Meri Musibat [Tere Bin FF]

10. 21, 24 - Part 2

A/N: No one guessed what Meerab wanted to tell Murtasim! But you can find out below! Thank you for all the love for the last chapter! 

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While making rounds of the village over the next weeks, Murtasim noticed the way Meerab tried to fit into the village. Children swarmed around her, laughing and playing, some were called away by their mothers, with looks of suspicion shot towards her. Other women exchanged stories and shared laughter with her, some of the elderly women seemed particularly fond of her, patting her head, while others looked at her like she was a strange alien walking amongst them. The sight of her surrounded by at least some conversation was comforting, but he knew that the villagers often looked towards outsiders with concern.

Murtasim caught snippets of conversations about her friends from Karachi visiting her before they had arrived in the village. Two of them, both seemingly older than Meerab. That had initially caught him off guard upon their arrival, but on observing them, he'd noticed the respectful way they carried themselves and interacted with the village folk and deemed them trustworthy.

He'd rather she had company, it kept her away from him, he wished he could say it kept her out of sight and out of mind, but it seemed that Meerab had found a permanent home in his mind no matter how hard he tried to push her out. He tried his best to keep himself occupied though.

With his attention primarily occupied by the new warehouse's logistics and introducing modern farming equipment to the villagers, he'd been amply distracted. Areeb was away visiting his mother so there was no one around to bother or tease him about Meerab, for which he was grateful. Bhaktu was engrossed in assisting him with the new endeavours, so no one told him what Meerab was up to. It was easy to assume she was just enjoying her vacation, far removed from any mischief, that everything was calm.

But his assumption and the tranquility of the haveli was abruptly shattered one evening. Men from the village stormed in, at least thirty of them, their expressions a mix of anger, confusion, and apprehension. The air was thick with tension, and their voices, raised in anger, echoed through the corridors of the haveli. Murtasim hurriedly approached the gathering, his protective instincts on high alert, trying to find familiar faces in the crowd for a hint of what was happening.

He felt his heart racing, Murtasim had seen these men riled up before during village meetings, but never like this. The sheer intensity of their collective emotion was palpable, making the atmosphere electric. He began to pick out words and phrases as he approached them, trying to piece together the cause of their sudden outburst. As he approached the gathering, the commotion grew louder, and snippets of conversation reached his ears.

"My wife won't listen to me anymore!" one man exclaimed.

"She's behind this! I know it!" one man spat, his voice dripping with rage.

"She's teaching them to work, to earn!" another said, his voice tinged with disbelief.

"These women have forgotten their place!" another one growled.

Determined to mediate, Murtasim stepped in, trying to catch their attention, his hand raised for silence. But just as he did, the delicate sound of tiny bells reached him. Without turning, he knew it was Meerab; her footsteps were accompanied by the occasional tinkle of the bells tied around their goat's neck, who was her shadow. Murtasim's protective instinct surged as he realized that Meerab, the she these men were speaking of, was in their direct line of sight. He instinctively positioned himself between Meerab and the mob, shielding her from the accusatory glares that turned towards her.

"What's going on?" he asked, trying to understand the root of the issue.

A broad-shouldered man, visibly angered, stepped forward. "Her!" He said pointing to Meerab. "She's filling our wives' and daughters' heads with nonsense! They're working now, doing embroidery, tailoring, even pottery!"