Kaneez - A wife of his duties

7. Lock Wedlock

Chapter VIII
     
              LOCK WEDLOCK

‘Please Adda, first listen to me completely. After all decision would be yours,’ Qabeer told him, seemed bitt nervous. Didn’t understand what to say but he could try. Try to best to make his life better; he had a job but nothing else. So, he would wed with Fatima, her life will be filled with a made house, a most young wife and parents in the faces of father-in-law and mother-in-law.

‘Yes, speak up,’ Ahmed said, tried to be decompressed.

Qabeer told his to be father-in-law everything that he wanted.

Ahmed showed agitation first, then he knew the reality, see the proximal situation.

At that time Qabeer thought it would be well-nigh impossible. But his try made him success in his aim to make him living a aimful life.

                                       ***

She was playing; playing with made mud bawbles. They were decorated with tiny lights, baubles and tinsel. Nafeesa had made that bawbles. She had a catchy mind of making splashy and showy things. And that time, she was playing with her made bawbles.

Controversially Nafeesa, Fatima had a dramatic, emphatic, flamboyant and grabby endowment but she confined her endowing with herself.

Everyone could see the aptitude of Nafeesa that she made showy toys from mud and then decorated them with different trinkets. She lived her life freely; free from any worry.
But Fatima’s tendency was decency. She tended exaggerate in discovery of reading, seeking and learning different activities that totally correlated studying.

‘What are you doing?’ Fatima asked from Nafeesa. She realized that Nafeesa had made her face muddy during playing with muddy toys.

‘Don’t you see?’ Nafeesa disregarded what Fatima said before.

Fatima exhaled her temper. She had to exhale. She could ignore Nafeesa but couldn’t ignore what happened over her eyes had been affixed. Her father and mother was pleading, seemed discussing very serious issue. And the main point why Fatima couldn’t ignore, whilst their pleading they explored Fatima again and again.


‘What are they thinking?’ Fatima coerced thinking. ‘and why they are looking at me while talking?’ she thought. She could just think.

Fatima’s thinking quotient was above the average. She thought all the time what happened amongst her.

And then, Aaima nodded but seemed a bit nervy. Having her nodded and knew the response in positive: either with hearted or not, Ahmed took steps in very hurry. He went out side.

Aaima was coming near where Fatima and Nafeesa was busy with their own errand; their own short journeys.

‘Chalain bachoon! Be ready,’ Aaima grumbled.

‘Where we are going?’ Nafeesa asked during playing.

‘at Inayat’s,’ Aaima briefly told them.

Nafeesa left the playing place and went to washroom side.

Aaima showed and smiled at Nafeesa’s excitement. 

‘but why Ammi jee?’ Fatima asked. She couldn’t even take a breathe without asking.

Aaima turned her smiley face and had been converted into dissimilitude naturally.

‘Beta, your baba’s friends are coming to discus an important matter,’ Aaima told but her words couldn’t satisfy Fatima.

‘Why don’t they meet at otaaq (guest room)?’ Once again, more stronger question had been arisen by Fatima.

Otaaq is a Sindhi word uses for guest room those guest rooms are located outside from the houses where men meet because na-meharrums are not allowed to come at homes where women are.

‘ummm because they will discus about a personal matter and you know very well beta at otaaq anyone can come and join there na?’ Aaima tried to impress Fatima.

Fatima gazed and sounded ‘hmmmm.’

‘Let’s come, we’d leave the place now.’ Aaima informed. She was leaving the place. Nafeesa was with her. They were leaving and thought Fatima was with them too. But Fatima stopped there to see what will happen.

Fatima heard the voices of Ahmed and Qabeer with some other not-so-soft voices. They are entering the house.

Fatima hid herself against a pillar of porch that they wouldn’t see her presents.

An old man having a long white beard attracted Fatima the most. A bundle of papers were in his hand.

‘Come molvi sahab,’ Qabeer invited him ardently. He seemed very happy, his spreading lips had shown his happiness.

They all were be seated at room.

‘Let me give your permission to take a start,’ Molvi asked from Ahmed. He gazed and dropped himself in the world of thoughts.

‘Adda!’ Qabeer uttered out him and shacked his shoulder to come back from thoughts.

‘Jee jee, Bismillah karain,’ Ahmed said in a hurry.

Molvi took some papers then read what had written over there loudly.

Fatima didn’t understand what had been happening there.

Those papers were marriage contract papers and had been signed by Qabeer first, the groom and representative a propose to the bride’s father in absents of her. The bride was Fatima and she was minor that was the reason Ahmed took the demonstrative his minor daughter.

And then, the turn of Ahmed to sign that marriage contract in front of two witnesses, also he had stated the details of the meher.

‘Mubarak ho,’ Molvi sahab congratulated to all. They greeted with each other and shared sweets.