Mahrukh

11. Nosey Neighbour's & Realizations

The sky was a shade of light blue mixed with a tint of white by the greatest painters of all. The sun up high placed in the centre of the universe. Not a single cloud clouded the sky. Warm winds touched the skin full of  sweat. Last night it had rained and the trees, that were free of soil were proof of that. Their green foilage more vibrant. However the rain had only caused the life of people to be more difficult. With the rain, humidity har increased however since there were no strong winds, the heat has become more unbearable. Miraculously, overnight the dark skies had become as crystal clear as Zain's love for Mahrukh.

The family of the late Sahir Sahab would usually stay amongst themselves however that did not mean that their interaction with the outside was zero. A lot of people had come to know about the rejection of Sajid. With there being a series of mixed reviews. Some clearly applauded Mahrukh for rejecting someone who did not show that the meeting held aby importance for him. And some thought that the real reason had been his skin tone.

As the famous urdu phrase goes " Jitnay moun utni baatein" (the more the tounges, the more the gossips). As soon as word had got out about the whole fiasco, women had begun talking. One of the neighbouring lady had called all other ladies over for brunch where all they discussed was Mahrukh. How she walked and talked. How she was running the household. And all other things that come under the moon. They may have been the wives of elite men, but they were at the end of the day Desi women. Who could not live without their daily dose of gossips. One woman, Mehru, who was particularly close to Zainab decided to visit their house.

Mehru was a woman in her late forties. With hair dyed brown with golden highlights. Her black beady eyes and thin lips were the highlight of her face. Thinly made eyebrows and dark purple lipstick was her signature style. Mehru, was an overweight woman who regardless of how the outfit would look on her would wear it. Doning a red embroidered shirt and black trousers, with a pair of black sandels, she headed to Zainab's home for lunch.

Arriving at around two pm. Mehru headed in the home like she owned it. Not greeting anyone in her way, she engulfed Zainab in her arms kissing both her cheeks in the obnoxious manner most do.
"Zainab you forgot me it seems,"
the woman in question looked at her friend. Dismissing her remark she spoke
"No Mehru. Its just that a lot has changed since Mahrukh became the owner".

It was time for Mehru to strike a nerve.
"Hmm... thats what evryone is talking about. That neice of yours... she's become very famous for being the owner of the home. Waisay why did your abba do this?"
(By the way)
The look of pain and anger that suddenly took over Zainab's face, Mehru knew her goal had been acheived.
"I don't know. That girl has done some magic on everyone. No one can hear a word against her. I wish she and her mother would leave our lives!"
Mehru hummed concentrating on the delicious  mutton kadahi that had been prepared by the woman the two were slandering. Coming to her main point Mehru spoke clearly to her friend
"Well leave that. Tell me why did they reject Sajid?"
Zainab taking this as an opportunity to have Mahrukh's reputation destroyed into tatters in the neighbourhood spoke in a  mischievous tone.
"That was all a lie to cover up. Mahrukh actually ahs an affair with a large number of boys. Even our Akbar. His wife, Amna cries all day long. May Allah save us from women like her!"
and then continued to eat as if she had just not slandered an innocent woman.

The rest of the day, the two friends spent talking and discussing people and ending their conversation with the typical "khair sanu ki" (oh well why should we care). As soon as Mehru had stepped foot out of the house she called up all her friends telling them what they had found out in a voice recording. However, she accidentally ended forwarding the voice note to Shifa as well.