Destiny A Short Story
By Rayees Ahmad Kumar
Despite insistences from his parents, friends and relatives to tie the nuptial with Salma, Zubair was hell-bent to marry his high school friend Sadia. Sadia was an extraordinarily beautiful and good mannered girl who was the lone daughter of her well off parents. Her father was a company secretary while her mother was a government school teacher. They had brought up her daughter in an environment filled with love, affection and encouragement. They had left no stone unturned to give her the best education and make available for her every facility and means to realise her dreams and fulfill her wishes. To pursue her masters in business administration, her parents whole heartedly allowed her to move abroad. She was anxious to pursue her studies in Europe and her both parents bared the pains of solitude for almost four years but were pleased to see their daughter realising her dreams. During her studies in Europe, one day she had accidentally met Zubair in a coffee canteen of the university who was also her classmate during high school. Zubair had come there a year ago and was pursuing management studies. With each passing day both Zubair and Sadia developed fresh acquaintance and their bond grew stronger. Soon they were fast friends and pledged to live the rest part of their life together as husband wife. Sadia was a pampered daughter of her parents so they would in no way decline her wish to marry Zubair an academically intelligent and bold guy. But it was Zubair’s family who desired to marry their son with Salma a noble and righteous daughter of her middle class parents. Though she wasn’t as beautiful as Sadia but her heart was as pure as driven snow and was an obedient daughter. After completing his studies abroad Zubair immediately was absorbed as a manager of a leading public sector bank after qualifying a tough banking exam. He not only built a splendid three storey house but also bought a comfortable luxurious car. His parents too enjoyed living in cozy rooms of the newly constructed house. He left no stone unturned to make them feel pleased and overjoyed. Now their only wish was to marry their son with Salma because in his childhood his mother and Salma’s mother had promised to tie them in nuptial. However Zubair was all determined to marry Sadia because their years of deep relationship had brought them so closer that they pledged to marry together. Sadia was too attached to Zubair so was Zubair. Spending leisure time in green lawns of university, enjoying hot and refreshing coffee in the the university canteen and helping each other in academic affairs was their routine during their stay abroad.
However Zubair had finally to get married with Salma when his parents, friends and other relatives insisted him and declined his desire to marry Sadia. First few months of marriage were tough and tense for Salma as he never loved and cared her the way a selfless husband should. Soon after returning from the office, instead of giving time to his spouse he preferred to meet his friends for hours and returned home at bed time. Many times she complained to her parents about the abnormal behavior of her husband who could do nothing except advising their daughter to remain patient. Salma was doing house chores and spending the melancholic period in Zubair’s home but he was still inclined towards Sadia. On one fateful day, while returning from office he met an accident and both his lower limbs got severely fractured. He was operated at city hospital and remained bedridden for almost six moths. He couldn’t move without a human help, wasn’t able to take meals independently and when he felt the urge to urinate, except Salma no one even from his own family members came to his help. For all six months Salma stood as an all time friend to Zubair. She helped him to do an advised daily physiotherapy, recalled him to take a daily dose of prescribed medicines and helped him to urinate. She almost caged herself for six long months as she never got a chance even to meet her ailing old parents. But her priority was always to sit besides her husband during the tough times of predicament. After six months when Zubair was fit and fine and resumed his duties, he realised his mistake and apologized to Salma for all that he did previously to dishearten her. Now after returning from office, instead of meeting his friends he spent the beautiful moments in company of Salma and brought fruits and other eatables which Salma loved. He not only remained a loyal and faithful husband to Salma from now onwards but his own parents too felt appeased and contented.