Zoya was confused. Where should she wait? She couldn't wait from she stood now, obviously could be seen. Should she hide? But where? There's nowhere to hide around. She stood at the mouth of the alley leading to the field. On the left and right were only attached houses. She might enter someone's house. What if the householder thought her as a thief and shouted at her?She was getting more confused. There was no other way but to try to trace the alley she passed before. She hesitated for a moment and afraid get lost.On seeing Praveen coming out of the public toilet, Zoya turned around right away. She decided to go back. But a minute later, she tried to look back in the hope that he was behind her, but Praveen disappeared. there were only a few passers-by.Where the hell was he? Why did he suddenly just disappear? Zoya nagged herself. Damn it, she felt left out.Inevitably Zoya had to go home alone. She tried to remember the alley she went through. When there was another alley, she
Zoya sat in one corner of her room. There was nothing else in the room other than a traveling bag, a shopping bag containing the small things she bought earlier, a bucket and a dipper. The room still looked empty and loose. She was confused, how to buy items that are rather large such as folding mattress, small table, fan, portable electric stove and others?Actually, it's not about buying the tools that was the problem, but how to bring them to the rented house. Vehicles such as bajaj cannot enter through the alley. Like it or not, she had to carry it herself. Carrying a bucket and crackle bag, she had to suppress her ego in such a way, it felt like people were staring at her. She was not used to taking care of these things all her life. All her needs were always available. If she need something, there was a maid at the house to do it.Four years in Boston was also easier. She lived in a fully equipped apartment. Even though she lived alone, she felt comfortable. Just studying, she
The elementary school building looked dingy and in some places the plaster of the walls was peeled off. There was no signboard in front of the school, but at first glance one would had known this was a school. The building consists of several classes and the courtyard was reddish soil. It was spacious to allow students to play, or perform ceremonies or to exercise. Chhota Taara Elementary School or Little Star was one of the schools in Dharavi. This school was better than other because it was bigger and resembled a normal school. Other schools were mostly like ordinary buildings that attached to other houses or places of business. The only sign that marked it was the name sign written on the front of the building. Zoya was more than half hour looking for this Chhota Taara. She was a little tired of searching around and asking people. Luckily she went to this school in early so that when she found the school it wasn't hot yet, and she wasn't sweating either. The school yard seemed em
For the past two days Praveen had felt like a bird in a cage. He could not go anywhere other than just sitting diligently in front of the sewing machine, sewing one after another. Finished one, sewed another one, and so on. From morning until late at night. His body felt crushed, his eyes stinging because he focused on seeing the needle that went up and down. He could only rest for half an hour at lunch. He was sure this was not the right job for him. And he would not like a job like this for the rest of his life. He endured these two days for the sake of Uncle Anand who had been kind enough to give him a place to stay. From time to time he said a prayer, that the worker who had returned to his village would back here soon so that he would not have the burden of leaving this place. And sure enough, his prayer was answered in the afternoon, when that man appeared at Uncle Anand's house. It turned out that he was still young, at least the same age as him. He looked on cynically when he
It was a lonely night at Uncle Anand's house. The workers were away on weekend. Even though they still work on Sundays, they don't want to miss Saturday night. Incidentally Uncle Anand and his wife were also out. Only Praveen and Raju were in the narrow front room, sitting and watching tv. "You didn't go out, Praveen?" asked Raju. "How about you? Why don't you go out for a Saturday night?" Praveen asked back. "What for? Only spend the money. It's better for me just stay at home. This year I have to be frugal to raise money." "You want to get married?" Raju just smiled. "You think thrift just to get married, do you? No! I want to get out of India!" "Where?" asked Praveen curiously. "I want to emigrate. I have two choices, maybe Dubai or Australia. But most likely Dubai. Australia is a bit tough. I don't have any sponsors there." "Sponsorship? What do you mean?" "That's the person who guaranteed us there! Otherwise Visa will not come out. I don't want to be an illegal immigrant.
It's a half past ten at night. Uncle Anand's family hadn't come home yet. Praveen had been waiting for them for twenty minutes. Another worker who lived in the house had not yet returned either."Why aren't they home yet?" Praveen asked Raju who was accompanying him in the front room."At eleven o'clock they come home. It's normal, they often come home late when they go out at weekend. Just wait," replied Raju. "Would you like me to make some chai tea?""Don't bother. I don't want to drink.""Let's have a drink while waiting for them to come home."Praveen shook his head. He was a little bit nervous waiting for Uncle Anand to come home. He wanted to tell him that he got a job and start to work tomorrow and decided to move to a new place of work. Of course Praveen had to tell him because the man had already given him a stay.Finally Uncle Anand came home."You didn't go out or just at home earlier?" the man asked seeing Praveen and Raju just sitting in front of the tv."We also just g
Zoya pushed her irritation away. She tried to think positively. No need to take it personal the abuse. It was not Zoya Bipasha who was abused, but the role she played in Dharavi. Ashita Agrawal. If she introduced herself as real, the response she would receive would be different. It could be that the principal is inferior to her. His expression would change to one of respect. Zoya was sure.She finally stepped out of the school. Although she was not accepted, there was one lesson she learned.First, never underestimate people, let alone just by looking at the appearance. Appearances are deceiving.Second, a person is valued not because of the status one holds but from the side of his/her humanity. Every human being wants to be appreciated, right?Yeah, this is the life lesson that I got today! Zoya thought. The lessons learned are not theoretical or by reading books. But what happened to her is direct.Remembering that, Zoya was no longer upset. Her steps were light. But just a few met
That morning all seemed busy preparing. There were 25 workers selling Aunt Raju's Idli, Vada and Dosa. She is a successful Idli maker. Her Idli is loved by many people because it taste delicious. In Dharavi alone there are more than a thousand people selling Idli. This food is like a mandatory food for breakfast. There is no Indian who has never eaten Idli, it is so popular from north to south, east and west even though each region has a slight difference in taste. But the Tamils are more famous for being good at making it. Idli is a food that resembles pancakes, made from a special rice that is finely ground, mixed with a special spice called urad dal and fermented. Making Idli does take time and patience. "Praveen, you've come! This morning you don't have to bring a lot, two hundreds Idli and A hundred Vada first since you are new, and now Sunday. Not too many buyers today. When everything is done, you can go home," the woman said to Praveen while pointing to a large stainless co
Rajesh Kumar parked his car not far from the departure terminal. He immediately got out of the car and opened the car trunk where he had prepared two suitcases for Zoya and Praveen."These contain your necessities so you don't have to bother later. Take them!"Praveen immediately took the suitcases and pushed them with both hands.Zoya looked around. Even though she was far from the hotel, she still felt anxious as if there were people who knew her or knew where they were. She didn't feel completely safe yet.There was nothing suspicious.She saw a trolley and rushed to get it."Just put the suitcases in this trolley so it's easier!" she said, handing the trolley to Praveen.After Praveen put the suitcases, they headed towards the international departure entrance with hasty steps.Rajesh was like a guard looking here and there, to make sure everything was safe.This was a critical moment in their escape. They couldn't be caught.Everything was still safe until they reached the departu
Ten minutes later, Danishka was fast asleep. Zoya immediately got up from the bed and stared at her sister for a while to make sure the sleeping pill really worked.She looked like a sleeping beauty. So Beautiful.Zoya was stunned. Her guilt surfaced again. How cruel she was to do that for her own sister. But she had to do this.She patted Danishka’s shoulder. She was silent and unresponsive."I'm sorry, Danishka!" she said once again with regret.She got up from the bed to the balcony and opened the door. Outside she called Praveen."Prav, I'll be down in a minute, wait on the balcony!" she said in a trembling voice."Is your sister asleep? Is everything okay?""Of course! I've given her sleeping pills! Everything is according to the plan.""Okay, I'll wait for you! I'm ready too!" "I'll be down in five minutes!" Zoya turned off her phone. She then rushed into the closet and took the bag she had prepared. Before she carried the bag, she took out a roll of rope and when she was abou
It was almost midnight when Zoya was finally able to go to her room.“Aren’t you tired, Danishka?” Zoya asked her sister.Danishka shook her head. Her face looked cheerful.“I won’t just let this party pass me by! You’re so lucky, Sis! Dad threw a party this big for you!” said her sister.“What’s lucky? Being mated suddenly is lucky?”“Your mate is your ex, right? You’ve both dated before?”“Actually, I didn’t intend to get married! But never mind! After all, everyone gets married eventually, right?” said Zoya, not wanting to prolong her conversation with her sister.What is clear is that she is now in her room and carrying out her next plan.But no! She had to wait for Danishka to sleep first. If she didn’t sleep, Zoya had prepared an alternative scenario.But honestly, she didn’t have the heart to give Danishka sleeping pills.But what if there was no other way?Zoya went to the bathroom to freshen up and call Praveen.While in the bathroom, she immediately took out her phone and ty
“They’re coming! You should stay in your room! Don’t go anywhere!” Rajesh said over the phone.Rajesh was still in the cafe across from the hotel monitoring the situation.As he watched Narendra’s family group enter the hotel, he swallowed his saliva and felt a bitter sensation in his throat.He cursed his fate for no longer being a part of Narendra’s family. Ten years of devoting himself to Narendra and being his confidant, did not end his life well. Instead he ended up as a loser.It was so easy for Narendra to dump him.Just because of Sunil Chakraborty.But he did not regret it because now he had the chance to get back at him.He would embarrass Narendra and Sunil. He swore that the wedding party would end in vain.He would help the bride run away with another man. A man Narendra hated.He never imagined that he would end up in a reverse position like this. He still remembered how Narendra ordered him to get rid of Praveen. With the power he had, he beat the young man until he alm
“They’re coming! You should stay in your room! Don’t go anywhere!” Rajesh said over the phone.Rajesh was still in the cafe across from the hotel monitoring the situation.As he watched Narendra’s family group enter the hotel, he swallowed his saliva and felt a bitter sensation in his throat.He cursed his fate for no longer being a part of Narendra’s family. Ten years of devoting himself to Narendra and being his confidant, did not end his life well. Instead he ended up as a loser.It was so easy for Narendra to dump him.Just because of Sunil Chakraborty.But he did not regret it because now he had the chance to get back at him.He would embarrass Narendra and Sunil. He swore that the wedding party would end in vain.He would help the bride run away with another man. A man Narendra hated.He never imagined that he would end up in a reverse position like this. He still remembered how Narendra ordered him to get rid of Praveen. With the power he had, he beat the young man until he alm
Praveen was back in the hotel room when Narendra Prasadh's family troupe arrived. Two luxury cars entered the hotel grounds in a convoy and stopped in front of the entrance. Not far behind were five more SUVs carrying employees and servants.Narendra Prasadh was in the first car. He got out of the car after the hotel staff opened the car door for him.He appeared to be wearing traditional clothing instead of a suit, and that did not diminish his authority as a wealthy businessman.His wife, Pratyusha Beniwal followed after him. She also appeared to be wearing a saree with gold ornaments. Precious stone jewelry in the form of a necklace and bracelet added to the luxury of her appearance. Truly extraordinary. Then followed by her youngest son Rahul.Before entering, the graceful woman stood for a moment waiting for the next car. The sedan carrying Zoya and her sister Danishka.The hotel staff also swiftly opened the car door for Zoya. She got out of the car carefully while fixing her sa
That morning at Amaneesh Chakraborty's residence, there was also a lot of activity.They would perform Ganesh puja, a ritual to ask the god for blessings.The procession will be held this afternoon. Many of Mr. Amaneesh's extended family had also attended.The joy radiated from the face of the Mumbai Police Chief. Of course, this was a happy day because his proud son, Sunil Chakraborty, was getting married.As a father, he could imagine how lucky Sunil was. Having a good career in the police force and also having a beautiful wife who was the daughter of a rich man in Mumbai.It felt like a dream.All preparations had been done well by a third party. They just went through it. Everything went smoothly according to expectations.Sunil should have also been very happy that day. But it was as if something was bothering him, and it was visible on his face. He was not completely happy because of one problem that had not been resolved until now.He should have been able to overcome Praveen a
Praveen was still lying in bed that morning. Even though the hotel room was so comfortable, he had not been able to sleep at all since last night.This was a very decisive moment in his life, preparing himself to carry out the plan he had made as best he could.He had thought about it down to the smallest detail so that this plan would succeed. There should be no gaps or opportunities for him to fail.If he failed, he could end up in prison.Taking away the prospective bride who is none other than the daughter of a prominent conglomerate and the prospective daughter-in-law of the number one person in the Mumbai police?It would definitely create a scene and become national news. More sensational than the kidnapping that Zoya experienced before!If he failed, his face would adorn the front pages of newspapers and even television, not as an actor or model, but as a criminal. The career he had built with great difficulty would end tragically.No, that couldn't happen!He immediately got
It was late afternoon when they returned from Dharavi, but nothing happened. Praveen's room was empty just like when Sunil visited earlier. There was no sign of him coming here. Nothing had changed at all.It was just that Zoya felt a different atmosphere when she saw the room. There was a longing that enveloped her, imagining when she and Praveen were alone in the room.She remembered the time she slept over during the heavy rain that caused flooding due to the moonson. Even though the lights were out and it was raining outside, she felt at peace in Praveen's arms all night. The man really took good care of her.There were indeed many memories in Dharavi. If not with Sunil, she would have gone to school to meet the teachers there, Mrs. Fateema and her two other friends, Harshida and Shanti. Or if necessary she would go to her rented house.Had everything remained the same or changed? She really didn't know."Where have you been? Why are you home at this hour?" Mrs. Pratyusha asked wh