The Fallen Widow

20. Hunted

It was Friday; laundry day when Meh'r-Bano sat on the banks of the river watching the women wash their cotton linen and spread the coloured sheets across the boulders. The river was alive with laughter, joy and children jumping off bulls that lounged in the cool water. With her feet immersed in the cool water, her mind drifted to the strange encounter with Shah-Nawaz. He was cold, strange and left sharply. Did she say something wrong? Shaking her head from the weight of her thoughts, she grabbed Shafiq's shirt and began scrubbing the collar with a thick green soap.
"Baji Baji!" Approached a young petite girl. "Please could you pattern my new kameez with your magic hands. I have a wedding and your patterns are so beautiful. " The young girl held a black carrier bag handing her kameez to Meh'r-Bano.
"Farida, I can't." Meh'r-Bano wiped the sweat from her forehead with her arm. "You know I have less time now I'm at the haveli. Before it was different-"
"I will give you anything." Pleaded the girl. "You can borrow my special necklace set."
Meh'r-Bano crafted a hobby from embroidery in her free time. Soon, the village girls were in awe of the complex and beautiful designs she created on her plain white kameez.
"Okay. Leave it here." Said Meh'r-Bano. "I make no promises."
The young girl hugged Meh'r-Bano thanking her and returned to her washing. Tasneem approached Meh'r-Bano, her sleeves rolled back, her trousers rolled to her knees.
"I don't know how they get their collars to dirty!" Said Tasneem.
A moments silence passed filled with the chatter of the river, the sound of gushing water when Meh'r-Bano broke the noisy silence.
"I met him." Said Meh'r-Bano scrubbing Shafiq's dirty collar.
"Who?" Tasneem flicked the stray hair which flopped on her forehead.
"Him. Choudhary Shah-Nawaz."
"Yes, you mentioned it. At the rally." Tasneem returned to her washing.
"After that, I met him at the haveli."
Tasneem rinsed her soapy hands turning to Meh'r-Bano. "What do you mean? You saw him again?" She asked with intrigue.
"Yes, I was blindfolded, playing with the children and he came in."
"What was he like? What did he say? What happened?" Tasneem neared her. The noise and laughter around faded.
"It's strange, Tasneem." She replied struggling to manage her thoughts since she met him.
"I couldn't see. Yet I knew- his presence filled the room. His scent-" She sniffed the air like she could the taste the Oud settled on her lips. "-Overwhelming. When I took the blindfold off, he stood in front of me-" Meh'r-Bano stared blindly at the gushing river recalling the moment.
"I mean I'm not sure if it's his reputation that precedes him, his attire like a groom, or the jewels he wears. There's something about him that when he speaks to you-he owns you. He commands your attention. Everything else fades. It's intense, sometimes frightening, I was so nervous I struggled to speak."
"Does he know you went to the rally?"
"Tasneem, why do you always worry?" Meh'r-Bano laughed.
"What was he like? Is he handsome like everyone says?" Tasneem narrowed her eyes.
Meh'r-Bano shrugged her shoulders and returned to the Shafiq's collars.
Tasneem grabbed her hands and stopped her. "You've saw Choudhary Shah-Nawaz from close. What is he like? Did you get to look at his eyes? Are they really wolf-like?"
"I don't know Tasneem." She shrugged her shoulders.
" I lowered my gaze." She lied. " He was okay. In his royal attire, anyone can look handsome dressed like a king. I guess...." She thought. "I guess when he is undressed, that's when he is real." Meh'r-Bano's eyes rounded in surprise. "Did I say that aloud?"
"Undressed? You want to see Choudhary Shah-Nawaz Qureshi undressed?" Tasneem cackled with laughter.
"No!" Meh'r-Bano grabbed her arm in a panic. "Stop twisting my words." Tasneem stood up wiping the sweat from her forehead.
"That's not....you know what I mean....I don't mean undressed as in undressed-"
"Naked?" Tasneem held her hip gasping with laughter.
"Stop it!" Meh'r-Bano smacked her shoulders. "You're putting words in my mouth."
"You said it. You....you want to see Choudhary Shah-Nawaz naked to see if he's truly handsome." Tasneem pointed at her.
"No! I meant disrobed-no-no I meant-." She stuttered in confusion. "Without the ..the stuff."
"You're blushing when I mentioned seeing Shah-Nawaz undressed." Tasneem pointed at her.
"Kasme!" Meh'r-Bano sighed in frustration. "Tasneem. He's a strange man. I'm a married woman. Why would I need to see him -uff!" She shook her head and jumped forward to grab her. "Come here I'll sort you out."
Tasneem shrieked and ran through the shallow waters splashing her salwar. Meh'r-Bano chased her at speed jumping over the women and the large pebbles. The women watched the two friends race along the river in great joy. They reached the gushing depths of the river when Tasneem stopped clutching her hip bending forward gasping for breath. She landed on the landed on the large boulder taking deep breaths to regulate her breaths. Meh'r-Bano joined her with her hands on her hips, her body soaked from the splashes.
"When you do see him undressed, let me know what he's really like." Tasneem had the last laugh.
"I will kill you one of these days." Meh'r-Bano responded waving her finger with no energy to fight back.
Making their way back to the village. The women walked on the right side of the narrow road in a single file carrying their large load of washing on their heads. Meh'r-Bano walked behind Tasneem.