HER WEDDING NIGHT

CHAPTER 53

Haneefah met Akeela in tears when she got back to the ward and entered. Her parents were beside her consoling her.

Haneefah felt bad seeing her cry and she tried to relate Akeela's situation with hers. Akeela had lost a baby she never knew existed and she was pained while Haneefah was pregnant out of wedlock, with her father forcing her to go for an abortion.

What an irony! She mused.

She moved closer and to her and joined in pacifying her. As soon as she sat on the bed beside Akeela, she looked up at Haneefah.

"I was pregnant", she cried and ran into Haneefah's arms. Her parents must have told her the bad news.

"It's fine," Haneefah assured her. She didn't know what more to say to console her. Akeela wailed and it irked Haneefah's heart.

After several minutes, Akeela wiped her tears and disengaged from the hug. "You went to meet him, right?"

Haneefah nodded guiltily. "Did you tell him I don't ever want to see him again?" She asked again.

"Akeela, it isn't up to that....."

"It isn't?" She asked wide-eyed. "I just lost my baby because of him. If he had been more careful and observant, maybe this wouldn't have happened."

"Point of correction, this was bound to happen whether he was observant or not. This is predestined", her father corrected.

She faced her father squarely. "Predestined?"

"Yes. The baby isn't yours only. It belongs to you two and now that It is gone, you have to accept your fate and pray for another blessed child from Allah. This is not the end of the road for you both. I am sure Jamal has realized his mistakes already and he is ready to make amends."

"You are still supporting him?" Akeela demanded in disbelief. Her father shook his head and kept quiet. She turned to her mother and she wasn't saying anything either about Jamal. She thought her mother will disapprove of him.

"I don't want to ever see him again", she stubbornly concluded, wiped her tears, and relaxed her back on the wall, looking away. None of them said anything.

They knew what she was going through and she needed time to heal. Jamal had overstepped his boundary and had done wrong by not changing towards her even after their parents had interfered. Akeela had been patient all along and now that she was not willing to see him, they hoped and prayed that will not be the end of their marriage.

Her mother wondered what people would say of them when they get separated after two weeks of their marriage.

Has this ever happened to anyone before?

"You have to forgive him...." Her father started and she cut him short.

"Never!" Haneefah shared a look with her parents in surprise at Akeela's conclusion.

"He forgave you too when you did wrong." Her father reminded her.

"I don't care. Jamal and I are done", Haneefah gasped and began to shed tears. Akeela looked on without giving a care in the world about the consequences of her decisions.

The door was thrown open and Jamal's parents rushed in, with a look of dread on their faces. His mother rushed to Akeela on the bed with tears on her face while his father moved closer to her and patted her back.

Akeela didn't know where the tears came from but she felt a new tank of tears had opened up and she began to cry all over again.

For her loss.

For the love shown to her by his parents.

For the regrets.

For her decisions.