Gurya (Doll)

Epilogue

Last. Thankyou All. You guys are my first readers <3

---------------------

"Assalamualaikum." Not getting a response, he shot a suspicious glance at her. She was watching him, her mouth tightly shut. She used to respond to greetings, in whatever way she could, but she would respond. Putting his phone back in his pocket, he greeted her again. When there was no response this time either, he didn't need to ask a third time. He was her father; he understood the problem. In the next moment, he stepped forward, grabbed her mouth with one hand, and with his other hand, he inserted a finger into her mouth. As expected, he pulled out a five-rupee coin. He immediately put the coin in his pocket and picked her up, as she was on the verge of crying loudly. He knew he had grabbed her mouth quite firmly, but he couldn't afford the risk of her swallowing the coin while trying to coax her to spit it out gently.

"Shh, shh," he said, patting her head gently as he paced back and forth. When Wania came out, ready to leave, he was still trying to calm her down.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I stopped her from swallowing a coin." Wania shook her head as she bent down to help Umair put on his shoes. They had to leave for Wania's place today.

"When did you grow up so much, Hasan?" Wania was sitting with him in his room. Hasan hadn't told her the full story. He had preserved her dignity, as well as his own. It wasn't necessary to speak ill of her in front of everyone after the relationship had ended. There was still a sense of respect that remained.

"Jab aap ki shadi ho gayi thi, aur mama baba ke jhagray ke baad mera dhyaan batane wala koi nahi tha. Jab baba ne jhagray mein meri pehli tankhwah se aayi meri ghari phainki thi aur woh toot gayi thi. Jab main school trip ke liye subah subah khushi se tayar hua tha aur mama ne khud ko aag lagane ki koshish ki thi. Yaar, main bhi aap logon ke saath hi bara ho gaya tha. Main bhi bohat jaldi bara ho gaya tha. Hum teenon hi ho gaye thay. Main nahi chahta meri beti jaldi bari ho jaye."

(I grew up when you got married, and after Mom and Dad's fights, there was no one left to distract me. I grew up when, during one of those fights, Dad threw the watch I bought with my first paycheck, and it broke. I grew up when I got ready for a school trip, excited in the early morning, only to see Mom trying to set herself on fire. I grew up with you both. I grew up quickly too. We all did. And I don't want my daughter to grow up too quickly either.)

"You weren't like this. I know how much you loved her. You couldn't hurt her."

"I couldn't hurt her, which is why I left her. I'm just a normal human being. (I'm not an angel who can just forget everything instantly. I've always compromised, never saying no to her, but now, I can't do it anymore. I will choose my self-respect.) I will choose my daughter. Without forgiveness, without healing, without respect for each other, I can't keep her with me. I'm afraid I'll do something wrong. I'm afraid I'll start taunting her, demeaning her. I'm afraid I'll start hitting her. And her... what if she starts attempting suicide again? I don't want history to repeat itself. My daughter's school trips won't be ruined by her parents' fights." He had chosen Raima too, but the world didn't see that.

"Tum ne mardangi ke zoam mein aakar usay zaleel karne ko apne saath nahi rakha. Tum un mardon mein se nahi banay jo zaleel karte hain, tum un mardon mein se banay jo alag bhi karein to izzat se. Tum aur Ahil dono mujhe be had azeez ho aur mujhe fakhar hai tum dono par. Aaj mujhe lagta hai main kaamyaab ho gayi hoon. Mere bhai woh nahi banay jo main unhein banana nahi chahti thi."

(You didn't keep her with you just to humiliate her, blinded by male pride. You're not one of those men who demean their wives. You're one of those men who, even in separation, maintain dignity. You and Ahil are both very dear to me, and I'm proud of both of you. Today, I feel like I've succeeded. My brothers didn't become what I didn't want them to become.)