Utopia

  • 28 Sep - 04 Oct, 2019
  • Nadeem Alam
  • Fiction

Amber had been talking to Adnan on a social media messenger for almost six months now. They both lived in the same city. He was good looking and funny. He had recently completed MBA from one of the best universities in the city. He lived in Clifton with his parents. His father was in the business of imports and exports. He was now in the process of establishing his own firm. They both were of the same age. She had completed masters in psychology and was working part time in an afternoon clinic. Last night, she logged into the messenger and found his message, “I want to meet you.” She could not think of an appropriate response and replied back, “I will call you tomorrow.”

She had not yet told him her real name. To her, it was merely a casual relationship which was now getting into a serious phase. She thought for a while, considered the pros and cons, and then decided to call him. He had given his cell phone number to her since their first interaction on a social media site but she had refrained from calling him till now. “What if he is pretending to be some pretty guy with a lucrative background? What if he is some old bald man? What if he is a kidnapper or a blackmailer?” There were so many apprehensions. She belonged to a conservative family and never had a boyfriend before. She had only concentrated on her education. Her friend Nida had told her stories which made her blush. She used to think that how a girl can go out with a strange man to unknown places, accept gifts and do intimate stuff. Her life was about to change too as she picked up her phone and dialed his number for the very first time.

“Hello….” She heard his sweet voice. They had been sending voice messages to each other but had never talked directly before. Words got stuck in her throat. Her throat and lips dried up. She was trying to control her nervousness but then she heard her fake name, “Ambreen, is it you?” How relaxed he was and here she was getting so panicky. She could not even utter a single word and disconnected the call. “How the hell did he know it was me?” Her heartbeat got raised. “Now he has my number too.” She was getting worried when her phone started ringing. His name was flashing on the screen. She was at the clinic and the doctor had not yet arrived. There was no patient either. She was all alone at the reception. The peon was sitting outside. “What would I tell him if he insists to meet?” She did not attend the call.

The phone had stopped ringing. There was pin drop silence and she could hear the clock ticking. It was half past four. She was just staring at the phone when it started ringing again. She almost jumped up from her seat and anxiously looked around. There was nobody to see her funny postures. She immediately calmed down. She had conversed with men at several occasions. She had spoken to them on the phone and in person too but not in some romantic way. She cut off the call and put her phone on silent mode. He neither called her again nor sent any SMS. “Why is he not calling me again and again? Is he such a nice gentleman?” She had heard of so many online relationships based on false credentials which ended up badly. She was repenting the time when she had decided to call him. “I will change my number,” she thought and got relaxed. That night she did not even log into the messenger.

“What is wrong with you?” It was her mother who had noticed her absent mindedness. “I am all right mother. There is nothing wrong with me,” she replied while cleaning the spilled milk from the kitchen counter. Her mother was all that she had. Her father passed away a couple of years ago but had left enough for them to spend a respectable life. She was still standing in the kitchen, lost in her imaginations when she heard her mother’s voice, “Bushra Apa has brought a good proposal for you.” Amber pretended like she did not hear anything. Her mother’s voice this time was loud and piercing, “I will not let this opportunity slip away this time. Ali is a good boy. He is earning a handsome amount of money and the family seems nice too. They are coming tonight at 7 pm. I have given them my consent.”

Amber refused to meet them like she did on so many occasions before. This time, mother did not budge, “I have asked your choice a thousand times. If you will not tell me then I will choose a match for you. They are coming tonight, whether you like it or not!” Mother left her stranded in the kitchen.

“How can I marry a man I’ve never met before? Am I some commodity that my mother is trying to sell to the highest bidder? I will not let my mother make decisions for my future.” She started doing her own self assessment. There was nothing wrong with her. She just had her own ideals and principles. She realised that this time, the situation is much worse than she had anticipated. Her mother had already consented to a proposal. She needed to act fast. She decided once again to call Adnan. He was the only one who could rescue her from this situation.

“Can you help me, please?” She sent him a message. “Tell me how?” He replied instantly. She gave him the clinic address and asked him to come and meet her at 4 pm. “Adnan is the only person who can save you this time otherwise you are a gone case now,” Nida had told her discreetly. Desperate times need desperate measures. She had finally decided to give him a chance.

The clocked turned to four as he walked in the clinic. There was one couple already sitting in the waiting room. He came in and quietly sat on one side. She looked at him from nook of her vision glasses but remained busy in a file. After about 10 minutes, she received a call on the intercom and then she walked up to the couple and said, “Doctor will see you now.” She guided them in the doctor’s room, then came back and looked at him. He was still sitting there. “When will my doctor see me?” He asked with an intriguing smile on his face. He was cute and funny. She knew that already. She had seen hundreds of his pictures on his social media account but had never shared her own picture. “You can come and sit here,” she pointed towards a seat placed in front of her table and corrected her hijab. “You are more beautiful than I had imagined,” he said whisperingly. She started blushing and while biting her lips, she looked up, “And you are more naughty than I know.” They both exchanged smiles.

“How can I help you?” He wanted to deal with the serious stuff first.

“My mother wants me to get married.” She looked at him helplessly still biting her lips.

“I am sure your mother must have picked up a perfect match for you,” he was teasing her now.

“But I don’t know anything about that person. How can I agree to spend the rest of my life with him?” Her eyes got flooded with tears. She started shivering.

He grasped her hand, took a deep breath and said, “Will you marry me?”

She was stunned for a moment. Then she looked up at him. She knew him quite a bit. They had chatted a lot about their personal lives, their common interests and their likes and dislikes. She needed sometime. “Can you wait for my reply till tonight?” said Amber. He held her hand tight, “I can wait till eternity.”

She reached back home before seven. Mother was already waiting for her. “Freshen up and get ready. The guests will be here any moment.” She looked at her mother with loving eyes. She hugged her and then in a very calm and passionate tone she said, “I told you mother, I am not marrying some stranger guy.” With teary eyes, mother held her face in her old shaky hands, “Then who do you want to marry, my child. Tell me and I will do as you say?”

This time Amber was sure, “I want to marry Adnan.” Mother looked in her eyes and then kissed her forehead, “Tell him to send his parents here.” Amber shook her head with a big smile on her face. All her stress, tension and anxiety disappeared in thin air.

It was 7:30 pm when the doorbell rang. They had almost forgotten about the guests who had now arrived. Mother and daughter did not know what to do next. They both looked at each other. “We can’t send them back from the door. It will be rude.” Mother immediately thought of something. She told Amber to stay in her room and went to open the door. She had in mind to just offer a cup of tea to the guests as it was planned. She planned to tell them that Amber was not home yet. She had to go to see her cousin who had fallen sick and was hospitalised.

Amber was sitting in her room and concentrating on the voices coming out of the drawing room. They were seated hardly 10 feet away and her room fan was switched off as well. She could hear the conversation clearly. Ali’s mother was saying, “We belong to a humble background. Ali’s father is a vehicle mechanic. Ali could not continue his studies after BA and is now helping his father at his workshop. We are earning a respectable living and seeking a suitable match for our son.” Ali’s sister continued, “It is very unfortunate that we could not meet Amber. Now you should visit our house.” The other sister continued, “Bushra Khala has praised your family so much. She told us that Amber is just like a fairy. I so wanted to meet my future sister-in-law.”

The plan seemed to be working perfectly till Ali spoke up, “In which hospital is Amber’s cousin admitted?”

Her heart jumped up to her throat. She forgot to breathe. She had recognised his voice. “How could it be? How was it possible?” It was surely Adnan’s voice. He had asked her to marry him just two hours ago and he is here sitting in someone else’s home asking another girl’s hand.

She was still wearing the work clothes when she walked into the drawing room. She stood at the door and took a quick look on the guests. There he was sitting with his mother and two sisters. He was also wearing the same clothes but he was mesmerised. He was holding a samosa in his hand which was half the way to his mouth. He was frozen. It seemed like he has seen a ghost. Bushra Khala must have given them her old picture of college days when she did not wear hijab and vision glasses. That seemed to be the reason he did not recognise her at the clinic.

Amber’s mother was astonished as it was not a part of the plan. Ali’s mother and sisters were surprised too at her entry in the room without any footwear or headgear. Ali regained his senses immediately. He stood up from his seat and wanted to say something but she spoke before him, “I want you people to leave at once.” Without hearing anything else, she walked back to her room and threw herself on the bed. She knew now for sure that internet is a world of lies, scams and deceit. The real world is not so perfect.

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