The Eclipsed Heart

Chapter 5

"What?" Meerab uttered in confusion, her mind momentarily blank. This had to be a joke, right? Was she being pranked? Her father often enjoyed pulling her leg, so this had to be one of those moments, right?

"Meerab, I know it sounds weird, but—" Anwar looked at her with uncertainty etched on his forehead. He held her hand, and the uncertainty in his eyes made it palpable that this was no jest. Her father was not kidding.

"No, Dad! What do you mean marry Murtasim? Marriage isn't something I have thought about yet, and that too with Murtasim? I don't even know him," Meerab said, her face etched with discomfort and anxiousness.

"Meerab, listen to me, please. Shahnawaz bhai had asked about it before as well, but I thought it would be a bad idea, considering how Pakistan's feudal system is and how men tend to be here. But after meeting Murtasim, my opinion has changed. He is a liberal person, open-minded and well-educated. I think he would be a perfect match for you," Anwar tried to explain, nervousness clouding his mind as he observed Meerab's reaction.

"DAD! I don't care if he's well-educated, open-minded, or whatever. I don't know him, and surely I cannot live here. My lifestyle, my likings, and my whole life is completely different from how women live here. I cannot sit around like a trophy wife and give out stupid advice like Maa Begum. My mentality, my way of living, even my dressing is against the norms here. How could you expect me to agree to this?" Meerab panicked, her mind rushing with thoughts.

"Meerab, beta, you're wrong here. They aren't as rigid as you are painting them to be. Surely their mentality is different, but I have Bhabi Sahab's word. She won't demand you to change your lifestyle, neither would she force anything on you. Murtasim wouldn't force anything on you as well," Anwar said, attempting to change Meerab's mind, but her anxiety intensified.

"Murtasim? Has he agreed to this?" she inquired.

"Yes. That's what I'm trying to say, Meerab. Please trust me. Think with an open mind. I won't force you, but please, it's my humble request, my love. It was my brother's dying wish, and I want to be able to honor that," Anwar said, tears in his eyes subsided Meerab's anger to some extent. She couldn't bear to see her father cry, but all of this felt like utter nonsense as well.

"You're ready to honor your brother's wish over your daughter's own happiness?" Meerab's lower lip quivered, a question that shredded Anwar's heart into pieces.

"Meerab, please, you know that's not the truth. I love you so much. I wouldn't—" Anwar tried to speak, but Meerab interjected.

"Please leave me alone, Dad. I—I want to be alone," she said, closing her eyes, trying hard not to let her tears drown her.

"Okay, I will. But please try to consider it once. Please, it's a request from me," Anwar said as he hesitantly closed the door behind him leaving a distressed Meerab struggling to grapple with the revelation her father had made.

The words echoed in Meerab's mind like a chaotic symphony—marriage, Murtasim, Pakistan, dying wish, Dad's request—all jumbled, creating a dissonant confusion. The room felt suffocating and small, prompting her to shed her shrug off and open the wide windows. A rush of cool air greeted her, and she inhaled and exhaled deeply, attempting to calm her racing heart and trembling demeanor.

How could her father entertain the notion of marrying her off, especially to someone like Murtasim Khan? She had never contemplated marriage, envisioning a future filled with pursuits of a master's degree, the establishment of more orphanages, and a potential job with the UN's economic and social development department. Marriage to Murtasim Khan was nowhere in her ten-year plan. Her father's choice for her life partner, a man she barely knew, left her feeling betrayed as tears started to pool in her eyes.