It was ten minutes to the alarm clock when Imama woke up. She sat up and looked at Salar, not making any sound. A minute later, Salar woke up and switched on the lamp near his side. He told her that he was a light sleeper.
She realised that every human is an open book, so was Salar. But the book was in Chinese.
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That day, they had Sehri together for the first time. He was trying to make up to her after her previous complaints. He even informed her that he would be late after Fajr prayer.
After some hours, around 10 am, a 45 year old female rang the doorbell and woke up Imama. She recognised the woman was a housemaid that Salar had appointed. The woman smiled at Imama and appreciated Salar that he was a very nice man with decency. With her experience of working in many homes, she knew that the man was good and silent.
Imama remained silent after hearing her and the housemaid was surprised seeing no response. She knew that Salar was not to be categorised amongst those indecent men who eyed even the maids. Imama neither was happy nor content upon listening to the appreciation by the maid.
After a short while, the maid left. But before leaving, she asked if she could arrive to her house a bit early.
Imama was shocked but agreed and sent her off. She could not believe her reality that it was her house now. When Salar called her cellphone, she was crying. She missed two of his calls and answered the third one. Yet she could not answer his question when he asked the reason for her sadness.
She knew that no man would understand how difficult it was for a woman. It was her home. Instead, to Salar, she reasoned that she missed her parents.
Salar was a genius in banking fields, yet in the past few weeks, he had learned that he could neither understand Imama's mood swings nor quiten her cries.
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There was another realisation that dawned on Imama that evening. In the course of 9 years, she had somehow silenced the anger within her. Except to Allah, she never complained, always being grateful to the people around her. Even if a problem arose, she kept it to herself. But now and then, she got angry on Salar for the silliest of things.
This new change was because she knew that he would cajole her, convince her and care for her. She was his love, so she could express all her emotions and he would handle her.
They went out for dinner and then to window shopping. She did not want to buy anything yet he got her some clothes, explaining that those was her wedding gifts from him.
On returning to their apartment, Imama took out everything that they had shopped that night. She understood why it was a blessing that a husband spent on his wife. And she was glad to feel the blessing.
In her past, Dr. Sibt-e-Ali and family had taken her out for shopping but she always felt like a nuisance for them, a problem of some sort. Even Syeda Amma got her things. And here, the feeling that she felt was something else. It was not a favour or charity. It was a true blessing.
She also said that she wanted to get her jahez (dowry) from Syeda Amma's house. He said that he did not want things like furniture etc. If anything personal, they could bring to their apartment.
He made her sign a few papers to open a new bank account. She informed him that she had a previous one already but he insisted. On a cheque, he asked her to write a number. Without much thought, she wrote 3752962.
Salar saw the number and laughed. He looked at her for a while and when asked, he claimed that he was her husband and it was his right to look at her. He placed the paper on his bedside drawer and saw her.
He appreciated that she looked nice when she laughed, and even when she cried. All sort of emotions were seen on her face and Salar could swear that he learned new things just being with her.
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This time when they went to Syeda Amma's house, she was normal with her. Not only did she return his greeting but also kept her hand on his hand and gave him prayers.
Books, canvas and paintings were her major things that could be taken with them to their apartment. Her books were cheap romantic novels - he noted. She reprimanded him not to name them as cheap and that she liked it, and he obliged. He even noticed that the pages had markings on them. The novels were thousands in number.
She absently said that when nothing good was happening in her real life, it seemed better to get lost into fictional world. She made a comment that she imagined herself, her family and Jalal in it.
It was a mistake from her end but it was something that got highlighted by Salar. He made no comment and even she was lost, remembering her bad past. He wondered if this was pain like the death.
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The books were back to their apartment, and his kitchen seemed to be full. The books were placed in their proper shelves and she was delighted. He excused himself for work and told her not to wait for him.
A few minutes ago, the books reminded him of Imama and her painful past. But now, they were a remainder of Jalal Ansar and her romance and fantasy. If Imama was simply lost in fiction, he would understand but not now when she had lived those fictional novels in her head with Jalal Ansar. They seemed like trash now but he could not throw them out.
He was on a rocking chair, lost in his thought when Imama appeared. She sat with him and he seemed serious. He cajoled her that she was not the reason for it. She still didn't seem to find her blunder.
She asked him about her profession after a while and expressed her dislike towards bankers. He was a banker himself and the situation to say so, at that moment had a deeper effect on him. Instead, she liked doctors and he knew it, giving the topic more importance than required.
That night, when they laid beside each other, they spoke for a while. He had earlier said that he hated doctors, so she questioned it again. This time, he said that if there was something she liked, he could not hate it.
Salar was an insecure person when it came to Jalal Ansar. He was jealous of Jalal but he disliked himself at the moment because she was his Imama and she was right there with him.
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Imama started noticing the small things that he did for her. He would wait for her before he began eating, he would put something on her plate, he would make sure she ate the last bite from his hand. She didn't want to notice them but he was weird.
By night, she saw a letter on the counter. Her eyes widened at the amount in her new account. It was around thirty lakhs. She went to her husband and informed him about the blunder.
He simply said that it was her Haqq-Mahr. She said that it was 2 lakhs. He said that it was Amina's Mahr, referring to her old name and circumstances. He also said that the amount was what she wanted.
She was shocked and he recalled that day where he had asked her to write a random number on a sheet of paper.
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Note: Please drop by your views or suggestions or feedback. Also, comment if any mistakes!
Jazaki Allahu Khair.
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Aab-e-Hayat
RomanceThis story is not mine. It belongs to Umera Ahmed. Since the story is unavailable in English after checking on many websites, I decided to write a summary of each chapter so people are aware of what happens next in the story of the couple - Imama an...
