The Girl In Black [On Hold Till Further Notice]

When the noose begins to TIGHTEN! Part - II

Dedicated to @saraakhtar9699

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There comes a time in everyone's life when all emotions evaporate and indifference takes their place. Pain, fear, humiliation, loneliness, and... love, you could name them all and you would find that you feel nothing, except maybe a void where those feelings once resided in your heart. You would no longer care what came next, or what threatening problem life conspired to throw your way. It wouldn't matter a deuce to you as to whoever the heck died or who lived, who made-up or who broke away, or who went and who came back. Zahra had reached a point in her life...where she no longer cared. Her heart had turned to a stone. She felt nothing in there. When you have to tackle with so many things in life at once, you can't afford to get away with your emotions. That, she had learnt the hard way.

Invisible, she couldn't become, unfeeling would have to do. It was Saturday night. Her first weekend in total solitude ever since Laura had gone to France. She was typing away at her laptop, completely immersed in her work to notice a shadow pass through her window. She had come back on her usual routine after the deadly accident with the chandelier, and she was glad to resume her work after so long a gap. She almost felt happy to feel the familiar keys of her laptop beneath her fingers. Her boss had briefed her on whatever she had missed, simultaneously setting her some tasks to do, and Zahra had immediately jumped to it. But she was still not allowed to strain herself too much.

Working even on weekends was never unusual to her. In fact, if she sat idle on a Saturday, it considerably irked her. If she wasn't working, either she was washing her clothes or cooking something special on Laura's request. It pleased her greatly when her friend licked the plate clean on her making some Indian dish that Laura loved.

She had been staring at her screen to work out how to write the tricky part of her presentation when her phone rang, startling her out of her skin. It was Laura. "God! You scared me, you idiot," Zahra squealed, irritated. "Ha-ha, I'm so glad I did something worthwhile in the whole day. How are you? Feeling scared without me?" "Nah. I feel extremely relieved that nobody is hovering over my head, bossing me around as to what I should do on such a glorious Saturday night."

"Really! That is so unfair of you when I was actually wasting my time missing you. I never thought you would get over me so soon," Laura whined on the other end. "At least you could lie. But you're no good at that, so it would've been no use." "Okay-okay, I did feel a bit lonely and all that, but I don't know how to mope about something so trivial, so don't worry. You are and will always be missed, alright," Zahra replied in order to pacify her friend. "Aw you are too sweet."

"So, how are you feeling now?" Laura asked, trying to hide it when her voice cracked. She couldn't help feeling worried for her. "I'm all in one piece, and that too without any internal damage, so I think you could sum it up as fine," Zahra told her smilingly. "Ha-ha not funny, okay. Has anybody else taken my room yet?" "No, not yet. And honestly, I can't bear to put up with another girl after you, so I'm planning to buy your part." "Are you insulting me by indicating that I was a handful for you, hmm?" "I'm complimenting you, you loser! I'm indicating that I could only put up with you and nobody else. How's your work, by the way?" "Exciting! Paris is like heaven for fashion. I couldn't ask for anything better than this." "I'm glad you love your job. Mine is just fine. But the good thing is that I'm finally back on track."

"Do you see David anymore?" Laura asked suddenly.

There was complete silence from the other side at the question. It seemed as if Zahra had cut the call, so Laura repeated her question, "Hello Zahra? Can you hear me? Do you see David now?" "Why does it matter to you so much?" Zahra replied with a question of her own after a while. "But for your information, no I don't. He comes to the Office and stays working in his chamber the whole day. We don't talk or acknowledge each other's presence, okay. I don't care about him and nor should you." "Sheesh, somebody's angry. I pulled the wrong chord, didn't I? Let's just drop it, okay. No fighting on the phone. I won't bother you anymore about that. What about your parents though? How is your father, any better?"