AsYa SS - To Live Again: Ch 17 & 18 Pg 73 COMPLETED - Page 11

Originally posted by: Saima-Syed

Res for Aroo, Jas & Sue

huggies Sam di🤗

Originally posted by: Saima-Syed

Res for Aroo, Jas & Sue

Originally posted by: jas91

Sam di I love u so so much 🤗❤️🤗

A dedication 2 me awe what did I do 2 earn this 😳

U just made my day no week nahi year 🥳

I love u loads se bhi zyada & I know u know that😃

& special wali huggies 2 Zainu baby🤗🤗

Three

Over the next two weeks Aisha got ready to return to America, in that time Zoya started to come out of her shell a little more, she still spent a lot of time on her own and in silence but with the support of her loving family she managed to make more of an effort to eat with them and sit with them when she could.

Aisha tried to control her sobs as she hugged Zoya, she looked back at Sameena 'I don't know how to thank you...I can only make dua, that Allah blesses you and your family, makes every day that is to come that much easier...please look after my Zoya' 'we will Aisha...she is one of us...please don't worry about her'.

Sameena put her arm around Zoya as Asad and Feroze picked up her bags and walked towards the car. As they left Ayla and Sameena sat with Zoya trying to relieve her of the upset and hurt she felt, Zoya knew that if she was hurt so were they, Sameena and Feroze had lost their son and Ayla and Asad had lost their brother, someone they knew, grew up with.

Being and arranged marriage Zoya hardly knew him, she had spoken to him once before their Nikah and that was when he had called to speak to Aisha.

Aisha and Sameena had been friends for many years, when Sameen learnt of her return to India with Zoya she sent her proposal, which Aisha agreed to after having spoken to Zoya. Zoya owed her life to Aisha, so she was never going to say no to what her Khala asked her of.

Later that night the whole family gathered around the living room, Ayla sat leaned against Sameena's shoulder and Asad and Feroze sat opposite them 'Asad, can you please ask Zoya to come and join us' Asad did as his Ammi asked of him.

Asad knocked on the door and waited for her to answer, after a few moments he opened the door and peeped in to see if she was there. Opening the door further Asad stood still as he saw her praying, he was just about to turn around when her soft voice reached to him 'Asad' Asad turned around and gave her a faint smile 'I am sorry I didn't mean to disturb you' 'no...you didn't, I was just finishing...um...was there something you wanted?' 'Ammi...she was asking for you, I just came to let you know' 'ok...I'll just put this away and come' she said holding her prayer mat out.

'Ammi...you asked for me?' Zoya said standing by the door 'Zoya, beta please come and sit with us' she said holding her hand out, Zoya took her hand and sat on the other side of her.

'Zoya, beta...we were thinking, with everyone at work and Ayla at college...we don't want you to be home alone, is there something you like to do, work, continue with studies, take extra classes...anything?' Zoya looked at Feroze as he continued to speak to her 'I...I can do that?' she asked with hesitation 'of course you can Zoya...anything you want' 'If possible I would like to carry on studying, I graduated in media studies, I wouldn't mind doing and extra course in journalism'.

Feroze gave her an approving smile and nod 'perfect, we can start looking at some colleges tomorrow morning and then you can chose whichever one you like' 'Thank you'.

Sameena and Feroze left the three of them to continue talking as they retired to their room 'Ayla, what are you studying?' Zoya asked realising that she hardly knew anything about her or Asad 'I am studying English Lit' slowly turning her head she looked at Asad 'do you work?' 'Yes, I do' 'with Dad...I mean in his office?' Asad started smiling 'No...business and me. Definitely Not. I'm the black sheep of the family I deviated from the world of business and decided to go into the world of engineering, I am an aeronautic engineer...as part of my work I travel a lot so am hardly ever here' 'sounds like fun' 'it is...although I do miss my family...' Asad stopped as he felt a lump develop in his throat, it was because of his travelling he had missed Raheem's wedding and then wasn't here when he passed away.

Zoya saw his facial expression change 'I'm sorry I didn't mean to...' Asad started shaking his head 'please don't say sorry...its ok...I guess it will take a long time, and even then something will always remind us of him one way or another. He may not be here but he always will be within us'.

Zoya didn't relate, she couldn't relate to the feelings Asad, Ayla and their parents felt. She was Raheem's wife for less than six hours, she was a wife to a man she didn't know, there was no attachment, no love, something that made her feel worse as she felt she needed to.

Over the next few days Feroze busied himself with Zoya trying to find a college that did the course she wanted to do. They managed to narrow down to two; City College and Oak Hill College, both were as good as each other.

'You mind if I make a suggestion' Asad said as he sat down at the table 'sure...you know anything about them?' 'Not so much about City, but Oak Hill is not far from my base; it's a small college that has some of the best students going there' Feroze looked at Zoya 'would you like to go and visit it...to see if you like it?' 'That would help me make an informed decision I guess' 'Asad, can you take Zoya tomorrow morning, if you are free' 'Sure, I don't have anything on...we can leave around half ten...is that ok with you?' Zoya gave him a small smile 'thank you, I really appreciate it'.

Zoya came out of her room dressed in her plain white shalwaar kameez, Sameena looked at her and then towards Feroze, who nodded his head gently. Sameena walked towards her, placing her hand against her cheek she leaned forward to place a kiss on her forehead 'Zoya, you don't have to wear this beta...as hard as it is life carries on, time doesn't stop for anyone. Seeing you wear this pains me, be yourself...wear your own clothes' Zoya's eyes started to moisten instantly 'Ammi...I' 'it's what we want Zoya, we love and respect you, we appreciate everything you have been doing, you have observed everything religiously and culturally...when we called you our daughter we meant it...please go and change' Zoya looked past Sameena towards Feroze. Feroze stood up and walked around the table, he placed his hand over her head reassuringly 'go and change Zoya, come out as you, we are yet to see the real Zoya'.

Zoya wiped her tears away and turned around to walk back inside. After a few moments she returned wearing her black denim jeans and a blue and grey patterned top. Feeling a little nervous she lowered her head, Ayla ran to her side 'Bhabhi, you look gorgeous, I like you in jeans' Zoya looked up to see her happy face and started smiling 'thank you...' Taking in a much needed breath she looked towards Asad 'are we ready to go?' Asad stood up 'yep am ready when you are'.

Asad wasn't known for his talking and socialising skills but he did his best to try and engage Zoya in light hearted conversation on the way, which she seemed to respond to.

Zoya stepped out of the car to see the college, it was a beautifully constructed building, if It was this good on the outside she could only imagine what it would look like on the inside.

The college was small with around twelve hundred students in total, and was beyond any imagination. Oak Hill didn't just specialise in media and journalism but also foreign modern languages, law and social sciences.

Asad got Zoya to wait by the chairs in reception as he went to enquire 'if you look through the prospectus you can chose the course of study, all you have go do then is fill in the application form and submit the fee' Asad took the prospectus from the lady behind the desk and thanked her.

Zoya sat down and looked through the prospectus to see what was on offer 'anything you like?' Asad asked 'umm...yes, thee are a couple of courses, I like the sound of journalism combined with photography, I can combine a masters in media with a language, which sounds interesting and then the is third world politics combined with journalism' Asad started smiling 'I don't have a clue about what any of them mean Zoya, you ask me about physics, maths or chemistry and I can help but not photography' Zoya started smiling back at him 'seeing I have to make my own mind up I am going with the third option'.

After completing then application form Zoya walked up to the lady at reception 'thank you, the classes for this course don't start until mid-September, so you still have a few weeks. The bursar is just through that door on the left, you can submit your fee, it's sixty five thousand rupees for the year, which includes your materials, and two excursions, one will be an overseas one' 'overseas...where to?' 'I am not sure...you will probably find out when you start the course, it changes every year' 'thank you'.

Zoya turned around to call for Asad but he was on the phone 'excuse me, can you let him know I will be back soon, if he asks' 'of course'

Zoya went to meet the bursar, she took out her credit card and paid for her fee, picking up heft receipt she turned around to see Asad standing by the door looking at her with narrowed eyes. Not understanding his expression she walked up to him 'w..what happened, is everything ok?' 'Zoya...you paid...why didn't you wait for me...why did you pay the fee' 'I...Asad, it's no big deal...it's ok' 'no it's not...you are our responsibility...whatever you want or need...it's up to us to provide not for you to pay with your own money' 'Asad, does it really matter who paid for it...what am I going to do with all this money anyway...please don't make it an issue'.

The journey home was filled with an awkward silence, Asad knew he may have over reacted but he genuinely felt bad that Zoya paid for her own course of study. 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so rude' he said, Zoya turned towards him 'you weren't, please don't apologise...it's ok...if it makes you feel any happier next time I'll leave my wallet at home' Asad started laughing 'deal'.

Zoya got the same look from Feroze as she did from Asad at the college, but instead of saying anything to her Feroze picked up his phone and had the money transferred into her account 'dad, you really didn't need to do that' 'yes I did...end of discussion...now tell me about this course' Zoya smiled at him, sitting next to him she started going through the course details.

On the other side of the room Asad sat with Sameena 'you know Ammi, I think her going to college is really going to help her...I mean to open up and To Live Again'

'I agree, every time I see her smile, I smile with her...with Allah by our sides we have nothing to worry about, everything will be ok, Insha'Allah'.