It happened one night. It was after midnight, he couldn't remember. Meera started screaming in her sleep. She called names which he couldn't comprehend. He made her awake grabbing her shoulders.
He thought the poor orphan girl must have had a very frightening past. But he didn't want to discuss her past with her.
Mostafa had friends and colleagues. Many of them were bachelors. The law of the land was tough on bachelors. They had to live in isolated areas away from the residential areas and in crammed living conditions. The labourers were almost always mistreated by their employers.
Hamid was from Bangladesh. He worked with Mostafa. They were very close friends.
Meera didn't hesitate to open the door when Hamid came to their flat one day, as he had always been good to her. He handed her some fruit he had picked up from the market for them.
Hamid lived at the labour camp. He worked at the construction site near the Petrol Station where Mostafa worked. They used to share the room before with two other bachelors. One worked as salesman and the other was also a labourer like Hamid. Hamid was educated till grade ten in his country. But, he couldn't find a respectable job in Dubai. He had to settle with whatever job came his way. Mostafa moved out of the accommodation after Meera arrived.
'Babhi, what is it for dinner today?' He asked Meera as soon as he entered the room. She served him some water and tea.
"I got chicken on the way back bhaijaan," she said, " I am trying to make Chicken 65 today. I got the recipe from Sindu who is working at the factory." She went to the kitchen to make dinner while Hamid sat watching an old Hindi movie on TV.
'When did you come, Hamid?' Mostafa was surprised to see his friend when he returned home after an hour or so.
" Bhaijaan came before sometime. Look he got this fruit for us," Meera told Mostafa. She didn't notice the change of emotions on his face.
They had dinner . Meera served them chicken 65 and Qubs for dinner with green salad. Hamid praised Meera for her culinary skills. For him, it was an opportunity to get tasty food. Being at Mostafa's flat made him feel at home. He thought he was back with his own family.
That incident changed Mostafa . He started doubting on his wife's character. He doubted that she had a relationship with Hamid.
Hamid was a colourful character. He used to spend all his wages on women and drinks. Whatever little he earned as a labourer was always spent on his luxury, on women he found on streets. He would then approach his friends to loan out money. Mostafa knew his friend very well. He didn't approve of his nearness to his wife.
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Meera's Husband!
Short Story......She was a Muslim woman and he was a Hindu man. She had been working at the place for ten years with no one actually suspecting anything about her Identity. Then a casual question from a colleague triggers nervousness, confusions and tensions...
