Where We Belong

Home

© All copyrights belong to StarsAndMoon1447 on Wattpad

*

Arhaan

"Bhai, are you sure?" Ahad asked me, uncertainly.

As Armaan and Maheen left home, Nazia and I explained our decision to my younger brother and his wife.

I felt a little guilty at not seeing my son and his wife off, but I was mentally drained and my disappointment in him overshadowed the guilt anyway.

"It all had to come down to this. Maybe it's best for the kids and their growing families." I nodded. "You and Zoya can find a place of your own with us in Askari if you want. Fawad and Jasmina will come there soon as well. We'll live there. The house will be sold off, and the money from the sale will be equally divided amongst all of the kids."

Naz and I had talked about it most of the night, and now it was time to discuss with Ahad and Zoya.

"We were also thinking of giving Billu the option of moving out after marriage anyway." Zoya nodded, looking at Ahad. "I suppose this will work out better."

"The kids won't agree, Bhai. You know how adamant Ismael and Ibrahim are about moving out." Ahad spoke grimly.

"Ahad, we'll explain this to them. In the long run, this will be beneficial for them." I continued. "Face it, times have changed. Kids like their independence now, and there's nothing wrong with that. None of them will hate the idea of independence, you'll see."

"I think Ismael will feel it the most." Nazia spoke softly to me.

"He'll understand. His thinking level and style matches mine to a great extent. He'll understand my point of view." I was convinced of that.

It hurt a lot to sell off the house that my parents had purchased before my birth. But I was worried that soon this home will once again become a family politics battlefield, even with Armaan gone. Before that happened, we had to think sensibly as the elders and take this step.

"You are making a lot of sense, Bhai." Ahad nodded.

"We'll discuss this with the kids as soon as possible." I said.

I leaned back in my seat, closing my head, tilting my head back against the soft back of the seat. I imagined myself and Fawad sitting in the garden on warm summer evenings, having chai while conversing in Punjabi. I imagined our wives pacing around, talking and laughing. I imagine our kids and grandkids visiting us, and the excitement of seeing them all there. I imagined a beautiful retirement with my siblings and my best friend.  It was truly a dream.

I had to admit, I had been inspired by Fawad to take this decision. Although he had daughters, who married and moved away, we could do the same regarding our sons, and find ourselves a smaller place. I've often wondered over the years if things would have been different with Sadia had we lived on our own, but instead of dwelling on that for too long, I promised myself to do everything that I could to ensure that my kids never ended up in such a situation.

I looked at Ahad. For decades our families had lived together. But just because Zoya and Naz got along amazingly, it would be unfair for us to expect our daughters-in-law to live in a similar situation. Yes, they got along right now, but this could change in the future, and before it turned ugly, it was wise to take this step.