merry christmas, gift me comments
09| Glitter
"Really??" Sithara peeked through the door before entering the room. The lamps were switched on and the three were sat on the bed with her son in the middle. "How dare anybody scare my Arryn????" She nudged, trying to read the mood.
"Amma I didn't cry." Arryn clarified before his mother could speak any further. He didn't want to come out as a weakling amongst his siblings. But Sithara could see his pale face, and observe his anxious, confused and fearful eyes. "Aadya is lying."
"Amma, such a liar!!!!!!!!!" Athiya accused. "He ruined my sleep." She spoke disinterestedly, her tiny eyes drooping in sleep.
"Amma." Arryn angrily screeched and she could see her husband's annoyed expressions carved on her son. She loved the resemblance. It had her heart. "Amma..she is."
"Abba." Athiya cribbed, snuggling into Arsalan with a puppy face and resting her head on his chest to rest herself. She clearly did not seem a bit interested in the situation. She'd rather go back to sleep any minute.
"Arryn. Jaan. It's okay." Sithara took him in her embrace, putting an end to his ramblings. "Tell me about it." She kissed his forehead, glaring at Athiya disapprovingly for always dismissing her brother's emotions but she shrugged it off.
Aadya was her sweetest child. She was kind, she was caring, she was loving, like how she was sat right now, all attentive, and alert to help her brother out. But Athiya. Simply notorious.
"Amma are Muslims deliberately spreading Coronavirus???" Arryn straight up asked taking Sithara and Arsalan totally off-guard. Both looked at each other, shook. "Who told you this?" Arsalan asked back, uncomfortably shifting his position.
"Vansh. Everybody was talking about it in the zero period. All of my friends agreed." Arryn looked up at Sithara cautiously. "I didn't tell them that I am Muslim."
Sithara was speechless. She didn't see this coming. "Did you forget? I explained that it spreads when a person coughs, sneezes or gets in contact with the infected hands of the patient?? It has nothing to do with religion baby..."
"Amma?? In my dream Jamal Bhai turned into a zoombie and spat in our food to give us Covid so that we die??" Sithara was appalled. She dared not look at her husband.
"Jamal Bhai is so nice to you??? He brings you chocolates, he plays with you even when he is tired, he always helps Amma with all the chores. Do you think he is capable of hurting us?" Sithara questioned and he innconently denied. "Amma I was scared." She did not know what to speak further. Arryn was too young to understand politics behind the concocted propaganda that was being spread to divert the focus from important issues. It was dirty and ugly that it had reached children.
"You need to stop watching these stupid, unrealistic movies." Arsalan couldn't say anything more; Sithara could see he was trying to control his frustration and not lash out at Arryn for talking rubbish.
"I know right Abba, Aadya and I suggested a Romcom, but Arryn thinks he is too manly to watch one." Athiya piped in and it equally irritated him. Romcoms? They were hardly eleven.
"Arryn you study science and logic at school, do not let superstitious beliefs of other people cloud your vision. And you know all religion teach us to be kind to be one and other. You should explain this to your friends." Sithara tried to make him understand and erase his fear. It was disgusting how the hate had sprialed out of television channels and now was interfering in their real lives.
Arryn nodded, grasping as much as he could. "Do you want to sleep with us??" Arsalan questioned.
"No. I'm fine." He uncertainly spoke.
"Are you sure?" Sithara confirmed.
"Yes, Amma."
"Amma, I'll take care. Don't worry." Aadya assured her parents.
Sithara kissed Arryn's forehead before she put them in bed and switched off the lights.
"Why should my son teach his friends basics of humanity?? Just because he is a Muslim and on the receiving end? It's not his liability." Arsalan rained on Sithara.
"Arsalan it's.."
"Don't dare tell me it's okay Sithara. It's not. It's not okay."
"Arsalan."
"And you are talking to his class teacher tomorrow, first thing in the morning. The school administration better take an action against such parents for poisoning their children or I would."
Sithara did not say anything and quietly followed him into their bedroom.
Arsalan held Sithara's hand, pulling his wife to himself as soon as he reached the edge of their bed.
"Arsalan, hold on." She gasped as she crashed against his chest, her robe falling off her. "Atleast let me.."
"I can't hold on anymore."
@Sithara it's a great day to be ignored by your cat
Sithara did not understand how she became the center of problems out of nowhere and disappointed her husband.
She sliced fruits in the kitchen to blend herself a smoothie as she did not want to eat breakfast anymore at the table with everyone.
"Why didn't you apply a concealer Sithara?" Sometimes Arsalan was nothing but harsh. Sithara loathed it.
It was supposed to be a fresh and good morning until Arsalan noticed Hamza's eyes on Sithara's hickeys. It ruined his mood and he chose to spoil her day as well.
It became difficult to sit across. She covered herself with the dupatta at the slightest hint but Arsalan would not stop being mad and it was just awkward and embarrassing to try to escape the eyes of her in-laws and hide her love bites.
"Arsalan." She hated his tone. "I do not fancy showing it off either, I told you I didn't pay attention." He had warned her through messages and she had explained yet he had called her 'careless' on the text.
"It's so prominent." Arsalan argued. He always fucking argued.
"Arsalan if it's so prominent then it is your fault." She rebuked. "I had a fucking meeting to attend at eight."
Silence filled the room as her voice got louder but also vulnerable. He still managed to mess with her tiny heart. "I just didn't realize, don't try to shame me." Her eyes were moist by now. She wanted to leave.
"I'm not trying to shame you Jaan, you need to know that Hamza stays with us." Arsalan clarified. He did not intend to hurt her.
"It's high time Hamza realises that I am your wedded wife Arsalan. He really needs to get a life hn and not make mine miserable." She spoke and left.
@Sithara 🐬👣🧳🪩
"Bhabhi????" Sithara rubbed her helper's back feeling devastated at her state of being.
"Drink water Aqsa." Daniya gave her a glass. "It'll be alright. We are with you."
"Bhabhi?" She sobbed. "Nobody was buying vegetables from his stall for a week, we didn't have any money but that was okay, atleast no body beat him up like this." She cried louder.
Her husband was attacked by a mob because he had entered a colony of Hindus to sell his stuff who thought he had infected the products because he was a Muslim. Sithara couldn't believe all of this was happening for real.
"He bled so terribly. I hope he is okay. We have two children to take care of..I don't know how we will manage. There's no other Muslim hut in the area we live in. Even our neighbors have abandoned us."
"He'll be fine. He is with doctors. Arsalan has talked to the police." Sithara coaxed her to calm down.
"You and your family can stay with us in the outhouse." Ammi spoke to her. "It'll be safer."
"Is this even real uh????" Sithara exclaimed, totally taken off-guard by what time was throwing at them. "It's unimaginable." She added genuinely to be only cut off by Hamza.
"It's not Sithara." Hamza's voice was rude."We as a community have been anticipating it for years now. But, of course, it must be difficult for you to relate to our struggles???Marrying a muslim guy doesn't take away the privilege you are born with.." He always made her feel excluded. "People of your religion vote for this.."
Sithara was speechless. She quite didn't expect Hamza to target her. "Hamza." Daniya interrupted him.
@Sithara 🛝🪅🫧
It had been a sad day but sitting with her children, seeing them smile and play made Sithara feel so much lighter and happier about life. They were her hope.
Sithara still had paint in her hands while they had long forgot about the painting and moved on to what they were going to binge watch on Netflix.
"Hi, Abba!" Athiya smiled at her dad from the couch she was stuffed with Arryn and Aadya. There was no space but all three wanted to sit on that one blue couch.
"Abba summers are here why don't you get the swimming pool clean for us???" Aadya demanded.
"Of course, we can get it ready for you guys." Arsalan smiled at them, getting closer to Sithara.
"Abba and tell Zayan and Zaeem to not fight with me during cricket hn, they never let me bat properly." He complained.
"Okay, we'll discuss this with them." Arsalan answered, wrapping his arm around his wife's waist but her body only turned stiff. Seemed like she was still upset with him.
"Kab tak naraz rehne ka irada hai?" He gently asked her.
"Main naraz nahi hun, mujhe aadat hai." She answered softly, meaning it.
"Come on Sithara." He put his palm on her neck, his thumb rubbing across her left cheek. "I didn't mean to shame you. Mujhe sirf tumhari fikar hai."
She didn't say anything. "Main nahi chahata tumhe koi kuch kahe.." He elaborated when she didn't budge.
"Aur kaha toh?" She challenged.
"Tum sunna kya chahti ho??" A smile spread over her lips at his question.
"Jaein aap." The redness of her face screamed she had given in.
"Chalein mere sath.." He leaned nearer, kissing her lips, his fingers tracing her erected nipple through her kurta.
"Arsalan." She pushed him away playfully, giggling. "They can see us."
"Let's take this to our room then.." He bite her cheek, whispering in her ears.
"You don't deserve my love.." She shook her head, moving away but letting him hold onto her hands.
"Amma are we really going to sit at nine and study like yesterday????" Athiya confirmed. Her face sad and tired at the thought of it.
"Yes, every day." It was the best time to get them to study because it bored them enough to want to sleep on time. "And Amma is even going to check on your homework." She talked to them while Arsalan held her from behind, his hand drawing patterns on her stomach.
"Amma.." They burst into rambles and complains, all three of them.
"The police didn't register the case." Arsalan mentioned. "They said he was at equal fault."
"God. Ridiculous." Sithara heaved.
@Sithara miss getting collectively ready with my girls for a night out
Sithara laughed hearing some spicy gossip from her mother over the call. It was around eleven thirty at night. She was in her room, doing her skin-care, chit-chatting with her mother and waiting for Arsalan to finish his work and come back to the room.
"True that." Sithara reckoned. "You have always taught me to not give a fuck but if I could.." She had told her mother about her interaction with Hamza. She didn't want to share it with Arsalan and appear to snitch on his family members but she also couldn't keep within so her mother was the safest & the bestest option.
"Only someone not eating a bat could have saved you from living in a family like that.."
"I know right. Sad." She agreed. "The problem is I can't even relish from the fact that he'd go someday because when??? The lockdown only keeps getting extended.."
"Hamza is someone who must have eaten the bat.."Her mother laughed.
"On a serious note? Do these people eat bats??" The abhorrence in her voice was quite evident. It was just beyond her imagination.
"No Mumma, bat meat is haram in Islam." She awkwardly gulped. Her husband was here and she once again regretted keeping her phone on speaker. His expressions showed he didn't appreciate her having this conversation.
"Still. They eat animals. Wonder how not eating a bat is making the difference??? Sithara do not hate me but how do you live along with them? This question still pesters me.." Her mother was being casual and candid unaware that Arsalan could hear.
"Mumma." Sithara scolded her, herself frightened of Arsalan.
"I get this Mumma thing. Where's Arsalan by the way?? Papa wanted to talk to him, it's been long since we haven't.."
"I'll ask him to call you. Ugh shall I leave now?" Her voice turned sorry for hurrying up all of a sudden.
"Sure, take care." Sithara hung up and walked out of the closet to Arsalan.
"Did you wrap up?" She inquired about work.
"Hm, I wouldn't be here if I hadn't." He was smoking a cigarette but she was in no position to bargain at the moment.
"Nice." She bit her lip. It had been so many years since their marriage but her mother could still manage to put her in a hot spot.
"Don't act gullible, I know you enjoy having conversation about 'these' people with your mother." Arsalan finally taunted.
"No Arsalan, you always miss the context." He had been touchy on this issue ever since Covid and rightly so. People were suffering.
He chuckled. Bitterly. "I don't care about your family Sithara. They are islamophobic. But you surprise me. Even at this hour when you can see what is happening to us you think I'm missing the context."
"Arsalan." She regretted. She didn't want this. She tried to reach him but he didn't let her hold him.
Sithara did really confuse Arsalan. She was so educated, so humane yet he'd always catch her in a silly, hurtful discourse with her mother. He did not understand how she could forget that her husband and her children were muslims and someday or the other the hate was going to reach them, like it just had.
"We lost the contract that we had signed with the government. None wishes to visit a hospital owned by a Muslim even if they are dying. The Chief Minister feared they'd attack the infrastructure if he didn't take this step himself."
"What??" Sithara was taken aback.
"Don't be so shocked. There's more to come. You forget your husband and children are Muslims.."