Imperfect Perfections

[22] Fathima

Days were flying by even without my concern. Altogether tied upfront with the relatives who hummed to every response and destroyed our comfort between friends and new buddies, marriage fun was another new ceremony for us to enjoy.

Gathering the precious moments we had, I decided to seek a way out of all the depression and anxiety I usually have.

Considering that I decided to give a try to the man who asked me out for a trip in my mind.

I had to.

He had been this amazing fellow throughout and because of one misunderstanding, it felt mad to actually reject him of myself.

So keeping that in mind, I raced upstairs and decided to tell him to do the preparations.

When I came across my little bunny.

"Fidha! You dressed up again?"

I slowly removed my red hijab, after making sure the room was clear of eavesdroppers and barged inside. Locking the door, I was welcomed by her beautiful smile.

"Ugh, I'm fed up...There are these huge jewelry ceremonies today!"

I barked,

"Why are so many strangers arriving, marking relations with the Khairan?"

I grabbed some apples and dates from her plate, for a munch.

She laughed,

"They are long relations. Some, even I'm ignorant of!"

I nodded, in amusement.

"You're looking gorgeous! This sari....wow!"

I exclaimed while staring at the clean plates of her sari.

It reminded me of home.

"Yeah..yeah... it's just you and your loveliness. By the way, I was gonna say about how amazing you look in hijabs! I don't get any reason why my brother wouldn't fall in love with you!"

I gasped and choked on a date,

"What does that even mean? Don't ask me that questions!", she gave me a glass of water, laughing.

I stared at her.

From her lovely ignorance, it was sure, she didn't know about me and Yasir.

It was so wrong and right of her.

"Umm...Yeah...okay..."

She giggled,

"It's okay, didi! I mean, finally, my brother can say he has a first love!"

I smiled,

"From your face, it does seem; like you don't like him..."

Was she teasing or not, wasn't clear.

I shrugged,

"You can take your own answer for that"

She raised her eyebrows,

"I mean, no right?"

It's when I met her gaze again.

Desperate. She had turned worried all of a sudden.

"Tell me no...", she said, pulling me down on a chair.

 I shook my head and searched for an answer,

"Okay..okay.. it's a no"

She bit my gaze and sighed,

"Didi?"

I hummed, staring at the ground.

"You have never looked so weak before. You're my vitamin. So I have to know the truth..."

Her fingers intertwined with mine and I winced.

It had been the same for me too.

She had been such a pillar of support that I couldn't fail her with lies.

"Yeah....we did have something...until I destroyed it..."

She nodded and erupted into a smile,

"So he did say about Fathima, and then you did it?"

I hoped the world had twisted itself into a sphere and swallowed me up then. Had the world been so unfair to me, then it wasn't the right time. I was recovering. From fights with him, from misunderstandings from Harith and also, from all the undesired attention of being Fahim's school friend who had missed her assignments and classes just to be in his sister's marriage. 

So when an unexpected revelation came, I burst open,

"Fathim-m-a-a? Betrothed?! Marriage?!"

I was spluttering nonsense.

Because my heart had split open.

Because it had taken too much to eat more.

Fidha got up and poured me another glass of water. She was open-mouthed and whispered, 

"Didi, so you don't know?"

I shook my head and gasped,

"The fool..."

"He is...didi...He had to tell you..."

It when I recalled.

"He couldn't"

"Why?"

I sighed and looked at her. Those bunny eyes. Those of Fahim's.

"I'm betrothed too"

She gasped and almost fell on her face.

"Really?"

My head nodded, helplessly.

"It's been a while, and he knew it. Though Fathima...I didn't.."

She held my fingers,

"Didi, actually, I don't know whether that will happen. Fathima is Mr. Lamar's daughter, he is from the patriarchal side and is known as a well brought up girl. The perfect woman who obeys and goes by the rules."

I nodded, already pissed off.

Technically, I was not the woman for him.

"But he straight away avoids her. The families try to brings them together by even planning different events but it so happens that he just avoids them! Like once at the park, when the families especially Mr. Lamar booked a hotel to get them together at the arcade; the most favorite place for bhaiyya, but funny enough, he chucked her aside and played by himself!"

She looked at me, with wide eyes.

I would have smiled, but my ignorance and this sudden revelation made my lips zip up.

"And last time, he even turned her down!"

My head rose in shock.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah! He took her to the park; the first time he had ever asked her out, and his families were on their tip-toes. But she came back saying, he had denied her to her face, saying she didn't really like the idea of it from the beginning and that nothing could make a difference now, that she was trying to forget him as he told her to"

She took a deep breath and stared at me.

I nodded as if there was no other way I could do anything.

"You happy?"

I shrugged and shook my head.

"You sound so?"

"I didn't say anything!"

"Seriously?!"

I nodded and looked down, embarrassed by her taunts.

"But seriously, I knew he had someone amazing on his mind when he rejected Fathima...", she held my fingers and intertwined them. For a moment, I blushed.

"Hey..."

She took my fingers tightly and squeezed them.

"However, didi, I want you to be my brother's, you know..."

I held her gaze. True and understanding. 

"What?"

"Be his, so you can be mine too. My sister. My awesome person. My model", she laughed a little and bent her face. 

I choked on my throat.

"You have to impress the entire family. Make yourselves so amazing that the Khairan Nagar takes you in"

I nodded softly, confused by her excitement.

"Just be that amazing person, please...."

She held my gaze and nodded as if asking me whether I would do the worst.

I didn't know whether I could.

Because I was a runaway from home.

A girl who defied the traditions and norms.

Who had huge dreams to achieve peaks.

Who hid behind a shawl at school so none of my long chain of neighbors and relatives sees me.

Who couldn't be trapped in a cage.

Who was just so savage that she wouldn't change.

I couldn't tell this bunny, could I?

"Fidha, I'm not-"

'Do a thing, just tell me you will marry him like he wants you to"

I opened and closed my mouth like a fish.

"He wants me to?"

She nodded,

"Of course. He even has a diary of you."

So suddenly, her fingers ran to those plushy lips and she held it.

I knew it. She was such a freaking cute bunny who couldn't keep secrets.

"Diary?"

She sighed,

'UgH! It was such a big huge one I got from him"

"Go on", I crossed my arms and waited. She gawked at me.

"You made me say it!"

I shrugged, "You blabbered..."

I held my mouth close to her ears and gestured to continue,

"Okay..okay...It is a black case kept behind the drawer's locker. The one under his blanket. It carries an account of you"

I stared at her.

"Since when-n-?'

"I don't know! He never showed it to me and was always particular that the bed was never cleaned up. I thought he had been just messy and lazy and ended up doing it up once, only to discover the secret!"

I suppressed a smile.

'How do you know it's about me?"

She grinned,

"The first page. It was a drawing of you. You and him"

My heart would have popped out then.

"What drawing?"

"Just you and me in the lab. How crazy it could -"

The clanging door broke her words and we swirled around to meet the intruder. The third person in our story took a peek at us and almost decided to go back.

"No bhaiyya, what is it?"

He didn't meet my gaze.

"The trip is next week."

She nodded, while I remained silent.

"They are here. Get yourselves down"

Fidha stood up and held my hands,

"Fami didi is here. She can take me down"

I stared at her. As per traditions, it was the family that had to bring the daughter down and take her to the chamber where she would be seated and offered milk, sweets, and color.

"Yes, it's as per tradition, that the family takes. You are one", she turned to me and held my hands strongly. I was confused. No, this was wrong of her.

In my ear, she slightly whispered,

"Defying the norms, shall we?'

I stared at her, shocked. She on the other hand was smiling. Grabbing my hand like I was the bride, she went up to the door where her brother was and grinned,

"I'm glad you agree with me"

He said nothing and sighed,

"I can't go back on you, can I?"

She laughed and nodded, then pulled me by the hand.

Our faces met for a second.

He lifted into a grim smile.

While I returned a shy one.