True Purpose

c h a p t e r 8

"Zaynab, go up to your room. Your husband is going to come to see you in a bit," Samina instructed Zaynab once the ceremony was over and everyone was leaving after having congratulated Zaynab.

Zaynab nodded and stood up. Zaynab's mother-in-law and sisters-in-law immediately came over to her.

"Hassan will be here in a few to bring you home. We are going to leave now," Rumaysah said.

"Okay," Zaynab replied softly.

"Good luck," Yusra said, and she and Huda both winked at Zaynab, but before Zaynab could react, they both giggled and turned around to leave.

Zaynab was left bewildered. She didn't understand why they winked at her, nor did she understand why they were giggling as they left.

"Zaynab! Go!" Samina hissed, and she pulled down Zaynab's veil, covering her face.

Zaynab nodded and went upstairs to her room. She didn't know what she was supposed to do. She was a Muslim, but she barely knew anything about Muslim weddings. But nonetheless, she shut her door, and sat down on her bed. She fidgeted with her veil, thankful that she could see through it, even though it was difficult to do so, because it was quite opaque.

Zaynab was nervous. She never imagined herself to be in such a situation. Her own marriage was something that barely, if ever, crossed her mind. For her, nothing was more important than her studies. And it made her relieved that on Monday, she would resume with her university. She was relieved that her in-laws had agreed for her to continue with her education and they would even support her through it.

She had still wished she could have succeeded in escaping from all that, but her chances had been slim and deep down, she had known it all along.

Zaynab had worries nagging at her. She had been through a miserable nineteen years of her life in this hell hole which was her aunt's house. Even though Rumaysah seemed pretty nice from the way she had interacted with Zaynab so far, Zaynab was scared. Samina also behaved like a really nice person with Zaynab in front of people, and perhaps Rumaysah would be the same. As for Hassan, she didn't even know what to expect but she decided to brace herself for the worst. Sahir had given her a bad enough experience when it came to men. He would grab her arm roughly, and to do that, he had touch her, even though they both knew it was inappropriate. At least if her husband to touched her, it wouldn't be inappropriate, even if he turned out to be like Sahir.

As time passed, Zaynab was a nervous wreck. She had stopped fidgeting with her veil and had started to twist her fingers in anxiety. She wondered when her new husband would just enter, see her, and take her and put an end to this anxious waiting of hers. Waiting for longer only made everything a lot more nerve-wracking for Zaynab.

At last, Zaynab heard the doorknob twist. Her head snapped in the direction of the door, as she observed it opening slowly through her veil. Finally, a man stepped inside, and if Zaynab thought she was nervous as she waited, then saying that she was nervous as she entered the room would have been a complete understatement. She was beyond what words could describe in terms of nervousness. She immediately shifted her gaze from the door to her lap, as she heard the man take slow but steady steps towards her.

What would he do? Would he hurt her? Would he grab her arm roughly the way Sahir did? Would he snap at her? Would he make fun of her? Zaynab's lower lip trembled as all those thoughts frightened her. Somehow, she wished she could just mysteriously disappear from there. She wasn't looking at the man, but she could feel his eyes on her.

Finally, the man stepped right in front of her, as she sat on the bed. He stood opposite her, and they were just in that position for a few moments. Then, the man slowly lifted his hands from his sides. Zaynab flinched under her veil, afraid of what he would do. Perhaps he would hurt her. But to her utmost surprise, his hands ended up on her veil, as he lightly held it and lifted it up, revealing her face.