Stranger on Flight

Prologue✔

Karachi- Two months ago
Zoya sat on her study table going through her emails. Being a university teacher was difficult. Not to sound like a complete ungrateful mess, she liked it but it was a tough job. She was still on a probation period, but it was good honest work considering that she was a freshie with zero experience.

Zoya, had applied as a programming instructor at the university she had just graduated from. While her friends went abroad for further studies and some joined some big software firms, Zoya stuck to teaching. Mainly because she, failed all the placement interviews. Thanks to her extremely honest self. No, she didn't regret any of it but sometimes the thought of being unsuccessful flashed though her mind making her miserable. Note 'sometimes', means most of the time. Her friends were successful, had big shinny cars while she was what? A teacher? And life is no '3 idiots' where she was some teacher scientist the Japanese were after. Bottom line, her life sucked.

To give her some credit, she was free lancing and was doing research apart from the teaching. But sometimes she felt like a failure when she opened her Instagram. Pictures of her batch mates enjoying a vacation in Miami or check-in in a posh 5-star restaurants were like a reality check that used to slap her in the face. She neither was successful, nor she was married. What a complete utter failure she was in the eyes of people from her circle. No one said it out loud, at least not her parents but she knew their "ahhs" and "oohs" and the "wohs" they came up with when someone asked her marital status.

A 26-year-old instructor of PF (Programming Fundamentals) at PU was a big achievement and she had managed to secure that position. All thanks to her exceedingly high cGPA, her experience as teacher's assistant and the reference Mr. Ali Khan, her programming teacher had provided. This job had made her father so happy; he had distributed sweets in the neighborhood, but it was not enough for her. She still felt like loser. Because unlike her brother -who was now a commissioned officer in army, she hadn't done anything distinguishable.

All the lemons of her life aside, Zoya loved what she did. She loved being the web developer, developing new sites. It had such a thrill to it. Despite all the stones in her path, she hoped that one day she would land a job in esteemed software houses. Someday she was going to go big, make her father so proud that he would cry with tears like he did on her brother's passing out parade! Oneday. She hoped.

Life at university was tough too. Especially being a young instructor, she was not taken seriously. Back benchers were a nightmare and she feared them. Her first day as an instructor flashed in front of her eyes as she thought about it. She would never forget that day, nor she would forget that curly-haired,funny short heighted Arkam, who flirted with her shamelessly in front of the whole class, thinking she was a fellow student. The chick of him, he even handed her with her number. The whole class had gaped while she had turned red. Bright red. And then instead of giving him the glare which could freeze hell, she had looked away trying to shield herself from the curious gazes of the audience who laughed. She would have cried, yes cried. If she was not rescued by Buttercup. It was the name Zoya had given to Ms. Shabana who was tough, hot headed and mean like Buttercup from Power puff girls. Yes, Zoya knows her cartoon.

Sipping the cold tea, which she has not so effortlessly ignored, Zoya checked her e-mails. Being an instructor, it was her thing. Checking emails, and mails, and letters had become a habit. Usually, students e-mailed her, their issues regarding their late submissions, poor marks and the list went on.

Staring at her laptop screen Zoya blinked in disbelief. Alizey never emailed. NEVER! Then why did she have an email in her inbox with a subject 'SOS'. Did they not talk last month? Zoya was taking deep breaths to calm her ragging heart. She was nervous. What was it , that she needed help with? Was Alizey, okay? Was everyone from her fam, okay? Few minutes that passed during which Zoya dreaded opening the mail, were enough to give her apoplexy. Closing her eyes, she clicked on 'open'.