That fatal attraction

By the time she reached our table she was visibly exhausted from the exercise.‘Well done mother of the bride’ I said grabbing her right hand ‘please take a seat before you swoon from exhaustion.’ I added, patting an empty chair next to me.‘Thank you Hajiya Bint. Wow, whoever said organizing a wedding is easy, has […]

By the time she reached our table she was visibly exhausted from the exercise.
‘Well done mother of the bride’ I said grabbing her right hand ‘please take a seat before you swoon from exhaustion.’ I added, patting an empty chair next to me.
‘Thank you Hajiya Bint. Wow, whoever said organizing a wedding is easy, has never done one. I have been on my feet since I prayed subhi this morning. And it’s been like that in the last three days.’ Maimuna admitted, sitting next to me.
‘MashaAllah, the wedding has been a great success, everything went without a hitch. So it’s really worth all the effort you put into it.
I will make sure to come to you for special consultations when Ummi is about to get married.’ I enthused.
 ‘Come on Bint. I didn’t really do anything spectacular. I mean all I did was to plan what every bride’s mother will organize in order to give her daughter a memorable wedding.’ She replied with modesty.
‘Well, I am truly impressed and will definitely consult you when Ummi’s wedding comes up inshaAllah.’ I insisted.
‘No problem Bint, you are welcome any time.’ She replied before letting out a yawn.
‘You are tired Maimuna but it will be over as soon as we convey the bride to her house this evening. Tomorrow by this time you will be resting on your bed inshaAllah.’ I assured her.
‘Actually, I am more relieved than tired. I had a lot of nightmares before Zaliha presented this new suitor who became her husband. So if you find me resting tomorrow, it is more out of relief than exhaustion.’ Maimuna disclosed.
‘Really, but I thought since she isn’t your first-born you will be more relieved to see your first-born married than her younger sister.’
I observed.
‘Yes it’s generally a mother’s dream to see her daughters marry the same way they came into the world. But in this case, a big scandal was brewing I had to pray that Zaliha gets a husband soon and leave this house. Almighty Allah answered my prayers and sent this young man who got completely smitten by her and pressured her to marry him.’ She explained.
‘All’s well that ends well, as they say but am still curious about the scandal that brewed at the time. However, I know this isn’t the time to talk about such things as some wedding guests might soon join us and over hear you.’ I said.
‘Actually I can tell you all about it now’ Maimuna said rising to her feet. ‘Let’s just walk into the sitting room since all the Walima guests seem so engrossed with posing for photos with the bride.’ She added, walking ahead of me towards the house.
‘You see Salima, my eldest daughter, had a suitor who spent three years courting her. It started on campus and even when he graduated he was always going to see her there. After her own graduation last year, he came and said that he was preparing to send his people to begin the formalities for their wedding. Of course Salima was ecstatic about it and quickly rushed in to tell us.
Before the day for the formal introductions arrived, he came to see her and for the first time since she met him, Salima asked Zaliha to accompany her to see him. He took them out for some snacks and ice-cream and brought them back an hour later. Apparently, that one outing changed everything. He called Salima a few days later and said he wanted to postpone the formal introductions because he wasn’t quite ready to settle down. She couldn’t believe it and was quite devastated.
But the following week Abdul showed up and said he wanted to see Zaliha. We all thought he was trying to table an apology through her, but to our collective shock, he came to declare his love for her. He told her that it was love at first sight and try hard as he did he couldn’t get her out of his mind after that first outing. Needless to say Zaliha gave him quite a bit of her mind before she came back into the house fuming.
She said she told him that he was mad to think she will even consider his proposition and that he should leave immediately before she sends her brothers to deal with him. She added that if he should ever come near our house again she will arrange for thugs to beat him up. Abdul left our house shaken but apparently undeterred. As soon as she resumed on campus, after the holidays, he began to visit her and take gifts to her.
At first Zaliha will pick her phone and report the visit, the kind of gifts he brought and the type of insults she gave him as a response.
Then according to her she began to listen to friends who were telling her that she must stop mistreating him, what if he was destined to be her husband? These same friends advised her that there was nothing wrong with her giving him a chance since he was never really married to her sister.
And in view of the expensive gifts he was always giving to her, which she always refused to collect, will she want both she and her sister to miss out on such a rich suitor? The friends asked….’
‘What kind of gifts were they?’ I interrupted Maimuna’s narration.
‘Oh he started with designer perfumes and other cosmetics. Then he would come with super wax prints with matching bags and costume jewellery and finally he decided to present her with genuine gold sets of chains, earrings and bracelets. Of course he was never this generous with Salima but that might be because he was a student and then a corper when they courted. He only just started working in a petroleum company when he asked her to marry him. So luckily for Zaliha, Abdul now has money to spare and she was proving hard to get.
Therefore he deployed all his resources into getting her to accept him.
The next time she came home for the holidays, she was singing a new tune. I can’t say whether it was the gifts that melted her heart or what her friends had to say that did it. But she began to say that there was no need for the two of them to miss out on an eligible and generous suitor. She actually asked me to convince her sister to forget about him because it was possibly God’s will that they will not be married to each other.
I looked at Zaliha and told her that I will never agree to their match. I reminded her that for three good years he had courted her sister, so it is only a fickle minded suitor that will jilt her sibling for her. And I warned her that he will do the same to her once he runs into anyone he seems to think is more attractive than her. She quickly assured me that he said he had never met anyone as beautiful as she is. I cautioned her that he will say the same to anyone he wishes to conquer.’ Maimuna declared.
‘It must have been a difficult thing for Salima to accept.’ I stated.
‘Yes it was. In fact she kept asking me whether he jilted her because her sister was fairer and more beautiful. I told her no, that he jilted her only because he never really loved her and was not capable of loving anyone truly. I told her that her sister’s light complexion has nothing to do with it, he was just a fickle-minded person. I did all I could to assure her that she is as beautiful as her sister because I can’t have her developing a low self-esteem over that stupid boy. And indeed she is, the only difference between them was their skin complexion.
Anyway both their father and I pressured Zaliha to end that relationship for her sister’s sake and because we will never give our blessings to the marriage. She resisted it at first by letting him see her at school. But we never stopped praying against that fatal attraction.
 Then out of the blues she came for a weekend from campus one day and said to us she had found a husband. An eligible, young, army officer who just couldn’t wait for her to finish university before they married. Of course we welcomed him with open arms and said to ourselves this was the answer to our prayers. The result of that weekend announcement is the wedding we witnessed today.’ Maimuna concluded.
‘MashaAllah, I wish them the best. But how is Salima now?’ I asked.
‘She is happy that the whole thing with Abdul has ended. She has a few new suitors. But she said she isn’t ready to pick anyone so soon because she hasn’t really recovered from Abdul’s rejection. I assured that we are praying for the best for her.’ Maimuna answered.
‘May Allah give her someone who will value her for more than just her looks.’ I prayed, smiling at her mother.