Make Me Yours

Chapter 13

Zainab snapped out of her memories, chuckling at that memory as her mother glared at her father. He was always bragging, telling his girls to break anyone's bones if they felt threatened, and that their baba would bail them out of jail because he was so rich and powerful. It was funny because he said all these things to show his daughters how strong their father was. All fathers are superheroes for their children, and Abid was no different. He was also teaching his girls about men, and if the girls ever felt insecure or scared of them. However, Tasha applied it to the principal, so mama glared at baba. They hurried out of the office after that and came back home. As punishment, Tasha was made to treat Zeni’s wound, while Zeni treated Tasha’s wounds with stinging alcohol.

Back to the present, the doctor allowed the family to meet Tasha and asked if they wanted to go forward with the surgery today or not. Abid asked the doctor to give them some time, and if Mantasha is ready, then they will go forward with the operation. Or else, they will go back home for the time being until Tasha is ready.

As the three entered her room, they saw her lying down with an arm on her eyes. Was it to hide her tears, or was she sleeping for real? They had no idea. Her other arm was beside her on the bed, and a drip was attached to that hand. Everything was normal; the drip was only of glucose.

"Tasha, meri jaan? (Tasha, my dear?)" Abid called his daughter softly to see if she was awake or not. There was no movement for a few seconds, but then a sniff was heard from Tasha, which gave them the idea that she was awake and indeed hiding her tears.

Why is it that these elder siblings tend to hide their pain and tears from everyone? Is it a trauma response to childhood neglect from parents? But Tasha was never neglected. Abid and Asma were great parents who loved both the girls more than they were able to. They were modern and educated parents who not only spent time with their kids but also taught them ethics, religion, and societal norms. Even then, Tasha was hiding her tears. So, definitely, it is a universal thing and not a trauma response!

"It's not the end of the world, Tasha! There are many people who are not even born with eyesight. You should be thankful that at least you have an option of surgery and getting your sight back," Asma started with a gentle tone, but there was firmness in her voice that made Tasha remove her arm from her eyes and wipe her tears. She turned her head towards the voices of her parents and looked with dead eyes, the eyes of a blind person. Her eyes were looking in the direction but were not moving. They were stuck somewhere on a wall behind her mother's head. Everything was dark for her.

"Allah ki nashukri ki thi menay. (I was ungrateful to Allah.) I never wore those eyeglasses of mine. I am a bad person, so Allah took these eyes from me. First, he took my brother because I was not a role model material like Zeni. I know, He took my eyes too because I was being ungrateful. In these past days, I complained a lot to Allah because of my brother! I wanted a brother! I wanted him so bad!" she began with sniffs and then ended up hysterically saying. This made everyone rush to her, and they tried consoling her. But, she was not able to hear anything. These past days were taking a toll on her, and now the loss of her eyes was a breaking point. She only cried 2 or 3 times during the funeral but now. She was wailing like a baby. It was heart-wrenching for the parents. They were also suffering as they lost one baby and now Tasha was crying so badly.

Zeni rushed outside to call a nurse, and they gave Tasha a tranquilizer. The injection calmed her down within a minute, and she slept with tears in her eyes and a sweaty face.

"Baba, let's get her surgery started! We can take Tasha api home after that and take care of her over there. Hospitals are going to have a bad influence on her. Mama should also be resting for now," Zeni suggested with a worried face. She also had tears in her eyes but never let them leave. She had to be the strong one now as her older sister needed her for the first time. It was shocking for Zeni to see Tasha wail like that and not being a stubborn and rude sister that always stood in front of her as a wall and protected her from everything harsh.