Chapter 6

Chapter 6

 

It felt nice to be home for the weekend, but Aisha hoped that her family wouldn't ask her questions about her behavior.  She knew that she had been acting distant from them, but she really didn't know what else to do.  No matter how much Aisha tried to forget what had happened in May, she just couldn't get it out of her mind.  It seemed as if she would never be happy again.

 

When Aisha had arrived at the house, everyone seemed cautious and nervous around her.  Maryam was still upset about Aisha's outburst a week ago.  She just said hi and asked her how her trip had been, and then returned to her room.  Imraan and Samira kept exchanging glances while talking to Aisha, as if they were afraid that something would go wrong.  Shamyl was the only one who greeted her with the same enthusiasm as usual.  He immediately began to inform her of all the books he had read in the past four weeks.

 

Aisha tried to suppress her grief and act happy for her siblings.  It worked for a while, and she found herself smiling and asking them about the new neighbors. 

 

Samira: Sabah and Rehan are awesome.  Hum unko sirf teen hafton se jaante hain aur abhi se woh humaare itne qareeb aa gaye hain.  Aap unse ek baar mil ke dekhiye.  Sabah and Rehan are awesome.  We only know them for three weeks and we've already become really close.  You have to meet them.

 

Aisha: Agle ghar mein hi to rehte hain.  I'm sure jaldi hi mulaqaat ho jaayegi.  Well, they live in the house next door.  I'm sure I will be meeting them soon.

 

Imraan: Actually kal shaam unhone humko dinner pe bulaaya hai.  Unke bade bhai Yusuf bhi ghar aaye hain, na?  To hum sab ne socha ke achcha mauqa hai get-together karne ka.  Actually, they have invited us for dinner tomorrow night.  You know, their older brother Yusuf is home for the weekend too.  So we all thought that it would be a great opportunity for a get-together.

 

At the mention of Yusuf's name, Aisha was reminded of her university, and this led her to once again remember Hasan.  Her depression returned and all she wanted to do is be alone.  She told everyone that she was tired and would talk to them in the morning.  As she stood up to go to her room, Aisha noticed Imraan and Samira look at each other with worried expressions.  She knew she shouldn't be angry with them, but she wished they would stop making the situation harder for her.

 

Aisha went into her room and sat on her bed.  It was only eight o'clock.  If she slept now, she would be awake before anyone else in the morning and would have nothing to do.  She took out her finance textbook and started on her homework assignment.  It distracted her for about an hour, but when she was done, she once again didn't know what to do with herself.  Finally, she decided to just go to sleep.  Sleep was the only true escape from her feelings.

 

The next morning, Aisha awoke at six.  It was going to be another long and tedious day.  She put on her exercise clothes and went for a jog around the neighborhood.  Being a member of the track team in high school had taught her that running was the best way to relieve stress.  Aisha spent a couple hours jogging and hanging out at the park before returning home.

 

When she entered the house, she saw her parents eating breakfast at the kitchen table.

 

Javed: Good morning Aisha.  Mujhe maloom tha tum jogging karne hi gayi hogi.  Good morning Aisha.  I knew that you must have gone jogging.

 

Aisha: Ji Papa.  Jaldi uth gayi thi.  Yes Papa.  I had woken up early.

 

Najma: Baith kar naashta karlo beta.  Maine tumhaare liye chocolate chip pancakes banaaye hain.  Sit down and have some breakfast, beta.  I made chocolate chip pancakes for you.

 

Aisha: Thanks, Mummy.

 

Aisha sat down and put some pancakes into a plate.  She was feeling a little better and wanted to try to enjoy the beautiful day and the company of her family.  Soon, Maryam joined them at the breakfast table, but seemed reluctant to talk much.  Aisha knew that she should never have yelled at her and wanted to resolve things between them.  When their parents finished eating and left to take care of errands, she decided to apologize.

 

Aisha: Tum mujhse naraaz ho na?  You're angry at me right?

 

Maryam: Nahin apa, aisi koyi baat nahin hai.  No apa, its nothing like that.

 

Aisha: Nahin Maryam, tumhen haq hai.  Main bekaar mein tum pe apna ghussa utaar rahi thi.  I'm sorry.  No Maryam, you have the right to be.  I was taking out my anger on you for no reason.  I'm sorry.

 

Maryam: It's okay.

 

Maryam paused, but it seemed like she wanted to say more.

 

Aisha: Kya baat hai?  What is it?

 

Maryam: Main bas yehi chahti hoon ke aap mujhe ghalat nahin samjhen.  Us din jo bhi main keh rahi thi woh sirf is liye keh rahi thi, kyoon ke mujhe aap ki fikar hai.  I just hope that you won't misunderstand me again.  That day, everything that I was saying was just because I am worried about you.

 

Aisha: Main jaanti hoon.  But don't worry.  I'll be fine.  I know that.  But don't worry.  I'll be fine.

 

Aisha wasn't sure she believed that herself, but she said it anyway.  Maybe if she tried to convince herself that everything would be okay, she could make it happen.

 

Samira, Imraan and Shamyl came downstairs just as Aisha was finishing her breakfast.  She stayed at the table to talk with them.  Imraan had several questions about the college admission process which he asked her with some hesitance.  Aisha happily answered, which seemed to reduce the number of times Samira and Imraan exchanged glances.

 

At about ten, Rehan came over for Divya Ji's vocal lessons.  Talking to him for just two minutes convinced Aisha that he was a nice guy.  He asked Aisha about her studies and future plans, and seemed to genuinely wish her well.  When he left to go to the basement, Aisha thought about what she had told him.  Yes, she wanted to become a lawyer and definitely had the ability to do it, but without Hasan, was it even worth the effort?

 

While her sisters and Rehan practiced singing, Aisha returned to her room.  She was back where she had started.  She could leave behind her feelings for a few hours, but ultimately they always came back.  This wasn't the person Aisha wanted to be.  She wanted to laugh and enjoy life again, but it was impossible to do so while the past kept haunting her. 

 

Aisha remained in her room all day, only going downstairs once to make a sandwich for lunch.  No one disturbed her until about five in the evening.  At that time, her mother came to ask her whether she wanted to go to the dinner at the Akhtar family's house.  Although she would have preferred staying in her room, Aisha agreed to come.  She knew everyone would be disappointed if she didn't, and maybe later, she might regret not meeting the rest of the Akhtar family.  She got ready and came downstairs, and the whole family walked next door.

 

Zaheer Uncle welcomed them into the living room.  Rehan came and took all the kids into the family room, while the parents talked in the living room.  In the family room, Aisha was introduced to Yusuf, Sabah and Amaan.  She knew Yusuf from school, but had not run into him at all that school year.  Yusuf, Aisha, Imraan, Sabah and Samira sat on the large sectional sofa, while Rehan, Amaan, Maryam and Shamyl grabbed bean bags on the ground. 

 

Soon, they broke up into three groups.  Aisha and Yusuf talked about Berkeley; Imraan, Sabah, Rehan and Samira discussed something that had occurred in school a few days ago, and Amaan, Maryam and Shamyl played Nintendo Game Cube. 

 

Yusuf: Aisha, is saal maine tumhen Indus ki first meeting mein nahin dekha.  Aisha, I didn't see you at the Indus first meeting this year.

 

Aisha: Haan, main nahin aa payi thi.  Yeah, I couldn't make it.

 

Yusuf: Is baar bhi culture show mein participate karogi?  Will you participate in the culture show again?

 

Aisha had always been active in Indus, the South Asian Club at Berkeley, and for the past two years she had been taking part in skits and dances for the culture show.  But all that was before her life had changed.

 

Aisha: Pata nahin.  I'm not sure.

 

Yusuf: Achcha.  Oh.

 

Yusuf looked around the room.  He seemed to be trying to come up with something to say.  Aisha felt bad for being so hard to talk to.  She decided to start over.

 

Aisha: Aap is saal medical school ke liye apply kar rahen hain?  Are you applying to medical school this year?

 

Yusuf smiled.  Apparently, this was something he was passionate about.

 

Yusuf: Haan, June mein application bhej di thi.  Dekhten hain kya hota hai.  Yeah, I sent in my application in June.  We'll see what happens.

 

Aisha asked him more questions about what field of medicine he wanted to go into and how his volunteering at the hospital was going.  Then he asked her about her classes and extracurricular activities.  The conversation was going well, when Aisha heard Samira scream.

 

Samira had been returning into the room after getting a drink of water when she tripped over Rehan's kitten, who had suddenly dashed in front of her.  Samira lost her balance and fell forward.  Rehan, who was sitting on the ground, quickly moved towards her and broke her fall.  Their eyes locked and for a couple seconds they froze.  Then Samira realized what she was doing and quickly sat up and moved away from Rehan.

 

Samira: I'm sorry….woh….maine use dekha nahin tha.  I'm sorry…it was….I didn't see her come in front of me.

 

Rehan: It's alright.  Soni ki yehi aadat hai.  Kisi warning ke bina hi saamne aa jaati hain.  It's alright.  That's what Soni likes to do.  She comes in front of everyone without any warning.

 

Soni was the name that Sabah had chosen for their kitten.

 

Imraan: Samira, you owe Rehan your life now.  This is the second time he saved you.

 

They all laughed and Sabah told everyone the story of the baseball.  Then Fatima Aunty called them to dinner.  During dinner, Aisha listened to the parents' conversation and learned more about the Akhtar family.  She became sure that the friendship between the two families was destined to last a lifetime.

 

When it was time to leave, Aisha didn't want to go.  She had enjoyed that evening more than any other in the past five months.  She returned home hoping that her life would return to normal soon.