FAASLE: Fan fic AsYa Part 19 pg 141 Jul 29 - Page 58

Originally posted by: .Ghausia.

I'm an avid follower of this FF on Tumblr & I absolutely love it. The concept, the plot, everything is amazing!

Originally posted by: ..Kirann..

I know you have life outside IF and I feel guilty for bothering you so much, but I can't wait for the next part. I want it real soon! PLEASE!

Originally posted by: -purnima-

Ahhh finally i managed to read all parts ...had read 2 parts initially...then lost track in b/w then had to come bak & read all over again & must say it had been an amazing experience 👏 have read almost all of ur FFs the angad-kripa ones... from "The first kiss to Tumhari amanat ; dont judge book by cover to "To err is to human "

Your Last FF i read was "Pehchan" & its after long time came across your FF 😃😃 ...& all FFs have been bests i have come across 😃😃😃...

As for this one "Faasle" I have read the AK one too 😛😛... & must say inspite of being inspired from AK Faasle this one has its own uniqueness 😃😃 ...& I really hope Faasle has less complications for Asad-Zoya than it had for Angad Kripa😊😊 ...

Wonder if like Kripa...Zoya wud be come to mumbai in search of her prince 😉😳...if yes, then all the best to her 😃😃😃...seeing how trouble magnet she is...she will really need all the best wishes 😃😃😃

PART 12:

Zeenat and Anwar waited in the car for Zoya to return after saying her goodbyes to Asad.

"Kahan reh gayi yeh ladki?" Zeenat was a bit anxious.

"Zeeenat-Zeenat! Have patience. Couldn't you see Zoya has feelings for that young man?"

"Mujhey bhi tho yahi darr hai Anwar."

"Darr? Tumhein tho khush hona chaahiye. After all, he is handsome young man- aur rishte mein mera bhaanja bhi tho hai." Anwar gloated.

"Anwar, aap kaisi baat kar rahe hain? Us family ke saath? Matlab abbu kabhie nahin maanenge."

Anwar held Zeenat's hand, "hamara nikaah tho ho gaya na? Your abbu was aware of my relationship with Dilshaad aapi's family."

Zeenat swallowed a lump and stared at her husband, "lekin aap tho jaante hai na, nikaah ke baad abbu ne meri taraf dekha bhi nahin hai. I don't want Zoya to have the same fate."

"Zeenat, meri jaan!" He placed his arm around her, "after all these years, are you regretting your decision? Kya mujh se nikaah karke tum khush nahin ho?"

"Nahin aisi baat nahin hai Anwar. Zoya ki tho ammi bhi nahin hai ab. Kum se kum," she paused.

Anwar's nostrils flared, "kum se kum, tumhari ammi tho zinda hain! Yeah right. She is not even capable of being called a mother!"

"Anwar! Please. Let's not get there."

"Baat tho tumne hi chaidi hai Zeenat. Let's forget about it. Agar Zoya ki kismat mein Asad hi likha hai, tho koi taaqat unhein alag nahin kar sakti. Na tum, na tumhare abbu, aur na main!" He clicked his seat belt back in place. Zoya was back. She tried to hide her puffy eyelids under her flock of hair, but her sister and brother in law were astute. No words were exchanged, but they all knew why Zoya was despondent.

Next morning, Anwar was back to his jovial self, "are Zoya, tumhare passport par naam kaise change ho gaya? Kahin chupke nikaah tho nahin kar liya?" He had her passport in hand as he was helping her with reservations to New York.

"Jijooo!" She fussed, "yeh- yeh meri ammi ka last name tha."

"Oh, I see! Good way to escape the authorities. Do you really think your abbu wouldn't be able to find you?"

Zoya hesitated but then smiled, "it's been almost two weeks jiju. Ab tho wapas ghar jaane ka waqt bhi aa gaya hai."

Anwar nodded but smiled, "I have never met your abbu, but I know he is a clever man. Don't underestimate him."

RING! RING!

It was the doorbell.

"Arre is waqt kaun ho sakta hai?" Zeenat was surprised. It was a Sunday morning and she wasn't expecting any visitors at that hour.

"Kahin Asad Ahmed Khan na ho?" Anwar teased Zoya. Zoya's jaw dropped; her little heart fluttered at that thought, "jao-jao Zoya. Go check the door."

An enthusiastic Zoya ran for the door while Anwar grinned at Zeenat. She returned it with a cold stare; angry at her husband for planting such ideas into her sister's head.

"ABBU! Aap yahan?" Zoya froze at the door step, stunned to see her father.

She was prepared for a verbal thrashing but to her surprise, Ghafoor raised his palm and gently caressed her face, "I was really scared Zoya. Shukr hai Allah ka ki jo tu sahi salaamat hai. Meri tho jaan hi nikal gayi thi. Kaisi hai tu? Ab kabhie apne abbu se rooth kar ghar se bhaag mat jaana." He came forward and hugged his daughter and then gave her a peck on the forehead. Zoya could count on her fingers the last time her father had shown affection for her. She couldn't believe her ears and eyes.

With heavy but anxious steps, Zeenat walked towards the door. She had tears in her eyes. Never had she imagined that her abbu would set his foot at her doorstep. She glanced at Anwar. He nodded and gestured her to greet her father. Silently, she thanked Anwar with a smile and gentle nod. Only her husband was capable of such pleasant surprises.

"Salaam Alaikum abbu!" Zeenat smiled tearfully.

Ghafoor entered the house and patted Zeenat's head, "Alaikum Salaam. Kaisi ho beti?" Zeenat was a bit disappointed; there was still a detached display of affection from him. Nevertheless, she was happy that after a long gap of seven years, both Zoya and her abbu were at her home.

"Tho aap hain Anwar mian?" Ghafoor stretched his hand.

"Adaab! Aap se milkar bahut khushi huyi." Anwar had a friendly smile.

"Shukriya phone karne ka." Ghafoor just nodded his head, "I have been really worried about Zoya's whereabouts. You have also made me richer by a million dollars," Ghafoor snickered. Zoya felt a little awkward at her father's comment. Some things never change, she thought. He still evaluated everything against his bank balance. Was he happy to find her safe and sound or happy about his bank balance? She couldn't tell.

Anwar gave him a quizzical look.

"Never mind. Humney Zoya ko dhoondne waale ko one million dollars ka award dene ka vaada kiya tha. If you want, I can write you a check Anwar sahib. Akhir aap hamare damaad bhi tho hain."

"That's okay Siddiqui sahib. Hamari khush kismati ki aap hamare ghar tashreef laaye. Zeenat ke liye is se badi khushi aur koi nahin ho sakti." Anwar placed an arm around his wife.

"Khair, Zeenat ne jo saat saal pehle kiya, so kiya. Let bygones be bygones. Chalo beta Zoya. Let's pack your bags and go home."

"Abbu, aap aaj hi jaa rahe hain?" Zeenat was shocked. Zoya glanced at her sister and agreed; she had come all the way to spend time with her aapi, not to be whisked away in less than 24 hours.

'Sorry Zeenat. I had to cancel all my meetings after I received Anwar's phone call. We will need to leave by the next flight."

Zoya was furious, "abbu please. Aap aisa nahin kar sakte hain. I really want to spend time with aapi. Please let me stay here for a few more days."

"ZOYA!"

"I don't care abbu," she folded her arms, "yahan aana mera faisla tha, aur yahan se jaana bhi mera faisla hoga."

Ghafoor had just experienced the longest fortnight of his life; he didn't want to lose Zoya again. He relented. "Theek hai, I will cancel all my meetings for the next 3 days. Can we leave after 3 days?"

Zoya was pleasantly surprised. On an instinct, she gave her father a big hug and yelled, "thank you abbu. You are the best!"

Ghafoor nodded with a smile and asked Anwar to keep his bag in the guest room.

The next three days were heavenly bliss for Zoya. Never had she imagined that she would reunite with her aapi in such circumstances. Asad's memories brought a smile to her face; she wondered where he would be by now.

She no longer had feelings of guilt about running away from home. Her impulsive and irresponsible decision had helped her reunite with her family and meet a man whom she could and would never forget. Someone, who had etched his place in her life forever. She wondered if she would ever see him again? That feeling left a void and was unacceptable for her.

After three days, they were ready to leave.

As they were ready to depart, Anwar whispered something in Zoya's ears, "remember Zoya, parents will always forgive their kids, even if kids won't. So, do what your heart tells you to do." Zoya was perplexed by Anwar's parting statement. Then he pressed a piece of paper in her palm, "keep this. I am sure you will need it some day. One day, you will realize the importance of my words."

She looked at the crushed paper. There was an address listed on it. An address from Bandra, Mumbai.

Her eyes lit up. She gasped and smiled at Anwar, "aapka matlab?"

With a gentle bow of his head, he tapped the piece of paper, "don't lose it. You might need it one day. Also, love the name Zoya Farooqui! Don't change it," he winked at her and bid goodbye.

She was perplexed but knew the address belonged to Asad. She couldn't tell why he insisted on keeping her Farooqui surname.

As they flew over the Mediterranean Sea, Zoya sat glued to the airplane window with a nostalgic feeling- she had developed a bond with that sea, a life-long bond. The Mediterranean sea would always remind her of the wonderful cruise, the valuable lessons of life that she had learnt on it, her first close dance with a man, her first signs of awareness of her womanhood and her first desire to be with someone who was not nearby, but close to her heart.

MUMBAI:

With a heavy heart, Asad reached Mumbai late at night. He couldn't forget Zoya's face as he had bid her goodbye at the airport in Istanbul. He was aware of her feelings; even he wanted to turn around and hug her, but he couldn't. Anwar's revelation had taken him by surprise. Even though Anwar was related to ammi, he didn't want to stay in touch with him or any other distant relatives. Rashid Khan had ruined his ammi's reputation in the family. None of their extended family knew the truth about Rashid Khan, and he wanted to keep it that way. That's why he had given a wrong phone number to Zoya. He knew she would try to contact him, but hopefully a girl like her would forget him as time went by. Even though he might never be able to forget her; she was a special girl and her memories would always be etched in his heart.

"Salaam Alaikum bhaijaan!" Najma received him at the airport.

"Tamatar tum? Main taxi kar leta. Itni raat ko kyun aayi ho ghar se bahar?"

"Koi baat nahin bhaijaan," she gave him a hug, "apne bhai ko hi tho lene aayi hoon, kisi ajnabee ko nahin."

"Lagta hai khoob driving practice ho rahi hai aaj kal."

"Jee bhaijaan. I love driving."

"Dhyaan se drive karna. Mumbai has the worst traffic."

"Tho main kaun si kam hoon bhaijaan?" She chuckled. He gave her an affectionate squeeze and walked along, " achcha yeh batao, ammi kaisi hai?"

"Chemotherapy tho theek chal rahi hai, par bahut weak ho gayi hain bechari. Therapy ke baad wo 1-2 din tak bed se hi nahin uth paati hain."

"Don't worry tamatar, ammi is a strong woman."

"Wo tho hai," she nodded her head with a smile.

"Achcha yeh bataaiye, how was your trip? Koyi Greek Goddess pasand aayi cruise par?"

Asad smacked her head playfully, "tamatar, I was working. Aur waise bhi mujhey firangi ladkiyon mein koi dilchaspi nahin hai."

"Tho koi desi mili?" Her question threw him off guard. Zoya's smiling face flashed in front of his eyes.

"Oh-oh-of course not tamatar. Tum ladkiyon ka dimaag in cheezon mein hi lagta hai! Bakar bakar bandh karo ab. Car kahan hai?"

"Wahan parking lot mein."

"Give me the keys."

"Please can I drive?"

"Absolutely NOT! Jab tak tumhara bhai zinda hai, you are not allowed to drive."

She relented; there was no use arguing with her brother. The car had been under her control over the last two weeks, but now she would be relegated to the passenger seat or back seat once again.

"Salaam Alaikum ammi!" Asad greeted his mother as they walked into their house.

"Alaikum Salaam beta!" She caressed his face affectionately, "kitne din ho gaye tumhara chehra dekhe. Kaisa raha trip?"

"Aap bataaiye, how are you feeling?" He placed his arm around her and walked over to her room.

"Ab tum aa gaye ho, tho sab theek ho jaayega."

"Ammi!" Najma complained, "tho main aapka dhyaan nahin de rahi thi kya?"

"Of course de rahi thi. Pagli kahin ki. Lekin bte ka sukoon alag hi hota hai."

Najma sighed and shook her head, "kuch cheezein kabhie nahin badalti. 21st century mein bhi nahin. Ok ammi, main aapka doodh laati hoon. Bhaijaan, aapke liye kuch laaun?"

"No thanks Najma. I ate on the flight."

"Kaisa raha tumhara trip? Mere liye foreign ki bahu laaye kya?" Dilshaad teased him.

"Ammi! Aap bhi na! I was working."

"Working! Working! Ya Allah, kaun sa aisa din hoga jab sirf work nahin, ishq bhi farmaoge beta?"

'Ammi! Ishq ka tho pata nahin, lekin aap jab kahengi main nikaah kar loonga lekin aap pehle theek ho jaaiye. No nikaah till you are better." He helped settle her in bed.

"Aur agar theek nahin huyi tho?"

He placed his finger on her lips, "Allah se yeh dua karoonga ki aapko meri umar bhi lag jaaye ammi."

"ASAD!" She scolded him, "aaj ke baad zubaan par aisi baat bhi mat laana!"

"Theek hai ammi. Aap bhi nikaah ki baat mat karna- tlll you are well."

Asad did not mention Zoya, Anwar or any of his other adventures.

"Good night ammi!"

"Good night beta!"

As he unpacked his clothes, something caught his attention. It was his white shirt with the lipstick mark. He caressed the mark with his thumb and smiled, "na jaane kahan hogi wo? Silly girl!" Carefully, he hung the shirt in his closet. One shirt, that would never see the laundry basket again.

Next morning, Asad sat with a serious expression at the dining table. He was browsing through his mail from the last two weeks.

"Kya baat hai bhaijaan? Everything okay?"

"Mujhey kal se hi Andaman mein duty join karni hai. I was hoping to get a local posting."

'ANDAMAN? Wo tho bahut door hai bhaijaan."

"Yeah, that's why I am worried."

"For how long?"

"Three months."

"Ya Allah." She gasped but then became cheerful again, " But don't worry bhaijaan. I will take care of ammi. Chaahe wo aapko zyaada favor karti ho, but I can do an equally good job."

"Lekin tumhein tho college bhi jana hota hai tamatar. Who will stay with ammi?"

"Ek idea hai."

"Why don't we keep a paying guest for a few months?"

"Paying guest? Lekin koi aisa waisa aa gaya tho?"

"Don't worry bhaijaan. We will make sure we do a background check."

"Alright. Ammi kahan hai?" He got up from the dining table.

"She is still asleep. Kal raat late ho gaye the na."

"I will go and pack. Tum paying guest ke liye ad nikaal do paper mein."

"Jee bhaijaan."

NEW YORK:

Zoya was glad to be back home. She had missed dadi jaan, her home made cooking and her friends. The first day back at college was a lot of fun. She narrated her stories from the cruise to her friends. Each time she went down the memory lane, Asad's image kept messing with her thoughts. She had a hard time focusing on her classes.

Although, known to be careless, she had kept his phone number and the address (that jiju gave her) in a safe place. Their photograph from the cruise was also tucked in her drawer along with his contact information.

Finally, one day, she decided to call his home. To her dismay, it was a wrong number. That was very unlike Asad, she thought. He was a meticulous man and his writing was more legible than print. Why would he give her a wrong number?

She tried to call after replacing digits on the phone number but all permutations and combinations failed. Zoya was furious.

"What does he think of himself? Kisi ki zindagi mein koi aise be- matlab kaise aa sakta hai? Why would he give me a wrong number? I HATE HIM! FORGET IT! IF HE WANTS ME TO FORGET HIM, SO BE IT MR ASAD AHMED KHAN!" She slammed the phone and pouted.

As days went by, she became more restless. College and friends became dreary. She stopped going out for movies and dinners with her friends. Instead, she spent hours glued to her iPad and stared at the photograph from the cruise. Nightmares of drowning or getting lost at sea kept her awake on most nights. How she craved to be in Asad's arms during those horrific nightmares.

Dadi jaan became concerned. She even saw Zoya say her Namaaz on a regular basis. That was unusual and she was worried about her. On the contrary, Ghafoor was elated to see a positive change in his daughter. She never argued, seldom went out with her friends, and had become more serious.

"Zoya, kya baat hai? Jab se wapas aayi ho, kuch khoyi khoyi si rehti ho." Dadi jaan asked.

"Kuch nahin dadi jaan," she replied with downcast eyes.

"Kuch tho hua hai? Batao beta, trip par kuch aisi waisi harkat tho nahin huyi na tumhare saath?"

Zoya shook her head and ran to her room. How could she narrate the whole story to dadi jaan? Would she ever understand? They would all laugh at her. Just then, she recalled Anwar jiju's words- remember Zoya, parents will always forgive their kids, even if kids won't. So, do what your heart tells you to do." She opened her drawer and removed the crushed piece of paper with Asad's address. At that very moment, she knew what she had to do.

"Mr. Asad Ahmed Khan! Aap chaahe ya na chaahe, main aap se milne Mumbai aa rahi hoon. I know Istanbul was not my destination. It was just the means to reach you. Mumbai is my destination. I will be there as soon as I can. Aap chaahe faasle rakhna chaahein, main in faaslon ko door karke hi rahoongi."

..to be contd…