Maham could hear conversations from downstairs, but she couldn't make out what it was. She was terrified of going downstairs. She was still clinging to the chadar around her but she had hidden her results.
She heard a knock on her door and she flinched.
"Maham beta?" It was Arafat. She frowned. This was unusual. She slowly walked towards the door and opened it. He looked pale.
"Jee?" She shakily asked.
(Yes?)
"Mai andar aajaon?" He asked. She nodded, confused but still let him in.
(Can I come inside?)
He sat down on the couch, staring at the floor. His eyes filled with guilt and regret. Maham slowly sat down on the armchair, holding her chadar close around herself.
"Jab hame pata chala tha keh Naira ne kisi kaafir se shaadi karli hai toh hamara dil tha keh ham usse zinda gar dein. Bachpan se joh kuch bhi sikhaya usne ik pal mai pani mai bahadiya. Hamne phir bhi uski shadai mai shirkat ki. Aziz ko woh larka--" Maham listened not understanding what was going on. This was the first time he was mentioning her mother. She cut him off when he addressed her father as a boy.
(When we found out that Naira married a non-muslim we wanted to bury her alive. Everything we taught her since childhood, she drowned in a moment. We still attended that marriage. Aziz liked that boy--)
"Charles. Unka naam Charles tha," Maham said making him look at her and he slowly nodded.
(Charles. His name was Charles.)
"Aziz ko Ch- Charles pasand aaya tha. Kaafir tha woh lekin dil ka acha tha. Un logon ka nikkah, nikkah nahi tha. Jab Charles ki death hui aur Naira wapis Pakistan aayi toh mujhe laga keh ab bhi sab theek ho sakta hai. Lekin usne dosri shaadi se sakht mana kardiya. Aur phir uss--"
(Aziz liked Ch- Charles. He was a non-muslim but he was good-hearted. Their marriage wasn't a marriage. When Charles died Naira came back to Pakistan and I thought that everything could be corrected. But she refused to marry again. And then she--)
"Mamo, is baat ka maqsad kya hai? Yeh sab cheezain mujhe pehle hi pata hai," Maham said.
(Uncle, what is the point of this? I know all of these things already.)
"Maqsad yeh hai. Keh tumhara us larke ke saath joh bhi chakkar tha. Tumhe mai ijazat de data hoon. Mujhe dhuk hota hai keh mere paas itne saal the apni behn ki saath bitane ke liye aur maine woh saal usse nafrat karte guzare. Tum mujhse naraz hoon mai janta hoon. Mai tumhe ijazat data tumhe jis se shaadi karni hai kar lo lekin is mamle mai mere bete ko dhuk mat do," He said.
(The point is. The affair you have with that boy. I permit you. I regret not spending years with my sister and instead wasting them hating her. You are angry with me I know it. I permit you to marry whoever you want but do not hurt my son in this process.)
Maham stood up in an instant, "Chakkar?! Kesa chakkar?!" She exclaimed.
(Affair?! What affair?!)
"Abdul ke saath," He said and her eyes widened, her heart dropping to her throat.
(With Abdul.)
"Mamo kya hogaya hai apko?! Woh chakkar nahi tha!" She yelled.
(Uncle what is wrong with you?! That was not an affair!)
"Ab jhoot ka koi faida nahi, Maham-"
(There's no point in lying!)
"Mai sach bol rahi hoon. Affair nahi tha mere saath zulm huva tha! Woh- usne mujhe harrass kiya tha, Mamo! Woh ik ghatiya insaan hai joh apne se 3 saal choti larkiyon ko harraas karta hai!" She yelled and his eyes widened.
(I am saying the truth! It was not affair I was abused! He- he harrassed me, Uncle! He's an awful man who harraases girls three years younger than him!)
"Han... Ayesha dost thi meri. Meri pehli dost. Mera pass koi tha jisse main baatein share kar sakon magar ik din. Woh bhi mujhe chor kar chali gayi. Kyun keh usne mujhpe nahi apne bhai apne bhai bar bharosa kiya," Maham told and with her each word Arafat's blood pressure rose. He was patient.
(Yes... Ayesha was my first. My first friend. I had someone to share stuff with but one day. She left me too. Because she had trust in her brother and not me.)
Maham opened her mouth to stay something but stopped, noticing as his hands trembled. "Mamo? Mamo?! Mamo, kya howa?" She asked, walking towards him and holding his trembling hands.
(Uncle? Uncle?! Uncle, what happened?!)
His condition got worse and Maham started tearing up, anxiously. "Zayan! Zayan!" Maham ran towards the screaming for Zayan as she looked at her uncle. Her screams were penetrating and it scared everyone.
Zayan rushed upstairs, stumbling into the wall as he ran inside and saw his father. Shahnaz following who immediately started crying at the sight.
"Ambulance ko bolao koi! Abbu. Abbu, aap theek hain? Maham, Ambulance ko call karo!" He yelled and Maham rushed to his phone using her little bit of knowledge on technology to call an ambulance.
(Someone call the ambulance. Dad. Dad, are you okay? Maham, call the ambulance!)
YOU ARE READING
𝐒𝐔𝐊𝐎𝐎𝐍 - rewritten | ✓
Romance"Zayan, you don't believe that is true, right? You know I am not that type of girl. That- It's not me in that video, Zayan, you believe me, right?" She asked, desperate as she held onto his warm hands, looking deep into his brown cold eyes. "How ca...
