CHAPTER 2 - THE BACKSTORY - ALIZA

 

Aliza is the middle child of her family, with two older siblings and two younger ones. She did not always get her parents' attention because the oldest or the youngest sibling often stole it. She was mostly brought up by her oldest sister, Razia, who made sure she bathed, ate, and went to school on time. After Razia's marriage, her next older sibling Fahim brought home his wife, who had sworn to taunt Aliza all her life. Her younger twin siblings Samir and Ameera were at school, and they often stayed outdoors playing. So Aliza grew up to be the one taking care of her siblings while also managing to thrive herself.

After finishing high school, she wanted to join college because her friends were also planning to, and they said studying in college will help a lot in the future. She was also the captain of her school's volleyball team and was a tough player. Aliza thought she could pursue her ambitions after school if she managed to convince her father. But her relatives had other ideas. While someone brought home pictures of the prospective groom for her, some came home just to persuade her parents in convincing why sending daughters to college would be a disaster. They said mixing is common in colleges these days and makes women do crazy things. They quoted examples of their distant nieces and nephews who had eloped with their college sweethearts but deliberately omitted the stories of those who became teachers and government officers. 

Aliza cried during the night and refused to eat during the day. She protested for what seemed like an eternity, but it had only been three days since her father said it was not appropriate for women to go to college. 

‘Can't I just go to a women's college then, abba?’ Aliza's father thought for a second before her mother interrupted again.

‘Now, what will you achieve by studying further anyway?’

‘Ammi, I like studying, and I am good at math. My teachers say that I have a bright future and I shouldn't give up on it.’

‘These teachers have no other work. Are they the ones who are going to get you married? You think they are more worried about your future than us?’

‘Ammi, what's the hurry for marriage now? I am just 17, and it isn't legal to get me married off.’

‘You see what those witches have made you. You are teaching us what is legal and what isn't. If this is the case now, what will happen if you study further?’

Aliza's father was silently watching the banter going on. He was a man of few words. He wanted to send Razia to law college, but she just wouldn't retain what she studied, and she failed to clear her SSLC, which was the end of her schooling. Fahim somehow got into engineering and was able to find a job for himself. He wanted to send Aliza to college too, if not for one of his old friends he met one day in the office with news that Aliza was seen playing with boys on the school ground. But all Aliza did was pass on the ball that had come beyond the boundary line. 

Passing on the ball became playing with boys, which transcribed into she played with boys all evening, and then became she played with just one particular boy. Aliza's father was worried and decided that she would be married off after a year for good and did not even budge after her fasting protest. Aliza gave up and agreed in the end. She waited and waited and waited for the man of her dreams until Ahmed came home for the bride seeing. After three years of shared rejections and heart breaks, she finally met the man she wanted in her life. Ahmed was tall and had deep eyes and was working with an MNC, and she said 'yes' the moment he had looked her in the eyes. She knew he was meant to stay.

To be continued…

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