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*
QUESTION: Why does Hania always get in trouble?
ANSWER: She's the daughter of the couple who faced literally every drama in the world, so this is only natural. :D
***
It's officially my niece's second birthday (25th February), Ma Sha Allah!
I'm mentioning this on here, because I've probably told the readers repeatedly, that baby Hania, her behaviour, her actions, and even her toddlerhood is based on my niece. I learned all these baby behaviours because of her, like burping a baby, and how I stayed up nights to look after her so that my sister could sleep, as my sister came to stay at our place after my niece was born.
So, yes. Happy Birthday to the inspiration of Hania! This chapter is for her from her Khalla, if she ever ends up reading this when she's older (In Sha Allah).
****
Fawad
"Bhai?" Fariha came up to me, wide eyed.
"Hey, Fari. What's up?" I asked, sneakily eating one of the pakoras that Ammi had prepared to put in the Kadhi, a yoghurt based curry. I was probably going to get told off or glared at for it, but I didn't care at this point.
Baap ban gaya hai tu, bachpana nahin gaya. My inner voice chastised me.
*You've become a father, but you haven't let go of your childishness.
My little sister looked hesitant, the way she used to look when she got in trouble at school, and had needed my help to gently tell our parents, especially Ammi. Although my sister was a smart and intelligent kid, she used to be very feisty, and had often ended up in loud verbal fights with other students, resulting in her getting in trouble.
"What did you do?" I asked, looking at her with amusement.
But the look on her face made the small smile on my face disappear. This was something serious.
"Fari, what's going on?" I frowned.
"Sadia Bhabi...she is the one who pushed Hania intentionally." Fariha looked at me, eyes wide. "Zafar saw it himself, but he didn't know how to tell you and Bhabi this..."
"Sadia Bhabi pushed Hania intentionally?" I asked in disbelief.
It wasn't that I doubted Fariha. I trusted her completely. She wouldn't just make up stuff about someone like this, and neither would Zafar. It was just that the whole idea of a grown-up, a supposedly well-educated doctor, pushing a toddler and hurting her on purpose was so bloody ridiculous that if the situation wasn't so serious, I would have laughed.
But the situation was serious. Sadia Bhabi had pushed my daughter, my little Hania, causing her to hit her head on the sofa. As a precaution, Papa and I had taken her to the hospital, as it was a head injury, and we were faced with strict questions about it, because obviously a child's welfare is always a concern when they're hurt at home.
Fortunately, Alhumdulillah, there was nothing to worry about, and Papa and I didn't bring Hani back until we were sure.
"She intentionally hurt my daughter?" My voice dropped to a furious whisper.
"If anyone had hurt my child on purpose, especially an adult, I would want to know." Fariha said. "That's why I came to tell you this."
"I need to speak to Arhaan. This is it. Sadia Bha..." I was interrupted by the scream of a child, followed by Sadia Bhabi shouting out Ismael's name.
"What the hell?" Without thinking, Fari and I dashed outside and were stunned to see Ismael lying on the ground outside, a thin trickle of blood running down his forehead, as Sadia Bhabi sat on her knees beside him, crying.
"Ismael...baby..." Clearly Sadia Bhabi was in shock.
Fari went over to gently help her to her feet, while I got down to take a look at the toddler.
I didn't hesitate for a second because he was not only Mina's nephew and my best friend's son, but he was a small toddler, just a week older than my daughter. I would never, not in my lifetime, let family politics or resentment come in between me and my duty, especially when it was about treating a small child.
****
We ended up on a second trip to the hospital within twenty-four hours, with a second toddler.
Ismael's was a little more serious injury and I'd actually had to give him stitches at home to stop the bleeding. The hospital trip was necessary because, again, none of us were willing to take the risk with a child's head injury.
*As I'd said before, I'm not a medical expert, so any inaccurate medicine related information should be overlooked. I try my best to only write information that makes sense, or that I'm familiar with, but excuse the errors.*
"You did the right thing to do the stitches at home, otherwise the blood loss could have become fatal for him." The doctor had informed us.
This time Papa and I had been joined by Ismael's parents, and Arhaan and Sadia Bhabi both looked tearful, hearing the doctor's words.
Arhaan walked up to me. "Thanks, Bhai."
"Don't." I shook my head and gave him a hug. "As a father, I wouldn't want any parent to go through the trauma of anything happening to their child." I couldn't help glancing at Bhabi, with a clenched jaw, as I spoke.
Embarrassed, she lowered her gaze.
"Especially not you, Bhai." I pulled back and looked at my best friend.
He smiled, looking relieved. "I'm going to pray some shukranay nafl." He patted my shoulder, before walking off.
"Sadqah dena chahiye bachon ka." Papa, oblivious to Bhabi's deed, spoke up. "Pata nahin kya ho raha hai ghar ke bachon ke saath."
*"We should give sadqah for the kids."
"God knows what's happening with the kids of the family."
"Sometimes we don't immediately realise the reason, Papa." I replied, my gaze on the ground. "But when we do find out the reason, we should learn our lessons from it."
"The first and foremost being that toddlers must always be watched over, Sadia beta." Papa told her. "Sometimes, they can cause chaos in just a blink of an eye. Don't mind my words, but I said the same to Fawad, after what happened with Hania yesterday."
"Right. No adult was watching over Hania." I nodded.
The way that she glanced up at me sharply, I knew that she knew that I knew*.
*Anyone who watched 'Friends' would get this reference, and I couldn't help adding it. That was just a hilarious episode.
Papa glanced at his watch. "Beta, it's almost Asr time. I'm going to go and pray as well."
"I'll join you in a minute, Papa." I told him.
He nodded and went in the direction of where Arhaan had gone.
Bhabi and I stood in pin-drop silence for a while.
"I have no intention of mentioning this to Arhaan or Jasmina." I told her, without looking in her direction. "May Allah give Ismael good health and a very long life. Ameen. I would never, ever, want a child to suffer because of the actions of us adults, but Allah has given us all a shock through this incident. We need to sort our actions out, before He gives us a bigger shock, and before it's too late. For the sake of the children of the families, we need to put aside our pettiness." With that, I turned and followed the other two down the hall and towards the multi-faith prayer room.
Even though Sadia Bhabi had intentionally harmed my Hania, my toddler daughter, I would still never wish harm on Ismael or Ibrahim- even if they weren't Jasmina's nephews or my best friend's sons. It takes a special kind of evil to intentionally harm, or wish harm on, a child, and I couldn't believe that I was saying this, but Sadia Bhabi had actually sunk to that level.
After the Asr prayer, I made a special dua for my best friend, who had never wished harm on anyone. Arhaan was the most harmless, the kindest person that I knew, and I would never want him to suffer in any way.
****
Zafar
"I feel like I'm covering up a crime, or aiding a criminal somehow." I paced the study which Fariha and I slept in at night. "Technically, in the UK, she would be arrested for what she did, as this is child abuse. And if we were in Lahore, and if things were in my control, I would have arrested her too."
"I've told Bhai, so stop feeling guilty." Fariha told me, reassuringly. "Hania's father knows now, Zafar, and you're not the one who hurt her!"
"I should have openly exposed Sadia Bhabi!" I snapped, unable to forgive myself for it.
"I think, you did the right thing by not exposing her publicly." She grabbed my hand. "I think, this was the right way, to just talk to Fawad Bhai directly. At this point, I don't even want Bhabi to know because of her pregnancy. But because Bhai knows, it's entirely his call now whether he tells her or not."
"I would have been furious, if someone had witnessed an incident against one of our sons like that, but had failed to tell us directly."
"But I have told him, Zafar. Relax." She put both her hands on my face, forcing me gently to look into her eyes. "I know you feel bad, but you didn't do anything wrong, Zafar. When it's about an extended family, we have to tread carefully, and I'm telling you, you didn't do anything wrong by staying quiet. It was best for us to handle things this way than to get everyone all worked up. Bhai will be furious, but he's sensible, and he will handle things maturely. I trust him."
I nodded, but I was lost in thoughts. I just kept thinking that as a policeman, regardless of being out of territory, I should have done more.
****
When everyone returned with Ismael, Fari and I joined the others in the living room.
"Zafar, Fariha, can we talk?" Fawad Bhai nodded towards the hallway, and the three of us walked out as the others were too distracted by checking on Ismael.
"Is Ismael okay?" Fari and I asked in unison, as we followed him into the back garden.
"Alhumdulillah." Bhai replied, looking at both of us in turn. "Look, I know what you saw, Zafar, and I think you did the right think by now exposing her in front of everyone. I'm selfish, I'm not even saying it because morally, it probably was the right move. I'm saying it because I'm glad that Mina didn't find out." He glanced down at the ground. "And since Hania is okay, I would rather that she didn't find out about this. I really don't want to know what would happen if you tell a pregnant mother that an adult intentionally hurt her toddler."
"I would have ripped her apart." Fariha muttered, and Bhai and I looked at her in surprise. She shrugged. "What? Maybe it's a generic rule that a pregnant woman gets extra maternal, but I definitely did. When I was pregnant with Saad and Umair told Omar off unfairly..." She trailed off, looking at me sheepishly.
"What did you do?" I asked, with a small smile.
"I threw a full on tantrum and kicked him out of the room." She replied, almost looking proud of herself.
"That's my girl." I winked at her.
Bhai cleared his throat. "Big brother still present."
"In situations like these, wouldn't you reply to Arhaan Bhai by saying, 'So what? She's my wife!'?" I blurted out, a cheeky smile on my face.
"Touché." Bhai nodded. "But anyway, that's all I wanted to say. We can't tell Mina, for the sake of her health. When the time is right, I will tell her myself one day, but that day is not today, as Hania is fine. Alhumdulillah."
"We respect that, Bhai." I said. "She won't hear it from me," I looked at Fariha.
"Or me," She said, smiling at me.
"But, what are we going to do about what happened? Is she going to get away with it?" I asked.
Bhai tilted his head back to stare up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "I honestly have no idea. As Hania's father, I want to immediately throw that woman out of my house. But there's just way to much to think about here: Arhaan's marriage, the fact that she is Mina's Bhabi, so any action I take will have an impact on the family relations in one way or another..."
"Even with inaction, we need to keep a close eye on Hania now." Fariha said. "I'm sorry that I'm saying this, but I don't trust Sadia Bhabi alone with her."
"I don't either." Bhai agreed.
Jasmina Bhabi came out into the hallway and looked at the three of us, curiously. "What are you three whispering about?"
"Nothing, we were just talking in general." Fariha gave her a forced smile.
Bhabi looked suspicious, but looked too worn out to pay attention. "Fawad, I'm going to go for a rest. Hania's still down here. Would you mind bringing her up when it's her nap time?"
"Sure, no worries. Let me know if you need anything." Bhai glanced at his wife as she climbed upstairs slowly.
The three of us exchanged looks once Bhabi was out of sight.
This was a tough, yet delicate situation.
****
Zoya
Fawad Bhai was called in for an emergency and had to rush to work, so I took Hania up to her nursery because she wanted to play 'dollies' with me.
We sat down on the mattress with Hania's various toys, Hani doll and a tea party set that Ammi had brought over from Lahore for her.
"Would you like some tea, Hani?" I asked and she held up her small cup.
I smiled and poured invisible tea into her cup, and she pretended to sip it. "Does Hani like it? Is it delicious?"
On a small plate I had set out some chocolate chip cookies, and she took one. "Cookie."
"Your Mama is not going to be happy with Mumani, baby girl." I winced. "But I can't say no to this adorable face." I reached out and pinched her soft cheek.
"Are you taking about my adorable face?" Ahad walked in then, smirking.
"You wish. I am talking about Princess Hania." I looked up at him.
"Can Mamu join this adorable party?" Ahad sat down on the floor beside me.
"Are you hungry for cookies, and would you like some invisible tea?" I offered.
"Hani, can Mamu have a cookie?" He asked her, grabbing a cookie and holding it up.
Hani nodded and as he bit into it, she grabbed another cookie and held it out for me.
"Aww, meri gudiya, thank you." I took the cookie and kissed her cheek. "You truly are Jasmina and Fawad Bhai's daughter."
Hania yawned, and her eyes began to droop close.
"Is Princess Hania ready to head to the Kingdom of Dreamland?" I stood up and reached out for her. "Come here." She held out her arms towards me and I lifted her, before laying her down on the mattress, pulling the duvet over her. "We'll let Mama sleep, while little Hani can sleep here."
Ahad smiled. "Okay, you let our Hani have a nap, I'll go and find Zafar. Fariha's helping the boys with schoolwork, so I'm sure I won't be interrupting any potential couple time." He leaned down to kiss the top of my head. "Sweet dreams, Hani Jaani." He left the room.
I sat beside Hania and gently sang her a lullaby as she drifted off to sleep.
I looked at the little sweetheart and my heart ached as I thought about the head injury that she had suffered the night before. If I was feeling so bad for her, how would her parents have felt?
I recited a dua for protection against evil eye and blew it over her. She was so precious, Ma Sha Allah, that I wanted to shield her from all the drama and problems of the world.
I remember when I was a kid, and when Mamma saw the news and saw a terrible incident regarding a child, she used to start crying. I used to ask her, in my childhood innocence, why she was crying like she was their mother, and she used to say that I would understand one day when I was a mother. "When you become a parent, Zoya, you will automatically start to empathise with other parents if something happens to their kids. Because when you have your own children, you get terrified just by the thought of something happening to them, so you can understand how other parents would feel."
For me, Ahad's nephews and niece(s) were just like my own. They were all precious little babies, and deserved nothing bad, which was probably why I was feeling so upset at the idea of Hania's pain.
I think I fell asleep beside Hania, and was woken up by a light knock. The room was dark and I wondered what the time was. "Hmm?"
The door opened. "Zoya Bhabi?"
I opened my eyes. "You can turn on the light, Jasmina."
Light flooded the room and Jasmina stepped into the room. I turned and saw Hania looking back at me, looking like she had just woken up.
"Did you have a good nap, Your Royal Highness?" I asked her, smiling.
"Time to feed the princess." Jasmina smiled down at her daughter. "Hi, baby."
"Mama!" Hania sat up.
"You go, I'll bring her down." I told my Nand.
"Thank you for looking after her, Zoya Bhabi. I really needed that rest." She said.
"Don't worry about it." I smiled. "Hania is such a well behaved sweetheart."
"Depends on her mood." Jasmina laughed. "In her nursery, she is generally in a good mood, and it's easy to look after her. Sometimes this madam throws bad tantrums."
"This little one? No way!" I pinched Hania's cheek again. "She's an angel! I'm going to miss her so much when we go back to Lahore!"
We headed downstairs, where there were last minutes preparations being made for dinner, and I began to help out the mothers, while Jasmina made Hania's meal.
"Can I make something for Omar and Saad as well?" She asked Fariha, casually.
"No, that's okay, Bhabi. They'll eat what the rest of us are having." Fariha replied. "They have become too fussy when it comes to food, and I'm trying to change that."
"Oh, those stages are the worst." Fatima Aunty shook her head. "I used to threaten Fawad that if he doesn't eat properly, he'd be grounded. And for Fariha, she couldn't watch TV unless she ate what she was given."
We all laughed at that.
"Bhai, would Ismael like this as well?" Jasmina set mild curry chicken with veggies and rice in a small bowl for Hania and set it on the high chair in front of her. "Hani, for the love of Allah, don't throw food around now."
"I'll feed her." Ammi sat, sitting down on a chair beside Hania.
Arhaan Bhai had just walked in, and he seemed very stressed out about something. "No, Jazzy, thanks."
"Come on, Bhai." Jasmina told him. "I made extra for him because this is a special toddler recipe I found online for Hania and Ismael."
He looked at her thoughtfully for a few moments, before nodding. "Sure, thanks, beta."
Something about him was off, and the way everyone kept looking at him, it seemed like everyone realised it: Ammi, Jasmina, Fatima Ammi and Fariha. He headed out of the kitchen, without noticing the concerned looks sent his way by the family.
"Maybe he's just worried because of the incident with Ismael?" I suggested.
****
Arhaan
I wanted to leave and fly back to Lahore on the first flight.
I couldn't believe what Sadia had done. When we'd returned from the hospital, she had confessed, leaving me absolutely shaken on the inside.
"Allah punished me for what I did to Hania!" Sadia had sobbed out. "He still prevented Ismael from serious harm, but this shock was enough for me to realise how far I've gone in my resentment and envy."
How was I ever supposed to face Jazzy and Fawad again? How was I supposed to face anyone in our joint family again, knowing what my wife had done?
My little Hania, my niece, could have been seriously hurt because of Sadia's action. It could have ended up being a fatal injury!
Zafar knew about this, which meant that possibly Fariha did as well. And if Fariha knew about it, she must have told Fawad. I've known them all forever, so I knew their behaviour very well.
But if Fawad knows about it, why hasn't he confronted me about it yet?
"Arhaan..." Sadia got up from the bed, where she had just finished feeding Ibrahim.
"My sister is downstairs, making special recipes for Hania and our son, and you heartless woman, you intentionally injured a toddler!" I snapped at her. "You have given me nothing but humiliation and disrespect, publicly and privately, and I have tolerated this way too long." I paused. "I think we should separate for a while when we get back to Lahore. You should go and stay at your parents' house indefinitely, while I figure out whether I'm ready for divorce or not. It's a huge step, and I will think about it, but it's definitely something that I'm considering."
"Arhaan, don't do that, please!"
"You're basically a criminal, Sadia. I don't want to be married to such a woman." I sounded bitter, even to my own ears. "I don't want you in my home for a while." I stepped towards her. "I'm telling you one thing, very clearly, Sadia Arhaan Sheikh. If there's as much as even a scratch on Hania again, around you, I will hand you over to the police myself, London or Lahore. It's a huge, huge limit that you've crossed by hurting a child."
"You're going to have me arrested?"
"Murder, or the very least manslaughter." I said, quietly. "Had the slightest thing had gone wrong with Hania, that's would you would have been charged with, God forbid. May Allah bless Hania with a long life and good health. Ameen." I looked at my little Ibrahim. "Our Ismael already suffered because of your evil deeds. I don't want any further harm on my children, which is why you'll go straight to your parents' house from the airport when we arrive in Lahore." I turned to head out.
"I'll apologise to Jasmina."
I froze, before turning back to face her. "I don't think she knows, and I'm warning you, Sadia, don't mention a word of this to her. I will talk to Fawad, and he'll handle it. It's best if you stay away from everyone for now, Sadia, especially Jasmina and Hania." I left the room without another word.
I went downstairs, where Ismael was lying on the sofa, watched over by Ahad and Zafar, who were watching cricket in a low volume.
"Join us on the dark side, Bhai." Ahad grinned at me.
"Does the dark side involve not helping the ladies with dinner?" I raised an eyebrow as I gently ran a hand over my son's head.
"Precisely." Zafar nodded. "In my defence, I offered."
"As usual." I looked at Ahad. "Do you not even ask as a formality?"
"Let me tell you the logic behind that." Ahad sat up straight, as if about to say something very serious. "If people like me, who rarely offer to help, even ask a formality, everyone would automatically accept. Whereas, if people like Zafar, who always offers sincerely, offer to help, everybody would politely refuse him because he's such a helpful guy."
"Well, that's true. Zafar is a good person." I nodded.
"Excuse me? I'm lazy, but I'm a good person too!" Ahad said, defensively.
"Good people sincerely offer to help, no matter how lazy." Zafar muttered, glancing away with a smirk on his face.
"You little piece of..."
"Language!" I glared at my little brother before he could swear. "A little man is present here." I nodded towards Ismael.
"I was going to say 'piece of fudge cake'. Chill, bro." Ahad chuckled.
"Can't blame him for not trusting you." Zafar shrugged.
"Is this the Annual Bully Ahad Day?" My brother stood up. "I'm going to go and see if the ladies need help, just to prove you both wrong."
"You're just going to see your wife." Zafar and I said at the same time.
Ahad just shook his head, as if with disapproval, and walked out.
I sat down on the space that Ahad had just emptied, and Ismael instantly sat up and leaned against me, causing me to wrap my arm around his small shoulders. "I know that you witnessed what happened, Zafar."
Zafar looked at me, sharply.
"Sadia told me everything."
He stared at the TV, almost blankly. "My training, and everything that I know, teaches me that she should face the full force of the law because of what she did."
"I agree." I nodded. "On one hand, Hania could have died, but on the other hand, if Sadia faces punishment, Ibrahim and Ismael would suffer. Obviously, Hania's matter is much serious, but..." I felt selfish even thinking it. "My boys are innocent in all this, Zafar. But each time I think that, I think of my sister and my best friend. They almost lost Hania because I've been too spineless to do anything!" And suddenly, I was filled with intense self-loathing. "I need some space to cool down." I got up and strode out of the room, and then out of the house.
Will I be answerable in front of Allah for all of this? For my failure to stop my spouse from committing such heinous acts?
I walked down the street, burying my hands in my pockets. God knows how long I walked for, but I was trying to find a solution to this problem, but so far, there was none.
The only word that came repeatedly to my mind was the word 'divorce'.
I hated it because it was not liked in Islam, and also because of my sons. But Sadia was leaving me with no options. No matter what I did, she wasn't changing for the better.
I stared up at the dark sky, and I said a silent prayer to the Lord of the Worlds. Please help me, Allah. Please guide me to what I should do now, and may it be for the best of all of us, but especially my Ismael and Ibrahim.
****
Sadia
I was guilt ridden, and I decided to do the one thing that Arhaan had asked me not to do: I headed downstairs to talk to Jasmina.
My guilt was a burden on my soul, and I thought of nothing but to relieve myself of that burden.
Fortunately, Jasmina was sitting in the kitchen alone, drinking a glass of juice. She did not look very well, though. She was clutching her back and her eyes were damp, probably because of the aches and pains of pregnancy.
I only thought of myself and my apology in that moment, and not of how she could be affected by it.
"Jasmina, there's something that I need to talk to you about." I spoke up, quietly.
****
Would Sadia tell Jasmina? Would that end up deteriorating Mina's health?
It must have been a real moral dilemma for Fawad to put aside his resentment to treat the child of the person who could have killed his own child by her evil behaviour.
Zafar is feeling a burden on his soul for not taking any action immediately, but is he right to feel that way or not?
Would Ahad and Zoya finally be rewarded for being so amazing with the little ones?
Thoughts and comments?
Thank you for reading, and don't forget to vote!