'Aap ne yeh kya kiya Zoya? ... Aap panauti hai humare liye.. , Zoya appi, aap jaisi behen hone se acha hota humari koi behen hi na hoti.'
Zoya woke up with a start , sweaty and clammy in the middle of the night. She drank a glass of water and sat on the bed shivering and shaking back and forth. An incident years ago had made her the black sheep of her family. Not that she was ever pampered but after her brother's death she was shunned in darkness. Zoya closed her eyes and the incident flashed before her as clear as ever.

It was her twentieth birthday and also the day when she had secured admission in a medical college and her sixteen year old brother was drunk. No one except her knew that he wasn't in a sober state. Her brother suddenly went to the terrace and she went after him. Being in an inebriated state he lost his balance but Zoya caught his hand. By that time the entire Siddiquie family had come up on the terrace. All of them pleaded Zoya not to let go. Zoya tried her best to pull him back but her fingers were sweaty and her brother wasn't in his senses , before she knew it , his hand slipped from hers and he fell down leaving darkness behind him.
It took years for Zoya to get over this incident but her family still blamed her for that night .

Zoya was eldest of the Siddiquie siblings but was never loved as much as her parents loved her brother. She had been jealous of him and the attention he got. Zoya was never the perfect child but her brother was. Zoya was a slow learner but her brother had amazing brains. She was a mediocre singer but her brother could mesmerise everyone with his baritone. She was creatively challenged where as her brother aced in all creativity related activities. She was ordinary and her brother was extraordinary in every way. Though she loved him , she couldn't help being envious of him. He never got scolded, he never had responsibilities, he always got what he wanted while she had to struggle to get everyone's attention. Her little sister Mahi didn't look up to her but admired her brother.
Zoya's parents were aware of her insecurities but they never paid heed to them until that incident. They blamed her for letting him go, they thought that it was what she had wanted to do forever. Zoya never answered them back because deep down even she thought that maybe she hadn't tried enough to save her brother.
It was five years since that night and today was a fully qualified doctor ready for her internship. No one from her family was there on her graduation day. Ever since that horrible night,Zoya was left to deal with the world alone. She had paid her own fees with her savings and had studied without asking for help from anyone. Her parents only spoke to her when they had get some work done and her sister barely ever had any interaction with her. Zoya cried every night as she craved for a bit of love from her family , but wiped her tears in the morning and never let the world know of her vulnerabilities.
Zoya quickly washed her face and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. She pulled open the curtains and went to iron her sister's dress. When after two hours her family got up and bought themselves on the breakfast table, Zoya said 'Good morning.' Her father nodded curtly and her mother ignored her. Zoya went from the dining area to her room and got ready for her interview for internship. That was when her sister came rushing in and screamed 'Zoyaaa appii, aapko koi kaam aata nhi hai toh aap karti kyun hai? Humari dress jala di aapne. Humari favourite dress thi aur aapne voh bhi kharab kar di.'
Zoya looked at her and said in a strong voice 'Bas kijiye Mahi. Humari sharafat ka najayaz faayeda mat uthaiye. Yeh mat bhooliye ki hum aapse bade hai. Badon ka lihaaz karna seekhiye aap pehle. Hum aapke naukar nhi hai ki aap ka har kaam hum kar de. Galti ho gyi humse , lekin galti sabse hoti hai. Agli baar se khud ka kaam khud karke rakhiyega.'
Mahi was fuming and said 'Galti karna toh aapki fitrat mein hai.'
Zoya raised her voice and said 'Mahiii.' Her eyes were filled with tears and anger 'Hum Abbu, Ammi se yeh baatein sun sakte hai kyunki hum unki izzat karte hai, lekin aapse hargiz nhi sunenge. Aapki badtameezi hum na toh dekhna chahte hai aur na dekhenge. Isliye kuch bolne se pehle soch ke boliyega kyunki hum aaj bhi aapki appi hi hai.'

With that Zoya stormed out of the house and hailed an auto and asked it to take her to the mosque. When she reached the mosque she knelt and broke down.
She said 'Ae khuda, kyun aap roz ek hi mahaul banate hai ghar pe. Kyun aap kabhi shaanti nhi dete humein. Kya gunaah hai humara jo aap bhi maaf nhi karte hai. Kitna sahenge yeh nafrat hum. Ab aur nhi hota humse. Aapke aage sar jhuka ke khade hai hum, aapse darkhwaast kar rhe hai, humare ghar ki halat sudhaar dijiye. Aise roz til til hum nhi mar sakte hai.' She bowed and then got up to tie a thread on the walls of the mosque while uttering her silent prayer.

Right then just opposite her a thread was tied by Aditya who thought 'Har jagah sar jhuka chuka hoon taaki mujh mein itni taakat aaye ki maim Mri ko sach bata sakoon, Uske aankhon mein se aansoon mita sakoon. Lekin uska chehra dekh kar khud se haar jata hoon. Ab aap hi raah dikhaye mujhe.'

While Zoya asked for love , Aditya asked for courage. They were two broken souls alone in the world. For one love had lost its meaning and one who was deprived of love still believed that one day she would get her share of love. What will happen when these two souls will meet?

So how was this chapter ? Is the story going in the right way ? Are you all liking it ? Please do comment your views and do vote. Lots of love♥️♥️