A Mazed Heart

06. Matrimony

A Mazed Heart (Rifa Fathma)

06. Matrimony

The sun rose away from the horizon and sat in its comfort zone. It stuck out its red fangs from all its sides and directed a fiery glare at the poor people who raised their collars to protect themselves from the sweltering heat.

Cherry on the top, Yahya hated when the folks in his city opted for a summer wedding. 

When the working days at the borders were drawing to an end, his desire to go home only increased. He would stand at the borders and imagine himself sitting at home with his mother stuffing delicacies in his mouth here and his sister lovingly massaging his scalp and shoulders there. 

He mentally shuddered. That was definitely not how his annual leave was sailing. He lost the count of times he had walked in and out of so many banquet halls with the sun blazing over his head.

The wedding of Meerub's brother was going on a swing. Inside the four walls of the banquet hall, everyone swayed with joy. Happiness bursted out from their sweet smiles, echoing laughter, and unending chatter.

★★★★

Yahya stood in the store room on the first floor. He slid his hands in his jeans pocket and scanned the room around. Where could he possibly find his sister's abandoned art supplies in this not-so-organised room? Sighing, he took a few steps inside.

On the left side, huge cartons were stacked up on a long table.

He sauntered towards the table and flicked open the first carton. He peeked in and saw unrecognised items stuffed inside the box. He brushed them around, searching for a white lidded bin in which his sister kept all those brushes and paints.

Amidst tapping things away, his hand caught something heavy. He lifted it up to see a big album. A family album.

His shoulders slumped as he stared at the album in his hand. He knew what lay behind that brown colored hard cover.

The blue hues of his orbs darkened, his grip tightened around the album. He also knew that it might open the forbidden doors of his memory. His heart thumped against his chest but his body had a mind of its own. His hand slowly went up and flicked open the hard binding.

The first picture had two divisions. The first picture was of his younger self and the other displayed his adulthood. A fine line between the pictures was enough to indicate that the sand of time was drained, pages were turned, and myriad of colors were passed through the sky, leading to a parallel universe.

On the left side, his younger self stood beaming brightly at the camera. He held a bow in his hands, diagonally directed across his small frame. His smile was carefree and innocent, unaware of the upcoming storms in his life.

A small smile crept up his own lips. He was full of life back in the days, gripping hopes and dreams in those innocent blue orbs.

On the left side stood an adult version of him. Same pose, same person. But he had a smile on his face, a small one, barely there. He had put on his blue colored crisp and well-pressed military uniform. His hands held a gun in place of the bow.

★★★★

A lot of people had showed up in the wedding. He stood alone amidst all the glitz and glory of the celebration.