chapter 3

It was a beautiful day with the sun hiding behind the puffy gray clouds, the air blew in soft gushes flowing through the busy bodies of people mingling with one another in the city.

Traveling through the road far away in an old neighborhood full of old mansions were two friends wandering around on Zoya's bike. She drove by many houses as they assessed the area around them. They looked around to find the perfect background or house for their photoshoot. Much like before there was yet again a photography competition in their university. The theme was a perfect fairytale.

Their gaze flickering from one house to the other. Some were well kept while some looked worn and abandoned with chipping paint and broken windows. Overgrown gardens and dusty exteriors. During their search they came across a haunted looking haveli which looked like no one had been there since centuries. It was an abandoned property with a garden the size of a field with overgrown grass and rotten plants.

Zoya parked the bike outside the main gate. It looked scary but the total structure was what they wanted. They both were fond of exploring new places and unexplored fields in the valley. Capturing Everything that nature here provided. There wasn't much left for them to explore but they weren't still allowed to step out of the city either.

They walked inside the rusted metal gates. The doors creaked as they pushed it open. Hadiya was behind Zoya while she looked around amazed. Old broken chandelier hanging from the ceiling in the main lobby. The sun rays breaking into the hall through the broken huge windows. The ceilings were high with dome-like structures. The haveli looked like an ancient castle.

"What the actual heck!!" Zoya exclaimed as they entered the huge lobby. The walls were tainted yellow but the elegance of the architecture could be sensed from miles away. Her voice echoed in the empty castle.

"This looks creepy" Hadiya added scurrying after her stupid friend. Hadiya was the one paranoid friend everyone had in their friend group but even she couldn't deny the fact that Zoya's adventures were worth the risk.

"Are you kidding me? Look at this- OH MY GOD...... THERE'S A INDOOR FOUNTAIN!!!" She exclaimed running off to the fountain she saw from afar. The pillars around it were covered with vines and moss and the pot of the fountain was all green because of algae.

Hadiya palmed her ears as her friend's voice rang in the quiet place. There was a door made of glass that opened in the field like a garden. They went back into the lobby and walked through the other door right in front of the main door. It opened in a main living room which was empty but had a grand staircase leading to the upper portion.

"Zee let's go back. Koi aa gaya tu? Uper bhoot hua tu?" Hadiya said clutching Zoya's sleeve, her small figure trailed behind her overly excited friend.

(What if someone comes here? What if there's a ghost up there?)

"Husshh.... No one's here. It seems like it's been abandoned since ages. Besides this is the type of a building we were looking for the project, now we won't have to rent a place" Zoya said walking ahead.

"That's the point. Abandoned mansion. No sign of life means more open possibilities of ghosts" Hadiya exaggerated, moving her hands around in the air. Her movements halted as the sound of a piano filled the hallway.

"What was that?" Hadiya asked, freaking out. Zoya placed a finger on her lips indicating Hadiya to stay quiet. She took out her foldable staff holding it in front of her for rapid attack.

"Seriously you're going to hit a ghost with a staff" Hadiya rolled her eyes but panic surged through her as she saw Zoya walking towards a room. The door was ajar.

"Are you crazy? Noooooo... Get back here" Hadiya whispered, clutching the Hem of Zoya's hoodie but the tall girl was not stopping. Zoya swatted her hand away and slowly opened the double doors. The room was grand. The blue tiles were shining when the sun rays graced them. Dust was gathered in every inch of the room, a grand piano sat proudly in the middle. The white piano was dirty but still looked magnificent to look at.

"It's just a mouse look. But Hadi just imagined it. Us running around in this room. Chiffon dresses frolicking behind us, hair swishing around in the air, flower crowns on our heads. Ufffff hadi this is everything we need in order to win the competition. This place is everything we needed for our fairytale shoot." Zoya said, spinning around having a look at her surroundings. She squealed and ran near the piano. Her backpack bouncing on her back.

She walked closer to the piano with slow steps, pressing the keys softly making the sound resound in the room. The sound bounced on the blue walls echoing in the room. Her fingers started working on their own as she played a tune she didn't know ever existed. She never took piano lessons but her fingers worked on their own. She sat down on the dusty chair and closed her eyes.

Her vision was clouded, eyes watered, her words rolled off her tongue. A woman. A beautiful woman to be precise. Her eyes twinkled with a prominent smile on her face. She sang with her voice so melodic that it could entrance anyone passing by. A little girl sat in her lap. The surroundings were black and white. Features unidentified. She looked her way. The baby bump complemented her chubby cheeks. Placing the girls hands on the keys she played the piano along with her.

Her thoughts were broken by loud clapping resounding in the room. Her eyes shot open adjusting to the surroundings. She looked at Hadiya who was clapping while recording standing near her.

"Zee I didn't know you sang that well" Hadiya exclaimed jumping up and down. Zoya didn't know what had just happened, she just looked around confused. Her hands reached up to her face feeling wetness of some sort. She didn't understand why she was crying, her face was emotionless but the wetness leaked out of her eyes unexplainably.

"Neither did I," she answered, jolting away from the piano. Eyebrows furrowed and heart beating abnormally, everything seemed to be a figment of her imagination, reality seemed so unreal.

They explored the mansion as much as they could before dark. Their last stop was the back staircase. It was covered in vines and wild plants.

She felt nostalgic looking at this oddly familiar surroundings. Her eyebrows furrowed as she felt as though she had been here a lot. A weird sense of deja vu hit her. She grew silent as she walked up the beautiful concrete staircase.

"Did you hear that?" She asked, whipping her head to the sound of giggling. Hadiya looked at her friend who looked pained.

Her surroundings turned blur. She blinked multiple times but it didn't adjust. Her vision went back and white making her eyes hurt with the sudden increase in exposure. She unknowingly started jogging up the stairs skipping two at a time.

"What? Zee where are you going?!!" Hadiya yelled seeing Zoya run off to god knows where.

Zoya saw it. She saw the colors of her surroundings fading away making everything appear colorless in black and white.

"Mama" a child called out running further up the stairs. Hadiya kept on calling her but Zoya's ears were numbed. She followed mindlessly. Her head was aching as if someone was hammering nails into her skull. She followed the child into a huge bedroom. It was cream colored with old intricately designed wallpaper on the walls. A king sized wooden bed in the middle of a woman standing near the dressing table brushing her hair.

"Jee Meri jaan" Her steps halted. She turned around to see a woman. Her face constricted as she gazed in the floor length mirror. Her eyes squinted. The same woman from before turned around and stood with open arms.

(Yes my love)

The little girl ran straight into the woman's arms as the woman kissed her all over her little face. She tried to look at the woman's features but nothing was visible. It was just black and white and blurry. The woman gathered the girl in her arms hugging her close to her heart.

Her eyes trained on one spot as she stared at the mother daughter duo. She could see herself standing in the mirror behind them but they didn't acknowledge her. A sudden heaviness was thrown over her shoulders. She felt her oxygen supply cutting off. Her head banged with pain as she clutched her hair with one hand while wiping the sweat with the other. Large portraits of people were displayed on the walls but all were blurry.

"Zoya. Zoya!" she whispered, going near her and placing her hand on her shoulder.

"Huh?" Her trance was broken. Her vision adjusted. The color, the dust, the old room returned to its place as she stared at her surroundings. She stared at the wallpaper which was torn. The bed was covered with spider webs. The mirror was broken. The portraits on the wall were covered with long white sheets.

"What did you hear? What happened?" Hadiya asked, shaking her.

"H.. had... Hadiya. Le... Leave ....me" she said between Hadiya shaking her. Her voice came out broken because of  the shaking. She held her hands and pushed her away.

"Pagal tu nahi ho? Aise kon jhinjhoti hai?" Zoya yelled, flexing her shoulders.

(Are you mad? Who shakes someone like this?)

"Me pagal hon? Yeh Jo tum bhatakti aatmaon ki tarah nikal pari thi 'did you hear that' karti Hui woh? Meri jaan halaq me agaye this Chalo yahan se" Hadiya mimicked Zoya as she dragged her away from the scene. Zoya looked back once, the scene she saw and the throbbing pain she was feeling was something extraordinary. The voices were the same. She had heard them. She has heard them before in her nightmares. The woman looked familiar but she doesn't know why. Her nightmares and these voices were the cause of her panic attacks.

(I'm mad? What's about you running off like a lost soul saying 'did you hear that'. I almost died. Let's go from here)

"I'm coming back here tomorrow with baba" Zoya said once they were on their way home. The sky was still lit with subtle sunlight. It was still early in the evening. Zoya could feel the headache severing, she feared if they would be able to go home with her spinning head.

"Why?" Hadiya asked loudly over the gushing sound of the wind. The roads were clear making it easier for Zoya to go at a lower speed.

"I don't know but I want the complete background of this mansion. It feels important" she said mindlessly. Her brain kept going back to those voices. She closed her eyes momentarily feeling the pain increase. The song, the tune, the voices rang in her head making it spin.

"ZOYA!!!" Hadiya screeched, making Zoya open her eyes. She dodged the car coming towards them with full force and was just minutes away from hitting them. She clutched the break tightly stopping the bike at the side of the road.

"ARE YOU INSANE!!" Hadiya yelled. The car drove away as it was driving in the wrong lane.

"Hadi speak softly please. I'm already having a headache." Zoya said, taking off her helmet. She suddenly felt hot in the cold weather. The temperature was getting colder these days but all of a sudden Zoya was sweating profusely. she fanned herself in an attempt to make her feel a little better.

She felt suffocated. Her hands were trembling, she got down from the bike and sat on the sidewalk.

"Zee are you okay? Oh my God you're growing pale" Hadiya panicked as she fished a water bottle out of her backpack. She sprinkled water on Zoya's face. She gave Zoya some chips to eat. Zoya couldn't help but thank Allah for giving her such a good friend, Hadiya's worry and concern were etched on her face.

"Alhamdulillah I'm fine now Hadi let's go" Zoya said after a while. Her headache was still there the spinning of her head had stopped. She could easily drive home now. Sometimes she thinks her baba was right telling her not to buy a bike but her being the reckless nineteen year old she was she didn't listen and got it, she knew her father adored the bike more than she ever will. Once a rider always a rider.

She wore her helmet again and soon they were speeding off to their respective homes. Dropping off Hadiya she went to her home. She parked in the garage and came face to face with none other than the workaholic genius, Einstein.

"Are you okay?" Zahan asked seeing her walk inside the house. He had just parked his car in the garage when he saw his stupid cousin and her death trap motorcycle.

"Yeah." Was her answer. Zahan was expecting a whole article on how she wasn't feeling well but seeing her hazy and pale self he couldn't help but take a double check at her.

She had already walked into the house leaving him behind. Not thinking much about it he also went inside. Her mind was still in a haze. The woman, she had seen her before. She's always there, the voice it's there in her mind. She stumbled on her foot making her bump into Muznah but regained her balance.

"Are you blind? Watch where you're going! Hey answer me" Muznah yelled at her back, she didn't stay instead she silently walked inside the house.

"Resham bua Meri chai mere room me de dijiye ga please." He heard Zoya's voice from above the staircase. She looked awfully dead.

(Resham aunty please give me my tea in my room please.)

Zahan watched her carefully walking and tripping up the stairs. She was awfully quiet, he was surprised to not be annoyed to death by her today but he also felt as though his day wasn't complete without her bickering.

"What happened to her?" He asked his mother after greeting her. His mother's eyes softened seeing her favorite niece.

"I don't know, maybe she's a little tired, '' Rabia said looking up to her son. Rabia and Farzan had three sons and one daughter. Zahan, Ayan, Shayla and Hamza. Zahan being the oldest was 28 years old, Ayan was 23 years old, Shayla 20 years old and Hamza 19 years old.

It was dinner time when everyone was gathered in the dining room except for Zoya. She laid in her room staring lifelessly at the fan circling on the ceiling. The song kept replaying in her mind. She tried to stop it or tried listening to other songs but that only intensified her headache. She decided staying in the room like a depressed girl won't do her any good hence she decided to join everyone for dinner.

"Where is Zoya? Haven't seen her all day" Dada jaan asked. Wajid Alam Khan was a man of high respect and honor. He didn't pay much attention to any of his grandchildren and everyone was scared of his strict personality but Zoya was well Zoya who didn't know the meaning of strictness and seriousness.

"She's in her room Baba. She said she wasn't feeling well" Yasir replied. He was the first person she went to after coming home. She had just laid there with her head in his lap and told him about the abandoned haveli and how she wants him to find the background information of that place for her.

"Khairiyat? Achanak se Kya hogaya?" Rabia asked worriedly. Muznah rolled her eyes and scoffed. Rabia gave her a side look and chose to ignore her.

(Everything ok? How did she get sick all of sudden?)

"Nothing much, just a little headache." Yasir replied, focusing back on his food. He was really worried for her. She didn't even come to him when she first came home like she always does. Neither did he hear her paying her Salam loudly in the house so that everyone in the house knows she's home. When he had gone to check up on her he found her curled in a ball and staring at the wall without blinking.

"Assalamualaikum!" Her voice rang in the dining hall. She walked down the stairs looking fresh. She had changed into a pair of loose palazzo pants and baggy t-shirt and had wrapped a scarf around her neck.

"How are you feeling now?" Dada jaan asked after everyone replied to her greeting.

"Ohh I'm much better now. It was just a headache. I slept it off" she grinned widely and eyed the food while rubbing her palms together.

"Umhmm.... Who's the chef today?" She asked, looking at her Tayi Ammi expectantly. Rabia smiled softly at her.

"Today's dinner is from muznah," Rabia said, smiling at Zoya's radiating face.

"Oh.. really I knew at first sight it was choti Tayi that made this yummy curry-" she said smiling widely and extending her hand to take the curry bowl but muznah took the bowl away and started serving her son.

"Here Bazid." She said putting the curry in her son's plate lovingly and placing the dish away from Zoya's reach. Yasir controlled his anger and extended his plate for his daughter but Zoya just smiled, shaking her head and filled her plate with some pulao.

"So.. zee are you participating in the photography competition?" Hamza asked. He was one year junior to her in the same university but studying medicine.

"Yeah, I am but I still haven't confirmed everything," she said, turning her attention to him.

"What are you guys going for?" This time it was Minahil, Muznah's daughter. She was in the same field but she mostly modeled for her friend.

"Um.. I don't really know. I have yet to find a place and everything and till then I can't really say what I'll be going for" she said. She would never in her life repeat the same mistake she did last time. Minahil stole her inspiration and had copied the whole shoot and won last time but this time she won't even let her get a hint that she's ready for everything.

"Oh. And who's modeling for you?" Minahil asked. Her team was lousy and lazy. They never came up with authentic ideas and the only reason they won last time was because Zoya left her ideas unconcealed.

"Uh.. like I said before I'm not sure. There's still enough time so I think I'll find someone." She said, turning her attention back to her food and Shayla.

"But you- owww" Shayla was about to say something but Zoya kicked her under the table. Zoya glared at her, making her shut up. Minahil eyed the two suspiciously.

"Is everything okay today Mr Einstein is home early?" Zoya said, turning her head to a silent Zahan. He looked at her and raised a questioning brow at her.

"Why can I not come home early?" He asked, leaning forward on the table. His eyes not leaving hers and hers not backing down anytime soon. Just when he thought she wasn't going to acknowledge his presence.

"You can but it's just surprising that you decided to leave your wife for a day. Didn't she mind?" She said, placing her chin in her palm. The argument was pointless but Zoya staying silent was not an option she just had to say something no matter what.

"My wife?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. 'I take my words back she was better quiet then this' he thought, sighing.

"Ohh you know your work and office. How do you feel leaving your addiction behind? Don't you feel sad while cheating on her" She said, pushing her fist forward as if she's holding a mic.

"You know the argument is pointless," Zahan said, finishing the last of his food and getting up to leave.

"So even if it's pointless you can't leave it hanging. Mr Zahan you haven't answered my question the world needs to know" she said taking her plate running after him in the kitchen.

"Shut up and leave me alone. Ammi makes her go away" Zahan groaned, coming back and going back to his den.

Like always the rest were left to shake their heads on their useless banter. They never objected since Zahan never talked much and kept reserved to himself. He didn't have any friends nor did he try making any. Rabia felt at ease knowing there's already one person who can get a reaction out of Zahan and that was Zoya.

"Be aware bhabi. Don't leave Zahan with this girl too much. After all he's just a man and she's a young girl" Muznah whispered in Rabia's ear. Rabia looked at her sister in law with confusion shining in her brown orbs.

"What do you mean to say Muznah?" Rabia asked in a stern tone. It was not hidden that Zahid had shown a liking for Zoya and hence why Muznah was trying to get him married quickly.

"I mean you know how she trapped Zahid in her trap and now she's after Zahan." Muznah whispered disgustingly. Rabia felt an urge to slap the filth out of her head. Not only was she bad mouthing a girl but also dragging her son into it.

"Muznah first of all dear they both are cousins, second of all Zahan is a man exactly not an animal who could be trapped easily. They both are adults and it would be better if you pay attention to your kids rather than mine" Rabia said and left the kitchen where they were dishing out the remaining food to store. Muznah slammed the dish on the counter making it clinck.

"That girl will not have a permanent position in this family. Not on my watch" she gritted her teeth before going away. Several obstacles awaited Zoya but now was not the time.......