Kabir nodded his head and without saying a word he went towards the roof of haveli . Ayra followed him silently . Kabir sat on the terrace floor with his hair clutched in the grip of his own hands . Kabir was shaken by the news of his father's heart attack .

Ayra sat next to Kabir and she said,"KB if you will be so broken then how will you support your Maa?KB you need to be strong ".

Kabir replied ," Papa is my strength , I can't imagine my life without him" and he broke down into tears.

Ayra comforted Kabir with a warm hug .

Ayra then stated," KB stay positive because positivity helps to fight despair and hopelessness. Your Papa will gain good health soon ".

Kabir looked at Ayra for a second then he replied," Yes, you  are  correct".

"Let's eat something KB" Ayra suggested . Kabir smiled in return .

After eating dinner everyone noticed that Kabir was silent than usual . Nani

Amma spoke out ," Kabir putter(son) everything happens for a reason , dear believe in the divine power and pray for your father's health then definitely your father will return home all hale and hearty .
Don't  let  negativity take over  your positive thoughts ".

Kabir nodded his head in agreement.

"Nani Amma please tell us what happened next " requested Jheel .

Erica, Ayra and Kabir too requested her to tell what happen next in her tale.

"Roshan we now will go back to Fazilka along with Saira " Rashid said to Roshan .

It was around 11 pm in night when Roshan , Rashid and Saira finally returned back to Fazilka .

The haveli was abandoned suddenly by it's habitants so every object of haveli was left as it is .

The Chulha( traditional mud cooking stove using firewood as fuel for it's functioning ) had still some half burned wood pieces in it , Roshan's sisters  in law's room had bangles kept on the dresser . Rashid mother's reading glasses and his father's reading beads were still present on the bedside .

The Haveli had everything but it felt empty , lifeless  and  eerie  .

"The silence of the haveli was scary and killing our souls . It felt like Rashid's parents and sisters would show up from any corner of the haveli . Their death still felt unreal to us .
The whole village was all empty and  there were still blood stains in the fields and at other public places which made everything much more difficult. " melancholy remembered Roshan .

I clearly remember that midnight of 14 August 1947 . Saira opened   Abbaji's (Rashid's father)  radio  and we heard Panditji (Jawahar Lal Nehru) through the radio .

"Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny , now the time comes when we shall redeem pledge, not wholly or in full measure , but very substantially .

At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps , India will awake to life and freedom .

A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history , when we step out from the old to the new , when an age ends , and when the soul of a nation , long suppressed , finds utterance .....

We end today a period of misfortunes and India discovers herself again . The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of opportunity to the greater triumphs and achievements that await us ", Jawahar Lal Nehru ended his historical midnight speech .

After that  Rashid and Roshan noticed that a military truck came and some army men hoisted the trianga(Tricolour), the nation flag of the newly born India .

" We saw the national flag and  our hearts swell with pride , finally we got freedom . We all got our identity of being a citizen of a free country , we got the identity of being an Indian ", proudly recalled Roshan.

The bedlam (state of uproar) had broken loose the whole nation was celebrating it's first independence together .

Hindu , Muslims , Sikhs and Christians and other community people were rejoicing the independence together .

"Dear children the Independence we got is precious , thousands of people have sacrificed their life to achieve the India in which we live today , so love your country and live with brotherhood . Brotherhood is the soul of India without which it cannot survive" Roshan spoke out.

She  further added,"Yes indeed many people lost everything during the partition but sometimes in life to gain one thing ,one has to lose another thing . In our case Partition was the price for gaining Freedom and Peace again " .

Erica , Kabir , Jheel and Ayra felt proud to be born as Indian . They felt lucky to be the citizen of this country .

Next day the riots came to  halt and the curfew from their city was lifted up. The peace again surmounted the nation's capital . Everyone packed up their bags to return back to their city .

The same day late night Husna and the kids returned back to their city . Erica and Ayra felt sad to see their burnt houses as the  memories which resided in their  houses  were now  lost .

Everyone went to Jheel's house while Kabir went to the hospital to see his father who was now out of danger and recovering from heart attack .

Next day Kabir brought back his father  home . Everyone then gathered at Kabir's house to meet his father.

It was 8 in the morning , Ayra was looking out of the window of Kabir's room , her eyes were wet looking at something .

Kabir noticed that Ayra was crying , he said, "Ayra don't worry , we all are with you. Your house will be again constructed after all you are Martyr's daughter and government will definitely help you out. Secondly , I am always there for you" .

Ayra glared Kabir hearing his cheesy line "I am always there for you".

Kabir gave a naughty smirk in response to Ayra's glare .

Ayra replied ,"Yeah what we have endured is nothing in comparison to the Partition of 1947. India has stood strong no matter what the destiny threw at it. India has made a tryst( a secret deal ) with destiny to reach greater heights of success and prosperity with it's diverse people who may have different religions or opinions but their hearts beat out  for Incredible India".

Ayra added,"In our case too just like Nani Amma we lost our houses but  our friendship with each other has got  strengthen , our trust in unity got stronger . Yes many people got injured ,lost their lives / houses but finally peace has again surrounded us teaching everyone  lessons for a lifetime Indeed in life sometimes to gain one thing we need to loose or sacrifice another thing in return ".

Ayra now again looked out of the window and tears  again redeveloped   in her eyes .

This time Kabir noticed  what Ayra was looking at .

Kabir smiled at  what Ayra was staring at . His eyes beamed with pride and tears wet his eyes too .

A local  group  consisting of people from different religions were hoisting the national flag together at the  main intersection of the locality .

The unity and brotherhood is again nurturing in the national capital on the special occasion of 26 January , the Republic day of  India , the largest diverse democratic country of the world  .

Note - The title of this chapter "Tryst with Destiny" which I have used here interprets two meanings according to the literal meaning of the words and according to it's  historical importance .

First Meaning (Literal meaning)- To make secret deal with something that is in destined with us .
Second Meaning (Historical importance)- India's first Prime Minister (PM )Jawahar Lal Nehru gave his first speech which is popularly known as Tryst with Destiny . In this speech  Jawahar Lal Nehru used the word 'Tryst' to symbolize 'Freedom'  .