A Page Left Blank

Chapter 5: An Incidental Exchange

13th March, 2019

"Allah does not look at your appearance or your wealth, but He looks at your hearts and your deeds."

[Narrated by Muslim]

Chapter 5: 

An Incidental Exchange

"How many exchanges of sugar do we recommend for a diabetic?"

"None."

"What do you mean none? Are we nutritionists or oppressors? How can we tell our patients you're not allowed sugar at all?"

Facepalming at Amrit's logic, Rufaida turned to look at her friend. "The food they consume every day has enough carbohydrates, so we don't recommend consuming sugar as such," she explained.

"Oh! So how many pieces of cake are they allowed in a day?"

When Rufaida stared at her blankly, she gave her a confused look. "What? Now don't tell me we're not allowed to give them cake also?"

"Tell me something, Amrit," Rufaida started, "Are you giving them a diet chart to follow or are you giving them a paper with random tables drawn on it, entirely insignificant, so they can use it as a paper plate to rest their piece of cake?"

"Why so much trouble? They might as well throw that in the bin and head to a bakery," Kiran suggested.

"Nice idea," Amrit nodded, joining in the sarcasm. "Which reminds me," she started, "I'm craving a sundae. Cake, ice cream and chocolate sauce, topped with berries! Ah, who's coming with me down the lane after college to have one?"

"Count me in," Kiran encouraged. When Rufaida was silent, she questioned, "What about you, Rufi?"

"You guys carry on, I'll pass."

"You hardly come out to eat with us," Amrit complained.

Rufaida only smiled at her comment, agreeing to the truth. But what Amrit didn't know was that Rufaida had limited pocket money because her mum couldn't afford to give her a lavish allowance. She always told her daughter to ask if she needed more, but Rufi knew how difficult it was to make ends meet, so she saved on every penny. While it was normal for other girls her age to indulge in tasty snacks with friends after college, it was a treat Rufaida let herself enjoy only occasionally.

She often wondered if people knew their normalcy was someone else's blessing, but she was already aware of the answer. When people are accustomed to having things the easy way, they believe they're entitled to the luxuries, oblivious of the gratitude that has left their hearts.

"Come for some time, it'll be fun," Kiran insisted.

"No, actually I have a few guests coming home tonight. I'll have to rush back home to help Nani," she covered up.

"Fine," her friends sighed, not pushing it further.

Lectures and submissions kept them occupied for the rest of the day and before she knew it, the last bell for the day chimed in their ears. Cramming through the crowded passage, as Rufaida hopped off the bus, she almost tripped on her abaya, before she picked up the hem and made her way towards home.

"Assalamu Alaikum," she greeted, mildly surprised to see the sparkling house before her. The creaked part of the walls, the areas where the paint was chipping off earlier was now skillfully covered with a few wall hangings, hidden behind vases. The dust coated glass top table was now scrubbed clean, placed in the middle of the small living room, surrounded by sofas, with a decent cover. It was an obvious attempt to match high society standards, and this is the most they could do. It was a habit derived from the middle-class mentality, where people believed aiming for perfection was useless, so they tried to do something at least. Something was better than nothing after all. No one over here could afford sophistication, but they tried hard to duplicate it.