Imperfect but mine

Chapter 6

Amaan

Friday, 09:50 pm

"You lying, cheating son of a female dog," Aina yells.

"Scoundrel! Rascal! Is this how this is supposed to go?" Asiya joins in.

"This is such utter crap!" 

"No! Go back!" 

I look between the two most important women in my life and then back at the TV. At the La Liga football match between Real Madrid & Barcelona, which is being aired on ESPN. A few months back, knowing my sister & my girlfriend were interested in football would have made me really happy. But today, seeing them heckle the players they didn't like and watching them judge the players' abs, butts and other body parts, I don't feel the same. 

I love these two girls, but sometimes they just drive me insane. For the first 10 minutes of the match, they argued which team they wanted to cheer for. And the next 15, they couldn't decide if they were Team Ronaldo or Team Messi. My opinion was not counted in their judgement. To be honest, there are 3 minutes left in the game, but I don't have a clue of what happened in the entire match. Because I was busy trying to decipher what the girls were talking about. 

"Hey, do-" Asiya protests, as I turn the TV off.

"I will never watch a match with you two again," I say, but she boxes my ears. "Ouch!" I yelp in pain.

Aina just laughs at the two of us saying, "I really get jealous when I see you two. Why don't I have a sibling?"

"Because your dad and your step mom are never home together. They are always traveling separate for work," Asiya winks. "I am going to sleep. Goodnight, you two. And don't be naughty. And dear brother, if you do anything - just remember to wrap it up."

"Go away, please," I groan, which makes my girlfriend giggle.

She sits down on the couch and I lie on her lap. She pecks my forehead and twirls a strand of my hair around her fingers saying, "How did you get interested in football?"

I stare up at her and she continues, "I realized that I don't know much of your life before you came here. About your stay at the orphanage."

"Abdul Rehman Chacha."

"What?" Aina asks.

"I was about 11 years old when I started living at the orphanage. I was always depressed and I never spoke to the other kids there. I was afraid of everyone and scared of every little movement. The room where I lived - I felt the walls there would cave in on me. But Nargis Bua..," I paused, thinking of the elderly lady.

"One of the caregivers there - her name was Nargis. She was the sweetest human ever. She took care of me. She somehow got me to speak, she got me to come out of my room. She taught me how to be independent and protected me from everyone," I smiled. 

"To catch some fresh air, she regularly took me to to the nearby tea stall, which was owned by Abdul Rehman. He gave me a football and whenever he didn't have customers, he played with me. That initially caught my interest. I converted my anger & fear of the world into the passion for the game. A few weeks later, a group of kids from the orphanage gathered with me to play and I realized the importance of perseverance, determination, and grit. Football taught me the value of team effort and sportsmanship."