Chapter Twelve

He was getting married.

Three days left till his Nikkah, and Zahid was a complete mess. Sitting by the window in his room, a blanket wrapped around him, Zahid stared at the sky. Perhaps at a moment like this, one would have expected him to think of something beautiful.

Zahid, however, wasn't thinking of anything. Well, he had been- a while back, but his thoughts had been far too wild, and Zahid had ended up getting a headache. Thus, he was sitting like this now... trying to erase all thoughts from his mind.

He felt a little like Master Shifu from Kungfu Panda.

Staring out at the trees that rustled in the early December wind, Zahid heaved a sigh. His mind- believing that a five-minute rest was far too much- was beginning to wake up again. He had his Nikkah in three days, his Phupo would be coming sometime soon, and he half suspected that his aunt was possessed. The amount of work she was doing!

Zahid shuddered, tightening the blanket around him. His expression had only just relaxed when the door opened and Mrs. Ahmed peaked in. Zahid looked up, alarmed- hoping against all hopes that she wouldn't send him off to the market again.

"Zahid. Come to my room for a bit," was all she said before she closed the door behind her. Zahid frowned at her secretive tone. Forcing himself to get up, he neatly put the blanket back on his bed before he made his way towards his Aunt's room.

She was sitting on the sofa when he entered, her gaze fixed on a small, black, velvet box in her hands. His brows arching even more, Zahid eyed the box as he took a seat next to her. "What is it, Khala?"

Mrs. Ahmed met his gaze, a solemn look in her eyes. Subconsciously tapping her fingers on the box, she cleared her throat. "We haven't bought a ring for Amal yet, have we?"

"No..."

"I was wondering- I mean, it's completely up to you, of course, but I thought you might want to give her this," Mrs. Ahmed said, handing him the black box.

Zahid blinked at his Aunt- not sure what to expect. Looking down at the box, a bit cautiously, Zahid raised the lid. A diamond jewel glittered in the light, a white gold band holding the jewel in place. As his eyes fell on the ring, a sudden sense of familiarity hit Zahid.

"It was your mother's wedding ring."

Zahid's heart skipped a beat, his eyes widening. His eyebrows drew together as he looked down at the delicate piece of jewelry, an overwhelming wave of emotions crashing over him.

This ring... it belonged to his mother.

His hands slightly shaky, Zahid touched the ring. As the tip of his finger made contact with the white gold, the hair on his arm stood up and a shiver ran down his spine. Zahid retrieved his hand at once, inhaling sharply. For a while, he continued to stare down at the ring before he tore his gaze away, his heart pounding wildly. He looked up at his aunt- noticing her glazed eyes as she looked back at him.

Zahid felt something rise to his throat, and for a couple of seconds, he couldn't say anything. "It's beautiful," he finally breathed out, a soft smile gracing his lips. "I would love that."

Mrs. Ahmed smiled, about to say something when the doorbell rang. "Must be the delivery," she muttered to herself. Patting Zahid on the shoulder, she got up and made her way out of the room.

Once she was gone, Zahid looked down at the ring again.

It had been years since their death but Zahid's childish heart still clenched painfully inside his chest, in remembrance of the woman who bore him. Years had gone by since that incident, but it hurt just as much.

Some scars even time cannot heal.

Too lost in thoughts, it took Zahid a while to notice the voices outside. He could hear a few people saying salam, and Zahid's ear perked up as he heard his aunt-

"You're here early, Salma-"

Salma? Zahid froze. Phupo?!

Getting to his feet, Zahid quickly put the box in his aunt's side-table drawer. Wishing that he didn't have to go outside, and at the same time, knowing that he didn't have much of a choice, Zahid inhaled slowly, forcing himself to leave the room.

In the living room- Salma and her two daughters, Hamna and Aneesa had already settled down on the sofas when Zahid arrived. Salma cut off what she was saying as her gaze fell on Zahid, who awkwardly shuffled his feet, nodding in greeting.

"Assalamualaikum," he said, forcing on a smile. Salma smiled a bit too sweetly, getting up and patting Zahid on the back as she replied to his salam, which was echoed by her two daughters.

Now, Zahid's plan was simple. He would walk in, say salam, and leave. Just as he was about to leave though, Salma spoke up. "How have you been, Zahid? It's been nearly a year since we last met!"

Thus, Zahid was forced to take a seat as well. "I'm well, Alhamdullilah," he said with a nod. Before he could inquire about her health, Aneesa spoke up, grinning widely.

"Congratulations Zahid Bhai!"

"Oh, yes, congratulations," Salma said, again- a bit too sweetly. Hamna too, muttered congrats under her breath, fiddling with the ends of her braid.

"Jazakillah," Zahid forced a smile, awkwardly wringing his hands together.

"We decided to come a bit early to help with the preparations," Salma said to Mrs. Ahmed, "Now that we're here, you don't have to worry about anything. My girls will take care of everything."

Mrs. Ahmed smiled politely, "Jazakillah- but there's not much that needs to be done. We've planned quite a simple event, really. The Nikkah will be at the masjid and then-"

"The masjid?" Salma looked at Mrs. Ahmed, and though the smile did not disappear from her face, her tone clearly showed what she thought about the matter.

There was an awkward pause, and Zahid, noticing the judging look in his Phupo's eyes, spoke up, his voice polite but firm, "I always wanted a Nikkah at the masjid."

Perhaps the awkwardness would only have grown, were it not for Aneesa who spoke up. "That's beautiful," she said, "Honestly, I think those extravagant wedding events are just a means for people to show off their money-" Aneesa broke off, letting out a hiss when Hamna elbowed her.

"Anyways," Salma said quickly, trying to change the topic, "Who's the girl, Zahid? How long have you known her? How did you meet her?"

Those were a lot of questions.

"Er... I've known her for two months-" Zahid cut off when he spotted his aunt shaking her head vigorously from behind his Phupho. His brow arched- had he said something wrong?

"Two months? That's it?" Salma asked, baffled, and it suddenly hit Zahid that his aunt had told Salma that Zahid had ended up liking a girl and now wanted to marry her. "You decided you wanted to marry her after knowing her for two months?"

Nope. I decided I wanted to marry her after knowing her for forty-three minutes and seventeen seconds-

"Yes," Zahid said, clearing his throat as he caught his aunt grinning at him sheepishly- mouthing a 'Sorry.' Luckily, though, before Salma could ask him any more questions, Mrs. Ahmed changed the topic. Taking the opportunity, Zahid excused himself and instead of retreating back to his room, he walked out of the house.

~~~

"So... you can't go back home because your paternal aunt is here-"

"And her daughters."

"Yeah, and her daughters. So you think it's better to spend time with your future brother-in-law..."

Zahid blinked, glancing at Usman who was sitting next to him on the bench. There was hardly a soul out here in the park, and Zahid wondered what luck he had to be here at the same time as Usman.

"I didn't know you'd be there," Zahid said simply, and Usman nodded, an awkward silence falling between the two again. The two sat together on a bench- shivering slightly when a cold gust of wind swept past them.

No sensible person would be out here in this freezing cold to 'pass time.'

"What about you?" Zahid asked.

Usman did not turn to face Zahid, his expression serious though his ears colored slightly. "My wife found out that I bought an Xbox while she was gone," he said simply and Zahid nodded.

A couple of seconds trickled by, neither of them saying a word before Usman spoke up. "You're marrying my sister in three days."

Zahid glanced at Usman, not failing to notice the brotherly concern on Usman's face as he turned around to face Zahid.

"Take care of her, Zahid. I was always in favor of this arrangement because I know that you're a good guy- but Amal is innocent. She hasn't had too much experience with the harshness of this world, and she has always had a sheltered life. She hurts too easily." Zahid sensed the warning in Usman's word- and he even read the troubled expression on his face. Usman met Zahid's eyes- and Zahid at once knew that this was difficult for Usman.

"I will, Insha'Allah," Zahid smiled. "Don't worry."

At that moment, Zahid made a promise to himself. No matter how wary he had been of marriage once- Zahid was going to give it his all. There were so many people who cared for Amal, were there to look out for her- and, Zahid swore to himself that he would do the same.

Little did he know that in the future, he would be forced to think back to this promise several times. He would curse his decisions, and he would delve in the guilt of taking it too simply. For how can you protect someone from something you put them into?

A couple of hours later, when the sun had already set and Zahid had just returned from the masjid after praying Isha, he found it wise to finally make his way back home. Hopefully, by now- everyone would have safely retreated to their rooms.

As he walked into the house, Zahid heard voices from the kitchen. His eyebrows arched as he realized that it was Aneesa who was talking. Aneesa was the younger daughter of his Phupho and honestly- the most different from the rest of her family as well. She was respectable and ever since she had joined a law school- she often came to Zahid with questions and inquiries.

Who in the world was she talking to though?

As Zahid neared the kitchen, he spotted Aneensa animatedly talking about law, her high ponytail swinging. Her face was flushed as she passionately ranted on about her law school and future plans. Zahid's eyes fell on the person she was talking to- and immediately widened, for the man with the messy black hair and stubble, sitting in front of her and looking like he wanted to be anywhere but there was none other than his best friend.

"Harris?"

The two of them looked up, and as Harris's gaze fell on Zahid, relief dawned on his face. "Weren't you supposed to come the day after tomorrow? What are you-" Zahid cut off when Harris, after politely nodding at Aneesa, got up and ushered Zahid out of the kitchen, not relaxing till they were safely back in Zahid's room.

Making sure that the door was closed, Harris collapsed on a chair. "If you had come any later- I would have been dead," he breathed out, "Your cousin is crazy. She's been eating my head for the past hour!"

Zahid raised a brow, amused. "She can be talkative, I suppose," he shrugged, taking a seat in front of Harris. "What are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to come the day before the Nikkah?"

"I was." Harris straightened up in his seat, letting out a pained sigh, "But I ran away from home."

"You what?"

"Not permanently, no, but this measure was extremely necessary," Harris said, his expression grave, "I made the mistake of mentioning to my mother that you were getting married, and suddenly, she has become obsessed with my marriage. I wouldn't have minded that- but you know who she's considering? My Uncle's daughter! All my life I call her 'Baji' and now my mom wants me to marry her."

As Harris visibly shuddered, bending down to take off his shoes and socks, Zahid struggled to maintain a straight face.

" I'll go home after your Nikkah. Hopefully, my mother would start seeing sense. Me marrying Uzma Baji, what is she thinking-" Harris paused mid-sentence, finally looking up at Zahid who had doubled over and was laughing hysterically.

"Hey! It's not funny," Harris said, throwing his sock in Zahid's direction but he dodged it expertly.

"It's hilarious! Harris and Uzma Baji- I'll make sure to attend your wedding-" Zahid laughed, dodging the other sock Harris had thrown his way.

Assalamualaykum.

Ah, Harris finally made his entry. I've been waiting for this forever. What do you guys think of Harris? Do let me know!

Also, I don't have a regular updating schedule because, well... I'm a spontaneous person and my life can get wild at times, but I'll try to keep up with one update every three days.

Oh, and a couple of chapters left till part one comes to an end and there is a bit of a genre shift. Can't wait!