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Chapter 3: Uninvited Past

6th Feb 2019

"Strive to do that which will benefit you and seek the help of Allaah, and do not feel helpless."

[Muslim]

Chapter 3:

Uninvited Past

If you had to describe Rufaida in one word, it would be balanced.

Having seen so much in life on a second-hand basis, she was far too wise for her age and too sensible for her own good.

She'd wallow in her pool of tears but once she was done, she'd find the mop to wipe the mess and get back to life. She'd question the purpose of college and the anxiety it caused, yet burn the midnight oil to ace her papers.

Her mental state could be in shambles, yet when she met people, you'd think she hardly had problems in her life. She didn't trust men, but she was also aware that when the time came, sometime in many years, she'd have to get married, although that was something she didn't want to think about at the moment.

She wasn't one to crib or complain, she saw life for what it was, without bitter or sugar coating it. She was sorted and knew exactly what she wanted.

"I have finally understood the purpose of our degree!"

Placing a scale on her practical record, Rufaida drew tables for the diet chart she was preparing. Once done, she turned to look at her friend, Amrit, who had interrupted her thoughts.

"Enlighten me," she demanded, "At least one of us finally figured it out."

"So you know how we're doing our Bachelors in Nutrition, right?" She prompted.

"You realized that in the last semester? What were you doing in the previous five?" Kiran drawled, not at all amused.

"That's exactly my point," the Punjabi girl clapped her hands, excited to share the new found discovery with her friends. "We study about diseases in our class, their causes and symptoms, their risk factors and the foods to consume and those to avoid, but our course is so hectic and so stressful that I finally understood the purpose of all this knowledge. Stress is a major risk factor in all of the lifestyle diseases, and we're also taught the importance of good nutrition, but while we're learning all this, they shove deadlines down our throat, throw in a hundred assignments, amidst which we don't find the time to eat and we're constantly stressed. Which means, by the end of this semester, if we make it out alive, that is, all the knowledge we're studying for patients, we'll get to apply it for ourselves because obviously, we're a hairsbreadth away from developing heart diseases, hypertension or diabetes!"

At the end of Amrit's rant, Kiran slowly clapped for her friend's apt theory while Rufaida burst into a fit of giggles at the exaggeration.

"I second that, truth has been finally spoken," Kiran agreed.

"Amrit," Rufaida started, "I know it's hectic, but you don't have to be so dramatic about it."

"Easy for you to say," she accused, "You love the subject after all."

"And that's what I've always been telling you," she encouraged, "Do something that you love."

"Please also tell my parents that," she deadpanned. "They wanted me to become a doctor, and when I couldn't get a seat, by the way, thank God for that, they pushed me in a paramedical field."

"What have you decided then?" Kiran finally questioned, "What are you planning to do with your life?"

"What I'm going to do is of little importance, you tell me something, Kiran," she started. "What are you going to do about Gaurav?"