The Fallen Widow

Chapter 12; Decision Time

Hoorayn's imprisonment spread a dark cloud over the haveli. Malaikah felt responsible for her maltreatment, after all it was down to a conversation he had with Hoorayn that she shared with Shah Nawaz.

Sitting in her bettak, Malikah extended her foot on a footstall where Fiza decorated her left food with intricate mehndi designs. Since hearing the news about Hoorayn, Fiza couldn't sleep. She was restless so applied herself to fruitless tasks to busy her mind. Today she was decorating Mailakah's hands and feet which eased her mind.

"I went into the room this morning." Malaikah shared sitting on the sofa sewing the cream lace border on her red shawl. "I saw her."

Fiza quickly looked up to her auntie. Malaikah shook her head. "She wasn't in a good state. I freed her hands and her ankles from the tight rope."

Fiza's heart drowned. "Her wrists were red raw. She didn't want to eat. I forced her few morsels and she visited the bathroom to freshen herself." Fiza struggled to understand her uncle. She hated him.
"Why does he do this? Why do men from this haveli think they can treat women like a prisoner?"

Fiza cried recalling the day when Uzayr kidnapped her.
"Our men have a stupid way of showing love."
 Fiza snorted with mockery.
"Shah Nawaz can't live without Hoorayn." Mailikah declared. "He is obsessed with her. If that isn't love, what is?"
"He ruined her life, auntie." Fiza leaned back and away from the footstall, her body charged with anger.
"If that is love, then what is hate? My uncle is responsible for her husband's death and now she's his mistress. Oh Allah!" She gasped with sadness. "Meh'r-Bano is so smart, intelligent, wise she rarely got involved in haveli gossip when she was a maid. How is she coping?" Fiza's voice shook with concern.
"She told me that Shah Nawaz hasn't touched her- I don't believe that." Malaikah added.
"Why would she lie? Why would she protect him? If he loves her, why doesn't he marry her?" Said Fiza.
"You know why- we can't marry out of our clan, our family. Especially, Shah Nawaz, his wife will provide heirs and the next generation; he has to marry carefully."
Fiza heart sunk. Hoorayn was imprisoned in a situation created by Shah Nawaz. It felt familiar Her marriage to Uzayr; a farce.
"Why do men do this? Why do they think they can own a woman and then keep her in their room with no love, no interaction and no feelings for her? Are we not human? Do we not crave love and affection?"
Malaikah felt there was something more in Fiza's words; like she was aware of Hoorayn's situation.
"How is Uzayr?" Malaikah leaned forward and put down her scarf that she was stitching.
Fiza returned to the mehndi cone.
"How does he treat you?"
"We are good." Fiza replied in a snap.
Malaikah shared her disappointment in Uzayr when he kidnapped her. "These Choudhary men are like beasts! They don't know how to communicate and beat their chest."
Fiza was silent.
"My Qasim was so different." Malaikah smiled when she thought of her husband. "His smile, his humour and softness." She missed saying his name.

Fiza looked and admired how Malaikah's face lit up and features softened when she mentioned her husband's name. She must miss him.
"He was so attentive and loving. Every morning he'd bring a flower, probably stolen, in a cup of water on the breakfast table." Malikah giggled. "We had little, but we had each other. He was a breath of fresh air. Effortless. Human and so handsome."
A tear filled Fiza's eyes which she quickly wiped away.
"What is Uzayr like?"
Fiza laughed, mocking herself. "He cares. Protective. Makes sure my every physical need is met."
"Good. That's how it should be."
Fiza was angry. There was so much she kept inside her but it was time to out him.
"They say that woman is a garment to a man, that we must conceal his flaws." Her brow furrowed with sadness.
"How much longer can I conceal his flaws? It's killing me, auntie."

Malaikah moved Fiza up on the sofa beside her. Her feet moved from the footstall and rested on the cold marble floor.
"What is going on, Fiza? You have totally changed after your marriage."
Fiza looked up in Maliakah's eyes. She couldn't speak. Her voice chocked and she sobbed. Malaikah was shocked by her river of tears. What happened?
"But he hasn't touched me since our wedding."
"What do you mean? Touch?"
"He runs away from me. He doesn't show any love of affection." She wiped her tears with the corner of her lavender shawl.
Fiza shared the ice cold state of their marriage; living like two tenants, sleeping separate, she was afraid to talk to him about it.
"Why haven't you said anything? This is awful." 
Fiza sobbed in a deep, chocking sob. Malikah pulled her to her chest and Fiza broke shuddering in Maliakah's arms. 
"He doesn't love me anymore." Fiza broke down. "I can't bear it any longer. I want to die." Malaikah held a broken Fiza shivering in her arms sobbing her heart away. The man she loved was made out of ice. There was no warmth, love or a tender hug. She felt so lonely in her marriage.