Scarred For Life

Chapter 45

*

As expected, the news spread throughout the city like a highly contagious virus. It was the only thing anyone who was anyone talked about. Afrah Aminu, the rarest of them all, had finally gotten hitched.

It was to be expected, of course. Growing up, Afrah had always been compared to her more vibrant and tenacious sister, and people always wondered why she never had any friends. Anyone who knew their family -and there were a lot of them- knew that Afrah didn't talk to anyone. She was different like that, and it had long since been accepted that that was just the way she wanted to live her life.

Afrah's mother spared no effort in making sure that the wedding would be the most talked about event for months to come. Within a matter of days, invitations began to go out. The envelopes were a bright shade of gold, with the writing in silver and an elegantly designed A&A on the front. Everyone who received one smiled satisfactorily, while those who didn't found solace in complaining to everyone who would listen.

"It's not like I even wanted to go," one could always hear them.

Meanwhile, the Aminu household was suddenly filled to the brim. Aunts, cousins, distant relatives and ancient ancestors all thronged into the house once they received the news, so that it was impossible to take three steps without running into someone. And since everyone knew everyone, it was a very splendid affair indeed.

In between the constant barrage of congratulations, the dress fittings, the influx of messages and the search to find the best caterers for the wedding, Afrah found time to go furniture shopping with Adnan. Amina always chaperoned, although she would detach herself from their small group the moment they reached the store.

So far, the house was beginning to fill up quite nicely. They had gotten the beds for the rooms, the electrical appliances for the kitchens (which meant they had to buy two of everything), the curtains, drawers, and identical cream Persian rugs for all the rooms. They bought a set of black sofas for the living room downstairs, grey ones for the one upstairs, and black ones for the study. They fitted wallpapers in the rooms where they felt they were needed, and Adnan set about purchasing numerous paintings to fill the long hallways and cold interior of the house. Soon, the house was beginning to look like a home. Every time they drove into the house, Afrah couldn't help but shudder at the thought that one day she would live here. It was an imposing structure, and she briefly wondered just how much it had set Adnan back.

"Nothing I won't recover from," he said when she broached the question. "Anyway, we need a name for this place."

"Why?" she asked as they pulled up.

"Because I've always dreamed of owning a house with a name," he said. "What's the good of owning a home we don't get to name it?"

"What did you have in mind?" Amina called from the backseat.

Adnan paused to think for a moment, before he turned to face her with his face lit up.

"I've got it," he said. "Château de Rêves."

"Castle of Dreams?" Afrah raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," he chuckled. "See, it's a place where we're meant to sleep. And when we sleep, we dream. Therefore, Châteaur de Rêves."

Afrah shook her head before hopping out of the car.

*

A week before the wedding, Adnan stopped coming to the house. Afrah tried to deny the fact that she wished he hadn't, but in her heart she knew that was a lie. He called her everyday however, so much so that he was always to be found with his headphones on while he walked around the house. Most of his days were spent at the new house, where he would walk around the grounds while he talked to Afrah on the phone.