Hi everyone.
This is a TS (three parts) i wrote on AsYa... this story has been inspired by a novel "Message in a bottle" written by one of my favourite Author, Nicholas Sparks... but this story is my own creation and has no resemblance to the original story except the concept of a message in a bottle and of course, the name of the story.
This story is dedicated to all the regular readers of my SS, Broken Wings who regularly commented on it and encouraged me to write... they know who they are... i am sorry i haven't updated that one... its just that i had to take a long break away from Forum and writing and now after being away for so long i was not getting the mood to go back to that story... and so in a way i wrote this to get in the mood to write once again... and now i will try to update the SS soon.
love
kaussar.
PART 1:
Asad Ahmed khan sat in his library at his home reading a huge book of Law. He was 32 years old and at that age he had already established himself as one of the best criminal lawyers in the city of Mumbai and he had been practicing since seven years. But what really differed him from other criminal lawyers was that he fought for the underdogs and the less privileged people who were really innocent. The crime rate of Mumbai had been increasing and while there were lawyers who took lump sums of money to represent those culprits, fought for them and let them lose to the streets of Mumbai once again, Asad Ahmed Khan fought to send them to jail where they should be kept.
It was no surprise to Asad's Daadi who had looked after him since the age of fifteen years that Asad had become a lawyer like that. Even as a child, he always used to fight for the neighborhood kids who got bullied by other kids. And Asad was always sympathetic towards their servants and the kids of the servants as well. No one could say anything bad to them in front of Asad.
And then at the age of fifteen years Asad's parents got killed in a car accident that happened due to a drunken driver, driving a lorry from the opposite end. The driver was arrested and charged but before the court proceedings he was somehow released on bail. He fled from the city and the police could not trace him. His parents' death and the incident had affected Asad very much and it was at that time that he had vowed to become a lawyer and fight for the injustices that happen to other people.
Lost in his book Asad did not realize that it was past midnight. He was researching for an important case he had taken up recently. It was a case filed by an eighteen year old girl against a man who was suspected to be one of Mumbai's prominent underworld dons and Asad did not want to let anything go wrong in the case. He wanted the girl to be safe and give justice to her. The man had kept the girl forcefully for almost an year and had raped her continuously.
Feeling a strain on his neck Asad finally realized the time and closed his book. By lifting his arms above his head he stretched his body and then reaching behind touched the strained muscles of his neck. And at that time he wished there was someone who would stand behind him and lovingly give a message to loosen the tense muscles of his neck and back or to come and remind him the time if he sat in one place like that lost in his reading and unaware of the time gone by.
And then suddenly realizing what he was thinking he smiled sheepishly. He hardly had these kinds of thoughts so he wondered why he had them now. May be his Daadi's constant nagging about getting married was finally getting to him.
Asad was used to living alone and he actually preferred his solitude. He had always felt that there was no room in his life for anyone else. And even for his Daadi's sake he did not want to change his thinking. He felt that marriage was the biggest responsibility and that there was no woman who would understand the complicated life he led and besides that there was no woman with whom he wanted to get bind in a relationship and take such a big step except perhaps one. And he did not know whether that one woman would ever come to his life or whether he would even meet her again.
Sighing he got up from the table and lifted the book to keep it on the shelf. And at that moment something fell from the book and Asad looked down to see that it was a piece of neatly folded paper. Wondering what it could be Asad bent down and picked it up. He then unfolded the paper and looked at it and when he saw what it was, a small smile appeared on his lips.
He had not seen that piece of paper in years and he did not even remember putting it inside that book. But he was glad he found it again. It was a letter and every time he read it, he could not help in wishing he could meet the innocent girl who had written that letter years back. He knew that the girl would be a grown up woman now and he was wise enough to know that she may no longer be as innocent and as pure at heart as she was all those years back. But despite being innocent, the girl was wise beyond her years even at that young age and Asad felt that such a wise thinking girl would not go astray due to life and its harshness and he felt that she would still have a heart as pure as it was then.
Asad's thoughts then went back to the day he found that letter. It was 7 years back, and he was 25 years old. He had just started practicing law few months back and those initial few months were hard for him. He got affected by each case he took up. He realized that he was more sensitive and emotional than he ever thought and the injustice, cruelty and darkness that surrounded the lives of his clients affected him and disturbed him. He could not just treat them as cases; he felt as if he was responsible for them even beyond what happened in the court premises.
And one day he got so affected by a case that he almost broke down in front of his Daadi. His Daadi advised him to take a break and go somewhere to cool his mind and he had gone to Goa. He had always liked the beach and he was sitting on Goa's Agonda beach that day thinking of his life when he noticed something. In between two small rocks which were not far from where he was sitting lay a transparent bottle. The waves which came and lapped the sand and the rocks, lapped at the bottle as well and the bottle swayed around; but the retreating waves did not have enough strength to carry the bottle back into the sea. But Asad realized that it must be one of those waves in high current which had actually brought the bottle there. What caught Asad's attention more than the bottle itself was that he could see something inside the bottle, and he did not know why but he got very curious to see what it was. It was obviously a bottle thrown out to the sea by someone and anyone else would not have given it a second glance thinking that it was trash but Asad got up from where he was sitting and walked up to the bottle. He lifted and turned it towards the sun and looked inside. He saw that what was inside the bottle was a neatly folded piece of paper. His curiosity increased and he came with the bottle and sat again and removed its cap. But the slim neck of the bottle prevented the paper from falling out even when he turned the bottle upside down and in order to retrieve the paper, Asad finally had to break the bottle by hitting it on a rock.
And when Asad finally opened the piece of paper and read it he was surprised to see that it was a letter written by a young girl and purposefully thrown out to the sea. And the girl had hoped that someone would find the letter some day and Asad was amazed that he actually did. And what was more amazing was that he actually felt a connection to the girl after reading the letter and the letter somehow made him realize that there was more to life than what he was facing every day in the courts.
At the end of the letter the girl had written down her address and had asked the person who got the letter to come and meet her if that was possible at all. And after reading it Asad had felt like going and meeting her as she had asked. And next day Asad hired a taxi and went to Panaji city which was actually quite far from Agonda beach. The house of the girl was situated close to Caranzalem Beach about 5Km from Panaji and it was difficult to find the house but Asad finally managed it and went. But he was disappointed to see that the house was locked and when he enquired from some neighbours they said that the people who lived there no longer lived there and came only during holidays. Asad was sad that he could not meet her but then it was 2007 and 5 years had passed since the girl wrote the letter and Asad knew that a lot must have changed in her life in those 5 years and something could have forced them to move to may be another city.
Coming out of his thoughts Asad started reading the letter once again.
Hi... My name is Zoya and I am 14 years old and I live with my grandma in Goa... this is the year 2002 and I am at high school. Today is Sunday and I am spending the day at the beach as usual. I love the beach... it gives me peace and it makes me dream and it makes me think... I can sit the whole day here staring at the waste expanse of the sea and the horizon, lost in my thoughts and dreams... and if anyone becomes privy to my dreams I guess they would laugh at me...especially the girls and boys at my school... they say I'm a nerd and they think I am weird because I am more interested in studies and spending my time at library than gossiping and sneaking looks at boys while huddled together around campus corners; and giggling and whispering about them after they passed by... but just because I am more interested in studying and achieving something does not mean I am abnormal... I have feelings, longings and dreams just like any other normal teen age girl.
And today my Dear Stranger (that's you who finds this message I'm leaving in the bottle), I am going to share with you one of my dreams and thoughts regarding that dream... I know that this is a crazy thing to do, leaving a message in a bottle and leaving it to the mercy of the merciless ocean and expecting it to deliver this message to someone... But I don't know why I suddenly felt like doing this crazy thing and I feel as if someone someday will really find this message and I don't know why but I also feel that the person who finds this will understand the kind of crazy girl that I am and why I felt like doing this...it's just that I suddenly felt like sharing with someone some of my secret dreams and desires...and the so called friends of mine would not understand me even if I share these things with them so there is no point in telling any of them anything... and if I tell them about these things they would just say that I am even more weird than they thought... Its not that I care about what they would think about me but I just don't want to share about my beautiful dreams with some girls who wouldn't understand them.
And coming back to the topic, dear Stranger, this dream of mine that I am going to share with you is the one closest to my heart. Yes it's closest to my heart because it is about love. I dream of falling in love with someone some day. I know what you would be thinking right now... you would be thinking that which teen age girl doesn't dream of falling in love right? But let me tell you that falling in love does not mean the same to me as it means to most girls of my age. For me, falling in love doesn't mean a handsome Prince coming to my life and sweeping me off my feet and fulfilling all my wishes and treating me with chocolates and flowers... falling in love for me means finding someone special with whom I know for sure that I can spend the rest of my life with. He may not sweep me off my feet and he may not even be handsome... but he would definitely touch my heart and he would treat me with care, love and utmost respect and I would in turn do the same for him... And we would stand together through thick and thin and face any storm together... and that my Dear Stranger is what finding love means to me... and I know in my heart that I would someday find that kind of love... and I hope you do too.
Love,
Zoya
When Asad finished reading the letter he neatly folded it again and kept it inside the book and went to his room to sleep. And as he was falling asleep he suddenly felt like going to Goa once again. And he wondered whether finding that letter again tonight was a sign indicating that he needed another break and a moment away from the harsh realities he face at the Mumbai courts every day.
The first hearing of the case he was working on was scheduled for 1 month ahead and he was planning to go to Pune the next day to get some more information regarding the case from someone based in Pune. And impulsively just before he fell asleep, Asad decided to take a break and go to Goa once he finish his work at Pune.
******************
While Asad was driving through the Mumbai - Pune highway the next day, he wanted to concentrate on the driving and think of his meeting ahead, but his thoughts kept on going in another direction. He was thinking of a woman who kept crossing his path since the past 5 years. He felt as if he knew her very well but actually he did not know anything about her except that she was a doctor. Her face did not haunt his dreams nor did he spent every free time he get thinking of her; but her thoughts and her face would cross his mind whenever he least expected it. And even if briefly, it was her face which would cross his mind whenever he was forced to think of marriage. And today just before leaving Mumbai, Asad had visited his Daadi and as a result he was once again forced to think of the subject of marriage. It wasn't something he liked to think and discuss about but his Daadi meant the world to him and she was the only one who could make him think of a subject like marriage. And today when his Daadi brought up the subject, once again the girl's face had crossed his mind and now he was thinking of the first time he saw her and how their paths crossed subsequently.
He wasn't the type of man who believed in love at first sight or for that matter he had never even dreamt of falling in love. But it's not that he didn't believe in love, it's just that his life was too complicated and he was too occupied otherwise to think of things like women and relationships. But being an attractive and unusually handsome man he wasn't lacking female attention, and at times he had given in and dated a few of them as well. But none of his relationships had gone beyond a few casual dinners, movies and strolls along Mumbai beach. Somehow he had never liked any of them to the extent of even taking them to his home; and at times he even laughed at himself because he had never even kissed a woman in his life till now. He just never felt the urge to get physical with any of the woman he had dated. And at times he wondered if he was perhaps abnormal, but then he would chuckle at himself because he knew that he had feelings and desires like any normal man. It was just that he had not yet met the right woman who could peak his interest to that level and who could stir his emotions to that extent. And his life was too filled with other things to think about things like love, and if it happens he wanted it to happen without him pursuing it.
But recently his Daadi had been pressuring him to get married. Since the past 5 years she had actually been doing it but over the last year she had escalated her efforts and had even started blackmailing him emotionally saying that the only dream of hers left to be fulfilled before she left this world was to see Asad married. And every time his Daadi talked to him regarding marriage, this girl's face would cross his mind.
He did not believe in love at first sight, but the first glance he had of the girl stuck a cord with him. He did not believe in destiny but every time their paths crossed, he somehow knew that their paths would cross again.
****************
The first time he saw her was 5 years back. He could still remember even the exact date. It was 5th July 2009. And it was one of those monsoon rainy days. In the morning it had rained heavily but by afternoon the heavy downpour had become a drizzle. But the sky was still laden with dark clouds; and to Asad the day felt as gloomy as his mood that day. He was in the court whole morning closing the case of a girl raped by her employer. They had evidence and everything was in their favour but at the last moment fearing the reputation of the girl the parents decided to withdraw the case and had even fled from the city. And Asad had learnt about it only when he reached the court that morning all prepared for their final hearing. The parents had not dared to inform him about withdrawing the case and they had informed his assistant about it that morning and his assistant told him about it only when he reached the court.
And by the time Asad left court in the afternoon he was still frustrated and angry at the way the parents had left and had withdrawn the case. He could understand their plight but he felt that it was the lack of courage of such people to come forward and fight that made the rapists to continue to roam around the city and make other girls their victims.
The whole afternoon was still left but Asad was not in a mood to go to his office and do any work, so he just drove around and then he suddenly felt like going to the one place which soothed his mind, the beach.
And by the time he reached the beach the rain had almost stopped. Asad parked his car and removed his coat and stepped out. Dressed in his formal black trousers and white shirt and tie he looked out of place in the beach but he didn't care. He walked up to the edge and stood staring at the sea not caring about the waves that came and crashed at his feet and wet his expensive trousers. He was still thinking about the harsh cruel realities of some people's life, like the girl to whom he could not give justice that day.
And after standing there for almost half an hour lost in his thoughts, Asad turned around and started walking back towards his car. And it was when he reached his car that he noticed a group of young children playing on a grassy area on the other side of the road where his car was parked. He was drawn to their laughter and his gaze shifted across the road and he looked at them carefully. They were a group of about ten children aged around five to eight years and they were laughing merrily and playing cricket. And then Asad noticed something else. There was a young woman with all the kids. She was dressed in a jeans and a pink kurta and was wearing a cap and acting as an umpire to the kids who were playing. But whenever a kid hit the ball into a six or made a run or caught a ball she would laugh and hoot and cheer for that kid. She was supporting both the sides and she was so engrossed in what she was doing that she did not even notice Asad standing across the road and staring at them.
The girl looked like she was in her late teen or early twenties, but the innocence on her face looked the same as the kids with whom she was playing. And Asad could not help in leaning back against his car and watching them. And as he stood there, he finally felt a sense of peace envelope him and he felt that innocence and purity still existed in this world. He did not know how long he stood there watching them, and he finally came to his senses when the group stopped playing and started to walk towards the road. And it was at that moment the young woman ultimately noticed him and looked at his direction. Their eyes met briefly before she looked away and Asad could not help in thinking that he had never seen a pair of eyes as beautiful as hers. And while he stood staring at them, they passed him and walked towards the direction from which he came. He still stood there watching them retreat and then he climbed in to his car, turned it around and drove back in the same direction. And then he saw them still walking along the road and enter through the gate of a property. Asad drove slowly along the road till he reached that gate and looked at the name plate. It was an orphanage and Asad realized that the kids were orphans. But he somehow knew that the girl was not an orphan staying there and he wondered who she was and where she came from.
**********************
And it was about two years later that he saw her again for the second time. Asad was preparing to defend a case of domestic violence and child abuse at the time. The father was an alcoholic and used to beat the wife and his only son who was just 6 years old. The wife had somehow got to know about Asad freely taking up such cases and had come to his office one day and had asked for his help. She was initially afraid of the husband finding out and beating her more but thinking of the child's future she had mustered the courage to come to him. And then few nights later Asad got a call from the woman. She was frantic and sobbing in to the phone and asked him to come and help her. Asad did not hesitate to drive to their house immediately. And when he went there he learnt that the husband had beaten her again that night and seeing it happening the child had cried and then went and locked himself in the bathroom and when she finally went and broke the door open he was lying on the floor unconscious and she saw an empty bottle of bleach lying nearby. He had tried to commit suicide. Asad rushed with the child to the nearest hospital. And as he entered the hospital emergency room it was packed. The nurses and the few doctors there were too busy to pay any attention to the newest arrival.
Asad put the child on an empty stretcher lying nearby and looked around. It was the busy Emergency Department of a government hospital and obviously there was not enough staff there to attend to each patient the moment they arrived. There was no one to receive the patients and make a triage. Asad understood the condition but he also knew that each second counted for saving the life of the child. Desperate to do something Asad went and tried to grab the attention of a nurse standing near another patient and doing what looked like dressing a wound.
"Sister can you please come and see that child over there.. it's urgent.." Asad pointed to the stretcher but the sister just glanced at it and then continued to do what she was doing.
"Sister that child's life is in danger... he tried to commit suicide.. please do something." Asad pleaded.
"Umm excuse me Sir. May I help you?" Asad heard a calm and soothing voice from behind and turned abruptly to see who it was. And there stood a young woman in a plain white Salwar kameez with a stethoscope hung around her neck, and Asad's first thought was that she looked very familiar and he knew her. And then right that moment it struck him that he did not really know her but she was the same girl whom he saw 2 years back on the beach with the kids from the orphanage. And Asad was amazed to realize that he could still remember her so well.
Asad stood dazed staring at her face and then realization of the situation soon made him come out of his trance.
"Yea I need help... Are you a doctor?" he asked the girl quickly.
"Yea I am an intern here. Where is the child about whom you were talking about just now? And what happened to him?" She asked with concern in her voice.
Asad showed the child to her and quickly told her what had happened. And she immediately rushed to the child and after a quick examination she herself pulled the stretcher on which he was lying and took the child to an adjacent room. She then explained to Asad and the child's Ammi that they needed to do some procedures immediately.
And about an hour later she came out with another senior doctor and they explained that the boy was out of danger and that they would shift him to a ward soon. They then gave Asad a prescription and asked him to get those medicines. And when Asad came back with the medicines the boy was already shifted to the ward and Asad could not find the young intern who treated the boy.
And over the next three days whenever Asad visited the hospital he tried to see if he could find the Doctor but he never saw her again. And he did not even know her name so he could not even ask anyone. And on the third day the boy got discharged from the hospital. With Asad's evidence and hospital reports, the father was charged and Asad made sure that he was not released on bail. And luckily the mother was a working woman and soon after the case ended she left Mumbai with her son. She had found a job at her native place and went to live with her parents and Asad knew that the boy was finally safe.
*********************
And then another year had passed before Asad met her the third time. It was a Saturday and Asad's Daadi wanted to go for some shopping. She was 70 years old, but she had lived an active life all of her life and she was still active around the house and managed to do everything alone. But she could no longer go out on her own; one reason being she had difficulty in walking because of a fracture she had 2 years back. So whenever she needed to go out for something Asad had to take her.
Asad took his Daadi to a Shopping Mall which was close to his Daadi's house. And on the way his Daadi was telling him once again that he should get married. And she told him that if she had a daughter in law she need not have come out to do things like buying clothes for her. The daughter in law would know what she wanted and would buy them for her but since it was only Asad he would not know what to buy and so she had to come. Asad smiled at his Daadi's antics and told her that it was good for her health also to come out of the house and do things like shopping and that he still wanted his Daadi to live for a longtime.
Asad took her to a clothes shop on the ground floor and his Daadi was trying to choose some clothes, when Asad suddenly got a phone call from his assistant saying he needed Asad's signature on something urgently. Asad did not want to leave his Daadi and go but he had no choice so he told her about the issue and left. While leaving he told her not to go anywhere else and to sit in that shop till he returned.
Asad drove as fast as he could to his office, signed the documents and drove back to the mall. But on the way he met with a road block due to an accident. There was a huge traffic jam and it was impossible to even turn around and go through another road and Asad was stuck. When half an hour passed he called his Daadi and told her about the situation and told her to wait. But his Daadi told him that she would take an Auto and go since her house was in the other direction and quite close to the mall. Asad did not want her to travel alone in an Auto so he told her not to do that. But then Asad feared that she may not listen to him and may not wait if he took a long time to reach. She was as stubborn as him at times and tried to be as independent as possible.
And then luckily after another 20 minutes the traffic cleared and Asad reached the mall in another ten minutes. But he knew that his Daadi had been waiting for him since almost 1 and half hours and he parked the car and ran inside the mall. But when he went inside the shop his Daadi was not there and the girl in the shop said that she had left about ten minutes back. Asad ran out of the mall and looked around but he could not see her. He then tried to call on her mobile but she was not answering the phone and Asad got panicked. He knew that his Daadi was still very smart and very capable but he could not trust the Auto drivers as well. His Daadi was carrying money and she had done shopping and he was afraid of what an Auto driver might do seeing an old lady carrying a purse which obviously had money in it.
Nervously Asad called her once again and to his relief she answered him that time. She told him that she was standing near the Auto stand on the opposite side of the road and he quickly crossed the road and ran to the Auto stand.
"Daadi you could have stayed till I came... you shouldn't have crossed the road alone... you know how difficult it is for you to walk even with that walking stick and how careless some of these drivers are... you could have been hit by a vehicle." Asad told her breathlessly as soon as he reached her.
"Asad calm down... I did not cross alone... this young woman saw me trying to cross and she helped me." His Daadi smiled broadly and looked at someone standing nearby and it was then that Asad noticed the young woman standing there. Her face was turned to the other direction but hearing what his Daadi said she turned around smiling and it was then Asad saw her face. And he could not believe it, it was the same young woman, the Doctor who had helped in saving that boy's life and now once again she had helped his Daadi and made sure that she was alright.
"Thank you so much for helping her." Asad told her.
"Oh it was nothing." She smiled at him and then she saw someone from a distance and waved in that direction.
"My friend came and I need to go... take care Daadi." She said and started to cross the road to the opposite side. Asad stood staring at her till she reached the entrance of the Mall and hug another young woman standing there. Then they walked through the Mall gate and disappeared from Asad's view.
*************************
After that Asad did not meet her for almost 1 and half years. And then six months back he had seen her once again. Asad was in court that morning dealing with a difficult case and by afternoon break he was having a headache and he decided to go to the coffee shop nearby. He went and ordered a coffee and some snacks and sat down. And he did not even glance around; just sat and had his snack and drank his coffee engrossed in a file about the case.
And after finishing his coffee he was about to get up when he noticed three young woman sitting at a table few feet across from him. And to his surprise one of them was that young woman and she was sitting right across him. And Asad wondered why he had not noticed her before and looked at her carefully and as if sensing his gaze she too looked at him. Their eyes met and this time Asad smiled at her hesitatingly and she smiled back at him and then lowered her gaze. Asad wondered what she was doing there. He frequently came to that coffee shop but he had never seen her there before and he wondered what she was doing around that area. And while Asad was lost in these thoughts, the three women got up from the table. On their way out, they passed by Asad's table and Asad looked up to see that she was looking at him from the corner of her eyes and when their eyes met she smiled once again and then they were gone. Seeing her walk away Asad was left with a bittersweet feeling and he wondered what that feeling was but one thing was apparent to him and that was seeing her there and her smile had elevated his mood and his headache had almost gone.
PS. will update the next two parts today itself... by evening.. hope you all liked this part
Silent readers pls give a like if you had read it and liked it.😃
PART 2 - page 8
PART 3 - page 13.
Epilogue - Page 25
Anupamaa
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