LOST II

Chapter 49: "Decision Pending"

Post your reactions as you read. It's got a part of the sneak peak! 😏

First draft: July 2018

No one said anything about the nikkah even after the celebratory mood wore out. Salma's aunt had come for a brief visit. She looked visibly relieved to be out of Tor Mahal for once, however, the trauma of staying in that suffocating palace prison under the watchful eye of the old aristocrat had left its mark. She looked like she was just waiting for some sorts of a retaliation that she feared would come. Salma figured she would calm down overtime. It was still too early and her aunt was yet to free her mind of the shackles of her past. Salma listened to her parents advising Fahad to take care of his mother. The two families bade goodbye and Salma's gut twisted painfully as Fahad and his mother left. Maybe now her parents would address the problem at hand. Her nikkah to Zayn and whether it was still on?

Wrong.

A full day and a half had passed since her aunt's visit and no one said a word about it. It was like everyone had forgotten she was still tied in a conditioned marriage. Salma was desperate for answers, but she did not know if it was right of her to initiate the grim conversation when everyone was so happy after such a long time. There was complete radio silence from Zayn's end too. Since their meeting in the kitchen, he had been quiet. Salma did not text or call him either. In fact, they had not even met on campus. Salma figured he was avoiding her and she was not sure how she felt about that. Grateful, perhaps? She really did not want to meet him until she had some clarity on the status of their relation.

It was late Sunday afternoon when Salma finally heard someone talking about her nikkah. It was her father. He sounded conflicted. Salma overheard him discussing it with her mother when they were out in the backyard.

"It sounds terrible whichever way I go about it . . ." He sighed in exasperation. "If I ask her to continue with the nikkah, I'd be doing her wrong. And yet I don't think Arethas deserves being used like that. That kid has changed my opinion of him during this 'testing' period. His behavior once again has me thinking of him as a great kid and he's been so helpful. I don't know if I'm shooting myself in the foot getting impressed like I was in LA last year but . . ." He let another frustrated sound. "I really feel manipulative using him like that. I don't know what's right anymore. Will he hurt her again? Am I manipulating him? Who is the real kid? Which one of it is an act?"

"It'll be alright," Alley reassured him kindly. Salma moved a little to get a better look at her parents from the glass door in her kitchen. Her mother was patting her father's back in a comforting manner. "We'll talk to Salma about it. There's only so much either of us can do. Inshaa'Allah it'll work out."

"I don't know," Atif sighed. "I feel like she won't be honest with us. You know how she is. She'd think we want her to continue and if she doesn't like the kid and goes into it for our sake. . ."

Her parents became quiet. Salma thought about it too. If they asked her, what would she do? She realized she had no clue. She had not actually thought about it so far. She was mostly depending on her parents to tell her what was to be done now, and why and how she should go about it.

"I know what to do," Alley said after a while. "We'll ask Sarah to find out what Salma really wants."

***

Salma's heart almost stopped every time she crossed paths with Sarah in the campus. The first time was by the café, in the morning. Zayn no longer showed up but Salma got herself a coffee to share with Sarah anyway. The barista always said.

"Your order is already paid for, ma'am."

Salma never argued. She knew who had all her drinks paid for and accepted that he did it as a sign of his love and respect for her, whether or not they were together. She just paid the amount due to her and replied: