STORY TIME 7: ( I am sorry for serving your friday dish as late as Sunday night. I was busy trying to see if i could make it to this years Hajj. Unfortunately it seems Allah did not call me this year. To compensate for keeping u waiting, I hereby serve two chapters for your reading delight. Enjoy it pls): Chapter Six Umar got along with Maimuna very well. He religiously kept contact with her. He gave her both material and moral support throughout the trying moments of her recuperating from the aftermath of the divorce processes. He won her heart at last. It was, however, not easy for me to convince Maimuna to accept to even listen to Umar. When I summoned the courage to tell her that it will no longer be possible for us to get married, she didn’t believe me. It was a week after the divorce. She did not come as we (Umar and I) anticipated. On Umar’s wise insistence, I had to excuse him when it was few minutes to the time I was anticipating her. I was half-relieved when she didn’t turn up. At least I had more time to prepare myself. I forced myself to stay away from her. I finally visited her at home one evening on my way home from office. That evening was one of our worst evenings together. She didn’t accept any of all my reasoning. She even accused me of betraying her. That I succeeded in capturing her heart only for me to toy with it the way I wanted and now toast it to another man whom I called a friend! “I have a heart.” She told me. “My heart is also made of flesh and blood like any other heart.” She said to me in tears. “You should know that it is not easy to get a woman’s heart. I have never felt for any man the way I am feeling for you. It is not my wish and will that I am in love with you. You gave me hope and save my life. You changed the way I look at men and life generally with your love and kindness to me. Now you expect me to forget all these and transfer all my feelings for you to another person? No!” Maimuna said tearfully. Her face covered by her both hands. I refused to be moved by her pathetic situation. I had to. “Remember we vowed to each other to do what is in the best interest of one another,” I reminded her. “Emotion withers. Reality lingers forever.” I philosophized. We rationally argued for long. I left her crying, without saying good night. I had to be tough to assert what I strongly believe in. When I signified my intention to leave and to leave finally, Maimuna grabbed me, clung herself to me and started kissing me passionately. It was as if I was her life and she wouldn’t let go. How I forced myself to resist her sweet tongue and the softness of her breast is still a mystery to me up to now. I did console her by holding her, but without any show of emotion. She let go of me on noticing my insensitivity to her embrace and attempted romance. I left her without turning back. I cried later while driving home. Anisa noticed my emotional troubles. She waited for a convenient time to talk to me. Coincidentally, the time she chooses happened to be the period when Umar’s marriage to Maimuna was fixed. She knew Umar quite right. She also had cause to meet with Maimuna on two occasions. The first was when I invited Maimuna to my house to establish an acquaintance between the two in anticipation of and preparatory to our marriage. I didn’t tell Anisa what was actually between us at the time. She might have sensed it instinctively. She never pressed the matter further then. It was a day before one of our days in court. Maimuna phoned me. Something came up which she thought I should know immediately. I was at home. I invited her over to the house. She knew the area so well that it did not trouble her finding the house. “Assalamu alaikum.” She announced standing at the main door. “Wa alaikummussalam.” We chorused Anisa and myself. “Come in.” I said. Maimuna came in. Anisa welcomed her. She was wondering where she was from when I introduced her, “Meet Maimuna.” I gestured to Anisa. “I twice talked to you about her.” I said. Maimuna almost inaudibly murmured a Salam to Anisa with a stint of respect. Anisa duly acknowledged her Salam and respect. They were about age-mates. After some pleasantries, Anisa left the two of us. Maimuna respected the sanctity of Anisa’s matrimonial home. She did not do anything unofficial. It was near launch time. So Anisa in her usual generosity insisted that Maimuna must stay to have launch with us. All the children were away at their grandmother’s, which is not far from our house. The three of us sat on the dinning table. I thought the scenario was so beautiful that I began thinking of changing my mind about securing a different accommodation for Maimuna. Both women looked peaceful and beautiful. It made me feel proud to have them as my wives. Maimuna was uneasy throughout the period, which lasted for almost an hour. Anisa was extra kind to her throughout that period. The second meeting of Anisa with Maimuna was precisely three weeks later when Mubarak was sick. He was admitted in a hospital. How Maimuna found out still remained a mystery to me up to date. She visited the hospital while Anisa was there. Anisa later told me that Maimuna repaid all the kindness she showed to her. That endeared Maimuna to Anisa. So when she heard about Umar’s marriage, she asked me about the wife and observed that Umar never care to bring his proposed wife to her as he promised doing. I narrated the entire story of Maimuna to Anisa and how she and Umar met. “I pray Allah should make this marriage work for her.” Anisa said. “Do you foresee any problem?” I asked her. “No. Nothing. I am just thinking about the problems of getting married hurriedly like in this case.” She said. “There is this saying: ciwon ya mace na ya mace ne. I really sympathize with her situation. I wouldn’t want her to make mistake again.” Anisa said. “There is no mistake in marriage as there is no foolishness or smartness in it as well.” “Yes. But one should be able to study things carefully before making a move. You men are not the same as we women. You can marry and re-marry again without the society raising an eyebrow.” She said defensively. “Sometimes, we see things but pretend we are seeing the opposite. That is where mistakes come in.” She concluded. “Let’s pray for them.” I said. “Certainly. I have to pray for you also not to be attracted by any other woman again.” Anisa said as she made her way to the kitchen. She stopped halfway. “By the way, did I gain weight that much that you started looking for slimmer women like Maimuna?” She asked jokingly. She did not wait for my response. She half ran into the kitchen. Maimuna eventually got married to Umar. It was an elaborate celebration. Umar spent a lot in the marriage festivities. He was always saying that marriage ought to be celebrated well so that many people may know and may possibly pray for the happiness of the couple. The newlywed couple secured an accommodation not very far from our house. It was a very beautiful and large house. The company in which Umar works secured the house for them. The marriage came with Umar’s promotion to the rank of an Assistant General Manager in the company. The house was part of the benefits of that new rank. Both appeared to be happy the way things worked out. I was happier though, as my sacrifice seems not to be in vain. Our friendship continued and extended to our wives as well. They became closer to one another than we used to be. In fact they became like sisters. They confide in each another. There was no secret between the two of them. They share virtually everything.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 22:02:45 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015