Obscured Affection {ON HOLD}

12

As evening fell, the turmeric ceremony began. The house was filled with guests, all dressed in yellow, chatting and laughing together. Mahnoor and Safoora were busy tending to the guests. Some asked them to bring water, while others asked for tea. Both of them were exhausted, constantly moving between the hall and the kitchen. If they ever tried to sit down for a moment, the ladies there would start talking about their marriage. Mahnoor would blush, but Safoora would get annoyed and walk away.

Carrying trays of tea and water, Safoora and Mahnoor approached Mahnoor’s four aunts for the second time. Ishaq noticed them initially but didn’t say anything. However, when he saw them working again, he walked over, took the water tray from Safoora’s shaking hands, and placed it on the table. He then said, “Annu, you’ve just recovered… you know how ill you were, right? Then why are you working? Go upstairs and rest.”

“What’s the big deal? She’s just carried a couple of trays, and she’s already acting sick. Girls these days look for any excuse to avoid work,” Mahnoor’s aunt Raziya said with a mocking tone.

“Yes, sister-in-law, you’re right. I just asked her to iron a saree this morning, and she almost burned it,” Zeenath added with irritation.

“And I asked Mahnoor to make tea, and she brought it with loads of sugar, even though she knows I have diabetes,” Raziya continued.

“A woman is born to serve others. Making people happy through her work is her duty. If they keep acting delicate, how will they manage at their in-laws’ place?” Zeenath said, pulling a face.

Ishaq, who had been silently listening, finally lost his patience. He hadn’t wanted to argue during the ceremony, but Zeenath and Raziya left him no choice. He angrily replied, “I’ve heard enough of your nonsense. If you think women are only born to serve, why aren’t you doing the work yourselves? And while you’re at it, why don’t you share some of these great thoughts with your daughters, who are sitting around enjoying themselves while my sister is doing all the work?”

Raziya’s daughter Aliya and Zeenath’s daughters Zara and Zoha were busy taking selfies, while Safoora and Mahnoor had been running around serving everyone. This fueled Ishaq’s anger even more.

Knowing that Ishaq was a highly respected lawyer in the country, Raziya and Zeenath fell silent, realizing that arguing with him would only lead to trouble.

“Sure, you can protect her while she’s here, but once she’s married, she’ll have to work anyway. You won’t be able to shield her at her in-laws’ place,” Maimoona, who was older than Zeenath and Raziya but younger than Rahila, remarked.

“Listen, I’m speaking respectfully to all of you, so don’t take advantage of it. And as for my sister working after marriage, I’ll never allow anyone to make her do any sort of labor, whether in her parents’ home or at her in-laws’. I can afford a thousand servants for her, so worry more about your own daughters than my sister,” Ishaq glared at Maimoona and then took Safoora’s hand, leading her upstairs.

Safoora, holding Mahnoor’s hand with her other hand, pulled her along with her.

Seeing this, Raziya ground her teeth in frustration and addressed Mahnoor, “Where do you think you’re going? This is your brother’s wedding, so it’s your duty to look after the guests.” Mahnoor froze mid-step, and seeing her stop, so did Safoora and Ishaq.

Mahnoor let go of Safoora’s hand and went back to her aunts, bending down to serve them tea from the tray she held.

As she picked up a teacup, Ishaq took the tray from her hands and placed it on the table.