The Pakistani Problems

CHAPTER TEN-A WOMAN WHO KNOWS REAL MEN

She lived all by herself, away from the crowds. The people called her a witch, a bad omen, and even wore a talisman to keep away from her evil spirit. They had banished her from their social circles. She was labelled as a whore.

The man climbed a flight of stairs as quietly as he could to avoid detection from keen public eyes. He slipped s five hundred rupees bank note under the door. He waited till he saw the shadow moving through the crevice near the door handle. She opened the door and smiled, and let him through. The apartment looked nice for a dilapidated building. It had the look like the owner had taken interest to maintain it at a decent level. The soft music filled the air as he sat on a chair at the table beside the kitchen. She rushed to the stove as the steaming curry sizzled. She looked over her shoulder and asked him politely in a well cultured manner if he was hungry. He nodded slightly, still looking around as if he was memorizing the structure. They ate dinner like they were best friends meeting after a long time. They laughed at silly things. He said that the egg gravy was delicious. She mentioned that things were getting expensive and he should bring a greater denomination of bank note and slip it under the door the next time he wishes to swing by. She insisted that she would cook better food. He took interest in every word she said. The entire scene appeared to be harmonious.

She was middle aged woman with a sagging bosom and mildly attractive face. She didn't appear seductive, neither did she try for she was dressed in simple decent clothes. She was well educated until she got married. She could not produce a child so she was divorced and abandoned by her family. She was twenty three years old then and continued pursuing degree in psychology. Her mother did not like that she stayed single. Her father had died accidentally before she could finish her program at the university. Her mother took medicine from a shaman and passed away in her sleep. She was the only child with the closest relative being her aunt in the United States of America.

He took a sip of tea and felt cozy. She brought a note pad and a fountain pen. She sat across from the dining table on an old fashioned couch. He slowly got up and moved onto a recliner positioned in an open area that served as a sitting area. She poured some more tea for herself and brought biscuits for him in tin foil tray for him.

He started talking about his day. It was just another ordinary day for him. He worked as a teacher. He felt peaceful talking about his problems that he would normally not talk to anyone. He feared being ridiculed by others that he was over sensitive. He was right that insensitive people didn't care about sensitive people. They devised plans to destroy mental peace. Pure evil he said. Not even his wife would listen to his concerns as she had left him. She earned more than him for his salary could barely afford the cost of living.

It was an oddly relieving moment for him to talk with an intelligent woman who could fill in his words and help him express his feelings. A woman who did not ignore him, nor mask his plight by piling on her grievances and unfulfilled demands like his wife had done. He ecstatically jumped up and reiterated that he felt peaceful talking about the problems he had bottled up inside him. She reassured him that it was pleasure that he felt comfortable.

She did her best to be nice to him. He left as he was getting sleepy. She hugged him and wiped off his teary eyes with her hands. After some time, she was done with her laundry. She sat down and pulled out her notepad. She recalled the moments from her recent past. He was honest about his feelings for he expressed to a great extent that he was feeling guilty for spending the time with a lady he had not married. He was worried if this idea was illicit and might lead to corruption surmounting to cheating his decent morally upright character. She happily noted that he did not want to abuse her but enjoyed talking to her as a friend which most couples missed in their relationship. She wore that she was glad to explore the possibility that she could communicate and bond with opposite sex without the need for sexual favors. This made her think about what she had missed in her own marriage. She questioned the legitimacy of anything and everything about life in general. Questions flew through her mind like the breeze through the window.

She got up to pour some tea and lit a cigarette. The thought crept into her mind that she was earning a living immorally. She knew that this man who had just gone home was married but separated his wife. However, she justified that she was not being intrusive. Rather, the man had come by his own free will. Why should she need to explain anybody that she was morally upright? Who is so purified enough to question other's morality?

She contemplated that being in majority doesn't qualify anybody as righteous. Because many people would oppose her perspective on life it doesn't give them a right to judge anyone. They may adhere to popular culture but being greater in number doesn't make anyone objectively truthful.

Gradually, she drifted into introspection. She began to think about her problems and didn't blame anybody but herself. She thought that marriage is a failed concept for one had to be selfish and the other had to be compromising to keep their partner's selfishness. She remembered that her husband was an honest man and did love her sincerely. He even tried to earn more and worked hard to improve their financial situation. But, her mother in law pressured him to divorce her. He did fight with his own family to keep her from becoming a victim to their open rejection but he gave up for she could not bear him a child.

She dozed off and woke up at four in the morning and wrote some more of her thoughts before retiring to the bed.