A short story representing the two side of the married life of a woman

A tale often heard

Areeba Khalid

A women was sitting quietly on the bench of a hospital corridor waiting for her tern to meet with the gynecologist. she was young and beautiful however her face was weary and there were shadows under her eyes, she gave the impression of someone who has suffered by the hands of fate and been through quiet an ordeal at such a young age. The women sitting next to her was on the other hand quit older than her and had an ordinary face but she seemed happy and her face glowed with the air of someone who has been blessed with the riches of the world though she seemed gentle and kind. They the older women was first to break the silence as she seem unable to contain her happiness she said ‘it is taking too long isn’t it we have been waiting for quite some time’ the other women replayed ‘yes you are right it has been long’ the first women asked ‘is this will be your first child you seem really young’ the other women replayed ‘yes it is and what about you’ the first women replayed ‘it is my first as well thought me and my husband had wanted a child for longer than I remember we have been married for five years now and my husband is very kind to me and takes really good care of me. I am sorry, I forgot to mention my name it’s Zubia what about you’ the other women replayed ‘ My name is Alia, I have been married for two years now but my husband does not want a child’ ‘why not’ Zubia asked being startled at the thought that why would someone not want a child then Alia replayed ‘my husband is not serious and wants to end it and as for me I do too’ she said in a somber voice ‘why is that do you not love each other or is there any other problem’ Zubia asked thinking what could possibly lead to such an extreme decision ‘Alas if it was only a matter of not loving each other I would be happier than any other women on earth me, I met my husband when I was attending collage a few years back and with passing time I fell in love with him and he claim to have loved me too but now when I look back at it I can see that I was a fool to believe it even for a moment my parents were against our marriage because not only we were rich and he was not but my parents could see what I was too blind to acknowledge that he only cared about my money and not me. I kept insisting on marrying him and my parents agreed but after a mother of our marriage he and his family began to criticize me for not bringing a decent dowry with myself I thought little of these remarks and tried my best to appear well natured but little did I knew it was only the beginning of my troubles after a few months he quit his job and then when he ran short of money he sold my gold jewelry, to run the house I had to apply for a job and work to pay his bills and debts and even then he abused me and used force when I refused to lend him money and now when he found out that I am expecting he does not want the child and asked me to go for abortion I was worried that he might her the child in my womb so I left him and now I live with my parents they are very pleased about me being safe with them and are looking forward to the birth of my child but I can’t help but feel a burden on them. I am ashamed of even looking them in the eye, they for-warned me about my husband but I was blinded by love and not only did I ended up hurting myself but I also made them suffer because of me. She end her speech with with tears glistening in her eyes and a look of dread on her face that shoes how much she is suffering from inside. For a few moments Zubia can think of nothing to do except sooth her by placing a hand on her back to comfort her then she says in a voice of someone comforting the ill ‘ my dear there is no good in crying over spilt milk there is nothing you can do to change the past what matters now is what you should do in the present you need to be strong and look after yourself for not only the sake of your child but also your parents, I am sure their heart grieves to see you in such a state of despair. You can’t undo your mistakes but you can fix them by starting to look after your parents and this child and living your life happily without the support of a man for the sake of your loved once. Right now when you are ill your parents are looking after you and one day when they are old you look after them and let your child learn from your example and your experience’. After hearing this Alia considers this for a few moments and slowly gathers her emotions she looks at Zubia and says ‘that is very wise of you to say and I appreciate it but I can’t help but wonder that if I was not too blinded by love to choose a man who I knew only for a short while over my parents who looked after me my whole life my life could have been as wonderful and as peaceful as your I could have a loving husband and family like you do. At this Zubia comforts her by holding her hand and says ‘my dear you can still have those things if you let go of your past and be happy with what you have now and you will have more when your baby comes in this world and then your life will more happy and peaceful than mine’ Zubia says this with a small smile which Alia returns and after that Zubia stands and walks away to see the doctor. 

                                          The End

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