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34

"Saima, Saima, take Maryam Tahmeed Uncle is calling!" Bhai said, passing me a smiley Maryam. Alhamdulillah, Maryam, was such a good baby. She rarely ever cried.

"Who's the cutest baby ever... You are!" I said in a baby voice, tickling her, and upon that, she started crying. I completely jinxed it. Bhai left the room still on the phone with Uncle. I played with Maryam and talked to Bhabi until a couple of minutes later, Bhai, Baba, and Mama walked in with a sad look on their faces.

"Saima, Uncle, called regarding the engagement. They made their decision," Bhai said, looking regretfully at me. Oh no, the looks on their faces were not good.

"I'm sorry, Beta, but...." Baba stuttered

"What Baba?" They rejected me, didn't they? I knew this was a bad idea. I knew putting myself out there was not a good idea.

"I'm sorry, Saima, but... YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED," Mama exclaimed.

They all came running towards me, hugging me. Mama even wiped a couple of tears from her eyes.

"But- you just said..?" I was so confused

"We were kidding, idiot! Zayn wants to marry you!" Bhai said, flicking my forehead.

OH, of course, they were playing games with me.

"Are you sure?"

"Saima! Of course, they're sure! Aren't you happy?" Bhabi asked

"Yeah, I'm just shocked" My stomach felt queasy, and there was a whole marching band in my stomach. I was getting married!

"Oh, my Baby's all grown up," Mama said, hugging me.

"Friday after Jummah is the engagement and will discuss all things wedding then," Mama chirped.

I gasped. "I broke the promise," I mumbled. I wasn't supposed to break it. I never thought I'd break it.

"What promise?" Bhai asked, confused.

"Nothing," I said, putting a smile on my face. I had Allah now, inshallah everything will be okay. Marriage can't be that bad right?

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Saima, Omar, and a baby Zara were all cuddled up in Omar's room. The yelling of their parents could be heard from houses away. As Saima tried to calm down a crying Zara, she wondered why for such a disagreement, they'd be cursing and yelling. Why not talk it out? The hurtful things her Baba was saying, she wondered how her Mama got through it. How can someone you love say such horrid things? She hated yelling and screaming. She also didn't understand why her Mama didn't stand up for herself. She hated how she didn't do that, and she wanted to stand up for her, but the last time the tiny 12-year-old did so, her Baba got very mad at her.

As Omar paced around, something, he'd do when he's stressed. He tried to calm his siblings down.

"Let's play a game," He suggested, a sad smile on his face. His job was to protect his siblings, but he already failed that as they were crying out of their minds, hearing their parents argue. He understood that often couples fight - it's normal, but the way their parent's fight cannot be normal. It was too harsh and for the dumbest reasons, and usually, his father started it.

"Layla, I wanted chicken, not beef!!" Asif yelled to his wife, "I told you not to get a job. Look what it's doing to you," He cried, pouring out his Traditional - cultural ideologies. Layla stayed silent as Asif kept cursing at her.

After a while, it all stopped. Saima was through the roof. They went downstairs for dinner, as Omar carried a toddler Zara. As they ate their dinner, they noticed that their parents were not speaking to each other—silent treatment. Even Zara noticed.

"Mama, Baba talk!" She pouted, slamming the spoon on the table, earning more silence from their parents.

The issue was resolved in weeks. The house's dynamic was torturous, and since then, not only did Saima get extremely sensitive to yelling, she vowed to herself to never put herself in that state.

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I would like to clarify, Saima's father was not abusive. (at least from Saima's perspective.) He had anger issues. He was a loving father and Husband, but his anger issues and cultural thoughts blinded him sometimes. This is very common in desi household's. If you would like to see this as abuse, do so but this is up for you to decide. My thought's on this are not the same as Saima's.