Chapter 10: Preying. Being preyed upon. And the other way round.

PLEASE VOTE, SUPPORT AND COMMENT>>>

It was unusual. Adel Jamal had called. How did he get her number? Amma (mother) must have given it to him. She found him so adorable. Puh- lease! Give it a rest! ‘Just what was adorable in him’, she wondered. Absolutely nothing! Another unusual thing was that he thought she was in Bangalore. That was quite a relieving thought, though. Last night when she was thinking of calling it a day, and slipping into her cozy blankets, a phone call roused her from her sleepiness. Anyone who knew that it was almost midnight over here, wouldn’t even think of calling at such an unworldly hour. In addition to that, the number flashing on her screen was quite unknown to her.

She had an old fear of unknown calls because of an incident that happened when she was thirteen years old. She had a sweet voice. And when she had picked up a call once and said Salam to whoever was on the other side of the phone, that freaky guy had asked her name, a little too lovingly. Being just an innocent kid at that time, she had told him asking him why, and what he replied was horrible. Whatever he had said, she still couldn’t say it out loud, not even to herself.

Well, nevertheless, she picked it up, but out of fear, she couldn’t bring herself to say even a ‘hello’ into the phone. And the voice that rang out from the other side, made a chill run down her spine, it was so unnerving. She had recognized it the instant he spoke. “Hey Zahra, how are you?” Adel Jamal asked, in a voice that clearly sounded sure, as if he was telling her that he had finally won the game. “H…how did you get my number?” she forced herself to ask, just to show him that there was still a long way to go for him to reach her. “Oh that. Well, I asked it out of your dear mommy. Was it wrong on my part?” he asked, and she could imagine him turning out his lower lip into a fake pout.

“No. I guess not” Zahra said, and sighed. “Why are you calling me?” “Why? Is there a problem? I just wanted to ask you how you were doing in Bangalore. We are gonna get married at some point of time, aren’t we? You still can’t take it that a guy like me, who is so handsome, cares for a girl like you, right?” he replied, irritated. ‘Handsome…my foot! Who told him anything about marriage? Oh well! My dear parents must have done the deed, probably a little too happily. Wait. He thought she was in Bangalore. Ahhh! That was soo relieving. Amma and Abba (Urdu for parents) weren’t fools, they knew how to handle things. Besides, the Jamal’s had made it all too clear to keep me in India and not let me run out of the country’ she thought.

“Hey! You still there?” he asked, breaking into her thoughts. “What? Uh…oh. Yeah” she replied, uncertainly. “Getting nervous, are you? Just pre-wedding jitters, I believe. You’ll be fine, once you’re with me” he said, smilingly. Eww. She with him! Even the thought was too gross. His confidence irked her to no measure. “Look, I’m a bit busy right now, and it would be very nice of you if you just don’t call me again” she said, and instantly cut the call. When she was finally starting to doze off into a nice deep sleep, her phone rang, once again. She was about to reject the call when she saw Amma’s number flash on the screen. She picked it up, wondering what exactly was the matter, so important that it couldn’t wait till morning. “Zahra, what am I hearing now? Oh! What have you done? Why can’t you grow a bit more mature?” she asked her in a tone laced with sadness.

“That’s exactly what I want to ask you Amma, what have I done?” Zahra replied, puzzled. “Don’t be so childish. The nice boy was only asking how you were and you just cut his phone call, without even politely answering his question. When will you learn how to behave, I don’t know” her mother said, sounding fed up. “Did he just call you to say that I had misbehaved with him? Oh! How manly of him! You know what, he needs to grow up, not me. And please stop bothering me about these petty things, mom. It’s almost midnight over here, and I have to go to work tomorrow. So if you will excuse me, I’m going to sleep.” And saying thus, Zahra cut the call shoving her phone under the pillow, and fell asleep.

“You won’t get away from me now. I told you that you were safe with me, but, you just didn’t listen. Shout all you want, nobody is here to hear you out” he said, and squeezed her wrist so hard that a dull moan came out of her mouth. “Please let me go. I swear I won’t tell anyone about this if you do let me go. And I’ll do whatever you want me to. Please.just.let.me.go” she begged him, whispering each word distinctly to emphasize, upon hearing which, he laughed. “That’s exactly what I can’t do, my girl. Don’t try to struggle so much, and you won’t get pained. Otherwise, you’ll get scarred for life” he said, and cackled with laughter that echoed throughout the place.

Zahra awoke with a start and realized that she was sweating profusely, in spite of the cold weather. The cackle of the man still echoed through her head. Was it a dream? ‘It must be’ she thought. But what did he mean by ‘scarred for life’? She couldn’t understand anything as her thoughts were getting muddled up in her dazed state. She muttered a quick ‘Astaghfirullah’ and tried to steady her short, ragged breaths. She switched on her phone to see the time. 4:00 a.m. in the morning. She hadn’t slept for even three whole hours. Sleep was not going to come by so easily to her now, so she thought of soothing her heart by laying all her difficulties open before Allah in Salah. After that, she made dua to Him for some time, and when the time for Fajr came, she offered her prayers and slipped inside her super soft blankets once again and instantly fell asleep.

“Morning honey!” Laura said and smiled, when she saw Zahra coming out of her room the next day. “Hey. Morning to you too” she replied in a sleepy voice, rubbing her eyes. She hadn’t been able to sleep much, waking up after every few hours, with all that had happened last night, plus the weird dream chasing each other through her mind. “Feeling sleepy, are you? Didn’t you have a good sleep?” Laura asked. “Yes… I mean no I didn’t. Got worried about something” she replied nonchalantly. “You can tell me if you want to talk about it. Here, have some coffee. It will freshen you up a bit” Laura said, handing her a large, steaming mug of coffee. And to her surprise, Zahra had tears in her eyes.

“Hey. Is everything okay? You don’t have to share it with me if you don’t want to, you know” Laura exclaimed, rubbing her back to soothe her. “No no, it’s nothing, really. Thank you so much for just being here and willing to listen to me. I… I was just thinking that my mom is getting lost to me. She never helps me out or even understands my problems anymore. It’s not that I hate her or anything, I love her more than anything in this world, but what she’s doing is wrong. She’s getting fooled by people who are trying to destroy me… us, but she doesn’t get it. I really don’t know what motive they’ve got behind it, but, I can say this for sure that they are up to no good. Why are they stuck to me?” she asked between sobs.

“This is about that guy, right?” Laura asked. Zahra nodded in an affirmative answer. They both kept quiet while Zahra silently kept dropping tears into the palms of her hand. After thinking about it for a bit, Laura spoke again, “You can’t let it overpower you Zee. You have to be strong for your own self. No one can force you into anything, and if you back down now and accept it as your fate, then how are you gonna live your life, tell me that. Even if you are meant for him, you have to do it with your head held high, okay. You don’t have to cower in a corner in front of him, and do exactly as he tells you to, even if it’s wrong. You have a sound mind to judge for yourself what’s wrong and what’s right.”

“I have to do this to protect my parents from harm. I have to fulfill their wish. It can’t be done any other way” Zahra replied, trying to make her understand the crux of the matter. “Then do it smilingly. Don’t try to let them win over your emotions too and crush them under their feet. You are a girl, not a doll that they can play with. Show them that you’re worth something and you cannot be bought” Laura said, trying to infuse some confidence into her. “Now act normal. You don’t need people to see a bloodshot pair of eyes when they see your face, making them wonder what happened. Don’t lose yourself when nothing has even happened as yet.”

“I’ll remember your advice. And try to act upon it. Thank you so much” Zahra smiled, rubbing her eyes. She gulped down her toast and coffee (made generously by her friend), put on her abaya and hijab,grabbed her bag and ran out of the large residential building in record two minutes. She reached her office, and was getting into the lift, when a hand stopped the lift doors from shutting close. Walworth Jr. entered into the lift, making Zahra feel extremely conscious of the small distance that separated them and her being alone with a guy in a closed space. Thankfully, he didn’t try to start a conversation, much to Zahra’s relief. But, he kept glancing her way after every few minutes, making her blush furiously. He was in a messy state. His hairs were ruffled, his shirt was sticking out of his pants, his coat was not pressed and his tie was extremely lose. Whatever had made him come in such a state as this, she wondered.

And the situation became much more awkward when the lift came to its destination, for Ms. Demetria Torres was standing outside. And when she saw the two of them together like that, anger simmered inside her and was quite evident from her scrunched up face. “Where have you been Dave?” she asked him pointedly while eyeing Zahra with a murderous glare. “Hey Demes. I got up a bit late” he said, feeling a bit ashamed of his condition. “But, I have a meeting to attend. So, if you will excuse me…” he said, gave a peck on her cheek and walked off in a hurry, probably trying to not get into an argument. Before Demetria could turn to Zahra and say anything to her, she too took off, but went on the opposite direction as Walworth Jr.

Zahra got up to take a break after a few hours, when she couldn’t tolerate to stare at her laptop screen anymore, thinking of grabbing a coffee from the coffee machine. A short beep of her phone told Zahra that she had got a text. When she switched on the phone’s light, it indicated the name Laura. “Hey, I was just wondering if you could take a half holiday from your Office. I’m taking it too. We could go somewhere to relax a bit and take our minds off things. What about the Café O’Hare? If you are okay with it, then do reply and we’ll meet there at 1:30 p.m.….See ya.” After contemplating it a bit, Zahra thought that it was worth it. After all, she did need a break.

As Zahra got out of her Office, Demetria saw her. And all the six senses of hers began to work at a lightning speed. She had become hugely jealous of her in the past few days. And the task she had been assigned by that man made her all the more suspicious of the girl, though there were other people who could fit into those clues too. And she wasn’t even sure if she was looking for her in the right place. Where was she going in the middle of Office hours? Was she meeting someone? And if yes, who? Before she could think what she was doing, her legs started to walk on their own in the direction that Zahra had taken. She began to follow her, all the time staying a bit away from her, so that she wouldn’t suspect. After a few minutes, she called a taxi and got in. Demetria ran to get to her car so that she wouldn’t lose her. There wasn’t much traffic on the road and she had a huge chance of getting caught, but she risked it, although keeping a distance of a car or two between them. She had two reasons of following her now. One was that she matched all the clues that the mystery man had given her. And secondly, she was quite sure in her mind that she and Dave were going out together.

After about ten minutes, the taxi took a left turn. Getting further into the street, it stopped right in front of the Café O’Hare. Zahra got out and began to look around, probably waiting for someone. Demetria killed the engines of her car right in the beginning of the street so as not to arouse any suspicions. She stared intently, forgetting to breathe for a second in anticipation. Who was it that she was waiting for?

After a few minutes had passed, a yellow colored taxi, quite similar to the one that Zahra had come in, reached the spot and stopped. Demetria’s heart beats had almost come to a stop. But, to her relief, a good-looking girl got out of the cab, advanced towards Zahra, squealed and hugged her tightly. At least, she wasn’t meeting him secretly. But her suspicions were still not cleared. She could be or couldn’t be the girl she was looking for. And it wasn’t exactly a proof that she was not going out with David Walworth. After the duo had got inside the Café, she swerved her Audi back onto the main road and went to the all famous Tower to resume her work, after the futile chase.

Bangalore, India

“What do you mean she’s not here? I most certainly told you not to let her go anywhere” Uncle Jamal said in a thundering voice, his eyes ablaze in anger. “Tell me where she is?!” “She….she….she went abroad” Zahra’s mother answered in a faltering voice. “Went abroad. And you let her go, in spite of our deal” Uncle Jamal replied. If his eyes were ablaze before, now they were fire itself. “Her company sent her there. We tried to stop her from going but she just didn’t listen….” Her mother said, trying to make him understand their situation. “Rubbish. You can’t control even your own daughter. Trying to hide her, aren’t you?” “No…no believe me. I repeatedly asked her to stay, saying all kinds of things to scare her from going. But, she was adamant.” “Give us some time. She will be back. She has even agreed to marry your son.” This time, Zahra’s father spoke in a calm and collected voice, which made Uncle Jamal even angrier.

“I’m warning you Arif (Zahra’s father), if the girl is not here by tomorrow, then everything will be known to him, and you won’t be able to stop yourself or your family from getting ruined. You don’t know how far I can go. You made a deal and you have to keep it, no matter what.” And with that, the man walked out, motioning his wife to follow him, and slammed the door shut in their faces.

Trapeze, Clydesville

“I may not come early today because I have got a project to do, okay Laura” Zahra shouted on her way out of her apartment the next morning. “So you need not worry about me. Make whatever you want for dinner, because I’ll probably eat outside.” “But you promised me that you’ll make chicken curry tonight” Laura said, her lower lip turned out in sadness. “Yeah. I’m sorry about that. I’ll make it some other day, I promise” Zahra replied, consoling her friend.

Wrapping up her work at about 7 o’ clock at night, Zahra came out of the Walworth Tower to go to some restaurant, and then go home. She was working extra time to complete some big project on which she had to work in collaboration with a few more colleagues. She was about to call a taxi when she saw Demetria Torres going towards the parking lot to bring her car. ‘What would be the best time to follow her, and see what she’s up to than right now’ she thought. She hired a taxi and told the driver to stop for a few minutes at the end of the street, so as to wait for her to come out with her car. After a few minutes, the red Audi came in sight, and slowly went past them. “Now follow that car, but keep back a little, so that she doesn’t notice” Zahra said to the cabbie. The driver gave her a puzzled look but, nevertheless, did as she bade him do. Demetria didn’t take any turns that came as the car sped by, but went on straight, keeping to the main road, and the yellow taxi followed close behind. ‘She was probably going out of the city’ Zahra thought, but why? They faced heavy traffic at one point in their mysterious journey, but the cabbie was quite adept in his skills of driving, so it wasn’t much difficult to follow her on.

After they had come quite far from the main city, the car they were following considerably slowed down. At last, it turned into an alleyway, and stopped after reaching at the end of it. Zahra told the driver to stop at the turning and said, “I’m coming in a few minutes. Wait here for me,” getting out of the car on tiptoe, so as to make minimal noise. Demetria stopped in front of a large warehouse. The name on top of the place had faded with time, so it was no use trying to figure out where she had brought her to. After a while, she knocked and went inside. Zahra inched closer towards the only window in sight of the whole place to see whom she was meeting with.

But, just as she reached the opening in the shape of a window, her phone rang loudly, it’s tone slicing through the quiet chilly air. She jumped up in surprise, and a chair overturned suddenly from somewhere inside the room. Before anyone could hurriedly scramble out of the old place, Zahra ran off from there at a lightning speed. Once she had reached a dark place, she switched on her phone to see who it was. And the name of ‘Amma’ once again flashed through her screen. She went where her cab was, got in quickly, and said, “To Aurora please. I’ll double your fare.” Anxious to know the reason for calling, she dialed her mom’s number. What she heard from the other side made her eyes pop out of her sockets her mind numb and her eyes tearful, for these were her mother’s words,……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….........

“Zahra, please come as soon as you can. Your father has got a severe heart attack.”

---------AUTHOR'S NOTE-----------

I'm really sorry for updating soo late, but i was not well and i had to do a project also. so i was busy.....

hope you like it :)