The Wrong Wedding

Act-4

"Hmm." I stole a quick glance at Dad. His eyes were fixed at the wall in front of him since the past 10 minutes while his facial expressions were solid and grim. Turning away from him I quickly gave a look over to Mum. Her fingers were frozen around the spoon which now laid abandoned on her plate but her gaze was hooked on Dad; mimicking his expression.

With a sigh, I averted my gaze to my plate and became busy playing with my food.

"That's al—Hmm—Yes—No, I completely understand—No—Yes, alright. Okay—Allah hafiz." As Dad, ended his call; I brought all my attention to eating, gobbling like it was my last meal.

"Well?" Mum asked, impatiently. I didn't dare look up when Dad began with a sigh.

"He told me that he had talked to Rayyan but we can only wait for now. Rayyan's grandfather is still in hospital and he has to take care of them." Dad paused and Mum took the opportunity to continue where he left off.

"But, its been 8 months now! Almost a year since nikaah. People are raising questions and we have yet to make reservations. Even the cards couldn't be distributed. " Mum expressed her suppressed anger not being shy about it one bit. I kept my eyes glued down.

"Yes, but he got the visa ready in half the time he promised. We can't do much now. Zia said he will come meet us tomorrow. They had been out of city—" Dad continued but I got up after a while. No point sitting around any longer.

"Are you done already?" Dad questioned as I pushed the chair in.

"Yep." I answered quickly and made for an escape, before he showered me with any more inquiries. Coming back to my room, I slumped down on the bed; keeping only one lamp on.

Staring at the ceiling, I thought about the past events. About him, mostly. Closing my eyes, I skimmed through the leaves of my memory, going back as far as our childhood. All the way to the first time I met him.

It was the worst of the times. I had just turned 4 and could still vividly recall the details. Never before had I witnessed such overwhelming gloom. Everyone had gathered at Hamdani's Haveli and were busy bustling around. There were so many people. Only, some of them crying. I felt mesmerised by the whole thing as I walked through the crowd, holding onto my Nanny's hand. Mum and Dad had left us with Harris and Hania's Nanny, soon after we reached. There were many other kids besides ourselves, so it was getting harder to gain control. I didn't remember exactly when, but it seemed like hours had passed until I couldn't contain my curiosity anymore and escaped at the first opportunity. The crowd had shrunk to only a few people so, I quickly walked to the courtyard where all the noise was centred. I had to actually take a step back when I witnessed the scene infront of me.

So many women sat around and weeped but what caught my eye was the little boy sitting in the front, holding onto a bag to his chest tightly. There were no signs of tears on his face but his face was so dark and gloomy. He looked straight ahead with an old lady sitting beside him, whose face remained passive while other ladies clung to her.

"Zaira!" It was when Mum called out to me that he looked up. I couldn't see my Mum coming because I was captivated by his hazel green eyes.

'Ah! He has beautiful eyes' That was the only thought that had crossed my mind as I turned and stared at him even as Mum had started dragging me away. He had held my gaze for as long as I could see him.

Sigh. Maybe it had started at that time. My little crush for the gloomy kid whom I had met at his own mother's funeral. What a distasteful person I am. Though, It ended as soon as it began. Or, so I liked to presume.