Short Story – The Arranged Marriage
Photo credit: clarita from morguefile.com
The Arrange Marriage
The day before her marriage, Anita a beautiful Pakistani girl sneaked out of the house to meet her secret lover, Abdul. Kissing and making out, talking about the marriage arranged for her by her parents In the Audi car far away from eyes that may know them. Talking about the future and dream they wish to have together. In a traditional muslim family, Anita had always been the rebellious, clubbing and drinking alcohol and taking drugs. She has two younger sisters but they are not of marriage age both called Asma and Amena. She is a beautiful woman, the crazy boys always attracted her. the rebellious like Abdul Malik, the street fighter and rough smooth talker and illegal contacts all over, a dangerous corrupt muslim to follow. They love to go to Shisha and sit down and make out, they love to cause trouble and be loud and get away from there religion which is Islam.
‘I’m planning something, to get far away from this town’ Abdul spoke
‘But I’m getting married’ Anits spoke scared
‘I, know I am asking you to run away with me, when I prepare everything to run away, from this town and people, it will just be me and you and everyone we know’ Abdul blasts
She felt butterflies in her stomach and not the good ones, she was arranged to get married to a good person, not a bad looking person and a good job and payment all round. Anita being 20 and her future husband Rakib Mohammed just on 22, Abdul Malik was 25 his parents are unknown and his back ground is but a mist in the clouds. He parks the car near her home but just good enough for no one to see and she sneaks home lying that she had gone to the ‘shop’ and gone up stairs and locked her room, she spoke to Abdul all night planning her escape after just when she gets married to Rakib, to just mysteriously leave with Abdul. She hated Islam and didn’t like the prophet all to well, she hated the strictness on women and what they had to do and dress like. Her family her cousins, coming from all over to see her get married and the day of marriage was just a day away. She had seen pictures of her future husband, 6ft1 and a nice weight, Abdul was just on 5ft11 and scratch marks and wounds from fighting on the streets. The cocky attitude and gangsta dress sense and music to to intimidate any good fellow.
The day went fast, they got married on the stage and her father cried as her daughter had left her to a good man and the food was flowing and Abdul Malik in the corner just acting as a stranger, her family allowed to go to any holiday they want, but Anita didn’t want to she wanted to stay home. Both the groom and bride were from rich back grounds, they had a 6 room house to live in together, she had a gotten a text from Abdul ‘stay with him for a bit, I’ll be back for ya when everything is prepared for us when we runaway’, she didn’t want to wait but she forced her self to for the sake of her future. She definitely had it in her mind she wasn’t going to sleep with him but it was going to be a rocky ride.
The first 120 days
She would always wake up with breakfast on her lap, he didn’t treat her really bad or force her to work in the kitchen or anything she had heard of or seen in the movies. She wasn’t talking to him but just ignoring him and waiting for Abdul’s call. He would do all the dishes and had a great sense of humour but she will always be silent.
‘you don’t talk much do you?’ Rakib questioned
‘I do’ Anita spoke straight up
The first week was hard for her, all she did mostly is sleep and think about escaping, then he came into the room and suggested they go out somewhere, they lived in London and there were many things they could have done. They had lots of money they could have travelled all over the world, but the most surprising thing was he didn’t come forward to her about a baby, like she heard he would have done by now. They went to a forest a beautiful forest, it was an half hour drive to epping forest from stansted. They walked and rakib talked on and on, he loved walking in forests and going travelling around the world and he would talk on and on about his life, then suddenly anita felt a sudden urge to laugh because rakib was a very comedic person, fantastic humour, She tried to resist but she bursts out laughing, this was the first time she had laughed or rakib had seen her happy and smile. She was always grumpy and sad, he had a thought at the back of his head, she didn’t like him.
‘Oh and it laughs’ rakib spoke
She quickly stopped and restrained her self again, she didn’t know her future husband would have a sense of humour and as days gone by she started to actually, like rakib. He was a fantastic cook, even better than anita’s mother. Rakib owned a lot of succeful businesses and restaurant’s and shisha bars and he had other people to run it for him so he was home 24/7, day by day anita started to fall in love with the nice guy rakib, his humour and cooking and his adventorous side, wasn’t fighting or drugs or being ina gang but they travelled and seen the eiffel tower and the egyption pyramids in quick holiday get aways. But abdul still had anita under his spell, checking her phone for his call but she started to like her husband. She had under estimated rakib as being extremely traditional but he was fun and loving. Rakib was a young businessman and a very talented one as well.
The call
She had the call finally, but something inside of her was telling her not to go, she was making a big mistake. Abdul telling her to qucikly come out in the middle of the night and leave her husband and run away. Something didn’t feel right anymore and she didn’t think the same anymore. Abdul rushing her and on the urge of shouting.
‘Come on lets go, I’ve set up everything, were going manchester i ahve got pals over there that have helped me with a house and a job, come on anita i did this for you!’ Abdul urging quickly
She was nearly in tears, not knowing what to do, she went upstairs and looked at her husband a sleep and kissed him in the forehead and said ‘goodbye rakib, i’m going to miss you’ and packed only minimal clothing as abdul promised her new clothes as they get to manchester. As she got in the car and they drove for 4 hours, abdul wasn’t speaking much and when they got to manchester, the house was small and dirty and not as big or clean as the one she had, she straight away started to miss her old life. she didn’t feel as rebellious as she did then but she carried on forward.
As time went by, anita and abdul were never married but just together, her family were destrught and ashamed and rakib was truley upset. Abdul was violent towards her in any argument they ever had, he forced her to have sex and had a child by accident. abdul was a drug dealer ina gang, anita was always alone and she never truely did anything but cook and slave around the house, she missed the walks and going around the world and never really wanted to have a baby until she was 30. It was ironic to her, she thought racib was going to do these things to her but in the end, it was abdul but the worst part was it was her choice to be with abdul, not her pearent or any one but her own choice.
Anita never went back to her family and racib re-married to another beautiful woman and they travelled and had fun in the world, in thier riches.
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