Unwanted Relations

Chapter 30

Umer lightly knocked the door, then he opened it and stepped inside. His gaze fell on Dadi, who was sitting on the bed, a maid was serving her tea. She told the servant to leave; as she saw him. The servants placed the cup of tea on the table and then left, closing the door behind her. Leaving Umer and her alone.

He knew she was upset with him, and it had never happened before that she remain angry with him for a long time. This time, Umer didn't planned to appease her right away. Nevertheless, she didn't told him to leave nor did she talked with him. He sat down in front of her. She was still silent and such silence had never come between them.

" how are you feeling?" He asked hesitantly.

" better." She replied, her tone was unusual for him.

" it's been so many days since I came to see you. Today, I want to spend my whole day with you." He said casually, as if nothing had happened, as if there was no disagreement between them.

However, Dadi was familiar with his behavior, his nature, she was neither surprised nor she refused him. He wanted to end the matter in clear terms and expected a similar reaction from her.

" will you go on a walk with me? The weather is really nice today." He said, looking towards the window. The golden sunlight was giving a pleasant impression to the room.

" let's go, you can also have your tea outside." He stood up, extending his hand towards her and she couldn't resist. Holding his hand, she stood up. Umer picked up the cup of tea and then took her outside.

While strolling in the lawn, he was the only one speaking, as if he had all the words. She would sometimes respond to him or sometimes engage in a casual remark. But not being open like before.

" If you think I hurt your feelings, then I apologize. But I will still say that I'm right in my place." He broke the silence.

" I'm not angry and why would I be? This is your matter." She said, first time speaking a complete sentence in this whole conversation.

" so do you think I'm right?"

" No. but what difference does it make whether you're right or wrong now? I never liked it. Don't say there's nothing wrong with it. I may dislike that girl, but what will everyone in the village think about her going to study in the city?" She spoke, clearly now. But the real issue wasn't this. It wasn't about Noor being a member of this household or the villager's opinion. The real issue was that the girl who was once seen as a servant, was now fulfilling her every desire. And the one fulfilling her every desire was her own grandson. Another concern was that Noor might follow in her mother's footsteps. Who knows what she might do?

" this shouldn't be the issue at all. What will people think? What's wrong with studying? In my view, they should think positively and if they don't, then why should we care about other people's opinions." He was revisiting the argument, the same meaningless question, with equally meaningless answers.

This time, dadi looked at him intently, expecting this answer from him.

" that's what you think. Your perspective is different. But in the society we live in, it's not appropriate for a girl to go study alone in the city. Your father is the leader of our village, we have a reputation here. Why don't you think about these things?" She said, trying to make him understand her point with every argument she could think of.

" so we should change such thinking. I say every girl should have the right to study, to know her right and wrong. Why are we still living with outdated ideas? Doing something brings a change, it's better to step up and explain than to fear and hold everything back." He was persistent. He had a counter for every question, an explanation for every argument.