A Pride & Prejudice and Little Women retelling
Farrah Hussain spent a lifetime hating Salman Bashir. At least that's what she liked to believe. When one fateful summer Salman changes his bad boy ways and comes back a new man, Farrah can't stop the l...
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What began as a relationship between two individuals became a matter of conflict between two families.
The Bashirs were offended. The Hussains were at a loss. Rani kept getting endless calls from friends and relatives all day. Everyone wanted to know what happened and everyone had their opinions on the matter. Some even took the liberty to make their own versions of the story.
Some of Farrah's aunts sat her down one day in order to convince her to change her mind. They tried to explain that somethings needed to be overlooked if she ever planned on keeping a man, even if it meant swallowing her self-respect. She knew her father was so angry that he was even refusing to pick up her mother's calls.
Everyone was disappointed at her. Somehow Salman had emerged from the broken engagement a victim, and Farrah the villain; and her mother was receiving the brunt of it. Farrah started avoiding people. She deactivated her socials, avoided further events and spent her free time in isolation listening to podcasts. She buried herself in work more than ever.
She also spent a lot of time in the divan beside the window in her bedroom. She watched the trees outside, how the leaves gently swayed when a wind blew in. She learned that the baby sparrow she had seen hatch out of its egg was now all grown up and had left the nest. Farrah forced herself to focus on the miracles of Allah to keep her mind from driving her insane with the memories of the boy she grew up with.
Occasionally, Farrah would chat with Dahlia and Layla. She received comfort, however little, knowing she had their support. There were days when she picked up her phone randomly to check if she had any notifications from the friend she was yearning to talk to. But there were no calls from Malika.
She did come to visit Farrah once a couple days after her breakup with Salman.
They sat on the divan besides her window and had a long chat. Farrah talked and she listened. Malika didn't say much, but she had cried a lot. She was the only person who left the house without giving their opinion on the matter.
Farrah knew it was unfair to make Malika choose between her and her brother; but she desperately wished her friend would choose her and take her side. They were each other's oldest friends. Farrah couldn't recall a time when Malika didn't have her back. It was unbelievable that she couldn't count on that support in such a difficult period of her life.
Farrah consoled herself by thinking that when all of this was over, they would be best friends again. Malika would casually stroll into her room and say with an eye roll, "never understood what you saw in that jerk to begin with."
A more rational part of Farrah knew that their friendship would never be the same again - and that loss was just as devastating as the loss of her first love.
The one person who stood by her side through it all was her mother. Farrah couldn't fathom it. Rani firmly shielded her against the vicious talks of their society and from the disapproval of their relatives. And never - not even once - did she question Farrah's decision to end the engagement with Salman.
