**Winner 2024 Amby Awards**
Fiza has everything planned-medical school, a respectable future, and an engagement she never wanted. Determined to escape a loveless match, she creates a checklist to find the perfect husband her father will approve of.
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I dropped Fiza off at her hostel, my heart heavy with the weight of everything that had happened. Before I left, I called her roommate, Shahana.
"Shahana, please keep an eye on Fiza," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.
"You two had a fight?" she asked, letting out a resigned sigh.
"No, it's something with her family. She'll tell you when she's ready," I explained, wanting to respect Fiza's privacy. "Please make sure she's engaged and doesn't feel alone."
After hanging up, I returned home and prepared myself to go to church. I was relieved to have a break from the Integrated Teaching session that day. As I sat through the mass, my mind kept drifting back to the events of the past 24 hours.
It felt like one thing after another that got in the way of us being together. But through it all, one thing remained clear - I loved Fiza. It wasn't just about escaping my negative influences or fulfilling some sense of obligation. Fiza had become everything to me.
Aarthy's harsh voice, the one that had always told me I was worthless, no longer echoed in my mind. Fiza's gentle words, her unwavering belief in me, had freed me from that cycle of self-loathing and self-destruction. She made me feel loved, she reminded me that I was capable of anything I set my mind to. She believed in the goodness in me, and in turn, I had started to believe in myself too.
But our friendship was hurting both of us. I couldn't ask for more, not with everything else that was going on in her life. The only way we could stay in each other's lives and remain platonic was to move on from each other romantically. I decided that I would start dating again.
After the mass, my mother approached me with a smile. Beside her stood a tall, gorgeous girl with curly hair and almond-shaped eyes. I knew immediately that my mother had a plan in motion.
"Alan, this is Rumya. Rumya is an Engineering student at Christ College," my mother said in a bright voice, before giving us a pointed look and walking away.
I turned to the girl standing before me. "Hello," I said automatically, my mind still on Fiza.
"That was sufficiently awkward," Rumya said with a light, easy laugh. "My grandmother does the same thing—tries to pimp me out to every good-looking guy at church."
Her bluntness caught me off guard, and a genuine, surprised laugh escaped me. It was... refreshing.
"And I've heard you're one of the nerdy types? Medical college?" she asked, her tone teasing. "What did your mom say about me?"
I thought for a moment, my mother's earlier insistence replaying in my head. "She said you were a nice girl."
She laughed again. "Oh well! You've been labeled a super nerd, actually. Top scorer in pharmacy?"
"Pharmacology," I corrected.
Rumya playfully waved her hand. "Close enough." She leaned in a little, her almond eyes sparkling. "If my mom had mentioned how cute you were, I would have made a bit more effort," she joked, fluffing her curly hair with exaggerated drama.
