Imperfect Perfections

[33] Trust

I visited the Khairans again, in the sleekest and sly way possible. With thousands of guests marching in every day, today unexceptionable was a sullen grim entry of very few relatives, somebody marked as a chacha's sister and her family who had taken the house.

They gave me the slowest and lamest entry into the lion's den and made me the centre of attention even before I knew it.

"Look whose here"

"The she fox herself"

"Call yourself friends?!"

I hung my head at different remarks, and maintained a stiff posture. A moving shadow at my side made me lift my head a little.

Fahim stood up the stairs, his palms on the railing. 

My head rose in shock. 

He stood, staring at me without a word. 

I looked at Harith, by my side, with both his hands on either his side, and a hanging head.

I mean, what did we do for this combined family insult?

"People like you would walk into this house and destroy all its culture"

Every stranger who had heard of the previous incident bad mouthed me.

Atlast, I saw her.

Fahim's mom.

She met my gaze and shifted her head, with a deep sorrow.

That hit me hard.

"Let her out-"

"Masi..."

His voice faded as he approached us.

"Let me take care of this"

He took us by the hands and dragged us upstairs. 

I kept my head down, hurt by that look on her face.

"Food will be served"

"We are not staying', Harith voiced my opinion softly. 

Fahim sighed and clenched his jaws, throwing his body upon him. 

"Your a fool Harith! Will anyone bring her here now?! Atleast you should have the common sense to keep-"

I flew up from the bed and jammed myself between the two. Pointing my index, I growled,

"Don't you dare say anything to him! You have no RIGHTS"

He breathed rapidly, staring at me through his eyes.

"You know there is nothing wrong in what I said. After all, he is my own brother"

"And you come here and openly reveal that by having a fight with him?! Affect Fidha's marriage? Have the entire household go against you? What was all this for? Some revenge?"

I smirked, "What the heck is this, Fahim? You call yourself modern and bloody futuristic. The big bully at school but a tiny cat here? Is that what you are?"

He didn't wince.

"You know nothing, Fami"

"True. And whose fault is that? You do know that your sister is going to marry a guy she hasn't even met before?!"

I spat at him, the utter bullshit. After all, he deserved to know.

"I know...."

Shocked, I stammered,

"You-u what-t-t?"

"I do know. So what?", he spoke, emotionlessly and curt.

I shook my head and rolled my tongue,

"Oh god, I actually fell in love with a person like you! s**t!", I pushed his chest back and swirled around.

"You did?"

"Yeah", I sneered, "The biggest mistake of my life"

Silence lingered. The tension grew irrevocably. 

"Fami, that's enough", Harith grabbed my arm but I angrily jumped to him, "Seriously, are all boys like these? They will go with stupid customs and traditions at home and act like a playboy outside? Will they just shut off their own sister to some random stranger even before she is asked of her opinion?"

Before Harith could say a word, Fahim pushed him off and came barging to me,

"Stop this! Your insulting my family"

"And they deserve it!"

He took a deep breath. His ears were red,

"Have you even ever asked Fida what she wants?"

"I have. She said yes"

He seemed unsure.

I laughed, "Is this a joke to you?"

"She wants to study. She wants to fly. She is envious of me!", I screamed. 

My fingers grabbed his collar,

"Prove your power as a brother to her. Or else you are nothing but another fool. Another loser. "

I had said enough. Grabbing the door, I rushed out. 

The downstairs was brimming in crowds that I made for upstairs. My eyes burned. I wanted to jump and drown somewhere nobody could find me again. Get into a hole and hide. Nobody was on my sie except poor Harith. And how much could he stand by me?

The terrace and the  balcony, with Fidha's makeup room on the side-the upstairs was the only zone to completely lose myself. Making way for the terrace, I dodged many unknown faces with a slight smile until my head hit a thick cotton surface.

Her head hit mine.

My eyes met hers.

"Fami didi, your back!"

Fidha held me, in excitement like she had found her lost doll.

My tears rolled down softly. 

I didn't say a word.

"Is everything ok?"

I shook my head.

"Come"

She took me by the hand and we went to our private spot. 

"He is my brother"

'I heard"

I looked up in shock.

She smiled, "How can I not know when the entire household was talking about it? So your gonna be my sister too!"

I hung my head, "I'm sorry, Fidha. I'm sorry my problems are colliding with yours"

She laughed, "What the heck? I'm actually ecstatic!"

"You are?"

She giggled,

"They are sending me off to university"

"They are what?!", my hairs stood at it ends. 

She crossed her legs, "They want this issue to die for a while. So they informed them and they made a decision. Your brother said, that we should postpone it for a while"

I let out a sigh,

"Hey, I'm actually happy"

I didn' know what that meant.

If he was delaying the marriage, either he was going to back down or he actually desired for it. Either way didn't benefit me. 

"Did they say a reason?"

She shook her head.

I couldn't think of anything but the worse. Considering the lion he was, he would back down and take revenge on me.

"Fidha"

"I want you to come too"

"Where?!"

"Arts University. I heard you drew well"

I cracked a faint smile, "I'm actually completing my diploma in a few months only"

"So am I."

'What?"

"They stopped my education in order to get me married."

I was going to get anxiety issues if this persisted. 

"Did you want this marriage?"

She shrugged, "Do I have a choice?"

"But you don't even love him!"

"True. But what is love?"

I looked down. She had a point. Even I was ignorant. 

"I wanted to discover during my university course days. But before I knew it, I was getting married"

'And what if you weren't happy with him?"

She shrugged, "Come back home. Atleast that is better than running away home with a lover and being stuck on the road when he leaves you"

"Love is scary", she laughed and cracked her fingers.

She had her point. I had mine. Though mine revolved around a fantastical one, hers was reality. No wonder why my family couldn't agree when I ran away.

"You escaped the usual, didn't you?"

I looked at her, wide eyed.

"I heard. Your brother spoke to me few days back."

I sneered, "He must have cursed me"

She clicked her tongue, "He didn't actually."

"He said, he was helpless like me"

I was numb for a moment. "Who? He?!"

She nodded, "He said, this marriage was planned for the joining of two companies and that every business deal in this line is simply for formal purposes. He added, he could do nothing and was helpless, and would like my corporation if I was willing"

My mouth opened and shut like a fish.

"Who? He?!"

She giggled at my reaction and took my hand,

"He is a good guy. No wonder why he is your brother"

I bit my lip.

"That is why you are into this marriage?"

She blushed a little, "Maybe yeah"

"I trust him"

She said it with melting butterfly eyes. 

Those three words left  a deep imprint on me.

Until that evening, when I met him.

My brother.

The guy she trusted with one phone call.