"Zahra, if you ruin my holiday grumbling like this and snoring through your sadness at home, I promise you that I'm never gonna come here ever again, even if you send a private jet at my doorstep, do you hear me?" Avantika bellowed, irritated to see her friend not budging an inch out of her cubby hole of a room, since that day when her mother had suddenly announced her betrothal to that creepy guy. "It's the last day of the year, for God sake!" she continued saying, her anger flashing in her eyes, and growing in intensity each minute towards Zahra, making her sit up in her bed, with the blankets still reaching up to her chin. She rubbed her eyes, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from, and if it was real or just a dream, all the while looking as innocent as a new-born baby.
"So what? It's a holiday for all I know, and frankly, that's all I care about. Don't you go around rousing people as if they are dead, Okay. Go wherever the heck you want to. I haven't stopped anyone or hackled them in chains, so that they can't leave. Now don't talk nonsense in my ears and let me sleep, will you?" Zahra replied with an edge in her voice that went on to become a hoarse shout as she lied down once again, pulling the covers over her eyes.
The bickering between the two didn't stop, even when they had reached the breakfast table. In fact, it was becoming more heated as the time passed. After watching the whole drama at close range, Laura concluded in her mind, that there was clearly no reasoning in their argument. They had even strayed off-topic. She finally decided to butt in, thinking of a brilliant idea that she was sure, would work out excellently. Besides, her ears had become so hot that they were, literally, puffing out smoke like a steam engine, due to all the shouting that was going on around her. Suddenly, when she couldn't take it anymore, she said in a stern voice, "If you two say anything to each other for even a minute more, I'm seriously gonna believe that you Indians are nothing but a bunch of uncivilized, savage beasts."
That did it. The two of them instantly stopped squabbling and began to eat the rest of their breakfast in silence. You could say anything to them about themselves, but, when it came to their country, they couldn't take in even a single bad word uttered in relation with it. Laura was quite pleased with the effect her words had caused, and couldn't help a small smile from coming to her lips, in spite of the frustration she was feeling inside. After a considerable minutes had passed without any of them saying anything, she seized the opportunity to propose a plan to them, to celebrate the end of the year, and see how they reacted to it.
After deliberating for a few more minutes, she said, "Someone told me about this multi-cultural fair, which is organized at the end of every year, at the Trapeze Cultural Centre. It is located on the southern fringes of the city, near the Tulip Boulevard, in case you haven't heard about the place. It goes on till the New Year is well and truly underway, and has a lot of fun things to do over there. Most of the people just go there to celebrate their holidays, to relax a bit and eat the good food that's provided almost free. It's basically for charity purposes, you know, one of those events in which the money collected goes to charity. I thought that we should go check it out for once, and what's the best time than tonight, don't you think?! So...will you two be coming with me or not?"
"I'm totally in on this. You just have to make this 'grumbling old bag' to agree with it. I'm quite sure she will say no, by the way, the kind of a spoiler she is" Avi said, raising her hands in the air, and directing her gaze, as she finished talking, towards Zahra, who sat staring at her plate filled with food, rotating the spoon around it, with her fingers. "You two can go. I'm pretty comfortable here, so I'm planning to stay. Thank you very much for asking" she said, still eyeing her plate, with a glum expression. "Oh! Please, like we're gonna leave you here alone, all by yourself. Show this kind of an attitude to somebody else, okay. Either we'll all go or everyone will stay at home. So, we all are going, and that's it" Laura stated in a matter-of-fact tone, indicating that the topic was closed for any further discussion.
As the last evening of the year unfolded, it saw all the three friends' pile up into Laura's car and drive southwards to the designated place to witness one of the largest fairs in the whole country. The annual fair was definitely a big affair that was obvious. The Cultural Centre spanned wide in all directions and the whole place was glittering with bright lights dazzling everyone. There were about a thousand shops and stalls, selling from anything to everything. A sea of people had gathered over here and it looked as if the whole city was present, still excluding those who had come from other parts of the world. There were exciting rides of all kinds in one corner of the grounds, fun and games arcades, food stalls selling all kinds of tasty treats ranging from snacks to desserts boasting of Indian chats to French macaroons, apparel and footwear shops and millions of other things that one couldn't even count on ten small fingers of their hands. There was a gypsy-looking guy who was blowing rings of fire from his mouth, and a large circus where all kinds of animals performed daring acts. A number of traditional dancers, who had come in groups from their respective countries gracefully twisted and turned their lithe figures in another corner of the grounds to the beats of drums, guitars, violins, and many such kinds of musical instruments that few people knew existed.
In the middle of the Cultural Centre, a huge digital clock was placed that counted down the hours, minutes and seconds to midnight. People had already begun to gather around it to see the huge fireworks that would start to explode to celebrate the New Year in a few hours. The trio was amazed with all the hustle and bustle of activity going on around them. Avi ran towards the food stalls as fast as her legs could carry her, Laura ran to check out different types of clothes and the styles currently trending on the planet, which were on exhibit in a nearby shop. Zahra walked around a bit, taking in every scene to store in her memory, and maybe tell it all to her Amma, sometime later on.
But, with a flash, she remembered her mother and her association with the most dreadful news she had ever told her about. Her words were still etched in her mind from that day, "I'm sure I've raised you well enough to see the light of the situation and I hope that you wouldn't let us down." 'Let us down'. They were letting her down, unknowingly. And that guy, Adel Jamal. That monster had the audacity to bluff her parents into believing that he was the sweetest and nicest guy that was ever born in the whole universe, let alone a mere planet. He could make any picture look sordid, just by his ominous presence. And in this instance, that picture was Zahra's life. She walked on, not knowing where she was going when a sound of music reached her ears and enthralled her beyond measure. A strange attraction to the music took over her and she began to move towards it, finally reaching the source of the sound. There was a Spanish group of dancers, dancing to the tune of their traditional music. A dashing young man with jet black hair and the same color of eyes, was standing on a little pedestal, a few meters away from his group, with a banjo (a small guitar)in his hand, singing out a story in broken English words. A beautiful woman was enacting the scenes of the story through dancing. She too had jet black hair, but hers were long and silky compared to the young man. The story was about some knight who had gone and died in the war and left his lady love behind him to weep her sorrow. Eventually, the lady went on to carry out some task that he had set for her as his dying wish, which she came to know about from his fellow comrade. The man kept singing all this in his clear high-pitched voice, leaving Zahra spellbound.
"Such a beautiful performance." A deep throaty voice and a light touch on her shoulder brought her back to earth. Instant recognition hit her mind, and she turned to see the man himself. "What? You recognized my voice? I can't believe it" he said in a tone laced with surprise. "In case you haven't noticed, I've had my fair share of hearing it in the beginning of my career here, as a trainee. Besides, you also tapped my shoulder, remember? I never thought of finding you here, of all people, by the way. These fairs and all are more like our kind of things, right. Why waste your time in a place filled with people like us? You should be attending your gala events right now" Zahra retorted, unable to hold back the sarcasm from her voice. "Are you trying to get me out of here?" David asked, amused. "But I won't cut your pay for this, because I know you are just being hot-headed at the moment. Let's take a walk, shall we?" "I've been doing exactly that for the past half hour. But, never mind, there's still a lot I haven't seen over here that I can't say no, I guess" Zahra replied, complying with his request. She put a few coins in a hat placed nearby, probably belonging to the Spanish young man and walked away with David Walworth, who had gone on a few paces ahead of her.
Once she had gained those few paces, and was walking beside him, he began saying, "I come here every year, to unwind myself a bit and detach myself from the tangle of my life, to let it all go into nothing for a bit." Zahra kept quiet this time, listening to his side of the story and noticing that once he was out of his office, he changed a lot, becoming a bit more relaxed and human. It was a good change from being mechanical all the time. "It's a great distraction, coming here", he went on saying, looking far out into the crowd with a faint, relaxed smile on his lips. "I...I've heard that most of the money goes to charity from this event. Do you know when it all began, sir?" Zahra asked hesitantly, afraid that she might be interrupting him, but, all the same, curious to know some background story to the fest. It was a kind of a year-end fest, after all. "I keep my personal and professional lives separate, so... just call me Dave, alright. About the fest, yeah, it actually began a few years back. The companies having headquarters in the country found it a great way to raise money for charity, contributing together to make it a success."
"The name of Walworth & Co. figures largely on the list of contributors and donators, and I'm not bragging when I say that. You should be proud, by the way. The money raised mainly goes to finance a group of schools for girls in Cambodia and the 'Walworth School of Management' in the developing countries. The rest goes to other parts of the world, excluding all that is earned by the shop-owners over here" he finished speaking, with a proud smile upon his face. "Wow! That is a great thing" Zahra managed to say, after all the information she'd received. They kept on walking in silence for about two or three minutes, when suddenly, Dave asked excitedly, "Hey, do you wanna go grab something to eat? I know a place here, where they make the most amazing burgers." Zahra nodded in agreement, suddenly feeling hungry, as he led the way.
After reaching the food stalls, they grabbed two burgers and a large plate of potato scallops, finding a quiet place to eat in peace. "Mm! this thing is really heavenly" Zahra remarked, after taking a bite from her burger, from which a mixture of Worcestershire sauce and mayonnaise was stealthily oozing out. Before she could get out her purse to give out the money, David had already paid the guy. He raised his hands in mock surrender, seeing as Zahra was about to protest, and said "No comments please! It wouldn't ever be possible that I'd let you give the money, so no arguments there."
After a while, Avi came looking for her 'best friend' and when Zahra introduced her to David Walworth, she was stunned and stood gaping at him for a good five minutes. Her mouth kept hanging open like a dog until Zahra nudged her in the stomach to make her come out of her trance, at which she squirmed and finally stopped staring at him in awe. "I...I...I'm really sorry. I just couldn't believe that you were standing here, in person" Avi stammered. "It's okay. It seems I have that effect on most of the ladies, in general" David said, and winked at Avi. "Modesty is certainly not your middle name, right Dave?" Zahra remarked, rolling her eyes.
"Certainly not. So, there's just half an hour left for the fireworks to go off, and my dear ladies, if you wanna have that once in a lifetime experience of seeing the iridescent sparks from a close range, I suggest you see it from up there" Dave told them, pointing at the giant wheel in the distance. "Yeah! Let's go Zee" Avi chimed excitedly, dragging Zahra by the arm. "No. Please Avi, let go of my arm" Zahra replied impatiently, restraining her from pulling her forward. "I'm fine here. I can see the sparks. I'm not blind, just so you know. You go and enjoy yourself."
"Zahra, could you keep my watch for the time being? I know I'm being stupid when I say that I'm afraid it will fall off, but, I have a special connection with it. It's just precious to me" Dave said, handing her his faded gold watch. "It belonged to my mother", he added, hesitating a bit, a sad expression shadowing his face. Zahra nodded, subconsciously surprised, taking the watch from his hands. Wait a sec. Had he just called her by her first name? He sure was getting chummy. "What's my name again?" she asked him, calling out, her brows drawn. He stopped midway, remembering his mistake. Turning round, he said "I think I told you that I keep my personal and professional lives separate." "Yes, but I don't. On the job or off the job, I'm only Ms. Fatimah." "Got it, Miss Fatimah" Dave smiled, bowed pompously and went away.
After about ten minutes had passed, suddenly, the first fireworks zoomed in the sky. The crowd cheered, delighted. After some time, Zahra saw Avi coming back, alone. "His girlfriend called. A girl going by the name of Demetria. She wanted him to reach some luxury restaurant, pronto" Avi said bitterly. "And here, he was flirting with me." "He left his watch" Zahra replied, irritated. "So...don't go running to give it to him, okay. You won't find him, he's already flying down the road in his 'Aston'." "By the way, have you seen Laura?" "She came when you were away. She found some old friends and went with them. Told me to meet her at the parking lot in about ten minutes" Zahra replied, stifling a yawn, and looking at her watch. "Feeling sleepy? Let's go. It isn't even fit for us to stay here, anymore. The party's getting wild and there is too much drinking going on" Avi said looking at her, and took her hand as they walked, and the duo slowly disappeared into the milling crowd.
Getting back to work after the brief holiday, the first thing Zahra had in mind was to return Walworth Jr.'s 'highly precious' watch. 'Like anyone would leave it just like that with somebody they had only known since not so long ago!' she thought. She entered the huge building, began to wait for the lift to come down and reached the right floor, once getting into the lift. She took the turning that led towards the CEOs office, and the sight that greeted her eyes made her eyebrows to shoot upwards like an arrow and her eyes to pop out of her sockets, for the Regional Manager, Ms. Demetria Torres was literally perched onto the carved mahogany desk of the CEO! And Mr. David Walworth was sitting on one of the chairs close to the table!! The two were leaning into each other and sucking off each other's faces like there was no tomorrow. "Eww" was all that Zahra could say after taking in the gross scene.
'Probably, this isn't such a great time to go inside' she thought and turned around to go, resolving to come back sometime later. But. She hadn't got that plenty of time like them. She would give it to him now, or he could come for it himself, for she had no notion of keeping it with her anymore. It was being irksome to her, like she had a part of him which had been forced onto her, and she honestly she didn't like it. Her thoughts running this way, she moved forward and thrust the large glass doors open with full force. The two of them instantly broke apart, stunned by this sudden intervention. Before anyone of them could react, she put the gold wristwatch on the table, saying "You left your property with me last night", and left as suddenly as she had come. They could only stare after her departing figure, trying to figure out what just happened. The comment caused Demetria's mouth to hang open, leaving a mixture of surprise and anger chasing each other over her face. She was confused. And angry, beyond words. What did she mean by that statement of hers? She was so in trouble now.
And that day, Zahra made a new and a powerful enemy. And a jealous one too....
-----------Author's Note------------
Assalam/ hello evryone
i'm back from my writing break. i just can't say that i was really busy or something when i was actually lazying around, enjoying my holidays and didn't feel like writing anything. still i'm very sorry for the super late update, for those who actually waited for it. as u guys can see i've halved the chapter, just to update a bit quicker. i've made a slight change in the cast, changing the main guy from brandon routh to chace crawford because i found him a little too old for the role ;)
please do read, vote and comment, cause m itching for a response from you people and it would be lovly if i get a few encouraging votes and comments. they would motivate me to update quicker than usual :)
luv yah........ enjoyyyeeee :D
oh btw, picture on the side is of david walworth....