A Pride & Prejudice and Little Women retelling
Farrah Hussain spent a lifetime hating Salman Bashir. At least that's what she liked to believe. When one fateful summer Salman changes his bad boy ways and comes back a new man, Farrah can't stop the l...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
...
It was a sunny, yet chilly, day in the city that dwelled near the mountains.
The Ahmads brought out their plastic tables and garden chairs into their joint backyard. Delicious aroma of food wafted around them as a feast was being cooked inside. Suitcases and clothes were strewn all over the living room as Poppy's flight was due in less than 24 hours. All her friends and acquaintances had gathered at their house to bid her goodbye.
"Lily and Dels can't be in the same team," Ibrahim said adamantly. "That's all I care about."
"Not fair!" Dahlia protested. "We were the first to call dibs on each other."
"These two always end up winning. They have like a secret language or something," he said with incredulity.
"We win because we're good."
"You can't fool me," he scoffed.
"I want Kaveh with me," Salman said as he stood up.
"Are you sure?" Layla asked, tilting her head with derision. "Don't think he's watched a movie in years."
"That's entirely true, mate," Kaveh agreed, nodding his head, looking extremely out of place.
"Hm." His eyes searched the group thoughtfully. "In that case, I'll take Della-Delicious too."
"As long as she's not with Lil – wait." Realization dawned on Ibrahim's face. "How many times have I told you not to call her that, Salman!"
"Let's just divide the teams according to gender," Poppy suggested, breaking up the fight before it could escalate. "That should be fun."
Ibrahim studied Salman with dubious eyes. "He wouldn't be my first choice –"
Salman interrupted and said, "excuse you, have you seen my pretty face?"
Which Ibrahim ignored and continued, "...but he's pretty good when it comes to indulging himself in actual useless knowledge. Fine, I accept," he said, glancing at his sister.
Farrah Hussein watched from a distance as the rest argued on how to split into groups for Charades. She wasn't good at the game, neither was she in a mood to play. Her eyes landed on her fiancé. They hadn't exchanged a word since the night at her office party. Even today, he actively ignored her and chose every chance he could get to maintain distance from her.
Farrah watched as he laughed and played with everyone around him. There wasn't a sign of distress in his eyes or any force behind his smile. She wished she could care so little about everything like him as well. Perhaps then she too could pretend everything was fine as effortlessly as Salman did.
The competition got high as the day escalated. It was a well known fact that any sort of games with the Ahmad siblings weren't for the faint of heart, it didn't help that Salman constantly found a way to foul. The non-stop bickering, arguments and laughter kept the entire house heated. It was around noon when they paused. Food was served on the two tables laid out in the porch and they fanned from where they had been seated in the lawn.
