Cairo - 29th December, 2018
Shazia was walking down the stairs when she heard arguments in the living room and she froze in her tracks.
'Umma, you really need to stop treating Shazia this way. It isn't fair'. She heard Zulaiha caution calmly. 'And you Anisa! What is your problem? What did she ever do wrong to you?' Zulaiha asked Anisa who only pouted, without giving a response.
'What kind of a sister are you? This girl rejected your brother's love outright and caused him untold pains but you still support her?' Aunt Zahra retorted.
'Not to be disrespectful to you Umm (mother), but I don't blame her for that. People are completely entitled to their feelings. And besides, love is not something one has control over, it happens naturally. The same God that made Ali fall in love with Shazia, is the same God that made Shazia fall in love with someone else. Things happen the way Allah destined them to happen. And for God's Sake, can't you people let this poor girl deal with her ordeals in peace without adding problems to her life? And Umm, it seems you are forgetting something very important'. She paused, trying to talk more calmly than she already was. 'Have you forgotten I also rejected Uthman (Uncle Ismail's son) to marry Ibrahim (her husband). Aunt Yasmine or Uthman's siblings never for once treated me badly. You know for a fact that Aunt Yasmine respected my decision and till date, she still supports me in all ways a mother supports her child. That decision actually made us close! So why is Shazia's case different?'
'Enough of your pointless talk please'. Aunt Zahra yelled. She knew her daughter was saying the bitter truth, but she just wasn't ready for it.
'I am sorry if I offended you in any way, Umm. It wasn't intentional'. She apologised. Her mother snorted. 'I'll just go rest a bit'. She said, rubbing her baby bump. Shazia immediately ran back to her room so Zulaiha wouldn't know she heard the conversation.
Zulaiha went to Shazia's room, gisted with her for a while before dozing off.
As always, the memories rippled through Shazia then coalesced as she laid back on her pillow.
The El-Muneer family moved to their Abuja mansion - which is exactly the same as the Kaduna mansion - when Shazia started Nile University. They only go to Kaduna when the girls are on break or sometimes just for the weekend.
It's been 6 months since Khaleed and Shazia started dating. She wasn't as close to Amir as she used to be and she was okay with that because she was still trying her best to let go of the feelings she had for him. And besides, at the beginning of her relationship with Khaleed, her closeness to Amir was always an issue and Khaleed strongly disapproved of it. Amir on his part felt it was better he gave her space since she was in a relationship with someone else. The best friends however met at school once or twice a week being in different departments and they talked on the phone sometimes. They were both okay with it, or so they thought!
'Babe, there's a friend's birthday party I want you to accompany me to'. Khaleed informed Shazia one day.
'Okay, I'll ask Yaya for permission'.
'I don't think Fee would have a problem with that since he was the person that approved of our relationship'. He paused. 'Or babe, don't you trust me?'.
'It's not that... '. She tried to explain.
'Then if you trust me, you'll go with me. The party is in 3 days. I'll send you the details'.
'Okay'.
'I love you'. He informed her before hanging up.
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A Bad Start - A Story By Farida
Short Story'No, it can't be. It really is a joke, right?' Shazia asked under her breath, looking at the other women for confirmation. 'We are sorry Shazia'. Was all they could chorus. 'It's okay. Allah is the best of Planners and He knows best'. She said with...
