The Fallen Widow

16. Turmoil

Sitting in the privacy of her bedroom, Fiza sat on a stool whilst her auntie Malaikah massaged her roots with olive oil. It had been over a month Fiza was married to her childhood sweetheart but something wasn't right. Fiza was carrying a secret, a heartache she couldn't share. Malaikah shared the shenanigans of her children but Fiza was lost in her worry of her thoughts.
"Gosh your hair is so dry." Malaikah rubbed fresh oil into her hands warming up the oil before she applied it to her roots.

"Ever since you married you have neglected yourself." Fiza's head bobbed from side to side as Malaikah rubbed vigorously into her hair.

"You're so quiet. How is your Uzayr?"

Fiza shrugged her shoulders. "I thought marrying Uzayr would make me the happiest woman in the world." Fiza paused.

Maliakah sensed tension in her shoulders. Sitting behind her she couldn't see her face.

"We're living like friends." Fiza's tone droned off into a dull note.

Turning her niece around, Malaikah forced the truth out of her. She took her hand and began massaging her hand.

"The jokes, the teasing, the flirtatious- all gone. He's so nervous around me like he will break me. He doesn't want to hurt or upset. He doesn't look at me in the eyes- I've lost him."

Fiza's face melted with sadness, she pulled her hand back into her lap.

"He sleeps there-" Fiza pointed at the chaise lounge where Uzayr spend the wedding night and subsequent nights. The joy and love fizzled on the day they married.

"We're broken." Fiza stared at the empty chaise lounge.

"You're not broken. You have been through a lot. You can't expect everything to be normal. It will take time." Malaikah witnessed the tumult surrounding their wedding day.

"It's been four weeks. He doesn't look at me. Does he hate me?"

"He doesn't hate you. He needs time to understand you. You are his wife now. Have you tried talking to him? Getting close to him?"

Fiza recalled the wedding day, when she sat in her room at the dressing table taking off her bangles. Uzayr approached from behind, quietly and his sudden arrival jolted her and she flinched. Since the night when Uzayr kidnapped her and forced himself on her- she changed, they changed. Something changed.

"What happened that night?" Malaikah asked with caution. Fiza had no words.

"Did he hurt you?"

He did.

"He didn't mean it. He was angry. He wanted revenge."

The thoughts troubled Fiza. She stood up and made her way to the window for air. During the night she struggled to sleep and twisted and turned with nightmares. The flashbacks haunted her.

At that moment Meh'r-Bano made her way into the room with a tray of fresh watermelon and grapes. Feeling the tension in the room she apologised and felt the need to leave.

"No- Come on in." Malaikah beckoned her. She needed a third voice. Malikah made her way to the table and pulled a juicy purple grape and squashed it between her teeth.

"Tell me, Meh'r-Bano-" She asked with her mouthful. "You're married for years. How does your husband show you affection?"

Silence ensued.

"Fiza is newly married- she's still settling into married life. It's early days for her."

Meh'r-Bano was lost for words. She didn't know what to say but the truth.