Fated

Ch. 3

'Hi, there' I knocked on Anum's door before walking inside.

'Maya...you don't have to knock, you can come in anytime' She turned around and walked towards me.

'I was expecting you' She said to me when she offered me a seat.

'I ran into your mother downstairs' I told her.

'No wonder it took you so long to get to my room' She laughed. Her mother was a chatter and I also considered myself a talker, so we clicked right away.

'She's great...she has so many interesting stories to tell' I told her.

'Yes, I think its kind of her defense mechanism...ever since I got back home, she has been trying to cheer me up...looking after me all the time' Anum said and I saw a glimpse of pain appear in her eyes. I didn't know what to say.

'If you don't mind me asking...what happened to your husband?' I looked at her and waited.

'Car accident...he was on his way to pick me up for dinner after work when he got into an accident with a truck' Her eyes stayed on the blank white wall ahead of us.

'Then I stayed with my in-laws for few months after his death, but it became too difficult for me there...whenever I looked at his family...I somehow felt responsible, so I came back home' She added.

'Did your in-laws...?' I started but she answered before I could finish the question.

'No...no, they didn't say anything to me...but I felt like a burden. They lost their son and I stayed you know...whenever they saw me, they thought of their son who was no longer there' She explained.

'How are you doing now?' I wanted to know.

'It gets better with time, but some memories stay with you...and he was a kind man, he gave me so many great memories, I really lived my best life while I was with him. After he passed away, I thought I died with him...I thought my life was over but then I don't know what pulled me out of that...maybe seeing my parents and Zain breaking... I knew I had to be strong for them...and with time I learned that no matter what happens...no matter how cruel the world gets, everything still moves and lives and I can't escape from it...I am just glad that my family is okay now' Her voice cracked and it broke my heart.

'You have your whole life ahead of you Anum' I extended my hand and placed it over hers.

'Life...what a puzzle it is sometimes' She sighed.

'Shall we start unboxing?' She offered, trying to change the subject

We started unboxing the boxes and decorating her room. Most of the stuff in her room was simple and in plain colors, unlike my room which looked as if a unicorn threw up in it.

'You should see my room, it's so different from yours' I told her while setting up her dresser.

'I can imagine...besides colors suits you more' She said to me while trying to hang up a painting of a beautiful lavender field on the wall.

'Colors suits everyone' I went to her and helped her hang the picture.

'I got you something' I told her and opened my bag and took out a bag of beautiful 3D butterflies in different colors to put on the wall.

'Can I put these near the painting?' I asked her. She took a good look at her and finally nodded.

'You know I read somewhere that butterflies represent change and hope...isn't that beautiful?' I told while putting on the butterflies.

'Thank you, Maya' Anum gave me a warm hug after we finished sticking on the butterflies. They looked magical.

'Oh wow, the room is turning out so good' Just then Jamila aunty came into the room with a tray of samosas and tea.