Sa'eed - The Warrior

Reunion

"No more excuses. You are coming to Hamid's home". Nilofer had such determination in her voice that Javed felt scared to argue.

"Yes father. Seher Khala said Hakeem Hamid cries a lot whenever he remembers you", added Meher.

Hakeem Javed held his face in his hands. "What excuses will I give for ignoring him all these years?"

Nilofer glared at him. Her husbands weak morale had taught her to become a strong woman herself. "The truth of course! Its time you learned to be true to yourself and to the people around you. It is human to err. And to own up to the mistake and try to better it, is something to be proud of!"

Hakeem Javed slowly trudged along behind his wife and daughter. It had been years since he had taken this path and every nook and cranny was bringing back memories. How many times had he not walked on these same cobblestones before? He used to walk along the red stones while Hamid used to walk along the blue ones. A game they played as children had soon become their habit as each of them still walked along the red and blue stones subconsciously. And every time the journey ended at a familiar looking structure. The sight of "Hakeem Javed and Hamid Apothecary" on top of the door made his heart race and emotions flowed through his veins.

"He still has my name on top", whispered Hakeem Javed.

"How can the man who couldn't bear to erase you from the name board, think of erasing you from his heart?" Nilofer raised her brows with her hands on her hips as she turned to face him. Her words strengthened his resolve. It was all he needed. This was his home! He ran ahead and burst through the door to find a surprised Hamid look up from his work bench. For a few seconds both of them were still.

"Javed Bhai!". Hamid was up in a trance and engulfed his brother in a hug. "How I have missed you!"

They held each other for a long time as Nilofer, Meher and Seher looked on with teary eyes.

"I can't tell how happy I am to finally see you and your family. It has brought me immense peace. Now that I have done it, I do not understand why I had kept delaying it for so long. Where is your son Hamid?"

"Jamal. Come and meet your uncle".

A boy who was just sprouting a beard walked in. "Assalamualaikum Uncle. I recall you from my childhood".

"Of course you do! I still remember what a hard time I had chasing you away from the murabbas (sweetened preserved fruits)"

Everyone had a hearty laugh at this. In fact they were bursting into giggles and smiles over silly and trivial reasons. It wasn't the jokes that were making them so happy, it was the reunion. Truly the love of a family is one of Allah's greatest blessings ever.

"Meher is such a fine girl now. Have you thought of getting her married Javed Bhai?", asked Hamid.

Javed looked stricken. "She is already married".

"When did she get married and to whom?". Seher and Hamid were extremely surprised.

"Mir Jafar married her by force", declared Javed. "Once he is taken to justice I will remarry her to a worthy man".

This was followed by a detailed description of how Mir Jafar had been torturing their family. Seher and Hamid sympathised with them. No matter how many bad memories they discussed, it could do nothing to dampen their jubilant moods. They were soon joined by 5 sons and 1 adopted daughter of Hakeem Javed.

"You just had 2 sons and Meher when you left. MashaAllah! Now you have 7 kids in all". Seher was still trying to remember all their names. "Meher, Aamir, Arhaan, Affan, Adnan, Ahsaan and Ammarah". She finally succeeded and gave a triumphant smile.