Zoya ran down the staircase of Hooda House holding her pallu in one hand and her purse in another. It was a typical morning at Hoodas where they were all set to rush to work while trying to catch up on the breakfast table.

"Anjanaaa, aaj naashta milega ki nahi? Ya hume bhookhe hi Court jana padega?", Harsh shouted from the dining table where he and Arjun were waiting for breakfast to be served.

"Bas 2 minute aur, Harsh", Anjana shouted back from the kitchen.

"Good Morning, Papa", Zoya bent and touched Harsh's feet seeking his ashirwaad as her every morning ritual before leaving for work. She has learned that from her very husband who never leaves his house before he seeks his parents' blessings.

Papa Hooda lovingly placed his hand on Zoya's head. "Zoya beta, apni saas ko zara dekho jaa k ki kahan reh gayi h. Naashta ready hua ki nahi", he complaint while checking his wristwatch.

"Hum dekhte h, Papa", she said with a smile.

As soon as she turned towards the kitchen her mother-in-law came out with a breakfast tray in her hands. Zoya ran to help her bring the rest of the food from the kitchen to the table. The two women served the men hot breakfast with their favourite ginger tea.

"Mom, khushboo to bahut gazab ki aa rahi h. Aaj kya special banaya h?", Arjun asked.

"Tere favorite Cheese Corn Sandwiches"

Anjana replied while serving him the sandwich.

"Shukr h naashta aaj hi mil gaya. Thank You so much, beta", Harsh said to Zoya who poured a hot cup of tea for him.

Anjana rolled her eyes at her husband's taunt. Then picked the bowl of Russian Salad and served some on Harsh's plate.

"Dekh rahi ho, beta. Aise hi zurm krti h tumhari Saas mujh pe. Din-raat yeh ghaas-pus khila ke"

Harsh said to Zoya while pointing towards the Russian Salad on his plate and started eating quitely when Anjana stared at him.

"Zoya, tum bhi jaldi se naashta kr lo. Tumhe bhi late ho raha hoga", a worried Anjana said to her bahu while serving a plate of breakfast for her. Zoya was about to sit when her phone buzzed. It was a message with an urgent note from her Office. The client who was supposed to come after lunch has decided to show up early.

Zoya quickly stood and grabbed her purse from across the table. "Sorry Maa, hum Office me hi kuch khaa lenge. Pr abhi hume jana hoga", she told as her phone kept ringing with more texts.

"Theek h, main Adi se keh deti hu tumhe Office drop kr dega", her mother-in-law commanded.

"Nahi maa, Aditya kal Airport se late aaye the. Woh so rahe h. Please unhe disturb mat kijiye. Hum aaj Office driver ke saath hi chale jaenge"

Like everyday, Zoya did not forget to touch her mother-in-law's feet before leaving which made Anjana feel very proud. For the past few weeks, she has been noticing subtle changes in Zoya's behavior. The way she accepted the family, has learned their traditions and most importantly, she started understanding her responsibilities towards Adi.

~~~~~~~~~~

Its been over a month since Sahir was missing. Waseem and his men weren't able to track him. Despite all the information he got from Mona, Waseem failed in his attempts which made him more mad. His assassin was on the streets of Mumbai searching for his victim everywhere. Waseem was desperate to get to Sahir before Sahir could reach Zoya.

"Aur kitna waqt chahiye tumhe uss napaak ko dhundhne ke liye, Hussain?"

Waseem was on call with assassin to whom he had given contract for Sahir's death.

"Bas thoda sabr rakhiye, Janab. Woh jahan bhi chhupa h hum usse jahannum se bhi dhundh nikalenge. Aap hum pr aitbaar rakhiye"

Waseem was about to threaten when he heard his wife coming into the room and immediately disconnected the phone and threw it away.

Roshnaq was scared of his behavior lately. She was even afraid to ask her husband the matter. She placed the tray of evening tea on the table and turned to leave when he spoke.

"Kya baat h, Roshnaq. Aap hume apne haathon se chai nahi dengi?"

Roshnaq poured tea from the kettle in the cup without saying a word. He was standing by the window. She handed him the cup.

"Aap kuch puchna chahti h humse"

Waseem asked her while taking a sip of hot tea as she stood silently beside him.

"Aap kuch dino se pareshaan lag rahe h. Hume fikr h aapki. Kya kaarobar me koi masla h ya fir Zoya ko le kr kuch ..."

"Zoya khush h apne sasuraal me. Hum apni beti tk kabhi koi takleef nahi pahunchne denge. Aap iss maamle me naa paden to behtar hoga"

Waseem said cutting her words. Roshnaq had sensed something was off, but she also knew he doesn't want her to get involved. As long as her daughter was fine, she was fine.

After Roshnaq left the room, Waseem's phone rang. He smiled seeing the name of the caller.

~~~~~~~~~~

It has been over a month since Sahir received the news of his mother's death. After that his house didn't felt like home. That's why he left his house and was living in a bunker. He didn't even know where she was buried. And it's not like that he didn't try to find her. He kept going from one cemetery to another, hoping to say goodbye to his mother for the last time. That's when he found him.

Sahir was engrossed in his own thoughts when he heard a knock on the door. He got up from the cement floor to answer.

"Sahir, darwaza kholo. Tumhare liye khana laya hu", the man standing at the door handed over the food package.

Sahir looked at him with a weak smile. "Aapne jo mere liye kia h aur jo kr rahe h usska ahsaan pata nahi main kaise chuka paunga, Dr. Kabir"

"Waqt waqt hi baat h, dost. Insaan hi insaan ke kaam aata h. Main sirf apna farz nibha raha hu", Dr. Kabir smiled.

About 5 weeks ago, Sahir was in his house not aware of the danger moving closer to him. He hadn't eaten in 3 days and was sick. That night was raining cats and dogs. Hussain & his men had gotten a lead about Sahir's location. There was continuous banging on Sahir's door but he was lying on the floor half conscious. After few minutes the banging stopped which means the door had been broken. Sahir knew what was to come. He was ready to die. To be free of pain.

The door fell on the ground with thud and they rushed in. With his eyes half open he could tell that there was a group of 12 men around him.

"Dekh kya rahe ho? Maaro isse", Hussain said.

They were brutal with their kicks and punches. Sahir didn't fight them back because he wanted them to kill him. When they got tired, Sahir was bleeding from everywhere. But he did not feel a single thing as his mind has become numb.

"Yeh to pehle se hi mara h, Bhaijaan. Isse maar k kya fayda", one of the assassins commented.

Hussain loathed Sahir and slapped him on the face. "Humne apne Aakaa, Waseem sahab ko zubaan di h ki isski laash unke tohfe me denge"

Sahir could hear only a few words of what they said. Hussain grabbed his neck and pulled him up from the floor. Sahir saw his face clearly for the first time. Before Sahir could register those burning eyes, Hussain kicked him hard between the legs. He screamed in pain as never before. And the last thing he saw was the smirk on that cruel face.

Hearing Sahir's cry, Hussain & his men laughed. He was writhing in pain, but was not dead, yet. Hussain had every intention of killing Sahir. He had planned how painful he would make Sahir's death. He grabbed his hair and started dragging him outside.

Then the sound of siren was heard from some distance and everyone stopped at their places. Someone had informed the Police. Hussain signaled his men to drop everything and run for their lives.

Before leaving, he grabbed Sahir's face to say, "Yeh mat smjhna ki tu bach gaya. Khuda gawah h Hussain koi bhi kaam adhura nahi chodta. Fir aaunga aur teri maut saath le kr aaunga"

"Agar uss raat aapne meri jaan nhi bachayi hoti to na jane mera kya hota", Sahir had tears in his eyes as he expressed his gratitude to Dr. Kabir.

That night it was none other than Dr. Kabir who had sent that fake siren to drive away Hussain.

"Shayad yeh tumhari Ammi ke achche karm aur unki duaaein hi h jinhone mujhe uss raat tum tk pahunchaya"

"Jo bhi ho, aap mere liye kisi farishte se kam nahi h"

Sahir always believed somewhere in his heart that it was his Ammi who sent Kabir that night. She was watching him from the heaven above. Every night he looks at the stars twinkling in the sky through the little window of the bunker and knows it is her.

"Tumhare saath jo hua galat hua h. Lekin Sahir, har aadmi ek jaisa nahi hota. Tum apna yakeen mt khona. Jis insaan ne tumhari Ammi, tumhari mohabbat, tumhari zindagi tumse cheen li woh kitna khatarnaak hoga. Tumhe sambhal k rehna hoga", Kabir advised.

After Sahir had escaped from the asylum, Kabir received the news that a dangerous mental patient was on the run. After learning that it was Sahir, he decided to search for him. That night when he was returning from his duty, he heard Sahir's name in a conversation between some men with weapons. He decided to follow them and that's how he was able to save Sahir.

"Apna haath aage kro", Dr. Kabir asked Sahir to pull up his sleeves while preparing to give him the injection.

Sahir has been having nightmares ever since he escaped the asylum & only worsened when he learned of his mother's demise. To stop his nightmares and help him sleep, Dr. Kabir was injecting him with high doses of medicines. He already knew about Sahir's medical history and his mental condition. Since Sahir had refused to accept electric shock for treatment, sleeping pills were the only option.

"Mujhe ab jana hoga isse pehle ki mujhe yahan koi dekh le. Tum please ander hi rehna", before leaving he said to Sahir.

"Main kahan jaunga"

Sahir closed the door of the bunker behind him and sat on the floor. There were no windows in that bunker. He was completely alone in that small space where no one from outside could hear him. He spent his last month in that dark, lonely, cold place. Kabir had asked him to stay inside as Waseem's men were hunting for him everywhere. Dr. Kabir had locked the gate from outside. So Sahir had nowhere else to go. All he did was eat & sleep. He was feeling sleepy due to the injection.

He tried to open his eyes to see his mother in once more. There she was, waving at him. He waved back at her from the window. His eyes slowly closed and he fell into a deep slumber.

Was it really her or was Sahir really going mad? Because there was not a single window in that bunker.

**********

Hello beautiful people! How you doing??

I know I've been gone for a really long time. But I am back now!

Tell me how much you missed me :)

Can't wait to read your comments.

And don't forget to vote ;)