Chapter 5 Eyes of the Beholder
Asad found the door to Zoya's room slightly ajar and after a little debate with his inner voice he pushed the door open to find an empty room and a white silhouette of a lady in the garden. On an impulse he moved to the small garden adjacent to their rooms to find Zoya gently swinging on the small swing which used to be his favorite place when he was upset. He never liked anybody sitting on the swing apart from his Ammi and Najma but they hardly sat on it, but somehow, he found Zoya sitting on his swing very endearing and it warmed his insides. He watched her from the sidelines enchanted by the sight of her silky hair which was now open and fell like a cascade around her encompassing her beautiful face. The bright moonlight on them emitted silver embers and made her look like a little mermaid in white. The rustling of leaves in the light wind that blew brought Asad back to his senses and he realized that he needs to hand over the coffee to Zoya. He walked to the swing and held the cup infront of her. Zoya was taken aback a little but was floored by the gesture. Zoya moved a little making space for Asad to sit and both started sipping their coffee as silence encompassed them. Finally Asad asked " I hope Ms Farooqui you are not feeling uncomfortable. Sometimes my family can really suffocate people with their sweetness. Zoya turned to look at Asad and started laughing and she looked captivating with her dimples being visible and her cheek bones framing out her face and the face had a glow and Asad was mesmerized. She said " No Mr. Khan they are lovely people and you are lucky to have such people around you. It's just that it has been a long time since I have been with a family who showered so much love in such a short span of time so I just don't know how to react. Asad perfectly understood where Zoya's thoughts were coming from but he was happy that Zoya was atleast happy to be with his family and he could give back moments to her which she seems to clearly cherish with families.
Next morning the Khan family was in for a surprise as they saw Zoya working with tandem with Dilshad in the kitchen as Najma & Dilshad ran behind her to stop her but she refused to do so as she flipped hot aloo parathas from the pan. She enjoyed the surprise on their faces and she told them she had learnt it from her friends and youtube and that she loved to cook up little surprises during her free time. Soon all the three were bonding like a house on fire and they were laughing their heart out on some jokes that Zoya was saying. Zoya on the other hand felt giddy with excitement as she felt the child in her playing today a peek-a-boo with her after many years with non-stop chatter, jokes and cups of hot steaming tea. By breakfast time Zoya had known that before Dilshad got married they were neighbors of the Siddiqui's but once Dilshad Abbu's business had run into trouble and he was unable to sustain, he had sold off the business and moved to Mumbai with the family and they had lost touch with the Siddiqui's. Zoya's eyes had misted at the mention of her father and Dilshad had hugged and held her close to her heart and that's when she had asked Dilshad's permission to call her Phuppi like Nikhat calls her. Dilshad was more than happy to hear her call Phuppi and she held both Zoya and Najma in her embrace and that's how Asad found them when he came for breakfast and he smiled looking at the trio. Seeing Asad, Najma started arranging the table as Zoya lent her a helping hand. Looking at them Dilshad reminisced "She is such a beautiful soul and like an excited child. She has been through lot and I just hope that God gives her strength to move on. Asad smiled looking at the childlike woman who was now jumping up and down and something she had beaten Najma on as they together flipped the parathas.
Edited by sambag - 7 years ago
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