Bullet

When Shafqat returned from office he found there were guests in the house. They were women who were sitting in the big room. Shafqat’s wife, Aysha was busy entertaining them. When Shafqat entered the courtyard, his wife came out and said, “Aziz Sahib’s wife and their daughters have come.”

Shafqat took off his hat and wiped sweat from his forehead.
“Which Aziz Sahib?”

Aysha suppressed her voice and said, “Ha’aye, your father’s friend.”

“O, Aziz uncle.”

“Yeah, yeah the same.”

Shafqat said with a slight surprise, “But he was in Africa.”
Ayasha put her finger on her lips, “Talk a little quietly. You start shouting…He was in Africs, can’t he come back?”

“Now you have started picking on me.”

Aysha looked inside the room. “Aziz Sahib is in Africa but his wife has come to get her daughter married. She is looking for a suitable match.”

Aziz’s wife spoke from inside. “Aysha, why have you stopped Shafqat? Let him come..Come on Shafqat, my son..I am seeing you after a long time.”

“I am coming dear auntie.” Shafqat put his hat on the stand and entered the room. “My regards, dear auntie.” Aziz’s wife stood up and wished him well. She touched his head with her hand and then sat down.

When Shafqat started to sit down, he noticed that two beautiful girls were sitting on the sofa. One of them was younger than the other. Both of them resembled each other. Aziz Sahib was an impressive personality which was equally shared by both of them. Their eyes were blue like their mother’s and they had long brown hair. Both of them had two pigtails. The younger one’s face was brighter than the elder’s. The elder’s face was quite serious. Their mother prompted them, “Greet your brother, beta.” The younger one stood up and complimented Shafqat; the elder kept sitting and paid her respect.

Shafqat responded appropriately. And then they started talking endlessly about Aziz Sahib and Africa. They talked about Tanganyika, Dar-el-Salam, Uganda. They discussed the fruits; which fruits are good and where.

The younger daughter said, “The fruits in India are quite bad.” “No, no. Not quite, provided it’s the proper season,” Shafqat tried to defend India.

“It’s wrong,” the younger one sneered. “Ammi Jaan, the oranges that you bought from the market yesterday, can they compete with the African machang?’

The girls’ mother said,” Shafqat beta, they are right. Indian oranges are no match for African machang.

Aysha asked the younger one, “Tal’at, What is this machang? The name is quite weird.”

Tal’at smiled, “Aapa, it’s a fruit like orange and sweet lemon…It’s so delicious that I can not describe… and the juice…you squeeze one of them and it will fill this glass that is sitting on this table.”

Shafqat looked at the glass and tried to guess the size of the fruit. “Can one machang really fill such a big glass?”
Tal’at answered proudly, “Yes sir.”

Hearing this, Shafqat said, “This fruit must be very big.”

Tal’at nodded her head. “No sir..it’s neither big nor small.. It is just the size of Indian big orange…. The good about it is that it has so much juice…And mother, how about the African pineapple…its slice is nearly equal to the size of a chapatti.”

They kept talking about pineapple for quite some time. Tal’at was very talkative. She loved Africa. She loved everything African. The elder girl whose name was Nighat, kept quiet. She did not participate in this conversation.
Noticing that she did not speak, Shafqat addressed her, “You probably are not interested in these things.”

Nighat opened her lips, “No sir, I have been listening with quite an interest.”

Shafqat said, “But you didn’t say anything.”

Aziz’s wife said, “Shafqat beta, her temperament is like this.”

Shafqat said rather informally, “Auntie..the girls of her age shouldn’t like to keep quiet. Why is that she remains tongue-tied?” Then he addressed Nighat, “You will have to speak dear.”

With a slight shy smile,, Nighat said, “I am speaking, dear brother.”

Shafqat smiled. “Do you like pictures?”

Nighat lowered her eyes and said, “Yes, I do.”

“So get up, I’ll show you my album, It’s in the other room.” He got up and said, “Come.”

Aysha squeezed Shafqat’s hand. He turned and looked quizzically at his wife. She gave some hint through her eyes but Shafqat did not get it. He was wondering why his wife pressed his hand and squinted. He was still pondering when Tal’at got up. “Let us go Bhai jaan…I love seeing others’ albums…I have a collection too.”

Shafqat kept showing pictures to Tal’at. Tal’at kept talking as was her habit. Shafqat’s mind was somewhere else. He was thinking about Nighat: Why was she so quiet? Why didn’t she come with her to see the pictures? When he asked her to come, why Aysha pressed his hand and what was the meaning of her squint?”

When they finished seeing the pictures, Tal’at picked up the album and said, “I’ll show them to Baji; she is very fond of collecting the pictures.”

Shafqat was about to ask her that if she was interested, why didn’t she come along? But in the mean while, Tal’at picked up the album and left the room.

When Shafqat entered the big room, he saw that Nighat was looking at the pictures with interest. She was pleased to see every picture.

Aysha was busy talking to the girls’ mother. Shafqat watched them with slanting eyes. Nighat’s face which was wrapped up in a mist of seriousness before was now happy. It was as if the pictures which were quite artistic were giving her pleasure. Her eyes were now bright. But when she saw a picture of a horse and a healthy woman, their brightness was dimmed. She had a slight sigh in her heart and it died down there.

Having seen the pictures, Nighat looked towards Shafqat and said lovingly, “Thank you, Bhai Jaan.”

Shafqat took the album from Nighat’s hand and put it on the mantle piece. His head was puzzling. It seemed to him that some big secret was attached with her life. He thought may be it was an unfulfilled romance or some psychological incident.

When tea was brought, he said to Nighat, “Come make the tea…This is ladies’ privilege.” Nighat kept her quiet but Tal’at stood up and said, “Bhai Jaan, I’ll make it.”
Nighat’s face was again engulfed by mist. Shafqat’s curiosity kept increasing. Once when he looked towards Nighat closely, she became uncomfortable. Shafqat repented in his heart as to why he did it.

They talked about many things while drinking tea. Mostly Tal’at participated in the discussion. When they were talking about tennis, she told Shafqat with exaggerated pride that she was number one player in Nairobi and had won some fifteen to twenty trophies….Nighat was completely silent. Her silence was quite sad. It was absolutely clear to her that she was not saying any thing. One thing that Shafqat noted was that Aziz’s wife ‘s love was mostly towards Nighat. She offered cream rolls lovingly to Nighat with her own hands. She gave her her own hankie to wipe her face. Whatever she said to her had a touch of love. It seemed as if by just talking to her, she was touching her head with her hand lovingly.

When they were departing, Aziz’s wife got up, picked up her burqa and embraced Aysha. She prayed for Shafqat and reaching Nighat said with loving and tearful eyes, “Come beta, let us go.” Tal’at got up abruptly. Aziz’s wife raised one arm of Nighat and Tal’at raised the other. Like this, they got her up. Shafqat noticed that her lower body was lifeless.

Shafqat was stunned and when he came to himself, he felt a streak of pain inside himself. Nighat was taking uncertain steps with the support of her mother and sister. She brought her hand near her forehead and complimented to Shafqat and Aysha. Shafqat felt as if her hand gave him a blow at his heart. Her secret was all clear to him now. He thought why God is so unkind….Such a beautiful girl and so cruel and a merciless treatment with her!...After all what wrong had she done for which she was so cruelly punished.

All of them went away. Aysha went all the way with them to outside to bid them good bye. Shafqat couldn’t help but thinking philosophically. In the mean time, Shafqat’s friends came and he could not talk to her wife about Nighat. He was so busy playing cards with his friends that he forgot Nighat and her illness. At the nightfall when Aysha called him for dinner through the servant, he felt guilty that he had forgotten Nighat just for the sake of his game. He mentioned this to Aysha as well. But she said, “You eat first, we can talk about it later on.”

The husband and wife slept together. After their marriage, they didn’t sleep in separate beds even for a night. And it was six years when they got married. Yet they didn’t have a baby so far. The doctors suggested that there was something wrong with Aysha which could be corrected by an operation. Aysha was scared of the operation. Both of them were leading a very good life without any grief between them.

When they lay in the bed together, Shafqat thought of Nighat. He asked his wife, “Aysha, what is the matter with poor Nighat?” She said with a sigh, “She was a little three years doll when she had a fever and got paralysed in the lower body.” Shafqat felt a great deal of sympathy in his heart for Nighat. He clung to Aysha’s back and said, “Aysha, why is God so cruel?”

Aysha didn’t say any thing. Shafqat recollected the events of the day. “When I had said to her, come I show you the album, did you press my hand for this reason?…” “Yes, yes…you were saying again and again…” “By God, I didn’t know.”

“She is very conscious that she is not whole.”

“Your saying this is like an arrow which you have plunged in my heart.”

“When she came, by God I was pained very much…The poor girl needed to piss. Her mother and sister went with her. They undid her trousers…afterwards they tied them…How beautiful she is….when sitting…no body can guess that she is paralysed.”

“She is very intelligent.”

“Yeah?”

Her mother told, “Nighat said she wouldn’t get married. She would remain unwed.”

Shafqat remained silent for a while and then said, “so, she knows nobody would like to marry her.”

Aysha moved her fingers in the hair on his chest and said, “Shafqat, who would marry a paralysed girl?”

“No, No. Aysha, don’t say this.”

“Who can give such a great sacrifice Mr. Shafqta?”

:Yeah, you’re right.”

“She is beautiful, she is the daughter of well off parents…it’s alright but…”

”I understand…but…”

“The men don’t have any sympathy in their hearts.”

Shafqat turned and said, “Don’t say it, Aysha.”

Aysha also turned and confronted him. “I know. Find a man who is prepared to marry this poor girl.”

“I don’t know, but..”

“She is the older sister. How much grief the poor girl must be feeling that they are trying to arrange the marriage of her younger sister instead…”

“You are telling the truth.”

Aysha heaved a long sigh and said, “Will she commiserate like this all her life?”

“No.” Saying this, Shafqat got up and sat in his bed.

Aysha asked him, “What do you mean?”

“You sympathize with her?”

“Why not?”

“Take an oath of God and then say.”

“Ha’ay! Is this something for which I should swear by God? Every one must be feeling sympathy for her.”

Shafqat kept quiet for a few moments and then said, “I’ve thought of something.”

Aysha expressed happiness and then said, “What?”

“I have always thought that you’re a very high-minded person and now you’ve proved my thought to be correct….I..May God make my intention firm…I’ve made up my mind to marry Nighat….You’ll receive complete reward for it from God.”

There was a spell of silence for some time and then there was an explosion.

“Mr. Shafqat, I’ll pump a bullet in her…if you married her.”
Shafqat felt as if he had received the bullet and his dead body fell in her lap.