Despite the reassurances from both
Haifa and her aunt, her mother was a nervous wreck from the moment Haifa had
told her about the visit from her uncle. Since the early morning of Tuesday,
she had spent every moment cleaning, tidying, and cooking. Haifa and the rest
of the household were at her mercy.
"How many times will she make
me sweep the backyard?" Saira said as she dropped onto the sofa. Haifa
sighed as she folded the good napkins. She understood; she herself had to tend
to the front area of the house more than once now. "Seriously, your mamma
has gone cuckoo," she added, wiping the sweat from her brows.
"It's really my fault. I
shouldn't have invited them without discussing it with her first," she
admitted. When both of them returned from work, her mother handed them a list
of chores, from cleaning and dusting to folding. They even had to clean their
room and wash the bathroom. "Don’t worry; it's only until dinner. Just a
few more hours to go," she replied, feigning enthusiasm.
"This better be some
dinner," Saira muttered as she took a wipe cloth and went off to clean the
TV rack after checking her list. Haifa checked the time; it was almost four in
the evening. They were almost done with the cleaning chores, and next, they had
to help in the kitchen. She was sure her mother just wanted to give the guests
the best impression she could conjure. The day they had visited Uncle Zuhair’s
family home, she had seen how fancy their lifestyle was. She knew her mother
desperately hoped to please her in-laws.
***
Uncle Zuhair arrived at their home
for dinner with his wife and two sons, Noor and Rameez. They were greeted by
both families at Haifa’s home, with only Nail absent as he was still away for
his football tournament.
Following her mother’s instructions,
everyone wore their best clothing for their arrival. Once seated in the living
room, Haifa noticed how uncomfortable everyone was. Small talk was strained, as
the groups were so foreign to each other, like oil and water. The mixing was
almost unnatural. Sensing the discomfort between the families, Nasreena quickly
ushered them to the dining room, hoping that food could ease the tension.
"Oh, Nasreena, you have
prepared a feast," Latheefa commented when she saw the table prepared for
them. "You must have cooked the whole day."
Latheefa was absolutely spot-on with
her comment. Haifa's mother had prepared many different curries and salads
along with fried rice and chicken. She even made three types of desserts. Haifa
knew this because both she and Saira had spent hours cleaning and washing the
plates while her mother and aunt did the cooking.
"It was not just me; we all
prepared together," her mother replied bashfully, her face turning red. The
tension in her shoulders made her look rigid, and nervous sweat broke on her
forehead. Haifa was worried, wondering how much pressure her mother could
handle.
To everyone’s delight, the dinner
went smoothly, and everyone actually enjoyed it. Somehow, the conversation
progressed from the food to the island's progress, with the elders leading a
substantial part of the discussion. The sons actively participated in the
talks, while the women engaged in their own discussions about relatives and
grandchildren. Haifa and Saira shifted their attention between the various
conversations.
Afa, as always, looked absolutely
overjoyed to be included in the company of so many. Although she did not
actively participate in the discussions, she appeared thoroughly delighted, her
head moving back and forth like she was watching a tennis match. Even Haifa's mother seemed to relax
after a while, enough to sit down and have a bite herself. When the dinner came
to an end, the women of the household stood up to clear the plates and dishes
away. It was when her uncle spoke.
“I would like to talk privately with
Nasreena, Jalaal, and Haifa for a moment,” he said.
The atmosphere came to a standstill,
everyone's nervous glances watching each other. Haifa took a deep gulp of
breath and quietly took the plate her mother was holding. She was afraid her
mother was going to break the glass with the grip she had on it.
“Of course...” Nasreena hesitated as
she led the way to the living room.
Zuhair’s family sat on the sofa as Haifa’s
family sat on the folding chairs they kept around the house. Zuhair looked at
his wife, and Latheefa gave an encouraging smile. He took a deep breath before
saying, “I have made a great mistake in believing things that were not true,
and I have let my pride get in the way of our family. I owe an apology to you,
Nasreena. I am very sorry for the way I have neglected you and Haifa all this
time,” he began.
“While I have lived in comfort, I
subjected both of you to a difficult life, all the while telling myself I was
doing what was right. But I was wrong, and I wish to amend my ways. Can you
ever forgive me for my mistake?” he asked, his gaze downcast.
Haifa looked at her mother, who
looked pained at the words she was hearing. She swallowed hard, “I… I… of
course. There is nothing to apologize for. I should have tried to make you
understand the situation more,” her mother stumbled.
Uncle Zuhair shook his head sadly,
“No, it was my fault. And Latheefa had tried many times to make me understand,
but I was too stubborn and old to be corrected,” he said. “And even after you
came home, I had not amended my ways. But I understand now, and I have come to
ask for forgiveness and offer you this.”
He said the last sentence towards
Haifa, as he took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to her. Confused,
Haifa opened it. Her brows lifted when she saw that it was a check made out for
MVR 250k.
“I have made calculations and drawn
out the amount of money accumulated for Naeem’s share of profit from our
business. I will be giving you future profits every month along with the
outstanding funds from here onwards. We are not as rich as millionaires, but it
would allow you to have a comfortable life here in Vavathi for the rest of your
life. I am giving you the shares of your father’s; you are his heir.”
Haifa closed the check and slipped
it into her mother’s hand. She blinked at her, trying to give it back, “Oh, Ifa
dharifulha. I couldn’t…”
Haifa cut off her mother gently, “You
have worked all your life, slaving away to give me everything I needed. Never
doing anything for yourself. You have always wanted to make the Hajj
pilgrimage; this would cover you and Jal… Bappa’s travel cost for the trip.”
Her mother’s eyes went wide before watering. Haifa saw from the corner of her
eyes Jalaal beaming. She was not sure if it was because she was giving him a
chance to visit Kaaba or because it was the first time she had referred to him
as her father.
“Bappa would have wanted you to have
this,” Haifa told her mother quietly. Her mother squeezed her hand, her lips
trembling.
Haifa turned to her uncle, “and I
want the monthly income to go to her as well so that she won’t have to worry
about money anymore for the rest of her life.” She told him.
“That’s very generous of you,
Haifa.” He looked at her, “You have shown more maturity in the last few seconds
than I have shown in your whole lifetime.” He said with difficulty.
Latheefa slid her hand into his arm
and squeezed it. “You are a good man, Zuhair,” Latheefa said affectionately and
Zuhair patted her hand.
***
“I think I ate too much,” Saira said
as she lay on the joali outside their house, “But I do not regret it.” The
night was blissfully balmy, with a continuous gentle breeze flowing. The sky
was clear with stars twinkling at different beats.
Haifa laughed. She felt good. Giving
her mother the money was a good thing. After her uncle’s family had left, her
mother tried again to give it back. But she had refused firmly. “So all the
work paid off, huh?” she teased as Saira rubbed her belly.
“I guess so.” She replied, “but I am
still tired from all that work and the huge meal, I don’t think I can move at
all.” She groaned.
“You know you didn’t have to eat so
much.” Haifa pointed out.
Saira looked at her in confusion,
“And let all that go to waste?” she asked, making Haifa laugh even more. “So
what did Uncle Zuhair want to talk privately about?” she asked.
“He wanted to apologize to mamma for
mistreating us for all this time and gave me the accumulated money from bappa’s
share. Also promised monthly income.” Haifa replied.
“How much money did he give?” she
asked curiously.
“MVR 250k…” Haifa replied.
Saira sat up straight, “WHAT! Oh my
God, you are rich!” she cried out.
“… and I gave it to mamma.” She finished.
“What? Why? You could have anything
you wanted.” She asked in awe.
“I wanted mamma to go for Hajj
pilgrim. Do something nice for her for a change.” She replied, “She deserves
it.”
“Oh, yeah. Sure. That’s fine too.”
Saira said, with slight disappointment, falling back into the seat, “I just
thought you had something you wanted to do, you know since you had been working
so hard to win the competition and all.”
“I do but Mamma is more worthy of
that money than what I want.” She replied.
“You do know there is a chance that
you might not win the competition, right?” Saira asked, threading carefully.
“I know, it's fine. One way or
another, I will achieve my dream. If it's not now, it will happen.” She said.
“How are you this confident?” Saira
quirked an eyebrow.
“Because that’s how dreams work. You
cannot achieve any dream if you don’t believe you can achieve it with your
whole heart.” She shrugged.
Her phone rang just then, Haifa
quickly took out her phone. Her heart suddenly beat fast. Now it seemed every
ring or notification sound made her jump. Anticipating and hoping for someone
special to call her. When she saw it was an unknown number, her heart fell a
little.
Haifa acknowledged that she had
given Zishan a definitive answer, and she valued the fact that he had respected
her decision without pushing for a chance or attempting to change her mind.
However, she found herself unable to stop thinking about him. Missing him more
than she anticipated, she couldn't go a day without scrolling through her phone
gallery to have a glimpse the picture she had taken of his smiling face.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Haifa?” A familiar male
voice asked, “This is Khalid.”
“Oh, hi. How have you been?” she
asked.
“Fine, thank you. I was calling
regarding the shoot. I hope Zishan had told you I would be calling.”
“He did,” she replied vaguely.
“So, it turned out the couple who
previously canceled has decided to go through with it. They are due to arrive
in a couple of days and wants to hold the ceremony on the 25th,” Khalid told
her excitedly.
Haifa checked her phone calendar to
find that the date fell on next week Wednesday, “That’s fantastic,” she said,
“What time?” she asked, feeling excited herself.
“They wanted to do it at sunset,
perfect for capturing your golden hour,” he replied, “I will arrange the
transport and let you know.”
“Oh, thank you so much, Khalid!” she
replied.
“You are most welcome. Haifa.”
“Bye.”
Haifa felt so happy and excited that
for a moment, she wished she could call Zishan and give him the good news. Her
heart ached at the thought. He had been such a huge part of her being able to actually
be in the competition. He was her biggest supporter, the one who always believed
in her. He always thought of ways to make things happen for her.
“We are going to the resort?” Saira
asked hopefully, sitting up once again in her seat.
“We are going to the resort,” she
confirmed with a smile.
“Yay.”
Did you love the chapter, please let me know your thoughts
in the comments.
Have a wonderful day!
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