THE MARRIAGE

 

"THE MARRIAGE"
BY UJALA TARIQ

People believe that marriage is just a reason for making two people get settled together and help each other in terrible times. Some people also believe that marriage is the reason to help someone fulfill his sexual desires legally. Moreover, there are a few people who think marriage is just a legal way of reproduction. Even, some of them marry to leave successors so that their family chain might not get vanished. But the story of Alicia is very different.

Once there lived a little girl Alicia in the countryside. She loved to study and she was her parents’ favorite child not because she loved studies, but she was the only one of her four siblings who loved her parents, respected them and their decisions. She never disobeyed them or never ever tried to hide something from her parents and never thought of parting from them. And this signified the fact when she was asked to leave for a hostel to get an education from a high school in the neighboring city. It really did not mean that she had no confidence in meeting new people, or living taking care of herself, and live all alone. It was just because she never wanted to live away from her parents. However, she continued her education at a known high school in their area.

Time passed, the little girl grew up to a beautiful lady. This lady was always loved by her other family members and everyone who knew her.

Her parents had received a lot of marriage proposals for their little princess. Most of the boys of their countryside wanted to get married to such a beautiful, intelligent, and educated girl. That girl was never interested in marriage, loving some guy, dating a guy, or anything related. She just wanted to be their parents’ little princess.

One of those marriage proposals was from the son of her beloved uncle. He was the brother of her father. And significantly, he accepted it for her daughter. The little princess was also happy with what her father had decided for her because she never disobeyed her parents.

After a couple of years, while the little princess was busy studying so hard making up for a career as a doctor, she did not forget her parents. Her father-in-law and even her fiancée never caused trouble in her education. They used to motivate and even appreciate her for her struggle. She used to get up early every day to go to her college and used to return in the evening after all of her classes end and her father would go to pick her up. She used to wait for him in the ground near the entrance gate with two chocolates in her hands; one for her and the other for her father.

One day, the little princess was waiting for her father to pick her up from college. It was taking her father so long to reach her. And suddenly, she received a call from her fiancée who said that he would be coming to pick her up from college and she got worried and thought that why he is not coming for that. She called him and his phone seemed powered off. After a few minutes, her fiancée arrived and dropped her home. On the way from college to home, he seemed all quiet and stubborn. He said no single word than telling her that he has come to pick her and neither had she asked him why he came and not her father.

However, they reached her home and she could find a lot of people in there dressed up in white-colored clothes. The little princess got shocked and went inside her house. She could find her family members, siblings, relatives, neighbors, mother, and all the people there crying so bad with a person in the middle in a coffin. She was grieved and stuck. She could not move and fell down on the floor and fainted.

When she woke up, she found that her father had passed away in a road accident near the central park. She could not bear this loss and became as silent and quiet as an ant. There was so much in her heart, but there was no one who could understand her. Since that day, her life changed and after a couple of months, she had become a doctor and her mother was proud of her success. She decided to break up with her fiancée because she believed that he was not an educated person and he was not a perfect match for her charming educated daughter.

She started to look for an equally handsome and educated boy for her, as pretty and educated she was. And she found a boy who was perfect according to her.

When the two got engaged, the boy seemed a nice person to them. And over time, the boy started to put on restrictions on the little princess on where to go and where not to. He even decided that she will not be doing any job. Her life was already messed up after the death of her father and her fiancée even made it worst. So, she decided to do what he liked though he was not her husband, but the guy who became one before he could officially be.

However, the two got married. It was the most expensive wedding ceremony in their countryside. Her mother was extremely happy that she was married to a rich and educated boy. The people believed that the couple is so perfect, both of them were very beautiful together, they were a perfect match, etc.

Her mother had made her daughter married an educated boy, but she forgot that her mother in law was uneducated, and moreover, they were living the lives as an illiterate family would. The little princess had always lived perfectly as an educated family would. Her life after marriage was even worse than she thought had become after her father’s death.

The little princess was made to get up early to do all the home chores all alone, take care of her siblings-in-law and ever parents in law. She was completely treated as a housemaid. She was considered their daughter in law, but not given that status of being a daughter in law. Her husband was also none of us in this regard. He wanted her to do what his illiterate parents wanted. And if she refused them, she had to face the consequences.

On the other hand, Alicia’s ex-fiancée was extremely happy with his wife. He treated her as his queen and gave her all the respect, care, and love she was mean to be given. She was never neglected or asked to live as a housemaid as Alicia.

Alicia’s husband’s business was also ruined after a few months of marriage, where her ex-fiancée was an extremely rich person now. Furthermore, Alicia was asked by her husband to get a job and look after the house and the family with that. The little princess had to do all the house chores and even the job all day.