Sameer had yet to realise why this year’s Eid celebration was going to be bigger than usual....
COVER STORY
It was a bright day with a slight breeze. On one side of the city, Hina walked onto her veranda with a cup of tea and sat in her favourite spot. She sat sipping it, thoughtfully staring into the distance.
On the other side of the city, Sameer vigorously whipped his coffee over the kitchen sink. Once frothed to his satisfaction, he carried it back to his laptop and sat drinking it slowly, clicking rapidly at the mouse. His laptop screen and his thoughts were filled with work, the next sports game, the latest joke from his friend, and reminding himself to do the thing his mother had asked him to do.
Hina’s thoughts were tangled in confusion as she let her tea get cold. Hina had found out a few weeks ago that her parents had arranged her engagement to Sameer in a few months’ time. Her parents did not know that she knew, because her brother Ray had told her this in secret. Sameer had yet to realise why this year’s Eid celebration was going to be bigger than usual. He did not know that he was getting engaged on Eid.
Hina flung Ray’s door open and walked in as if it were her own bedroom. “Ray!”
“Hmm?” Ray did not even look up. He was used to Hina running into his room on a regular basis.
“Does he know about it?” Hina asked breathlessly.
Ray regarded her with the even gaze of an elder brother long used to vague questions. “Does who know about what?” he asked. “You could be asking about anything.”
“What else is there to ask about?” Hina crossed her arms. “Does he know about the engagement?”
“Of course,” Ray said. “Abbu knows about the engagement. Ammi didn’t arrange this singlehandedly.”
Hina stamped her foot. “Don’t tease me!” she said. “You know. Him.”
“He must have a name,” Ray said, smiling.
“You know who I mean,” Hina said, frowning.
“Hina, if you don’t even want to take his name, then I don’t know why you want to ask questions about him,” Ray said.
“Look, even you’re referring to him without taking his name,” Hina said, pointing at Ray triumphantly. “Now, who’s the one who doesn’t want to take his name? I’m not alone.”
“I’m not saying it because I want you to be the first one to say it,” Ray said. Both of them stared at each other for a few moments.
Finally, Hina sighed. “All right. Sameer. Does Sameer know about the engagement?”
“Hmm,” was all Ray said.
“What kind of answer is that?” Hina said. “Does he know or does he not know?”
“Actually, I don’t know,” Ray said.
“What?” Hina clapped her hands over her face.
“I just don’t know whether he knows or not,” Ray said. “Why does it matter to you? You won’t meet him before the engagement day, anyway.”
Hina slid her hands off her face and shot a glare at Ray. “I just want to know what he knows about me,” she said.
“Honestly, I don’t think he would know much,” Ray said. “Have you tried asking Gohar and Amani? Maybe they can tell you how much guys know about their fiancées-to-be before the engagement, from the girl’s point of view.”
“Wouldn’t you know more because you’re a guy?” Hina asked.
“Guys ... don’t talk about this sort of thing with each other,” Ray said. “Girls, on the other hand, will analyze everything a dozen times over. You really have a better chance by asking your friends.”
“What will they tell me? Amani just pointed at the family friend’s kid she wanted and her father got him for her and Gohar got someone from her relatives who’s known her since she was a child,” Hina said. “They can’t tell me anything from the point of view of people who haven’t met before.”
“Think of it this way: if you meet for the first time at your engagement, you’ll make a great first impression, all dressed up.” Ray grinned.
Hina groaned. “First impression? More like a total shock!”
“What’s there to be shocked about?” Ray asked.
“I mean, hello! You just wake up one morning and your mother hands you some clothes and says put them on and come downstairs, you’re getting engaged,” Hina said. “I don’t think I would be in the frame of mind to think well about anyone I didn’t even know existed until just some time ago.”
“For one thing, I don’t think it would be as drastic as that. For another, I think you’re assuming that Sameer feels the same way about you as you feel about him, and you’re assuming that he will have the same reaction as you did when you found out,” Ray said. “Maybe he already knows. Maybe he’s looking forward to meeting you ... Hey!” He ducked as Hina raised a hand to smack him. “What’s wrong about that? I keep telling you to give him a chance!”
“I’ll decide what I want to feel and what chances I want to give, thank you,” Hina said, stepping back.
“Ah, well.” Ray shrugged. “Don’t spoil your mood over it. Do you want to play a game?”
“I’m already in the middle of a game being played with my life!” Hina turned around to leave the room.
“Don’t be dramatic,” Ray said, as Hina walked over the threshold. “Talk to your friends.”
“They’re more dramatic than I am!” Hina called back as her angry footsteps went further down the hall.
“That’s exactly what will help,” Ray said, quietly, almost to himself.
********
Amani smiled as the waiter placed the ice-cream boat in the middle of the table. Gohar was the first to dig into it by stabbing the part of the dish at her end with a spoon. Hina followed, breaking a wafer and including it in her mouthful.
“So, Hina,” Amani said, twirling her spoon gracefully between her fingers as she picked the cherry off the top of the dessert. “Isn’t there anything you would like to ask us, considering we’re more experienced about ‘engaged’ life?” She bit the cherry off its stem and placed the stem on the rim of the boat.
“There isn’t anything to be afraid of!” Gohar stopped in the middle of lifting a spoon of ice cream to her mouth to address Hina. “Once you get used to it, everything will be fine.”
“When I said if there was anything she’d like to ask us, I meant if there was anything she’d like to ask me, as I’m clearly the most experienced,” Amani said. “You got engaged to a distant relative. In a manner of speaking, you experienced nothing new except having to remember not to call him ‘brother’.”
Gohar set her spoon on the edge of the plate, frowning.
“Come on, Amani. There’s no need to say it like that. Anyway, let’s talk about what’s important.” She turned back to Hina. “Surely you must have something on your mind?” she said gently.
Hina munched on the wafer and ran her spoon through several layers, scooping up different types of fruit on it. She stared at the pile of fruit and ice-cream and put her spoon back down without taking a bite.
“Oh no,” Gohar said. “What’s wrong? You never leave your food like that.”
“Yeah, it takes something big to turn her away from being a hungry hippo,” Amani said.
“Amani!” Gohar said without looking away from Hina.
“Come on, Hina. What’s the matter?”
“If only I could tell you ...” Hina looked thoughtfully out the window. Gohar and Amani looked at her curiously.
To be continued...
