but you were so lost somewhere that you didn't hear me even when i asked you twice... Care to tell me what you were thinking so deeply about?" Najma teased Zoya.
"Umm Najma... it's actually nothing significant..." Zoya tried to bluff.
"OK. If you don't want to tell don't... but you are staying for dinner tonight and that's final... I won't accept a no' from you tonight." Najma declared.
"Alright..." Zoya sighed in resignation realizing that she could not escape this time.
Zoya knew that she could not go on refusing their invitation for dinner without giving a proper reason. And the actual reason was something that she did not want to tell either Dilshad or Najma because she did not want any tension to develop between Mr.Khan and them because of her.
But after agreeing for dinner, Zoya started feeling apprehensive once again. She had known even from their first meeting that Asad did not like her and did not even trust her, but after the way he got angry at her and accused her of prying into their personal lives and told her harshly not to try to interfere in their life, she did not feel like crossing his path anymore.
And avoiding him was one of the reasons why she had started visiting Khan Villa soon after she came from office, because she knew that Asad worked late and did not return home till almost 7 in the evening by which time she would be at her own home. And in this way, she had avoided meeting him accept on the two days when she had stayed for dinner because of Dilshad's insistence and on few other days when he had returned home a bit early.
And on these few times when she had met him he had not again acknowledged her in anyway and she had felt only cold vibes from him. And she remembered that on her last dinner here, as soon as the dinner got over, he again got up from the table and he was half way towards his room, when suddenly he turned and told Naina in a harsh voice, not to sit there at the table and to go to her room and get ready for bed.
Dilshad and Najma were surprised by his tone of voice and obviously wondered why he suddenly gave an order to Naina like that, because Zoya saw Dilshad glance at Najma with a questioning look and then Najma shrugged her shoulders indicating she was as bewildered as her mother about it. But they obviously did not want to discuss the matter in front of Zoya, and hence they did not say anything and pretended as if nothing happened.
But Zoya had very well understood that the reason why Asad ordered Naina to go to bed early was because she was there and he did not like Naina interacting with her too much.
Thinking of all these made Zoya wonder how she was going to sit at the same table with Mr. Asad Ahmed Khan once again and have dinner while tolerating his broody silence and cold vibes. She was not at all looking forward to the evening ahead and she sighed miserably.
Edited by kaussar - 11 years ago
CID
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Cricket
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