THE moment both the bride and the groom stood for departure, the atmosphere of happiness and joy suddenly turned into sad and sober. It was my daughter’s wedding reception. I saw her husband, mother-in-law, father-in-law and others slowly guide her down the stage under the umbrella of Holy Quran. I felt a lump in my throat.
Standing in a corner I was watching the scene with unseeing eyes, as the whole film of my daughter’s life was also running in my mind. The day when she was born, when she had her first tooth, when she took the first step. I recalled the unending sleepless nights whenever she was sick. Her first day at school how badly she was crying and begging me not to leave her. How cruel I had felt at that time leaving her alone in school. For like that time so many years back, I now wanted to take her back with me similarly tonight. But I knew I could not.
Because as 20 years ago I had enrolled her in school and therefore could not take her back, in the same way now I had married her to this handsome guy and thus I did not have the right to ask her to come back. Now she belonged to him and his family. People who will take better care of her. Perhaps better than I did. I tried to console myself.
It was a long walk from stage to the exit, she was walking very slowly with her husband and to me it looked as if with each step forward, she was leaving every thing of her maiden life, including us who were her family, behind. She suddenly stopped at one point and I thought she wanted to turn back, No, you should not, I silently said because a new life full of happiness was waiting for you.
During her wedding I was playing the role of perfect hostess, but only knew well how totally I was lost in the past and present. Laughingly and smilingly I greeted the guests, but all the time I was remembering the times when I had harshly and rather cruelly treated her, taking out my own frustrations of early married life on her. I now wanted to ask her to forgive me since at that time I did not know how to handle a small child, when life was not bed of roses for me.
I also remembered the worst night of my life when she had an accident that injured her badly. It was a nightmare for us and I could still hear her screaming begging us to help her to take away the pain or to wake her up from that horrible dream, if it was a dream. How helpless we had felt at that time. That night for the first time I saw my husband covering his face with his hands and sobbing uncontrollably in the ambulance while going to the hospital. All of us were crying. She with pain and we for watching our precious child in such a bad condition. We had lost hope that night.
But today I watched proudly, when my husband walked holding her hand upto the stage and handed her to her husband. I asked from myself, could we even imagine this beautiful scene on that night, when she was operated for hours and had nearly a hundred stitches on her face and her jaw locked for six weeks? No we could not.
During the six weeks after the operation she could only sip as she could not open her mouth. How many types of soups I had invented using my own brain and expertise so that I could feed her properly everyday. With amazing patience she had spent the six weeks and returned to normal life of studying, eating, laughing, teasing and joking. She had again became a joy of our lives. Time really flew by and the day arrived when she married.
For nearly two months our house was the centre of attraction for everyone as it was bride’s house and meant for singing, dancing and laughter. It remained full of guests. I as a mother was expected to do everything and to please everyone. But can one person please everyone? No it is not possible, especially at the times of weddings when expectations are very high, whatever you do it is criticzed. People do not realize how much and how many times they hurt without any sensible reason. But I as a mother was not suppose to complain. My daughters and my sisters spent hours each night after the departure of guests sharing the good things, which happened that day as well as cruel and bitter words thrown to us. At certain times we laughed, but mostly cried together. My husband was already facing many fronts, therefore, we spared him from our agony and every next day we acted as if nothing happened with no sign of stresses which especially I as the mother was going through.
But now everything had come to an end. I was watching my daughter sitting in the car with her husband and we were saying goodbye with tears in our eyes. The wedding was over. But if on one hand it left many emotional scars, on the other hand it gave us the utmost pleasure and satisfaction that our daughter had gone to people who loved her so much.
No doubt she deserved this happiness and even more after going through so much pain and suffering in the past. May God protect her and any girl. I silently prayed with tears in my eyes and watched till her car turned out of sight. I turned back as my husband held me and my younger daughters. All four of us felt as if all lights were put off!
THE moment both the bride and the groom stood for departure, the atmosphere of happiness and joy suddenly turned into sad and sober. It was my daughter’s wedding reception. I saw her husband, mother-in-law, father-in-law and others slowly guide her down the stage under the umbrella of Holy Quran. I felt a lump in my throat.
