SS: Zara's Faith Part 2 updated page 1

Writing a short FF after todays epsiode, hope you like it...

Zara stood still, she still couldn't believe it, was this the same Kabeer who had gently caressed her this morning and whispered sweet nothings into her ears and promised her a life full of love and tenderness, was it the same Kabeer who had moved mountains to save her from Siraj, was it the same Kabeer who had  left no stone unturned to save the honor of his wife, yes he was, but she could clearly see, that however many times she had tried to make him see her point of view, on various issues, he still couldn't understand her, he did give in to her point on many an issue, but that was only after he had his usual way of first belittling her, and siding with his understanding of the religious text and it's teachings and interpreting it the way that benefited the few who thought they were the qualified  representatives  of the religion, and the ones who presumed  that women came in second, to men,  in everything, but not this time, Nayab Kazi, Zara Siddiqui was in no mood to relent, women had every right to pray, just like men and she was going to make sure her voice would be heard!

 
Had he already forgotten the intense love they had shared, she could still smell his strong scent on her dupatta, her dupatta shielding them from the evil eyes of all who wanted their marriage to not succeed, his passionate hug, had he forgotten the taste of her luscious lips which he wouldn't let go of and she had to plead with him, or they would have been late for the board meeting.

But that was morning, and this afternoons debate at the board about women being allowed to pray  and Kabeers strong refusal, had left her questioning herself as to how much she actually understood her husband, they were back to square one and it looked like she was fighting a losing battle with her head strong Maulvi.

With her head held high and a tear escaping her eye, she watched heavy-heartedly, this man whom she had come to love and respect, ask her to stay back at her parents place because he did not believe women could pray to the same god in the same place, as men. 

 As he walked out on her, without a second glance, fuming in anger, she made up her mind - not this time Kabeer Ahmed, I will not argue with you or make you see sense, if you have loved me and understood my beliefs at all in the short time that we have been married, you will come back to me and apologize, for putting me through this hell, and then and only then will I go back with you. Zara promised herself that no man would talk to her the way Kabeer just did! He will regret!

Kabeer couldn't see beyond his anger, he was still fuming at his wife's audacity, but somewhere deep down, something was bothering him. He knew she was right! 

To be continued...

Part 2: the Realization

As Kabeer stormed angrily into his house, he bumped into his mother, "dheere Kabeer, dekh ke challo, kya baat hai, itne gusse mein kahan ja rahe ho, aur Zara, zara kahan hain?'
Kabeer walked straight to his room, ignoring Ammis question, bad idea, he thought to himself, it only reminded him of what had transpired there this morning. Everywhere he looked, he was reminded of her, he opened the Almirah to change and all he could see were her clothes, he could smell her everywhere, he went and lied down on the bed, thinking of the board meeting,  it was time for prayer, he kneeled down and started his prayers, he missed having her next to him , as he immersed himself in prayer, a sense of calm engulfed him, his anger started to subside and he replayed the afternoons meeting in his mind, the more he thought about it the more it made sense, who had given men the right to decide who should pray where and when, god was the same for all and why can only men offer prayer at the place of worship and not women?

A feeling of regret started to creep in, he thought back to his reaction at Zara, was he too hasty and childish in abandoning her at her fathers house, but Kabeers ego would not let him repent, with a million questions gnawing at him and his anger redirected at himself, his agitated mind finally gave in to sleep.

He dreamt of her... they were driving back from the Sharia meeting, the meeting had gone on forever and it would soon be time for prayer, Kabeer realized that they would be on the road and would not make it home in time for prayer, but he also knew that there was a place of worship on the way home, he knew that he could stop there and pray but he also knew that Zara would have to miss her prayer as she was not allowed in there, she was tense and upset about the same and started crying...

"utho Kabeer, his mom was shaking him, "Zara ke ghar se phone hai, Uski tabeeyat kharab hain, Kal raat se bukhar ho rakha hain, Kabeer sat up with a jolt, he was disoriented, wasn't Zara with him? Weren't they driving back from the Sharia board? He realized he had been dreaming... he jumped out of bed, "kya hua ammi Zara ko? Kal raat sab theek tha? Achi khasi to lad rahi thi apne haq ke liye, aaj bukhar kaise aya?
"Pata nahin, uski Ammi keh rahi thi ke raat bhar jagi thi, apna roza bhi nahin toda usne, kah rahi thi Kabeer ke hathon se hi apna roza tudvaegi, subah dekha to sara Badan garami se tap raha tha, doctor ke pass le gaye hai, tum ja ke dekh aao.  Alarmed, he got out of bed, but was still not ready to face her, "Abhi kuch aur kaam hain ammi, hum Sham mein jayenge dekhne, bukhar hi to hai, thandi pani ke pattiyan laga ke theek ho jayega.

Ayesha was surprised at Kabeers reply, "Kya keh rahe ho Kabeer, tumhari begum bimaar hain aur tumhe kaam suzz raha hain? Abhi jao Zara ke paas aur uska haal pucho aur ghar le aao, yeh aaj kal ke ladke apne aap ko kya samajhte hain, kuch maloom nahin inko!

Kabeer grumbled a bit as Ayesha walked out of his room angrily, Kabeer sent her a text asking her how she was, he waited for her reply but did not get one, he kept checking his phone, after a couple of hours, still no text, by afternoon he was starting to get a little worried, he tried calling her number, it was switched off, Ayesha saw him walk down the stairs and scolded him, "tum Abhi tak yahin ho? Zara ke ma ka phone aya tha, doctor ne blood test karwaya hain, uska result Sham tak aa jayega, kuch khaya nahin hain usne Kal raat se, jao isi waqt usse mil aao.  Kabir was hesitant and a little ashamed of his behavior from the previous night. But he was also worried sick for his stubborn wife, he tried her number one more time, it was switched off, he tried her home number, no response, Kabeer started to get restless, all kinds of unwanted thoughts came to mind, what if she was really unwell, what if she was angry at him, had he hurt her badly? He had to go see her and make sure she was alright, but then again something stopped him, his ego tugged at him again, Kabir Ahmed you are the nayab kazi, your begum is just trying to get your attention by not replying to your calls, she is fine, give it another night and she will come back to you purring like a scared cat afraid to lose her husband. Little did he know that if he was the nayab Kazi, she was the Kaziain!

Kabeer stepped out of the house without informing anyone, just so that Ammi did not reprimand him again. He decided to spend the night at Imraans house. Imraan would understand, he knew, his friend would understand. After reaching Imraans house the two friends got involved in a discussion about politics, talking late into the night they fell asleep on the couch.

Zara had spent the night at the hospital, she was severely dehydrated, she hadn't eaten anything, she had not given up her roza and was still fasting. She was hurt and waiting for Kabeer, but he did not come, she pined for him, and asked her Ammi several times, if he had called, but in their rush to come to the hospital, Ammi and Zara had both left their phones at home. Ammi called home the previous night to ask if Kabeer had called, but the maid said that she had stepped out to the market and did not know if anyone had called then. Ammi called Kabeers house and informed Ayesha bibi about Zara's condition. Ayesha was frantic that Kabeer hadn't visited Zara neither had he called her. She went to his room looking for him but he wasn't there, she called his phone, he finally picked up and before he could even say hello ammi came down on him like lightening, "hua kya hain tumhe, kitne baar Bataya ki Zara ki tabeeyat theek nahin hai, woh tumhara intezaar kar rahi hain parson se, apna roza tumhare hathon se tudvane ki zidd pakad li hai usne, tum ho ke na koi Khabar na koi pata? Koi is tarah ka bartav apne dushman se bhi na kare. agar abhi ke abhi aspatal nahin pahunche na, to apni ammi se kabhi baat nahin karoge. She disconnected the call before he could even say a word, Ayesha was furious... and when she was angry god help everyone... that explained where Kabeer had inherited his anger from.
Kabeer jumped out of bed, what a fool he was, why did he let it come to this, what was he thinking, was Zara's well being more important than proving his point and fanning his petty ego? Was he not behaving just like the illiterate people who he so detested, who treated women like their possession, for the first time in his life Kabeer Ahmed was ashamed of his behavior. Without saying a word to Imraan, he sneaked out of the house and drove himself to the hospital.

She wasn't in the general ward, the nurse said that she was shifted to the ICU and was on drips and being monitored as her sugar levels were really low and she was severely dehydrated. He rushed to the ICU, and there she was, sleeping, her beautiful face looked pale and tired. This time a tear trickled down Kabeers cheek, was he this insensitive? Did he not know by now who he was dealing with? His Kaziain was a Sherni and she would not give in so easily. He went to her bedside and held her hand and kissed it gently. She stirred and opened her eyes, her lips curved a bit into a slight smile and she closed her eyes again, "Itni bhi kya narazgi maulvi sahab? she whispered.

last part coming soon..