My Sponsor

Part 3

Umniyaa's P.O.V

"Congratulations Umniyaa!....I am so happy for you." My best friend Maseera gives me a tight embrace as I force a smile trying to pretend that I am excited about the last half an hour. How can I show what turmoil is going inside me?

"Lucky you..huh?" Maseera whispers nudging me gently. My future mother-in-law stops me at the entrance and kisses my forehead with admiration blessing me with lots of blessings. She appears to be a kind lady with a warm smile that reaches her eyes as she has approved me instantly and they are here to see me in person before finalizing the date for my nikah.

"May Allah bless you with all the happiness you deserve...Aameen." She makes dua for me adding a few more Arabic words that I fail to understand and then I am escorted back to my bedroom.

I was born in Nizamabad, Andhra Pradesh but my parents resided in Jeddah and three years back I lost my father in a car accident soon after facing separation from my Mother. My mother works as head nurse in one of the reputed hospitals in Jeddah, so we continued to stay here under Hospital's sponsorship but now things appear hard as many companies refuse to support expatriates here and we are among them with limited time at hand to leave this country for good.

"I envy you..." Maseera continues as I silently look away from her. I get busy removing my jewelry as Maseera helps me unclasping my necklace as she continues praising me but my thoughts flow to the current situation. My Mom's job contract is coming to an end in another six months and she wants to be transferred to a new sponsor so we could continue to reside in Saudi Arabia. She decides to find a suitable match for me who could be my sponsor too. Maseera could sense my silence as she finally asks.

"What is it, Umni? You don't look very happy?"

"Masee....this is all so sudden..." I finally open up to her. "Three days back I was a free bird with dreams and ambitions. In three days I will be betrothed to this stranger....this is just too much to handle for me and I am making all these adjustments so that I can keep my visa and continue my life here in Jeddah...Why? What is wrong with going back to my own country and continue with my dreams?"

I almost drop on the couch holding my head in my hands as the tears slip away reconsidering if it would be a better option to return to India and pursue my dreams. I am close to 18 years and doing my intermediate second year at International Indian School, Jeddah. I always wanted to run my own business as I am an excellent commerce student and two months later I have my CBSE board exams.

"Look at the brighter side Umni...." Maseera tries to sound optimistic even though I could see that she could understand my doubts. "They approved of you the very first time. You are very pretty mashaaAllah and someday you were destined to be married."

"I am just clueless about all this.....maybe I am just not ready to get married yet," I mutter in an agitated tone biting my lower lip and shake my head. "My dreams, ambitions, and everything else looks so vague now. Plus my Mom is finding a sponsor for me...not a husband....and this changes everything for me."

"Like what?" Maseera questions her brows furrowed.

"Maseera...marriage is a bond which is not based on selfish motives but here, in this alliance, we have a motive to fulfill and appear selfish." I rant. "What if I never fall in love with my husband?"

"What if you do?" Maseera cocks her head and wiggles her eyebrows as I shrug helplessly. If I ever fell in love with him, even then my marriage will be based on the selfish motive of finding a sponsor.

"Who is this family by the way?" Maseera asks diverting the topic as I shrug in response.

"Someone my Mom's colleague knows randomly. They originally belong to Lahore, Pakistan but they hold the citizenship of Saudi Arabia and have been residing here for the last 57 years even though the women of this family are either Indian or Pakistani...." I fill her with as many details that I know. "And this is a big catch for my Mom....a really good sponsor for me."