In the bustling heart of Islamabad, Abeer Hussain discovers the depth of her feelings for her childhood friend, Rehman Malik, only after he's crossed oceans for a new life. As she faces mounting pressure to settle down, her heart yearns for a miracl...
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The hairstylist shook me gently, and I snapped back to reality, all perplexed. She repeated her question, asking if I wanted my curls all at the back or a bit at the front. I shrugged, not really caring. I glanced over at my cousin, Abiha Hussain, who was getting her hair straightened beside me. She sighed, pulled out her phone, and showed the stylist the hairstyle she had picked out for me. The stylist nodded and got to work. She tried to chat with me, asking questions I don't even remember. Did I answer any of them? Who knows.
My mind was elsewhere. It screamed at me, "What are you doing, Abeer? Engagement? Marriage? Do you even like the guy? Sure you've known him for two years, but you've never even had a real conversation. Do you even like him?"
Gham se kehta hun keh aao tumhe jane nhi dun ga
Aur woh aa jaye toh phir usko mein jane nhi deta
It was October 1st, 2022, and I was about to get engaged to Farzan Ahmed. He was in the same university circle I hung out with, but out of everyone, he was the last person I expected to like me. His best friend had asked me out twice, and Farzan himself was still heartbroken over his ex, who, funnily enough, has the same name as me.
It was the last week of university when Farzan told me he had something to discuss. We sat in the cafeteria for half an hour, but he couldn't form a single sentence. His hesitation said it all. My bus was leaving in ten minutes, so I told him I needed to go.
He followed me and finally blurted out, "I don't want to just be friends with you. I want my parents to meet yours. Would that be okay with you?" Should've said no, right? But, me being me, out of politeness, I told him I'd ask my mother.
(A/N: In Pakistan, it's common for a guy to ask a girl directly for marriage and see if it's okay to send his parents to meet hers. If both sets of parents agree, they proceed towards marriage.)
I hate lying, so I asked my mother, and things spiraled out of my control. Now, here I was, sitting in a parlour, cursing my life choices.
Besides that, I'd been sick all week and was still on meds. My throat was itchy, and I was trying my best not to cough, sneeze, or cry. I was ready for the photoshoot, wearing a light blue and silver maxi, silver heels, party makeup, and light curls. I planned to wear my hijab, but Abiha convinced me otherwise.
Abiha, a few months older than me, is my cousin and close like a sister. We live together because our dads are twins. Although we're not very close, I've always considered her my twin. She's my go-to for getting ready, and today, she was my all-time support, my bridesmaid.
Two of my uni friends, Shazia Shaukat and Palwasha Nisar, came to the parlour to leave with me for the shoot. They were close friends with both Farzan and me. They knew about Farzan's feelings for me but never ever hinted or even if they did my mind never went that way. How could it?
We were waiting for my cousin-brother, Zaeem Hussain (Zaeem bhai), who was 40 minutes late. Shazia kept getting calls from an angry Farzan, who was losing patience. Yes, he never called me, never texted me. He called our friend to ask what's taking so long? Should he pick us up? Thankfully, Zaeem bhai came and we left.
On the ride to the park we (Farzan) chose for our shoot, I tried to stay positive. I thought seeing him might make me feel better, and I just needed to focus on not coughing and ruining my makeup. How naive of me to think he'd care.
Farzan was there with the photographer and one of his friends. He greeted everyone with a smile, but when it was just me and him, his demeanor changed. He taunted me for being late, saying the photos wouldn't turn out good because the sun was already setting. No hello, no greeting, no smile. Before I could explain, he had turned and walked to the photographer.
During the whole event, I tried to cheer myself up, acting abnormally happy, only to cry myself to sleep as soon as I was in the vicinity of my room.
Mein zakhmon ki numaish mein khara hun lekin
Rooh ke zakhm koi mujhe dikhane nahi deta
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For the following month after the engagement, Abeer was bedridden with a high fever and plagued by dreadful nightmares. She barely talked to Farzan, and not once did he call to check on her. Only cold messages saying, "Get well soon so we could start and plan our life ahead".
Laying in bed all alone made her think about what she had done. She had made a terrible decision that she could only regret and cry over. She often had thoughts about doing something rebellious (stupid) in order to end the engagement, but she was way too selfless and thinking about hurting everyone involved didn't sit well with her.
Abeer had her social life active on Twitter since COVID times (2020) and had made quite some friends online. After sulking for two weeks, she decided to catch up with them to distract herself.
In the last week of October, she met a guy named Rauf Ameer online, who was from the same country, and they immediately hit it off, becoming friends.
By November, they were already on call terms, telling each other life dumps, and Abeer had told him everything about her engagement, finding solace in the anonymity of their online friendship. She had no one to let it out on, and this opportunity seemed extremely inviting.
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Do share you thought on the chapter. If you feel like there needs some sort of changing I'd love to hear you opinion.
P.S. The Urdu poetry used in this chapter is from a writer named Khalil ur Rehman Qamar. Sorry for not translating it as it wouldn't do justice to the writer's words.
