Doesn’t Matter What Happened Samira You Deserve Happiness

Especially someone as gentle and kind as you

Photo by Chris Osmond on Unsplash

I was in the study, curled up in the armchair, my knees up, on which rested the novel, Jane Eyre, its page yellow in the light of the overhead lamp when the face of Samira swam in front of my eyes. It had been years since I had remembered her. What had triggered her memory? I had no idea. But I wasn’t surprised. Her memory often came unwittingly. Without cause, especially when I had the least reason to think about her.

As the words on the page began to blur and the image of Samira’s smiling face coalesced in my mind, I wondered what she might be doing today. She was my age, so good chances she must be married now. Likely to have kids. Living in a nice apartment somewhere in the city. Living a model life, with a model family. Happy. Right?

I wasn’t sure.

I was assuming she was living in the city because her parents were pretty set in their ways and were not the most liberal kind. They believed a girl should get only a bare minimum education and not move around much. Enough to get married into a decent home, and living in a decent family.

That’s why they didn’t allow her to apply to any college except a couple of local ones within a mile radius of our neighborhood. Even in school, she was not allowed to sign up for any outstation trip or to stay at a birthday party after eight. She could not do things spontaneously — she lived her school-to-home life as per a tightly leashed schedule.

But even in this most restrictive atmosphere, she never seemed unhappy.

Having been brought up in a restrictive culture of her family, she had embraced the ways of her parents wholeheartedly, without questions or protest. It wasn’t surprising because she was obedient by nature. Following rules and instructions came naturally to her.

But that doesn’t mean she was weak. She had a grit of steel. When she put her mind to something, she could muster an oceanic energy to achieve her goals. I remember in ninth grade she was struggling with maths. Her mum asked her to take my help. I was average at most of the things at school, except getting near-perfect scores in math and so she had come to my home for a…