Something Fairytale-ish

Something Mulan-ish Part VIII

Nouri was busy attending to a customer when his son suddenly arrived.

"Here's your change," he told his customer as he quickly handed him the coins before finally directing his attention to Harith.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Nouri wondered aloud.

"Baba, we need to talk," Harith said stoically. "It's about Hur."

"Ah, her name is Huriyah, actually," Nouri corrected. "And it's neither the time nor place to discuss her. Please come to my house when it's time to take a lunch break."

Harith was dismayed. "How long must I wait?" he asked.

"A few hours. Don't be in such a hurry, boy, we'll have plenty of time to talk later," Nouri said.

Harith sighed. He decided to help out his father to pass the time, and before he knew it, it was time to take a lunch break. Nouri and Harith made their way to Nouri's house. As soon as the door had shut, Harith didn't hold back.

"What happened to Hur-Huriyah's mom?" he asked.

Nouri sighed. "The poor woman died of a broken heart," he said. "After Huriyah ran away, she couldn't forgive herself for driving her child to commit the unthinkable. She couldn't eat or drink. She couldn't rise from her bed. Then one morning, a few weeks after Huriyah had ran away, she never opened her eyes. She died in her sleep. And now she's in a better place, may she rest in peace."

"Did her father ever remarry?" Harith asked.

"He tried, but he could never find a woman like his late wife. He was too heartbroken and couldn't move on. His children all grew, got married, and moved away, and now, he lives in his big house all alone," Nouri said. "Poor fellow. He was such a good man, always helping the less fortunate. He doesn't deserve that kind of a life," he added.

"You say he's a good man, but how could he try to force his daughter to enter an arranged marriage when she was so clearly against it?" Harith questioned, suddenly feeling really angry about Huriyah's misfortunes.

"Don't be too harsh on the poor man," Nouri said, trying to calm his son down. "He had no choice. None of us do. That's the way things work here, and to try and go against tradition is begging for ostracization. What was he supposed to do, protect Huriyah and land he and his family in the desert?

Harith was silent. He didn't know how to answer the question. "Still," he insisted, "what he did was wrong. He should have tried to find a way to help his daughter."

Nouri sighed. "I know. And the fact that you are aware of how wrong this society's traditions are gives me hope. Maybe your generation will be the generation that brings an end to all these horrible traditions."

"Maybe," Harith muttered. He looked outside and noticed that some time had passed. "I better get going Baba, I need to see how Huriyah is doing," he said before getting up and heading towards the door.

"See you later," Nouri said as Harith left.

...

Huriyah was lying down on her bed. She didn't feel like moving or doing anything. Thoughts about her mother still tormented her.

I killed her. I killed my own mother, her mind kept on repeating over and over again.

A sudden, gentle knock made her snap out of her thoughts.

"Hur, are you awake?" Harith asked.

"Yeah," Huriyah croaked. She buried herself under her covers as Harith opened the door and entered the room.