Odyssey... //\ 14- Obscene Abstraction

Soon the day of the wedding, as it had planned, arrived. It was a small ceremony which Hana ended up to pay for it. Hamid's promise to make his parents pay her back was, as usual was a bluff; and she embarrassed in front of her family accepted the rare occasion that a woman pays for her wedding in their culture. Hamid became the permanent resident of their home; and Hana, very upset for her shattered dreams, had to move to a bigger room with a bigger bed, a room that belonged to her parents. Mina, her younger sister, gladly occupied Hana's closet like room so she did not have to share room with Sara, her distasteful sister. Gol had already moved to the living room a while back because of her condition so everyone could have an eye on her. Every night when the bed time would come, they would make a bed for her on the floor; which Gol liked and her children approved of; and then in the morning they would put the hand made bed in the closet and use the room as the living room.

The night of wedding, after everyone left, Hana took off her wedding gown, she had sewn it herself, and wore her normal house dress. Then she helped her insane mother, who was bewildered of all the activities, to change and walked her to her bed. Gol instinctively knew a major change had happened in the house that she had been the first lady of it long ago. Nonetheless, she could not put her finger on it. Whatever the change was, she did not like it. Hana, knowing her mother very well, noticed the perplexity in her eyes.

"What is it mom? Do you want to tell me something?"

Gol's blurry vision made it impossible to recognize Hana's abstracted mind; however, as babies know their mother's mood, she, too, knew there was something different about her daughter, who had changed place with her and had become her mother.

"Why did you change your room?" Gol asked Hana hesitantly.

"Mom, I am married now. Hamid is staying with us. We needed a bigger room. We took that room since you're in the living room now; and nobody was using it."

Gol despondently grabbed Hana's hand.

"No, you can't marry! Are you going to give my food to Hamid?"

"No, mom, no one can touch your food. Now go to bed. I see you in the morning."

"Do you sleep with Hamid now?"

Hana gently kissed her mother's forehead.

"Don't worry mom, I always be your daughter."

In her new bedroom, the new bride was drowned in a world filled with sadness and regret. She looked through the mist of her eyes to her husband's naked body and an unsightly fear shook her. Using the closet to change to her nightgown, she heard Hamid's voice which sounded so different, as though she had never heard that voice before.

"What is the delay for? Come on. Don't act like a decent, virgin girl!"

Those words trembled her more. She was virgin. She was decent. She submissively walked to bed. The wedding night, she was told, was supposed to be the best night for a young woman. For her, let's just say that she was hospitalized the next morning with an unendurable pain that would stay with her even when the physical pain was gone.

To Be Continued