Chapter 3

Vintage Flow

@Vintage_flow

Chapter 2

Fate Disintegrated

Asad’s restless shadow went back and forth on the living room sofas, only stopping occasionally to look at her door. When his Ammi and Najma joined him, he smoothly escaped to the kitchen lest they notice.

“Najma, check on Zoya” He exhaled thankful that his Ammi finally had that thought.

His sister peeped through the large window to her room; nothing but curtains filled her sight.

She was alerted by the door a moment later “What are you doing, Tamatar?”

“Sorry…” she murmured sheepishly “…I didn’t want to disturb you, so I didn’t knock”

“I see”

Najma frowned. She didn’t know if it would be rude to say out loud that her friend looked like a zombie. She decided against it.

“Is your friend with you? Ammi’s calling everyone for dinner”

“Yeah, I’ll get her” Zoya mumbled tired before getting back inside.

“Najma” Dilshad called. Why was she just standing there?

“What’s the matter?” Asad asked nervous when she entered the kitchen, his eyes resting on the door of Zoya’s room.

“Woh bhaijaan...Zoya...she just looks so… so…”

“Lifeless” Asad completed.

Najma grew silent but Dilshad reassured “That’s only because she hasn’t slept since the last two days and understandably so. We just need to make sure she goes to sleep soundly tonight.”

“Her Aapi, Jeeju are also here now, I am sure that will help” Najma countered optimistic.

“I sure hope so” Dilshad said to no one in particular “Poor girl could use some rest”

***

“It’s good actually” Noshini stressed “Ever heard of taking a walk being harmful for someone?”

Zoya exhaled defeated. She neither had the energy nor the mind to argue “Okay, I’ll go with Jeeju”.

They sat in a circle under the cloudy night sky on terrace. Dinner had been an anxious affair with everyone’s eyes trained on each movement of Zoya’s. They saw all emotions in her fatigued eyes except the will to rest; literally and figuratively.

We need to tire her out … A good head massage might do the trick … She needs to open up about what she is feeling exactly … were some of the suggestions of the group.

Asad liked the third idea the best, she had refused to come out of her room the whole day yesterday.

He had caught a glimpse of her when the door opened and closed for her lunch and sister to go in. She’d been sitting by the foot of her bed, flaccid body, face void of any emotion. He felt the girl he knew and had come to adore was slowly tumbling away from him, herself, and life.

The war waging inside her was evident. Her misery and grief were measured by his eyes and when he saw her fail over and over; a piercing prayer left his heart unfailingly.

He had to talk to her. No way he was going to let the eyes which healed and glowed dim their essence.

“I can’t see her like this” Zeenat sobbed as soon as Zoya and Anwar left. “This not being able to sleep, eat, talk – this is not my Zoya. I mean she’s had to go through a lot in her life and at a young age but never once I saw her lose like this”

Noshini, Najma and Dilshad quickly hovered over Zeenat’s figure to console her.

“You got to give her time” Dilshad started “We have to understand that she feels like she just lost…everything. That one last chance to know her blood is now gone forever. But if anyone is strong enough to emerge from this, it’s her. So, keep faith, she is holding on to your strength Zeenat.”

“I remember the day we brought our Zoey home. She kept looking at the door, waiting. Anwar and I elaborately decorated her room, to make it feel like home, but she kept getting up in the middle of the night to go sleep in the living room just so she can keep an eye on the door. She said she was waiting for her Ammi to come home and didn’t want to make her wait.” The wind also seemed to quieten down in the moment to hear Zeenat. “She was five.”

Asad flinched, only a blow away from breaking in tears.

Zeenat continued “Another full-sized ache came her way when she turned nineteen, we found out that her Abbu was alive and in Bhopal. Just when she was starting to think about herself and her future. It was surreal. Somebody who knew him in passing from years ago said that was the last where he’d ever heard of him. How that man just happened to stumble across Anwar per chance. How we’d invited him home. How he saw that framed picture of Zoya’s Abbu. How Zoya stood in the doorway listening to it all” she whispered lost in trauma, eyes flowing endlessly; her tone turning frustrating “…so hard, I tried so hard to keep her away from all this. Anything to protect my child because I knew even then, nothing good was going to come out of this search. And now watching this suffering seeping out from her makes me so mad at myself. It’s all our fault. All our fault.”

“Aapi, please” Noshini’s voice was sharp as she rushed to silence her. “Do not ever say that. You know you did nothing wrong.”

“She is right, Zeenat” Dilshad put her hand on hers “However painful truth might be, it is every child’s right to know” She glanced at Asad “What you did was fair, otherwise she would always wonder but now she knows and I am sure loves you more for it.”

“Yes Aapi, Ammi ne bilkul sahi kaha. And don’t worry, we will bring our Zoya back in no time” Najma offered in hopes to calm her down.

Light bulb!! “Wait…why don’t we all plan that trip to Ajmer Shareef we had been talking about last month. If there is one place in the world, that could heal everything, that is it”

“Najma, that is an amazing idea” Dilshad finally smiled and noticed so did Asad.

“Asad, do you think you can arrange that beta” she asked.

“Of course, Ammi. We can leave as soon as tomorrow if you like” His Ammi was a little taken aback. Leaving tomorrow would mean no dense planning and his son never did things that way.

“Tomorrow sounds good” she responded, nonetheless.

****************