Meri Meerab *Discontinued*

24 - Ma'shuuqa

By the time they had found a mechanic in the unknown town, the car began to produce a dark grey fume which trailed behind them.

Meerab initially stayed inside the car but the fumes began to seep inside making it unbearable. Much to Murtasim's dismay, she wandered in the mechanics workshop, conversing about the various tools and their uses.

The kind men, unaccustomed to female company, offered what they usually would to the men that bought their broken vehicles to the garage.
It began with ice-cold Miranda, followed by road side aloo-tikkis and then roasted peanuts. She was even welcomed by the villages children, which informed her of their schooling and home-life and played cricket with in the fields behind the workshop.

But most importantly, she avoided Murtasim.

All the whilst Murtasim attempted to continue with his vital meeting over Microsoft Teams on his phone, the background of the fields seemed like a fitting backdrop. This meant that unfortunately, his phone battery had drained considerably within a short time.

He was not letting her out of his sight.

Some local women had seen her waiting in the garage and had invited her to their home, for some chai or dinner,which she begrudgingly rejected after Murtasims had glared at her.  But when they insisted, she eventually gave in and did wander off with them. She wanted to disobey him- why did she need to listen when he was being less than honest with her.

He sent a village kid to keep an eye on her and to provide updates on her movements. There might have been some bribery invovled.

The house was just a minute walk from the garage. She was given a short tour. Short because their homes were small and practical, having little decorative aesthetic. The paint was peeling off the walls from the harsh heat and the home comprised of just a a large central couryard and 2 bedrooms and a small ghusl-khaana off the the side. It was open-living in the open countryside. The furniture comprised of chaarpais and peeries and they used only stainless silver crockery. It was a new world for her.

As she sat cross legged on the chaarpai in the sehn, the young girls offered to braid her long hair and she obliged as she was in no rush.

The women, their daughter and daughter in law baked tandoori rotis in their kilns for dinner, fired by wood. Just like in Safdar's haveli. But the difference in genuine kindness she was offered was stark. There was care and affection between all of the women and they included her in all of it.

They began to ask her of the handsome man they had seen her with in the garage. 'Tumhara shohar hai?'

How could she explain the relationship they had.

She could appreicate these were simple village folk and would be grossly offended if she was travelling alone with a male who wasent her husband. 'Gee aunty.'

'Shaadhi kab hou?'

She thought about divulging them in the specifics of her fake-marriage. After-all they dont know her, they couldn't disprove anything she said. 'Dou mahiney hoi hai.' If she was gonna lie, she should go all out!

'Mashallah' she heard a couple of the older ladies say in unison. 'Allah tum dono ko kush rakhe.'

Meerab fake smiled. It felt good to see them smile, even if the cause of their smiled was a lie. A white lie.

'Sirf dou mahiney? Fir tou bann jurr key rehna chahiye.' An older woman, the house's elder chided her.

Her outfit wasn't one for a newly wedded bride nor was she adorned in gold jewellery. The older woman, who she now knew to be Samina Bibi, called over to her granddaughter to fetch some henna for the newly wed Meerab.