Must Read: The Silent Lover - Season 1 - Episode 32

7 years ago

Must Read: The Silent Lover - Season 1 - Episode 32

“Now was the time.” Aariz thought, letting out a long breath, as he made his way towards his mother’s room.

He had decided to inform his mother about their decision. He was sure his father was not going to object if his mother agreed. He loved his motherly dearly, and he could never bear to upset her by telling her everything only in the end. Ofcourse, he wanted to make everyone happy and satisfied by his decision.

He stopped at the door of Mrs. Ali’s room and knocked. As he heard her call, he inched the door open, peeped in and smiled before finally letting himself go in.

Smiling, Mrs. Ali slid her eyes away from the big book she was reading for the last one hour as her only son sat beside her on the sofa.
“Mother…..do you remember what you were talking about, last week?” He grinned, and took her hand in his own.
“About your marriage?” She smiled back at him, and took off her glasses.
“Did I ever tell you what a good memory you have?” He laughed softly, still keeping her hand in his.
“No.” She also laughed softly. “You just told me.”
“So?” She gazed lovingly at her son. She was proud of him.

He had never betrayed her trust on him. She still remembered the moment when, after Aariz’s birth, her doctor had announced that due to certain complications, she wouldn’t be able to have more children. It was the day she had decided that she’d do her best to give all the love and comforts to this precious gift, which God had given her in the form of Aariz.
“Well…” He smiled again, a bit shy, a little hesitant to open his mouth.
“Do you finally like someone?” She raised her brows, fluffing the soft black hair away from his forehead with her left hand, her right hand still in his hand.
In answer, he lowered his head and nooded.
A long breath escaped out of her lips.
“Aariz, I hope you have liked someone very nice and you won’t disappoint me in the most important matter of your life.”
“Trust me Mother, I won’t.” He gave her a reassuring smile, squezzing her hand gently with his own.
“What’s her name?” A meaningful smile was now playing on her lips.
“Komal.” He breathed. “She’s from London, a Pakistani.”
“I see.” She pressed his hand warmly. “How and when did you two meet?”
“Just a week ago, Mother.” He smiled for the third time, and from his expression, Mrs. Ali could clearly see that he was very much happy and content.
“What about her family?” She said, lost in her deep thoughts.
“Well, they all live in London. Her father owns a big business conpany in England. She is the only child of her parents.”
“Is she from our own sect?” She asked suddenly.

He frowned. “What difference does it make?”
Her hand slipped out of his.
“A lot of difference!” Said Mrs. Ali. As she spoke now, Aariz noted a definite change in her tone.

Anger began to surface inside her, slowly but very surely.
“Why?” He demanded, but his mother coldly drew herself away from him.
“I don’t have to explain myself to you, Aariz, but if you really must know, I am not going to let you marry that girl. Now, we should better not waste our time and energy by talking about this useless topic, shall we?” She said with an irony in her voice.

He let out a long cold sigh, and then got to his feet, turning his back toward his mother.
“But we have decided our future.” He said plainly. “We won’t compromise our love at any cost.”
“Mind you.” She told him thickly. “We humans have no power to decide our fate. It’s our Allah who does that!”
“Yes, but Allah has given us full authority to spend our life in a way we want.” He answered patiently. “And using that right and authority, I’d make Komal my wife as soon as possible.”
“How dare you?” His mother was tremblig with shock, hurt and rage. “You want to drown the name of our family?”
He turned back to look at her, his eyes glittering angrily. She stared back at him, her own eyes blazing defiance.
“I can’t even think of that.” He explained, not quite understanding what she really meant by that.
“Yes, that’s what you’re doing.” She murmured thickly. “By bringing some girl from a totally different community from our family.”
“Mother, they are muslims.”He protested.
“Yes.” She replied loudly. “But have you ever noted the differences which exist between muslims now?”
“It doesn’t matter to me in any way.” He told her with ice in his voice.
“But for me, it does matter alot.” Mrs. Ali said, quite unaffected by his coldness.
“Nobody in our whole family history has ever married a girl from another sect. I’d not let that happen at any price.” She announced her decision and stood up, throwing a final look at him.
“I’d revolt.” He shouted. “I don’t give a damn to these stupid family values.”
“Shut up your mouth.” She yelled back.

Aariz was stunned as he saw his mother reacting so intensely. He had never expected that his own dear mother would react this way. Her words hit him like blows.
“We love each other very much.” He clenched his teeth, trying his best to keep his voice as low as possible.
“I don’t care.” She ignored that, carrying on in a flat, cool voice.
“I don’t care whether you care or not, Mother!” He looked explosive.
“AARIZ!” This time his mother’s voice was louder than ever. “Are you in your senses?” She glared at him with angry eyes.
“I’m not one of your female friends or colleagues. I’m you MOTHER!”
“I’m going to marry her.” He annonced his decision without mercy.

His mother’s teeth met and dark red anger surged up her face.
“Over my dead body!”
“Do that!’ He yelled back, resenting the threat as she walked out without looking back, leaving Aariz in raging temper.
**************
It was about 10 a.m the next morning when the phone rang and Mrs. Ali answered.
“Can I talk to Aariz, please?” She heard from the other side.
“May I know who you are?” Mrs. Ali asked back.
“I……I’m Komal, his friend.”
“Friend?” She repeated, her voice rigid and her tone cold.
“What do you mean?” Komal was confused.
“What I really mean is something you know very well.” Mrs. Ali said rigidly.
“Listen Aunt……
“You listen.”Mrs. Ali cut in sharply. “Find some guy for yourself from your own community. Our sect is different, and that is a ‘big’ difference.”
From the other side, she just heard few breaths.
“But we’ve decided to get married…….” There was a definite trembling in her voice as she spoke.
“Who are you to decide anything about my son?” Mrs. Ali added in a rough voice. “This is not London. I have not brought up my son like the way you ‘westerners’ do. We do care about our values and community a lot.”
Her words came like a chain of bombs linked with each other.

There was a deep silence on the other side.
“Keep your hands off him. I know very well the girls of your type.” Mrs. Ali’s voice grew colder.
“Stop following my innocent, oh sorry, stupid son. Keep yourseld out of his way. Okay?”
But the line went dead. It has been disconnected from the other side.

Mrs. Ali sat upright in her stiff Victorian armchair, staring straight ahead, her mouth set.
“This time I am not going to let him talk his way out.” She murmured to herself.

Disgraceful behavior, fighting his own mother for some other girl—–what did he think he was doing?
Spare the rod and spoil the child, his father always said and he was right.

I should have been stricter with Aariz when he was a child. I’ve let him twist me round his little finger, that’s the trouble. He has always got away with too much, and look what it had led to! Getting the family into other sects, different community, leaving his own. All of my friends and relatives will be hearing about it. What would they think?”
She clenched her teeth and closed her fists with force. An angry flush crept up her face.
She took a long breath and then left her chair.
She had to take care of this problem sooner, before it gets out of control.