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Ammi wasn't home that fateful day. Probably went out to get ingrediants for making something for tomorrow. It was Eid the next day and Samra was really looking forward to it. She would get to wear the new dress ammi bought for her. If only she would bring some hinna...

She turned her attention back to the stove where rice was being boiled. In her mother's absence, she had to take over the kitchen. I better hurry, abbu will be back any minute now with an empty stomach and a foul mood.

"Whattya doin'?" She heard a male's voice behind her and her body tensed. Oh no. He's back and dinner isn't ready yet!

She turned slowly to see him reclining against the kitchen door frame with his arms folded on his chest. Thank God. He doesn't look grumpy.

"I was-am boiling rice. It w-will be ready shortly." She stuttered out of nervousness.

"Where's your mother?", he asked, looking around.

"She went out to get some things for tomorrow."

"And didn't take you with her? Its Chand Raat. You should go out. Come on. I will take you out and get you some choryan and hinna."

She looked at him with wide eyes,"B-but dinner isn't ready yet."

"Don't worry 'bout it. We'll get something to eat from bazar. Whattya say? It'd be fun."

She turned the stove off and wiped her hands with a small cloth. She couldn't say no to him. He would get angry if she did. But something wasn't right. She knew it, her gut told her so.

And abbu was smiling.
.....

Chand Rat was in full swing. The streets of Bara Bazar were teeming with people and abbu elbowed his way through them, holding Samra's hand in a tight grip, swearing every now and then. Every shop had its best items on display. People had gone out of their way with multi colored lights and illumination. Even the ugliest items looked bright and catchy.

Abbu stopped in front of a Chori Stand. There were bangles of every size and color, arranged neatly in boxes, on the stand. Abbu turned to Samra and said. "Pick whichever you like." She couldn't help but smile. Her eyes ran over all the boxes . They were all so pretty! If only she could buy them all. She pointed to the cerulean ones,"I want those.", keeping her Eid dress in mind. She wanted their color to match, although her dress was of a different shade of blue.

"Give my girl a dozen of those.",abbu said to the shopkeeper and plucked his wallet from his pocket." How much?"

"Fifty." The shopkeeper replied, packing the item in a piece of paper.

"Fifty ruppees! Are you out of your mind. That's too much. They're just glass." He growled.

"If you want it, you pay. Otherwise, go find yourself another stand." The shopkeeper retorted.Abbu cursed under his breath and passed him a fifty ruppee note. The shopkeeper thrust the item in his hand but not before throwing a nasty glare at him.

Abbu walked away huffing and puffing while Samra silently followed behind him. He bought her hinna next even when she told him he didn't have to." What's an Eid without hinna?" He said. He was back to smiling again and it relieved her to no end.

It was a huge shop they stood before. Abbu was busy talking to a friend while Samra looked at the beautiful jewellery they had on show. Her eyes caught a pair of beautiful earrings, sprackling in the light. Samra couldn't help admire the intricate metal work. The two large stones(not real ones, ofcourse), dangling from the earrings reminded her of eyes of the stray cat she had taken in.

"Found something you like?" She almost jumped at hearing his voice. She didn't think his friend was planing on leaving anytime soon.

She gave him a timid nod. Abbu went inside the shop while she stood behind, watching him from the outside. She couldn't hear him for there was a thick glass barrier inbetween. She watched her abbu talking animatedly to the shopkeeper, who was just a boy. He directed a finger towards Samra which she assumed was to point at the pair of earrings resting on the glass shelf behind the huge glass window.

Abbu came out after a few minutes, a permenant scowl etched on his face. Samra looked at him with hope shining in her eyes," Abbu." "Those bastards, costing hundreds for a piece of trash. You don't need it Samra. You're a child so you get easily fooled. But I know them like the back of my hand...." Abbu continued with his speechfor God knows how long but Samra didn't hear the rest of it. She was sad.Her throat hurt. Something spicky was lodged in it. She swallowed to relieve the pain. She should have known better. Ofcourse it was expensive. She could tell. So why did she even bother asking abbu for it? Well she didn't exactly ask him, he did. But still she should have just said no when he did. It's painful when dreams get crushed and it was so small a wish.

She didn't know her way through the bazar so she silently followed behind him. Not that she would have gone any where on her on. "There's someone I want you to meet.",she heard him say." She's my aunt. I am sure you're gonna like her. She has a daughter your age and she wants to meet you. She told me she has presents for you." Samra's head shot up. Why would a complete stranger want to give anything to her? She didn't know. But what wrong could come from visiting her father's relatives? So she didn't complain. If only she knew.

Abbu's aunt was a very fat woman, and a strong one too and Samra found it out the hard way, when she crushed her tiny frame to herself in a sorry excuse of a hug. Abbu looked happy to see her. Too happy infact. She had never seen him smile this much. "Ayeshaaaaa! Come down will ya. Samra's here", the fat lad- aunty called out. Samra looked up the stairs in anticipation. The clapping of slippers against the stairs were heard before a girl emerged. Aunty's daughter-she assumed." Take her with you ,will ya? And show her the dress we bought her." Aunty smiled at her. The girl nodded and offered Samra her hand which she gladly took. The girl showed Samra to her room. "This is where I stay most of the time. My room. It's not much but hey, when you love something you just love it." Samra smiled at her. She didn't even know her and they were talking as if they were old friends.

"So, what's your name?",she asked.

"Samra."

"Samra. That's a nice name. What does it mean?"

"It means soft or pure." Samra replied

"Ah I see. It suits you. Your eyes. They have a softness to them. One can easily tell that you're kind hearted." Samra blushed and offered a timid 'thank you'."I am Ayesha by the way.",she told. They talked for a while, laughing and munching on snacks aunty brought in earlier. Samra never felt this happy. For a while, it felt like this was where she truly belonged. She felt loved.

"So, how old are you?",the question came out out of the blue.

"I am going to turn thirteen next month." She watched as the smile diasppeared from her face only to be replaced by a frown. "But I thought you were of my age. You look older."

"Yes. I have heard that a lot." Samra said, laughing. "How old are you?"

"Fifteen. Samra do you know why Ijaz bhai brought you here?". Samra stopped laughing once she saw how serious she looked." Ofcourse. You wanted to see me, right?" Ayesha stayed quiet. Than Samra heard heard her say,"You're so young, they can't possibly-", but she was interrupted by aunty's voice telling them to come downstairs.

Ayesha quickly got up from her bed and pulled out a red dress from her cupboard." Go get changed." Ayesha said, handing over the dress to the younger girl. She looked at her with questioning eyes. "Is that for me?" Ayesha nodded. She walked out of the room to give her some privacy.

Samra changed into the new dress and immediately fell in love with it. It was a beautiful silk dress, shalwar and kameez. The kameez went a little below her knees,and was embroidered around the hem and neck with golden thread. She smiled looking down at herself.

"Are you done?" Ayesha's head poked into the room. She smiled once she caught sight of her. "It looks good on you." , she said. She made her sit on the bed and busied herself with making her hair. Then she applied some makeup and walked back a few steps to admire her work. "You look beautiful." She said with a sad smile." I- I'll be back in a moment." She walked out of the room leaving her alone once again.

Samra got off the bed and walked up to the dresser to look herself in the mirror. She couldn't recognize the girl staring back at her. She was beautiful, never had she realized it. The kajal she wore brought out the softness in her big brown eyes. Her light brown tresses were up in an intricate bun, held by a beautiful golden comb. Her lips look fuller than ever. She smiled at her refection.

"Samra." Ayesha came in once again." They want you downstairs." She said, throwing a red dupatta over her head. They made their way together to the living room, where she assumed abbu and aunty were. But before she could step in, Ayesha caught her wrist.

"Samra. I am sorry."

"Why? Why are you-" she couldn't finish her sentence for a swarm of women had launched themself at her, kissing and hugging her. She tried to free herself from their death grip, only failing miserably.

They ushered her to the living room. She tilted her head to see if Ayesha was following, she didn't want to be alone with these crazy women. She just stood there, like a statue.Their eyes met for a brief moment. Sadness, regret, fear and even hope, she saw it all in her eyes.

Her heart was beating fast, the uneasy feeling in her gut was back. She didn't know why but suddenly she wanted to be away for this place. It was suffocating in here. Aunty stepped in and gave her a smile and for the first time, Samra realized that it didn't reach her eyes. "Ma sha Allah. You look beautiful." They settled her in a couch. Her hands suddenly started to tremble. It was funny that at the moment, she wished her abbu was there. As if answering her prayers, God sent her abbu in ,following an old man with a lond beard.

A maulvi?

The old man sat down in a seat a little away from where Samra sat. He opened the register he had been holding and placed it in his lap. All the women had stepped a little away from Samra. Abbu stood behind her, gesturing the old man to start whatever they wanted to do. The old man began." Samra Jan wald(son/daughter of) Mushtak Ali do you take Muhammad Daniyal wald-"

What was that old man saying? She couldn't understand exactly what he was trying to ask. He did say something about nikkah and....

What? Nikkah! Did that mean-

She looked up at abbu with tears in her eyes. "Abbu." ,her voice shook as she called out to him.

His hand found its way to her shoulder. "Samra Jan,you like that pair of earrings we saw in that shop, don't you? Well, if you want them all you have to do is say 'I do'." Her eyes widened. The tears she had been holding back were finally running down her cheeks." I want to go home.",she wispered.

"We will. Just say 'I do' and we can go home."
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A/n:
Chand Rat- night before Eid
Chori/choriyan-bangles
Bara- big.
Hinna-a dye used for temporary tattooing of the skin.
Maulvi- a muslim doctor of law.
Nikkah- a muslim marriage
Dupatta- a kind of veil.
Kameez- shirt
Shalwar-pair of loose trousers worn with kameez.

Leave a vote/commet/both if you liked this chap.

Until next time.

tayyabalaraib.