Mehr-o-Mah | مہر و ماہ ✓

Riwayat- Pt 7

"Zaahira, bache- ni-nikah ka waqt ho gaya hai."

She stuttered the words, not having the courage to behave as though nothing was wrong, when in reality, the bond was being forced on two unwilling individuals.

Zaahira took a sharp breath. Her tense muscles turned stiff upon realising the dreaded time had come. She raised her hands to wipe her tears, sniffling a few times to calm the impending drops that wanted to flow down her cheeks again.

Closing her eyes for a few seconds, she opened them again and slowly built the courage to look at her reflection, one that showed just how this whole arrangement had torn her apart.

Clad in a white kurti with simple zardozi embroidery from either shoulders to the bottom of the dress and a multi-coloured lehenga paired with the same type of chadar, she resembled anything but herself.

This wasn't how she wished to dress on her wedding.

This wasn't how she imagined herself being bound in nikah.

But most of all, he wasn't whom she imagined herself marrying to.

"Begum sahiba, qazi sahab aa gaye hai."

A meek voice sounded from the doorway, breaking Zaahira's self-pity filled thoughts. Her eyes seemed hooded with denial, her mind waged with doubts about her future but her heart, oh, her heart behaved as though nothing was wrong and so did the remnants of her conscious soul.

*****

"Nahi pehnna mujhe yeh!"

Dilawar threw the head wear that Yazan was about to place on his head. The latter gritted his teeth at the aggression of his cousin but took a deep breath, knowing well the reason for his riled form.

"Dilawar-"

"Samjhane ki koshish mat kar, jab tujhe bhi pata hai yeh sab kisi mazak se kam nahi lag raha hai."

Dilawar pinched his nose in a silent attempt to calm himself down. The traditional pathani suit that he was wearing seemed suffocating for the first time on his skin. Rolling up the ones cuffed sleeves till his elbows, he opened the first few buttons of the multi-coloured overcoat that he was forced into.

"Yeh sab tujhe Zaahira ki madad karne se pehle soch na chahiye tha. Aur madad ki toh ki, yeh Dada jaani ke saath yaha kyu aaya? Pehle usko nahi chod sakta tha?"

Yazan gave a hard push to Dilawar's shoulder, the tense silence suddenly gave way to a fuming battle and both the men knew the outcome wouldn't be pleasing.

"Meri galti hai? Yeh kehna chahta hai tu?"

Yazan rolled his eyes at the acidic tone, not wanting to deal with a pissed off lion anymore.

"Haan, hai teri galti. Use nahi, lekin tujhe toh pata tha na hum kis mahaul me rehte hai? Ek bar, ek bar aankh khol kar aas paas kyu nahi dekha?"

"Toh duniya kya kahegi ke dar se ek na-mard ki tarah use wahi anjan jagah pe akela chod deta? Yeh chahta hai tu?"

Dilawar returned the shoving gesture way harder than Yazan's and the latter stumbled enough to almost trip on his feet.