Fasaana

TWENTY TWO

We never painted by the numbers, baby, But we were making it count.

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On Saturday, Zoya, Sehrish and Malti went over to Aarti and Rohit's place. Rohit had cooked baked mac and cheese, much to Sehrish and Avni's delight. Then later, they all went to watch a movie. Zoya spent her Sunday deep cleaning her home.

And once the week started, she got busy with her office. The workload was a little more than usual since she was supposed to wrap up her work for the week before leaving for Jaipur. She didn't even run into her neighbor, not that she was complaining.

On Thursday, she packed up her and Sehrish's stuff. Yes, she was taking her along to meet her grandparents. She even asked Malti if she wanted to come, but she refused. Malti had been running around Sehrish for three years now, she definitely deserved a break for a few days.

The flight was at 3 in the evening, so Zoya and Sehrish left for the airport at 12. Her colleague, Sarthak, met them directly at the airport. The company had booked business class tickets for them, and to say the least, Zoya was excited. It was the first time she was traveling in business class.

It took them an hour to reach Jaipur, and another half an hour to get baggage. A cab was waiting for them to drive them to the hotel, ITC Rajputana. It was a luxury hotel that Zoya had seen quite a few times from outside, but she never even dreamt of stepping foot inside. But today, here she was, getting checked into its luxury room.

"It is so pretty." Sehrish commented while looking outside the window of the room, which had a pool view. "Mama, can we go inside the water?"

Zoya, who was putting her phone on charge, smiled. "It is called a pool. And yes, we can go in there. But tomorrow."

"But why?" Sehrish pouted.

Zoya came closer to hug her adorable princess. "Because it is already evening. If you go in the water now, you'll get sick. Then how will Sehru enjoy the rest of the days in Jaipur?"

"Then what will we do today?"

"Umm," Zoya checked the time. It was a little past 5. "We can go to Chokhi Dhani."

"What is that?" Sehrish asked.

"You'll see. Let's get dressed quickly."

Zoya made Sehrish wear white sharara and short kurta with dupatta. It was her last Eid's outfit, and Zoya wanted her to wear it as much as possible before she outgrew it. Also, Chokhi Dhani was a place to wear traditional clothes. Then Zoya got dressed in a white long kurti and straight pants that ended two inches above her ankle. The kurti had chiken work all over. She wore oxidized earrings and bangles with it.

"Same same," Sehrish said while pointing at both of their clothes.

"Yes, baby. Same same." Zoya chuckled.

She could have used the cab provided by her office, but instead she booked another cab. She didn’t want to misuse the privileges given to her by her company. After informing Sarthak that she was going out, they left.

The drive took almost an hour, and was filled with tons of Sehrish's questions. A child's mind is always curious.

Chokhi Dhani was basically a mock village created to resemble the Rajasthani culture, food, tradition, and heritage. Sehrish literally jumped in excitement when they entered the place. It was so vibrant and colorful with so many magic shows and performances going on inside. Apart from these, there were also games like archery, shooting and dart games.

Some fake caves with fake waterfalls were also there to attract the tourists. Zoya also took Sehrish to the replica of the Vaishno Devi Temple.

Then they had their food which consisted of many traditional Rajasthani delicacies. Sehrish was really tired after all this, but it was gone the second her eyes fell on the camels and horses.

"Mama, I want those." She pointed towards them.

Zoya looked there and laughed. "You can't have those, sweetheart. But you can ride them."

"I want to. Please." She clapped her hands together.

Zoya took her there and bought two tickets for the camel ride. She wasn't fond of riding camels, but she couldn't possibly let Sehrish go alone. A helper helped them both to sit on the back of the camel. As soon as the animal stood up, Sehrish let out a loud shriek in fear. "Fall down, mama."

"No, Sehru. You won't fall down." Zoya assured her and held her more tightly. The ride lasted for just five minutes, but Sehrish was glad. Zoya asked her if she wanted to ride the horse too, but she refused. She had had enough for the day.

While coming back, Sehrish dozed off in her mother's lap, and Zoya had to carry her in her arms to the room. She changed her clothes carefully to not disturb her sleep. Then she changed into her pajamas and got into the covers. She pressed a kiss on Sehrish's hair and pulled her closer. She was so glad that her daughter enjoyed Chokhi Dhani so much. As a kid, Zoya always wanted to go there, but the entry fee was not something her father could afford. It was not until graduation that she visited that place with her friends, only after pleading and begging her mother.

The things that she had been deprived off because of lack of money, or fear of society, she'd never let her daughter go through that.

Zoya was not sleepy, so she decided to go through the important notes for the meeting tomorrow. It was really crucial to give her best performance. It was the first time she was representing her company and she couldn't afford to taint its reputation. She knew she was considered one of the best employees in her team, and she was not going to let down her bosses.

It was going to be a great day tomorrow, and she'd make sure of that.

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Double update, yet again, cause I know you guys are getting impatient about the romance that is going to begin.