The Fallen Widow

18. Marriage Pact I

With her fists pressed against her ears, her face unveiled, Emaan sat in the dark basement with the taste of girt and dirt in her mouth. The firing had stopped for twenty minutes. Where was Adnan? Was he alive? Her heart pounded in fear.
"Choudhrani Sahiba!" Razia gasped for breath rushing down the steps. "They've gone! You can come out!"
"Adan!" She climbed to her feet. "How is he? Is he okay? Where is he?"
"He's fine! He's scared-but fine." She held her hand out for the frightened . With her face veiled, they made their way up into the haveli through the hallway. The walls of the haveli were bruised, light piercing through the bullet holes. Inside the courtyard, the flower pots were shattered into smithereens. Razia led her into the bettak where her grandparents sat around and her mother in an unsettling silence. The atmosphere was strange, and everyone was on edge, everyone was sat on anticipation that build up to a crescendo. Maybe it was hope? Maybe it was the promise of peace?

She flicked her veil over her face and made her way into the bettak. Inside Adnan sat next to his grandmother rocking forward and back pressing his fists to the side of his face. Emaan rushed beside him and stroked his back gently to calm his down.
"It's over, Adnan." She assured him in a soft, calm voice. "It's over."
The terrified young boy was unable to settle, the aftershocks of the attack reverberated through him.
"Razia, go take him into the kitchen. Tell them to make kheer for him." Reshma ordered the maid.  Reshma needed to talk to her granddaughter without the distraction of the young boy.
With  Adnan out of the way a heavy silence returned in the bettak. It was thick and uncomfortable. The sound of gunshots was better, thought Emaan. What was this loud silence? 

"Come sit down."  Reshma held her hand out to her beloved granddaughter, the symbol of peace. Emaan could hear an echo of the gunshot piercing the walls. Muzaamil held his gun firmly in his hand ready for a second attack unable to trust his brother's word.
"Was anyone hurt? Is everyone okay?"  Emaan asked her mother who sat stunted silence. It was strange, there was no panic; everyone froze. Gazing at the forlorn faces she feared the worse. On the plus side, everyone was alive,  Dilawar-Baksh retreated. But what caused this? He wasn't a merciful man what she knew of him.

"Everyone is okay." Reshma stroked her granddaughter's back calming her down. She placed her veiny hand in her granddaughters fresh, young hands.
"I have given my word to Peer Saab." Said  Muzaamil. He looked at his granddaughter and glared at her.
"Your granddaughter saved your life. Your brother would have murdered you. She is your shield." Reminded Reshma smiling at her beautiful granddaughter.
"Ammi, what is going on?" Emaan asked her mum.
"You are the future of this household, you will rule Jahanpur." Reshma gave a toothless smile. Her teeth decayed long ago, and her dentures were the bane of her life.
"I don't understand." Emaan looked at her mum for answers, but she was lost in thought planning the future.
"You will rule Jahanpur, beside Choudhary Shah Nawaz Qureshi."
Eman's cheeks flushed bright red as she looked at Razia who made her way into the bettak. Why was her grandmother aligning her name next to a strange man? She'd heard plenty about his escapades.
"You will bring peace between the households, my beti. You are our future."
The room held it's silence. All eyes looked upon Emaan. Her life of dedication to the holy Quran paid off. She saved everyone's lives today.
"You-" She framed her face with her hands. "My granddaughter, Emaan will enter a nikah with Shah-Nawaz  and become his wife."
Emaan's heart pounded shifting her body back, away from her grandmother's hold. She bowed her eyes in modesty.
"I have given my word to Peer Saab." Her grandfather glared at his blushing granddaughter.
"The panchayat will overrule your decision. This marriage is for the best to secure the future of Jahanpur. If Emaan marries  Shah-Nawaz our walls will no longer be pierced by their gun shots. She will do what my son was endowed to do." Reshma gazed at her granddaughter with love and smiled.
"I don't understand." Emaan shifted back away from her grandmother. "You promised me to Peer Saab and this Shah-" Once again she paused with modesty. "They are our enemies Daadi. Why would you give me to your enemies?"
She looked at their faces in confusion. Her mother struggled to search for words.
"Your grandfather gave his word. But this proposal is better and rewarding and many benefits not just for us, but for the entire of Jahanpur. You will be the queen of Jahanpur. "
"They are our enemies. They killed my father and my uncle. How do you expect me to marry into their household? I'm confused." She stood up in shock.
"There is nothing to be confused about, beti." Her grandmother explained. "This is how our ancestors resolve disputes, we follow our traditions. The marriage of two households brings an end to the war." Reshma explained.
"What about me? My feelings? You have decided this and I-"
"Are you a fool girl?" Her mother finally managed to collect her words. "You saved us, you stopped all those men from raiding our home, killing us all. You did. Dilawar-Baksh walked away. That man is brutal. He never walks away from a battlefield. They would have shot Adnan." She neared her daughter. "He was in the middle of the battlefield. Shaking. shivering. Screaming. They stopped shooting. You alone saved him. Now you are asking about your feelings? You're alive! Thank Allah!" She threw her hands in the air.
"This marriage is your destiny. This is how we will end the sourness between two households. You will be queen of Jahanpur." She kissed her daughter's forehead giving her blessing.