Destiny - مقدر

- Epilogue -

He looked at his younger sister and smiled. "Do you want me to show you some cricket, Yasmeen?" 
Yazmeen cheered, though she was too young to even know what cricket was. "Yay, cricket!" (which sounded more like 'cwicket'.) A language we'd all learnt to understand. "You two haven't eaten your bananas yet!" I scolded. Yasmeen whined and Hassan groaned. "Come on! You can't play cricket on an empty stomach." Daniyal said, tickling Yasmeen and making her squeal with laughter. I pulled two bananas out of our thatched basket and began un-peeling them slowly. Once I had unpeeled the first one, I passed it to Hassan who grabbed it and ran off. "Wait for me!" Yasmeen cried as Hassan dug the stumps into the ground. "Hassan, wait for your sister!" Daniyal called out. I unpeeled the second banana and gave it to Yasmeen who munched the top off with one big bite. 

"Did Hazeema get home safe?" I asked, leaning against Daniyal as he scooted closer and put an arm around my neck. "Yep, she told me to tell you that your biryani was amazing. Mahmood loved it too." Daniyal replied, kissing the top of my head and pressing his head against it. I enthused, "Oh, Mahmood! I'm glad he liked it, I learnt from the best." 
Daniyal smiled at me, "Mahmood is a talented chef, indeed." 
I watched as our children played on the grass, Yasmeen fumbling around with the bat and struggling to hold it the right way round. This was peace. The sense that everything is sorted out and everything will be alright. We stayed outside for around an hour, Daniyal's arm around me as we sat on the grass together and spoke about various things. I was really enjoying married life, especially with him. It only made me ten times more relieved that, thanks to the many amazing people in my life, I managed to escape a marriage to Habib. I couldn't imagine it being anywhere near as blissful.

I shouted out to my two children. "It's bedtime!" Hassan nodded and Yasmeen frowned, "But mummy!" 
"Come on sweetie, it's getting dark." 
It was in the evening, and it was still relatively light outside. The sun could still be seen cowering in the sky and the sky was still blue. 'Getting dark' was simply a phrase that meant they had to come inside. Yasmeen dropped the bat onto the grass and ran towards me, Hassan following closely behind. "Can I watch my cartoons first, mummy?" He begged. 

"Me too, my cartoons!" Yasmeen cheered. "No! Your cartoons are boring!" Hassan whined. "No, yours are boring! Not mine!" Yasmeen protested, folding her arms and pouting with anger. As our children began to fight, Daniyal stood up on the grass. "How about whoever brushes their teeth first can watch their cartoons today and the other person can watch theirs tomorrow?" 
But they didn't respond to him. They simply ran into the house and disappeared through the door, running after each other at the speed of light. 

The house, which was more of a cottage, crouched low into the grassy embankment, as though it were trying to hide, but the misshapen slate roof was too large to go unnoticed. There were coarse, unevenly sized, grey stones that made up the walls. The occasional flash of colour - some blues, others green or brown- emerged from the grey stones that looked like eyes trying to steal a glimpse of the world. The cottage looked as if it was straight out of a fairytale with a happy ending or a picture book for little kids. It looked like many things. Life was simple and plain, but life was good and happy too. 

It wasn't the inadequate shanty that I lived in as a child, but it wasn't the large mansion that Daniyal lived in either. We had the money, but we wanted what we needed, not what made us look luxurious and rich. Mostly, we just wanted what would make us and our two children happy. Happiness is the answer to any question. 

Daniyal and I followed the children inside, me carrying the basket, him carrying the cricket gear. When we got inside we heard the splash of water and panting children. They were upstairs brushing their teeth, for sure. I looked at Daniyal who looked at me and laughed. "Dramas?" 
"Dramas." We walked into the living room and turned on the TV. 

...................................

I tucked them both into bed and turned off the light to their room. "Goodnight, darlings." 
I suddenly heard a whining sound coming from Yasmeen's bed. "Mummy...you haven't told us a story yet." She whispered into the darkness. Hassan gasped, "Oh yeah! A story." 
I came and sat at the end of Hassan's bed, facing Yasmeen's.  "Okay...what story would you like to hear?" I asked, putting one leg over the other. "The one about Afreen!" Hassan cheered. Afreen had become one of his heroes, the stories he'd heard of her courage and bravery. He'd told me many times, that he wanted to be just like her. I wished he'd just been able to know her, to meet her. I'm sure he'd absolutely love her to death if he did. "No, tell the story about the plane crash!" Yasmeen protested. I laughed. She loved that one, the drama and the thrill of it all. She loved seeing Daniyal's scars too, they intrigued her. It was exciting for her to see her father's battle wounds from a hard previous life. 

"How about...I tell you a new story today?" 
They both seemed astonished by the idea, in absolute awe. "A true one?" Yasmeen asked. I nodded, "A true one." 
Hassan cheered, "Yay, a new story!" 
I looked up to find Daniyal at the door, smiling proudly at what we had created. This family, this house, our lives and happiness. It was all created through hardships and courage. Yasmeen held her arms out wide, "Come and sit next to me daddy! Mummy's telling us a new story, today." 
Daniyal sat next to her and tucked her in, pushing the duvet around her as soft as snow. He kissed her forehead lightly, "A new story? You two are very lucky, aren't you?" 
Hassan giggled, "Yeah, but now you can hear it too!" 

He beamed at me and I smiled back. "Are you guys ready?" 
Both of my children nodded eagerly and playfully, so did Daniyal. It made Hassan and Yazmeen laugh, and that made me happy. I loved seeing their little faces so happy. It made me happy. Happiness is such a simple concept, but it can really change your life. The simplest things, just Daniyal joking around, just Hassan winning at cricket, just Yasmeen giving me another painting she made to stick on the fridge, can bring so much light to my life. Once so dark. I prayed only the same for Afreen. Wherever she is, hopefully in a good place. 

I cleared my throat, and then I began to tell the new story. My story."I watched, with my dupatta over my face, as the sun rose from the east, it's burning intensity almost scorching my watery, hazel eyes. With the glow of an angry sunrise, I watched the skies fill bright orange and pink. It was so beautiful, like dropping a yellow bath bomb into a pool of bright blue water and watching it disperse and merge. It looked like the whole of Pakistan was a house on fire!"