Sahir, I haven't prepared for the quiz. Now, what should I do?" There was a pout on the girl's face while a smile etched on Sahir's face.
Scent of naan and chana was prevailing in the atmosphere and students around them were enjoying the breakfast.
"No problem. I will teach you the concepts within five minutes." He said while fishing out his register from the bag.
The girl leaned forward with a glint in her orbs while Sahir started teaching her Discourse analysis.
"You can become a brilliant teacher in the future." She commented while he was teaching her the concept. A smile etched on his face at this comment.
"So, will you marry a teacher?" He asked with a smile and a hope in his orbs.
The sound of thunder boomed in the sky, causing Sahir to wake up from the nightmare.
He grabbed the glass of water from the side table and took large gulps of water.
His heart was thudding and pain was rippling in his orbs.
On the other side of the city, Saba was sitting on the couch of his father's room. He has been shifted to the house now but was still suffering from fever. Her mother was sitting beside her, reading different supplicants while she was sponging her father. After putting a towel on his forehead and the other one on his arm, she glanced toward the sky from the room's window.
Instantly, clouds started weeping and wailing, mirroring the condition of Saba's heart. Tearing her glance from the city, she saw the red face of her father and tears gathered in her orbs.
On the other side of the city, Sahir was standing on the threshold of his terrace and glancing at the water which was gathering on the floor.
Fears, pain and restlessness was evident in his orbs.
That wailing night was a tough one for both of them, unknown of what tomorrow's sun will bring to them.
……………………….
After the wailing night, the sun was also gloomy as it was not shining brightly. The city was not illuminated, so it was giving a shadowy look to it.
On such a morning, Mr. Akram was lying on his bed and his wife was giving him soup. Saba was in the kitchen, making chapatis for herself and the mother. Her eyes were swollen and red, indicating the pain she goes through at night.
Instantly, the doorbell rang at which a frown etched on her face and irritation took over her.
"I can't understand why everyone has to come to our home." She murmured with a pout.
Relatives were coming to their house to meet Mr. Akram. In the meetup, they are saying hurtful words and remain seated here for two to three hours. It has been two days since Mr. Akram had shifted to the house and guests had started coming here. And in these two days, she and her mother had become hell tired from attending to the guests and Mr. Akram.
Again the bell rang at which she took a deep sigh and went to open the door. To her surprise, Mr. Sikandar and Mrs. Amna was at the door with different fruits. Fear grabbed her and her eyes searched for Sahir.
"AssalamuAlaikum! How are you, my child?" Mrs. Amna greeted her as she came out of her daze and tried to plaster a smile on her face.
"Walaikum Assalam, Uncle and Aunty." She greeted them and let them enter the house.
"How is your father now?" Mr. Sikandar asked with concern in his tone.
"He is doing better now. Please come to this side." She said and started walking toward Mr. Akram's room.
When they all settled down in the room, Saba went to take juice for the guests. Coming in the kitchen, her gaze fell upon the chapatis and she took a deep breath. Like the last two days, she and her mother would have a cold lunch after their usual lunch time.
Ignoring the hunger pangs, she took two glasses and filled them with juice.
When she was serving juices, her mother said,
"Saba, go and make two cups of tea." She nodded her head while the frustration took over her.
"No Saima, there is no need!" Mrs. Amna intervened. "It is against manners to go to a patient's house and eat from there. I have an idea how much both of you are tired and suffering. And in such a situation, the guests should ease your pain, not increase it."
A smile etched on Saba's face at this, and the level of respect for Mrs. Amna increased in her heart.
Silence remained in the room when Mr. Sikandar said that he wanted to discuss something special with Mr. Akram.
Nodding their heads, all the females left the room.
"Ami, let's have lunch." Saba said while going toward the kitchen. Mrs. Saima shot a dagger at her and gave an excusing smile to Mrs. Amna.
"I have seen patients and can understand your struggle, Saima. I have also faced those days when we were having lunch at 6 pm. There is no need to shy away from me or feel guilty because of me. I am sitting in the lounge, and you both can take your lunch in the kitchen."
Mrs. Saima gave a grateful smile to her and went into the kitchen.
…………………….
It had been two days since Mr. Sikandar and Mrs. Amna visited them. Life had started becoming stable as her father's condition was improving. Saba noticed that after the secret meeting with Mr. Sikandar, her father had become peaceful and a smile remained on his face. She was curious but didn't ask them until the third day her mother came into her room.
She opened her laptop after a week and was creating a new gig on her profile. New strategy, new plan and struggle from scratch was roaming in her mind until her mother knocked the door.
"What are you doing?" Mrs. Saima asked while sitting on her bed.
"I am creating a new gig on ranking keywords to get more audience. And after it, I am planning to do LinkedIn lead generation to get some direct clients." She told her mother while creating a video for Gig on Canva.
"Hmm" Mrs. Saima said while gazing at her tired expressions and glinting orbs where hope was present.
"Let's eat snacks." She said while taking out Lays and chocolates from her side drawer.
They both were eating while Saba was also completing her work. One hour passed like that in which she completed her whole work.
"There is something I want to discuss with you." Mrs. Saima said, at which Saba nodded her head while nibbling on her chocolate.
"Mr. Sikandar came two days before and had a meeting with your father."
Saba leaned forward with curiosity etched on her face.
"Yes, I know." She replied and waited for her mother to speak.
"He wanted to marry you with his son."
Her eyes widened and she straightened her back. Uncertainty marred her features and lips wide opened. For a few moments, her mind kept on processing the words of her mother.
"Me and Sir Sahir?" She murmured, unable to understand how to respond.
"Think of it, Saba. There is nothing wrong with it. In fact, it is one of the best proposals we have got." Mrs. Saima came near her and held her hands.
"But Mom, he is my teacher and.."
"He is your father's friend's son. And, you are not doing a love marriage with him that you feel any guilt about." She said but Saba's heart was trembling. Smiling face of Sahir flashed in front of her eyes and shivers ran down her spine.
What am I thinking!
"But still I don't feel comfortable in it." She said and gazed at her mother's expressions which dissolved into the depressing ones. Guilt took a strong grip on her being.
"Saba, try to understand the situation. We are unable to find a suitable suitor for you at this moment. Or if we find any, his family will always taunt you for that incident. At least, in Sahir's house, you will not face criticism or any harsh words. My daughter, life is difficult in loneliness and impossible in the company of a coward and sneering person. We want to protect you from both of these situations."
"Give me some time to think of it." She said softly at which her mother nodded her head.
"Take your time. There is no issue with it." Mrs. Saima said and stood from the bed, leaving her to ponder over it.
When Mrs. Saima left the room, Saba leaned back to the headboard and closed her eyes. Different instances of Sahir's encounter came in front of her eyes.
His smiling face
He is standing on the dais and teaching them literature.
They were both sitting on two sides of the table with laptops in between them.
And then, his furious and shocked expressions!
She instantly opened her eyes while fear gripped her heart. She dreaded the anger and doubtful orbs of Sahir. She was afraid of losing trust and respect which he had for her.
"What should I do? Allah help me!" She held her head in between her hands and said in a helpless tone.
..................................
Whole night, her mind kept on replaying her mother's words, consequently sleep remained away from her eyes. That's why when the clock struck 6 am, she stood from her bed to get ready for university.
"Going to university today?" Mr. Akram asked when she went into his room.
"Yes Baba. I have missed a lot of classes and there is a lot to cover up." She replied with a tiring smile at which her father nodded his head. Instantly, the bus horn resounded in the house at which she swiftly went toward the gate.
Her first slot was free so she went into the cafe to find her friends over there. A bright smile adorned her face when she went toward them.
After fifteen minutes, they all were settled and Nimra was explaining Psycholinguistics theories to her.
"This is all about Psycholinguistics, now you have to teach me Discourse analysis. There is an assignment based on two week's concepts, so let's discuss it."
Nimra said at which Saba nodded her head and fished out the register from her bag. Iqra and Fiza were taking the order from the counter where Sahir was also standing.
Teacher's lunch point was under construction so they had to take the breakfast and lunch from the same counter.
After placing the order, he turned around to find Saba and Nimra sitting there. Scent of chana and naan hit his nostrils and the concept of Discourse analysis fell on his ears, at which nostalgia hit him.
On the same table, with the same atmosphere, he and Zahra used to sit there. It reminded him of the moment when she taught her discourse analysis, and in the end asked her the question about his profession.
Her answer was a hint for him but he ignored it. And that led him to the cycle of pain and heartbreaks.
Grim settled on his face and pain rippled in his orbs.
Saba felt a gaze on her and turned her face in the right direction to find him gazing at her. Her heart skipped a beat while he tore his gaze from her and walked out from the cafe.
"Saba, let's complete the assignment." Iqra said but she shook her head.
"We will complete it tomorrow. There still are days for it." She murmured at which Nimra and Iqra shrugged their shoulders.
"As you wish"
After the free slot, it was Sahir's class which she started to dread now. But had to attend it because her attendance was getting short now.
Murmuring Bismillah, she entered the classroom, and took the seat in the second last row.
There were steps in the classroom, which means after the first row, the second row was on the next step, higher to the first one. Saba was sitting on the fourth and second last row so she had to take four steps higher to get on her seat.
She sat there with her group and waited for Sahir to come.
Sahir entered the classroom with his usual smile and greeted the classroom. Saba put her arms on the bench and became alert. Sahir's gaze fell upon her but instantly he tore away and started his lecture.
"Does sir Sahir don't know about the proposal? What if he doesn't know until now and later on will reject me."
She thought while gazing at him. He cracked a joke in between his lecture as usual and the class giggled at it. He had a charismatic personality and easy going personality. Though he became hard on the matter of his rules, he had a kind heart. Saba dreamed of this type of soulmate and idealized him.
"Life is difficult in loneliness and impossible in the company of a coward and sneering person."
"Saba, sir is calling you."
She was continuously gazing at him and thinking of the proposal when Iqra patted her hand and whispered, causing her to come out of the daze.
She looked around to find Sahir shooting daggers at her while the whole class was whispering or having a sarcastic smile on their faces.
"Tell me what we are discussing today." He rolled his arms and leaned back to the dais.
She swiftly glanced at the slides present on the screen but her mind was unable to understand any word. Her mother's words were echoing in her mind that she was unable to understand anything.
"Get out, Saba." He said in a low but furious tone.
It was the first time she was getting kicked out from the classroom.
"I am sorry." Panic settled on her being at this insult.
"No, go away. You are wasting my time now."
Her face became red because of the insult and she stood with her bag. Keeping her orbs and face down, she swiftly came out of the classroom.
As soon as the door closed behind her, tears gathered in her orbs.
This all was too much for her now!
But, the bomb which was waiting for her at home was much bigger.
Later on, when she came back from the university, some relatives were sitting in the lounge. It was getting dark when she stepped into the house.
"Is she still going to university?" One of her female relatives asked, causing her to stiffen.
"Absolutely yes! She has to!" Her father said with a frown, at which displeasure etched on their faces.
"Your daughter has ruined our reputation and still you haven't learned the lesson." Her uncle said at which her eyes widened. She was standing on one side of the lounge and was listening to everyone in utter silence.
"My daughter has done nothing! And I don't want to say anything to anyone's daughter." Her father said, glancing at Asma's father who was also present among the relatives.
A frown came on his face but he restrained himself from saying anything.
"We are saying it because we are worried for her. With this reputation, how will she get any suitors?" A female relative said in a soft but sarcastic tone.
"You don't have to worry about her! I have found the perfect suitor for her. My friend's son will keep her happy."
Mr. Akram boomed at which Saba gazed at her father helplessly.
This is it!
There is no way to escape marriage from Sahir!
She is bound to marry him now!
………………..
How was the chapter?