The Politician's Girl

15. The Marriage Ceremony

-Sometimes tears are the only echo of beautiful dreams-

Naina

With tear-strains dried on my face, I was rudely woken up during the early glimpses of the morning sun by a loud knocking on my door. 

Thud!

The cold morning air was escaping into my room from behind the balcony's curtains. Groggy, baffled and worried, I rushed to open the door, feeling my heart rate sped up, and frowned at the sight of Aunt Zara, Saba's mom, standing outside my room.  Her expressions were sombre and serious.

"Aunt?"

"Come with me." Not giving me a moment to understand what was going on, she turned around and began walking down the empty hallway. I had no choice but to follow. The fresh morning sensation hit me hard, and I found myself wrapping my hands around myself to keep myself warm. 

"Aunt, what is going on?" I spoke with so much worry, quickly walking behind with hurried steps. 

"Just follow me." She voiced, without turning around. I gulped in a nod.

While walking past the closed room door, I could hear snores echoing from beside the wooden planks. Everyone was still sleeping. The cold feels of the marble under my feet were echoed by the silence of the morning lingering in the haveli. The remittances of last night's wedding ceremony were still echoing in the air; the scent of sweets, henna and roses were still prominent. 

Huffing, with my throat dry and nerves twisted, I wonder what was going on, where Aunt Zara was taking me. The thought that today was the day I was to get engaged weighed on me, yet I couldn't linger on that thought, as I was being led so ominously and secretly through the haveli hallways. 

 Soon we reached the back doors of the haveli and pushed past it. Outside, there was a black Prado parked right before the door. The morning air was hitting us like a cool blast. Everything seemed green and fresh in the morning. 

Aunt Zara rushed to open the backseat door of the Prado and then sat inside it. I quickly followed after, with my eyebrows furrowing in confusion.  However. as I reached the Prado and moved to sit inside, I saw Zaroon and Uncle Mansoor-Saba's father-sitting inside. Zaroon was sitting on the driving seat, while my uncle was sitting on the passenger seat. 

The car was filled with the aroma of smoke and perfume. 

"Aunt..." I was left speechless. 

What on earth was happening!

Seeing Zaroon, here, had caught me off guard and made me feel shy. A strange and lively feeling had been triggered in my heart. Last night, there had been an emotion of discomfort and forlorn loss shared. It felt nice to move on from that emotion.  

"Just get in, Naina." Aunt Zara's order was stern and firm. Uncle Mansoor was looking straight ahead, while Zaroon was in his work mood. Both of them had completely ignored me, as I stood shifting because of my nerves. 

Nodding, I quickly slipped in next to her and folded my hands. My gaze automatically shifted towards my fidgeting hands. Being in Zaroon's had me feeling timid and tiny-always.

"We are sending you away for a couple of days," Uncle Mansoor began speaking, as Zaroon began accelerating down the fields of our haveli...the car-speed unbelievable fast. The aggression in Zaroon's stance was visibly tangible by the way he was driving. 

"Wha-"

"The attacks aren't ordinary. The election year is turning out for the worst. They are targetting one of our blood. We can't have that. We are going to send you away until things get better." He continued, confusing me further.