One fine morning, Ammi (Mom) had offered dawn's prayer.
As always sitting on prayer mat, reciting rosary. She called, "Khalid, Khalid come on beta wake up, it's already 5:30."
Hearing Ammi's hollo, Khalid woke up quickly and went to Ammi, saying "salaam Ammi."
As usual Khalid held Ammi's hands, first touched them with his eyelids, then kissed on dorsal with conviction.
Blessing him, Ammi instructed Khalid to make Tariq, and Qasim wake up too.
Following Ammi's directive Khalid went downstairs, knocked first Tariq's door.
"Tariq, wake up bro, and get ready we have to go to warehouse," Khalid told Tariq.
Hearing Khalid's voice Tariq replied, "Okay bhaiya (elder brother), I am coming out."
Hearing this, Khalid headed towards Qasim's room, patting his door, "Qasim, Qasim," Khalid shouted.
"Yes Bhaiya, coming..," saying Qasim came out, and said, "slalam Bhaiya".
Khalid told him, that he was going to warehouse, "some trucks of goods are supposed to reach out to store house.
And we have to make some space in the warehouse so that we could shift new goods.
I had already informed the labours of it yesterday night. So they will also be there soon.
And Abbu ( Daddy) has gone at showroom. Therefore you and Tariq must come to warehouse after getting fresh. Okay bye."
Informing about these all, Khalid left for warehouse.
Now Tariq and Qasim were ready after brushing, bathing, changing dresses etcetera, sitting with Ammi in the hall.
The younger sisters Erina and Shabina were in the kitchen, preparing breakfast.
"Tariq bhai and Qasim, breakfast is ready now come to the dinning room," Erina called them rolling Chapatis.
Shabina had decorated the dinning table with multi-delicious dishes, carrying foods from the kitchen.
They both brothers sat for having breakfast. "Hey brothers, don't forget to take Bhaiya (elder brother), and Abbu's tiffin boxes," being responsible, Erina reminded Brothers.
Khalid had arrived at store house. Labours were suppose to come to unload the goods from the vehicles.
Seeing unwanted, floating garbage on the ground in front of the warehouse, Khalid held a broom and started cleaning the store house premises.
People coming, going through the road would say, "good morning Khalid bhai, how are you Khalid?"
Khalid was replying everyone warmly, sweeping the ground, "fine, good, thank you, and you?"
Just then Khalid glanced at Omar bhai, going somewhere speedily. "Hey Omar bhai, How are you?" Khalid asked him humbly.
Hearing Khalid, Omar bhai got stopped and told, "A woman with a baby girl is seen, sitting at railway station since yesterday.
She is not even speaking anything about herself.
where has she come from? Where does she belong to etcetera? She just keeps on staring the people helplessly."
Informing this Omar Bhai walked to his way
Listening this Khalid whispered, "May Almighty Allah protect, and help each helpless, destitute people in the world."
Afterward he continued cleaning the floor before his warehouse. Till then goods trucks, and labours too had come.
Unloading tasks had been started, Khalid was asking workers to hurry up.
"Move quickly, speed up my brave warriors," Khalid had been chanting so, to thrill the labours.
So that unloading, and shifting work could be done earlier than traffic jam.
"Ohh Bhaiya! Why are you shouting on workers," Tariq, and Qasim, getting out of the car teased Bhaiya, and laughed.
Seeing them Khalid smiled and asked, "did you both go to Abbu to serve him breakfast?" They said, "yes Bhaiya before coming here we went to showroom first." Khalid said, "good keep it up," appreciated them.
Then handing them over the monitoring job went to have some sips of tea nearby in the market.
He loved each member of his family, he was so humble to his parents, Khalid took care of his sisters, and brothers.
He had two more elder sisters too, Sahla and Nagma, who were married, living with their own in-laws.
He had been sipping tea, standing on the road, meanwhile he saw a small crowd surrounded a woman, sitting on the ground.
Seeing this Khalid headed with the intention, " let's see what's the matter over there".
People, surrounding the lady were feeling pity seeing her condition.
It seemed as if she had not eaten anything for many days.
Her dress became durty, hairs went junked, full of scums. She had covered her kid with her tattered scarf.
She was looking nervous, hopeless, seeing new people at new place.
Everyone was asking her to tell her name, address but she kept on talking with her eyes only, helplessly.
As soon as Khalid arrived close to the crowd, he got frozen for a while, witnessing that scene, Khalid had been shocked.
Meantime someone of crowd said, "let's call the police, perhaps police could find out her family, and address".
Listening this, Khalid immediately stopped him, shouting, "No! No! don't call the the police I know her, she belongs to my village, Banaras".
Saying this he headed towards the lady, bowed down and held her hand, "come Zinat let's go to home, come on stand up", Khalid said, pampering her.
The moment some one held her hand, calling Zinat in such a polite way, she looked up to Khalid surprisingly, who was still bowed, holding her hand, looking at her with affection.
First she kept on staring Khalid for a moment, thinking "who is this familiar man in this strange city, mumbai?" Suddenly her expression got changed while looking at Khalid, tears rolled down from her eyes, She embraced with his leg, screaming "Khalid".
Seeing Zinat's conditions, Khalid had already shattered.
The moment she embraced with Khalid's leg and screamed painfully, saying Khalid.
Khalid had been misty eyed too, he got emotional.
Next Khalid took Zinat's daughter in his lap and made Zinat stand up, headed towards his warehouse just then Omar Bhai glanced at Khalid.
Khalid was holding the same woman's hand and her kid in other side lap, the woman Omar Bhai had told earlier to Khalid about.
Seeing this Omar Bhai walked speedily towards Khalid, getting surprised.
He was smiling, gazing towards Khalid and the lady.
" Salaam Omar bhai, meet Zinat, she belongs to my native place, my same village," Khalid said excitedly, looking confident now.
"Where will you take Zinat to?" Omar Bhai asked gently.
Khalid thought for a while, "Omar Bhai is right. my home is far from here, and to make Zinat stay in warehouse would not be reasonable".
So he planned to make Zinat, and her cute baby, who was just one and half years old kid stay at Omar Bhai's home till this evening."
Omar Bhai and his wife were so nice, helping nurture and generous personalities.
They welcome Zinat warmly.
They took care of Zinat and her kid. Dropping, Zinat at Omar Bhai's home, Khalid went back to warehouse, saying he would be back by evening.
He was a little bit in trauma, thinking about Zinat. The moment Khalid was walking back to warehouse, lots of old memories were originating, emerging in his mind. These memories had taken him to long back in his past.
To be continued.....
