Sooo there were some guesses and requests as to what will happen next. Not gonna say anything, I'll let you guys discover on your own =P
Zoya rolled her suitcase, outside, towards the cab on the street. She turned around to take a look at the house from the outside one last time. A small part of her hoped that Mr. Khan would come up on the terrace and their eyes would say everything. Or that he would come storming out the front door, because he just knew that she was leaving. But the sad reality was that she knew nothing of the sort would happen.
She turned back toward the cab, had the driver put her suitcase in the trunk, and opened the door to the backseat.
"Kash... Kash aap mujhe ek baar thikse samaj pa te, Mr. Khan. Kash, aap ek bar, bas ek bar, apne dimag se nahi, balki apne dil se soch sakte," she said to herself, sadly. A lone tear streamed down her now bruised cheek, as she slid into the cab.
Just as the cab was turning the corner, the front door of the Khan villa swung open.
* * * * * * *
Asad swung the door inward, and looked outside. Odd. Nothing there. He was about to turn around, when... Ms. Farooqui? Why do I feel her presence, as if she was just standing here? Asad mentally chided himself. Why do you care? She's in her room. She must have come for air or something. She's not worth thinking about, Asad.
And with that, he closed and locked the front door and went back to his room. That night's sleep, however, would not be a peaceful one for the ferocious lion.
* * * * * * *
The next morning, there was again silence in the Khan residence. But this silence would not to last long. Dilshad and Najma both woke up within a few minutes of each other. Following their morning routine, they both go out of bed, headed to the bathroom, showered and got dressed.
Dilshad walked over to her vanity to put on her jewelry, like she did every morning. She slipped on her rings, and her necklace. Just as she was done putting on her second earring she noticed something from the corner of her eye. In the mirror, she saw the reflection of an envelope, sitting on her bedside table. What's this? I hope it's not another gift from Rashid. But... it would've had to go through Asad. So then what is this?, she thought to herself, curious.
She stood up and walked over to her bed. She sat down and reached for the letter. The word "Phoopi" was written on it in Urdu, with several hearts. She smiled at the sweet decorations to her name, having figured out who this was from. She opened the envelope and began to read the letter inside:
Dear Phoopi,
Mein kaise shuru karoon? Aapne mujhe apne ghar mein ek jaga di, pyaar diya aur ek beti hone ka esas dilaya. Meine aapse kaha tha na? Aapko dekhe, aapse baatein karte hue, mujhe apni ammi ki yaad aati hai. Woh chahe aaj mere saath na ho, lekin mujhe unke na hone ka ghum itna mesus nahi hota hai. Kyun ki mere pas aap jo hai.
Issi liye, mein aapse phirse maafi mangti hoon. Meri wajeh se aapko itna sehna para. Aisa laga, jaise koi mere ammi ko woh sari karvi baatein suna raha ho. Aur mein kuch kar hi nahi pai.
Mein jabse yahan ai hoon, bohut kush rahi hoon. Lekin mein maimaan hi to thi. Mujhe ek na ek din to jaana tha. Isi liye Phoopi, mujhe aapse bin kahe jane ke liye, I'm sorry. Mein janti thi, ki agar aapko pata hota ki mein ja rahi hoon, aap mujhe rokne ki koshish karengi. Isi liye mein kal raat hi chaligay.
I love you Phoopi. And I'm so sorry for everything. But mein touch mein rahoon gi. I promise.
Love,
Zoya
"Ya Allah! Zoya chaligay? Woh bi batay bin! Kyun, Zoya? Agar tum mujhe apni ammi manti ho, to tum chali kyun gay?" said Dilshad out loud. Just then Najma entered DIlshad's room, crying.
"Ammi, Zoya chaligay! Aise kaise ja sakhti hai? Mujhe ye chithi mili, aur-" Najma was about to continue when she saw her ammi in tears, holding what looked like a letter, similar to the one Zoya left her.
"Najma, mein jaanti hoon. Zoya zarur Asad ki baaton ki wajeh se gayi hogi. Tume nahi lagta?" asked Dilshad, with a quivering voice.
"Ji Ammi. Lekin, Bina batay kyun gayi? Aise chithi chor kar kyun? Kum se kum bye to kheti." Najma was heartbroken. Her friend, her dear friend, who was like a sister to her, was gone. Just like that.
"Pata nahin, lekin hume Asad ko batana cheiye. Chalo." And with that they both made their way downstairs.
* * * * * * *
That morning, Asad had gotten up very early. His mind wasn't at peace and the reason was Zoya's words. They rang in his ear like the unpleasant sound of nails on a chalkboard. Why was she talking about getting rid of all my pareshanis? This girl is capable of anything. I should go talk to her... No. Not after what she did. I can't. I might end up shouting at her again. Or she might shout at me. Like last night. He cringed. I could ask Ammi. Yes. I'll do that.
As he walked out of his room he saw his Ammi and Tamatar running down the stairs, frantic.
"Asad! Zoya chali gay! She left us these letters, and she left last night! She didn't even give us a chance to stop her! Tume nahi lagt..." Dilshad was literally screaming at her son. But Asad went numb after hearing those three words. Zoya chali gay. Zoya chali gay. Zoya chali gay... I was right. She had been at the front door. But not to get air. To leave... leave... she LEFT!?
Suddenly the meaning of those three words dawned on him. "Ammi, sambalie apne aapko." She didn't deem it necessary to even say goodbye, thought Asad to himself. So that's what she meant when she said she would take away my pareshanis, and burdens. Asad gritted his teeth. Fine.
"Good. She should've left. Now nothing like this will ever happen again. We can go back to living a peaceful and dignified life," he bit out.
Najma was speechless. Dilshad was in shock. How could her son be so heartless? "Asad... she's alone. She left in the middle of the night. Allah only know where she is. What if something happened to her?"
"Ammi this just proves how irresponsible she is. Who leaves in the middle of the night? Bina batay chali gay. This is the second time she's done this. How many more times are we going to keep overlooking her faults?" At this point, Asad was both seething with anger at the fact that she didn't even bother to say bye, and worrying about whether or not she was safe. She's Ms. Fix-it-all, tech-savy. She'll be fine, he told himself. His heart told him that he should look for her, but he silently ignored it, and chose, once again, to listen to his head. His head, which told him that she was wrong, that he, his family and his life were better off without her.
"Asad... Please, mere khathir, Zoya ko dhundo... use roko.. woh-" Dilshad began begging her son, but was cut off.
"Ammi, please. Mujhe maaf kije, lekin is baar, mein aapki baat nahi maan saktha." And with that he stormed off to his room.
Just then, the landline rang.
Soo this will be last update for a few days.. been procrastinating for school to write all these updates. No regrets =P but really need to get some work done. But I promise, the next update will long just like this one. Hence why I made this one a little longer :) Again, as always, any suggestions, requests and ideas are always WELCOME :)
Peace! <3
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