Chapter 9 | The Bride of God (with audio)

Portrait in Words | Mumtaz Hussain

The Alphabet of the Image | Mumtaz Hussain’s short stories with paintings

Zeenat was sitting on the bed on her wedding night, waiting for Hashmat Khan to come and lift her long bridal veil. Two years earlier, on the same bed, Hakim Khan, her first husband, Hashmat Khan’s older brother, had raised her veil. But after Hakim Khan’s death, the family was worried that if someone outside the family proclaimed Zeenat, she would take 1/16th of the family estate with her. This was unacceptable to them. 

In the Khan family, every man is considered godlike, standing as high as the sky. The women look up at the men hoping to be showered with mercy, even if it means being spat at, for even the spit from the men is considered blessed. 

As soon as the mourning period was over, the family decided that she was to marry younger brother, Hashmat Khan. Sitting on the bed, the thought was racing through Zeenat’s head that a man more youthful than herself would touch her body tonight. She tensed up as she felt the sensation in her breast. But it was not a sensation aroused by passion. Her gaze fell on the four-month-old infant in the cot beside her, whose lips were moving as though he was suckling at her breast even in his sleep. 

She was in turmoil. She felt a continuous rhythmic hammering sensation inside her body – tin-tin, tin-tin, as though there was a pillar inside and someone was beating on it with a stone Was this turbulence caused by the infant sleeping by her side, or was it her late husband’s younger brother, now her husband who, till recently, had also been like a son to her? 

What is a woman’s worth anyway? Isn’t she always looking up to a man – be it one that comes out of her or one that enters her?

As the day dawned, the sun rose with its sheer youthful arrogance, and the moon and all the stars seemed to pull the covers over themselves to hide as though in shame. There was no sign of Hashmat Khan, who was to come and lift her veil. By midday, it became clear that he had absconded, leaving everyone behind.

The wheel of time kept turning and, much like a tailor’s yardstick, kept folding the fabric of life with every turn. When the fabric finally unfolded, Hatim Khan was a strapping lad of 6 feet in the image of his fathers before him. He walked, talked, and moved just like them. How similar to his ancestors can a baby be, born out of a mere drop of semen!

Hatim Khan used to gaze quizzically at the photograph of his mother on the mantelpiece in the drawing room, which was placed between the pictures of the two brothers, one of whom had left the world and the other left his maternal mother. Frequently perturbed by this thought, he would run out of the house. Picking up a stone, he would beat on a pillar, tin-tin, tin-tin, as though seeking an answer in that rhythmic sound to the perplexing questions troubling him. 

Eventually, prospects of a bright future brought him to the portals of the Finance Dept of the Ohio State University. When he asked his mother for permission to leave home and go to college, she wept: “Who am I to stop you?” she said. “Three men came into my life. One disappeared and dissolved amongst the stars leaving me with a living, breathing little body of flesh and bones; the second ran away out of fear of having to assume the responsibility of that tiny being; and the third is now poised on the chariot of his life with the reins of destiny held firmly in his hands, raring to go.”

Hatim hugged his mother and said, “Amma, the spirit in this ‘living breathing body of flesh and bones’ is your own. Only my body is going away. My heart is always here with you, and you will be in my heart forever. As soon as my education is complete, I’ll return to you.”

And so, with his mother’s blessings, he devoted himself to his studies. 

When hormones transformed the filters through which he viewed the world, he became aware of the beautiful Carmen at the library counter. Like a 3D film, she began to appear very clear and so close that he longed to reach out and embrace her. Her beauty reminded him of the famous wax sculpture of Marilyn Monroe, unsuccessfully trying to hold her dress down against the strong gust of wind blowing it up. The mole on Carmen’s cheek, a la Marilyn Monroe, brought an Urdu couplet to mind: “Daulte husn pe darbaan bitha rakha hai…….” (“…Like a guard guarding her beauty…”). He tucked away the English translation in the recesses of his mind to retrieve it at an opportune moment in the future… 

Borrowing and returning books provided an excellent excuse to talk to Carmen daily. He would make her laugh with funny anecdotes, “The other day, I saw an advertisement for the Mercedes car. The ad featured a smiling Marilyn Monroe. Instead of the mole on her cheek, it had Mercedes’ star logo, and written beside it was the word: ‘Glamor!’” She would double up with uncontrollable laughter. When he invited her out to dinner, she accepted unhesitatingly. He recited the Urdu couplet in English to her, and despite the poor translation, she laughed heartily.

Both were young and good-looking. All differences between them melted with the force of their mutual attraction. On their first particular date, Carmen arrived at Hatim’s apartment wearing a white dress, a la Marilyn Monroe, and this time it did not require a gust of wind for Hatim to blow it off of her. The two blended beautifully into each other and could no longer bear to spend even a moment apart. Carmen told him, “I feel as though I have known you forever. Your face and mannerisms are so familiar that I feel we have known each other for a long time.”

Carmen was also a student at the same university. She told Hatim that her mother was very religious and never allowed her to miss a Sunday sermon in church. Hatim Khan, on the other hand, was indifferent to religion. He never even looked towards the mosque and rarely ever prayed, even on the occasion of Eid, let alone the Friday prayers that devout Muslims were required to do. However, Hatim and Carmen were convinced that love was their most significant religion, and they had both reached the stage of love from which there was no return. 

They had started living together like man and wife for all practical purposes. Carmen’s frequent absences from home alerted her mother to what might be happening, and she broached the subject with Carmen. She told Carmen that if she was romantically interested in someone, she should bring him home, and she and her father would be happy to marry them with great fanfare. 

When Carmen related this to Hatim, he was overjoyed. He was delighted that all his dreams were coming true. He was in his last year of college, and several job offers had already reached his way. 

Carmen’s parents invited Hatim for dinner one Saturday. Hatim was the epitome of manly good looks. If Carmen was beautiful like Marilyn Monroe, Hatim was equally handsome with curly hair falling over his forehead like Errol Flynn!

Hatim arrived punctually at Carmen’s for dinner on the assigned day. He and Carmen’s mother sat and talked in the living room for a long time. Carmen’s father, a businessman, kept long hours at work and had left word that he would join them later, in time for dinner. 

They all collected at the dining table. The food had just been served when Carmen’s father entered the room. As soon as Hatim saw him, he recognized him as the man in the photograph on the mantle-piece in his house, which he had seen every day of his life growing up. 

Hatim Khan instantly became silent. “My name is Hashmat Khan,” Carmen’s father introduced himself. Hatim was speechless. The color drained from his face, and his mouth felt dry. Carmen and her mother mistook it for shyness. Men with good values and noble upbringings were often understandably uncomfortable at times like these.

As they started eating, Hatim Khan and Hashmat Khan picked up the spoon with their left hand. Carmen was quick to notice. “Didn’t I say that I know you from before? I used to see Papa in you. After all, every girl looks for her father in her prospective husband!” Carmen’s mother, being the religious woman she was, said: “Jesus Christ is the spiritual father of us all!” 

Hatim was finding it extremely hard to remain composed. What a crossroad life had brought him to! Carmen was his sister! 

On the pretense of suddenly feeling unwell, Hatim excused himself and got up from the dining table. Carmen offered to leave with him, but he diplomatically declined. “Let me go alone. You spend time with your family.”

As soon as Hatim left the house, his mental turmoil became so intense that he resolved to commit suicide. Having become aware of the facts, he could not continue to live in sin. He started thinking deeply about ‘sin’ and ‘awareness.’ He wondered what the due penance for a sin committed in ignorance was. He decided that after he had done proper penance, it might absolve his conscience so that he could die in peace. For a while, he considered consulting the mullah in the mosque but then ruled it out, thinking that the advice of an ignorant and unwise mullah might push him deeper into the quagmire of sin.

Finally, he went to the head of the Department of Islamic Studies at the University. He stated his dilemma: “After my father’s death, my mother was forced to marry his younger brother, who ran away and married someone else. Can I now legally marry his daughter from his second marriage?” 

The head of the Department advised him: “The girl’s father is not your biological father. Nor is her mother your biological mother. According to Islam which derives its laws from Nature and the Laws of Life, it is permitted for you two to be legally married.”

The heavy life-threatening burden weighing him down immediately lifted from Hatim’s shoulders. He happily took a copy of the Code of Religion from the Islamic scholar and confidently went to meet Carmen. 

At first, Carmen could not believe that life could play such an incredulous trick on them. After reading the copy of the Code of Religion that he had brought, she started weighing the ‘permission’ granted by it against the basic principles of morality and human values: Her father was Hatim’s stepfather, and Hatim was her stepbrother. Regardless of the permission granted by the Religious Code, could she ever accept their marital relationship in her heart? Could Hatim’s mother ever marry her husband’s younger brother, who was like a son to her, as her husband, despite the codes, norms, and laws of religion and the mores of her society and family permitting it? 

Carmen found herself caught in this soul-wrenching dilemma. Her spirit wanted to be with Hatim, but her body trembled at the thought of giving herself to him. When she looked at Hatim, she felt she was losing control of her emotions. She decided to leave the city to get away from him.

After she left, Hatim searched for her everywhere. He left no stone unturned to find her. In the computer world of technological advancement, he checked every conceivable website to locate her. He was deeply in love with Carmen and felt utterly lost without her. Everything around him reminded him of Carmen.

Carmen, too, tried her best to stay away from Hatim, but it was a great challenge for her. To seek comfort and solace, she started going to church. Eventually, she decided to meet with Hatim, and one day she rang him up: “I am ready to meet you. Come to the lane by St. John’s Cathedral. I’ll be dressed as a bride waiting for you there.”

Hatim was beside himself with joy. His love was deep and true – and true love is divine. He could hardly wait for the moment he would face to face with her. Time appeared to stand still. He reached the appointed place at the appointed time, and there in front of him stood Carmen – in a nun’s garb, the bride of God! 

• Chapter 1 | The Barking Crow
• Chapter 2 | When the Rain Shines through the Sunlight
• Chapter 3 | Her Resplendent Face
• Chapter 4 | Enigmatic Mumtaz
• Chapter 5 | Mona Lisa of Bones and Flesh
• Chapter 6 | The Death of Life
• Chapter 7 | His Master’s Voice
• Chapter 8 | Half Shut Eye Wisdom
• Chapter 9 | The Bride of God
• Chapter 10 | The Fragile Mountains and the Flowing Moonlight
• Chapter 11 | Adam’s Rib
• Chapter 12 | Godly Bastard
• Chapter 13 | Poppy cultivated in Heaven
• Chapter 14 | Virus Bomb

See:

• Historic Win for Pakistani-American at International Impact Book Awards (April 13, 2024)
• Pakistani Mumtaz Hussain Bags 2024 International Impact Book Award (April 23, 2024)

Portrait in Words is available on Amazon’s Audible, narrated by Scott LeCote (4 hrs and 36 mins). Order here.