Finding about HER

As soon as she put those apples in her cloth bag , the bag split into two ,the innocent looking girl panicked and started collecting the fallen apples ,as the khas hauz market was built on a slope ,They started rolling down the slope .

I desperately wanted to help her but I also do know well that my one helping hand would raise thousands of questions against her .

Our society prohibits any contact between a stranger and an unmarried girl ,whether of helping or not ,finally after some time a lady in her late 50's came and helped the girl . She took the girl with her while murmuring something in her ear .I could not exactly figure out the words but it seems like she was chiding her for something .

..

Surraya was trying to calm her anger after seeing Mehjabin in the market without a hijab .She grabbed her wrist and came to Mustafa Zahid's house .

'Anam....Anam ' Surraya calls for Mehjabin's mother

Anam came wearing her usual attire of salwar suit but it has turmeric sloppy spots on it.

'yuck!! Anam you are smelling sour ' Surraya said disgusted

'Sorry Aapa to answer back but Mehjabin's father asked me to prepare 10 kg mango pickles , that's why I couldn't get enough time to shower' said Anam embarrassingly

'Oh! yeah ..I only asked brother Mustafa to send me pickles ,Sorry to trouble you Anam ,' but my daughter heard that Anam aunt pickles were the talk of the town as you know her mother in law . . . oh 'what a greedy woman she is always wants a taste of everything. '' Surraya said mimicking Anam in an offending way.

She disliked Anam ever since Selma's incident took place ,She expected her to take her side but instead she chose to ruin her game that day .

Anam very well knows her habit of sugarcoating sentences and then using Mustafa's name to complete her own wishes, so she remained quiet and listened to Suraya cursing her own daughter mother -in-law.

'Aapa you want something ?' Anam asked

'huh!! oh yeah definitely ..Anam don't send Mehjabin to the market .you know that people are not safe these days and especially a widow'

Mehjabin gritted her teeth on hearing the word widow ,she despised that word to death ,All around people have already accepted that Aslam died except Mehjabin .

"She will go wherever she wants and last I remember I gave no one enough authority to make decisions in my house" A loud voice echoed in the huge haveli of Mustafa Zahid

Surraya was like a deer caught in headlights "Brother …I was just....."

"just what huh ! restricting my beloved daughter to go to places , and who is this widow ,Don't you remember She is married and it's been 10 years " Mustafa said signaling Anam to bring him a towel.

Surraya already knew the end of this conversation ,so she chose to divert the topic as she does not want to disturb her relations with Mustafa especially after knowing that he was his only savior in Selma's case.

"Slip of tongue brother. I am sorry ,of course I love all my nieces ,it was just Anam did not send pickles to my house so I came here to know if everything is okay or if she forgot that her husband has only one beloved cousin who lives just next door " She said smiling wickedly

" Mehjabin ..give special pickles to Surraya or if your mother haven't prepared it because she was too busy gossiping then buy it from the nearby Market" Mustafa said eying Anam

"No ..I have prepared'' Anam asked Mahnoor to bring the jar full of pickles but in rush the glass jar broke from Mahnoor's hand .

"It's ok..its ok ..Bring the next Burney " Anam said in a hushed voice.

" you know Anam ,I really miss Selma ,How efficiently she handles everything ,if you believed her that day she would have been with us not in coma" Mustafa snorts

As much Anam tried to forget that incident, Mustafa replay back all her bad memories ,she can't forgive herself for doing that to Selma .she looked at Surraya to see she was not making any eye contact with her.

Anam gave a new glass jar to Surraya and she left to complete other household chores.

After many years Mehjabin got a smile on her face ,she was happy to see her father taking her side . She rushed inside her mother's room to write this delightful event in her diary.

Now the brother and sister were left alone in the living room.

'' Surraya ….Surraya ….Surraya '' Mustafa icy chill voice was enough to send shivers .''You have a knack to stumble into problems ain't you ?''

''Brother'' Surraya was trembling in fear

''Shush!!!!'' Mustafa said, placing a finger on his lips.

''if you got saved one time 'doesn't mean ,you will be able to get saved another......and if you are smart enough ..you should know what I am talking about.