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Epilogue

31st December 2021

"Whatever you have will end, but what Allah has is lasting. And We will surely give those who were patient their reward according to the best of what they used to do.

Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer – We will surely cause him to lead a good life, and We will surely give them their reward [in the hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do."

(Surah An-Nahl)

Epilogue

Four years later

"Rufaida, please pass me the chili powder," Tammara stretched out her hand, her gaze transfixed on the chicken she was marinating.

"Tam, we have to re-fill it from the pantry. This jar is almost empty," Rufaida alerted, turning off the electric whisk and putting aside the batter she was mixing.

"Zubia Khala," Afreen called the in-house maid, "please fill this mirchi jar." As the maid abided, Afreen stated, "We don't use much chili back at my in-laws, so during the initial weeks of marriage, I used to find the food bland there. But it so happens that now I find the food here extra spicy."

Rufaida smiled, and added, "I love spicy food, and was glad that Mamma's dishes were quite similar to my mum's in terms of the spice level."

Chuckling at the memory the statement brought, Tammara sprinkled chili from the freshly restocked jar and reminisced, "I remember Ahmed losing his mind when he'd see you relish the spicy food when you were pregnant with Ammar and Azlan. He knew you'd complain of heartburn later, so he didn't want you to gorge on them. Remember your favorite chili pickle went missing around the same time? Ahmed had strictly instructed Zubia Khala to put it in one of the cabinets beyond your reach. He'd also ring up Asma Aunty when you'd go visiting her, requesting her to hide all the spicy snacks."

"Really?" Rufaida gaped, "no wonder after I got pregnant, every time I'd ask him to get me pickle jars on the way home, he'd make random excuses. This one time I pestered him so much, he said, in an attempt to be considerate towards others who may come looking for the same item, we should probably let the pickles stay on the shelves and not disappoint fellow customers by purchasing them. His statement was so random, in between asking for an explanation, I forgot to place it in our cart."

"That's such an Ahmedi way of handling things," Tam chortled.

"He was tired of directly telling you to not eat them, so he started his undercover tactics," Aafreen beamed.

"Smart of Ahmed," Rufaida mused. As an afterthought, she added, "And Afreen, I hate to break it to you, but Hilal also adopted a similar trick when you were pregnant with Aneesa. So if you ever wonder why your bounties disappeared every night, well..."

Afreen's mouth hung open in shock at Rufaida's insinuation, and she asked, "Are you seriously serious, in the words of Aneesa herself?"

"In the words of your two-year-old daughter, who's got my twins wrapped around her finger, I'm seriously serious! Heard this back in the day when Ahmed was speaking on the phone with Hilal. Both the guys were roaring with laughter when Hilal confessed he was sneaking all your snacks and distributing them to poor children every morning on the way to his office." Rufaida laughed.

Afreen banged the kitchen island with her palm, and complained, "I never thought Hilal would do this to me! Like okay fine, I was borderline diabetic during gestation, but that doesn't mean he acts all innocent when I ask him where my chocolates disappeared. No wonder when I once shared this with Ahmed, he advised me to repent for my past sins. He said your bounty chocolate bars are disappearing now, ask Allah to never turn them in the literal sense of taking away your bounties. The nerve of my brother to trick me when he knew the truth all along!"