It was a Sunday. As usual, after performing the Fajr prayer, she was reading the Quran and then went back to sleep. The day had progressed; it was around 9 AM. After waking up, she spent an hour in her room, waiting for her father and brother to leave. When she stepped out, nearing 10 AM, she unexpectedly encountered Zakaria Khan in the house. He was reading the newspaper but now looked up in annoyance at Aneesa.
"Do you think you've woken up early?" (This was a sarcastic comment.) "Take a little more rest... this is your time to wake up..." Zakaria Khan shouted loudly. She had no response; tears were welling up in her eyes.
"Naheed! And Sahira, you too... listen... there won't be any breakfast or lunch for this."
"But...what's my fault?" She was crying; she hadn't eaten anything the previous night.
"Look, Naheed! How dare you talk like this in front of me?" Now the conversation shifted towards her studies.
"I'm telling you, if your grades drop, I'll cut off that tongue of yours." He warned her with a stern look.
"Now get out of my sight, and don't come in front of me." She left, and Zakaria Khan also headed outside.
Sahira brought tea to her room.
"Leave it... I'll drink it." She said.
"Mom wants to talk to you. Finish your tea, then go to her." Sahira seeved the tea to her and conveyed her mother's message.
"Okay. "
After having tea, she picked up her phone and dialed Samaira's number. The phone was ringing, but instead of answering it, Samaira didn't attend the call. After a while, she received a message from Samaira: "I'm at an official lunch, I'll call you when I'm free."
She arrived outside Naheed's place. Her mother was washing dishes, and she came into the kitchen, taking out water from the refrigerator and started drinking it.
"Do you like Tanveer?"
The sip of water stayed in her mouth; she couldn't swallow it down easily. She placed the glass back on the table with a shaky hand; she was clearly in a difficult situation.
"Who said that?"
"Shahzaib came yesterday with his friends."
"How did they dare to come inside? I..."
"What do you mean by "came inside"? And what did you do with him?" Aneesa placed the glass on the table with anger.
"Aneesa! Shahzaib is like your brother."
"He might be like them... but he's not a brother. And Tanveer... who told you about... please tell me his name. Me and Tanveer?... Ugh."
"Show some decency..."
"Mom, I asked something. Who told you about me? Tanveer said it."
"No."
"So, Shahzaib?"
"No, not my dear."
"Then who told you?"
"From what he said, it seemed like he's interested in you."
"So, you assumed something about me too!" She replied sarcastically. "I won't marry anyone from the Niazi family."
"Who's talking about marriage? Don't marry, get engaged, he's a good guy."
"What? Mom, I don't even like him..." she went quiet, then continued. "Mom, you should all think about Junaid and Samaira now."
"They're not here."
