chapter 2

Chapter 2MishalAs I put the pizza into the oven and set the timer on, Brownie twittered as she sat near the window watching the birds. I smiled at her. I always wondered: what would life be for someone who never had to face any challenges? Who never had to experience any hurdles? Does that kind of life exist for someone? I do not think there is. Nobody gets to live a life that is a bed of roses. The truth is, life is not a bed of roses. But it would not be fair to say that life is a bed of thorns. It is not. My father always used to tell me that life is a pathway full of roses and thorns. We just have to be careful of the thorns that may come in our way and cross the path carefully. He also taught me to live life to the fullest. No matter how many hurdles we had to face or how many problems we had to overcome, we should never forget to live life to the fullest and happily. If we are happy, we can walk past all hurdles. I stuck to this motto all my life and firmly believed in it. After my father’s death, my mother had to face many problems. I also realized that no one really loved you as your parents did. My uncles were there, but they never made us feel that they were really there for us—our life changed in a better way when we moved to Lahore. My mother and I worked hard to meet our ends. However, that did not mean we were not happy. We were content with our lives and would not want otherwise. After finishing my bachelor’s degree, I did not try applying for jobs anywhere. Because I always knew what I had to do. I wanted to do my own thing. Become my own boss. So, when I started our home-based food business, I was content. No matter how much money we made through the business, I was satisfied. Our business was flourishing at the time of COVID-19 because all restaurants and cafes were closed. Most of the restaurants offered home delivery services just like we were doing. So, on the work front, we were doing fine. My routine was pretty much sorted. I woke up in the morning, played a little with Brownie, fed her, prepared all the food items whenever I received the order for them, and then waited for the delivery guy to come and pick up the parcels from my place. Amma was responsible to provide me with all the grocery and replenish it whenever required. On the other hand, I was responsible for preparing the meals with the help of a maid. My job was to note down all the orders that we received through the app and look after our social media accounts. Even Rayaan did that when I was occupied in the kitchen. He was quite an expert with social media and electronic devices. After 9 p.m. I disabled my home-based restaurant from the Foodpanda app. Those who ordered from my restaurant had to place the order before 9 p.m. After 9 p.m., I asked my maid to leave once she made sure the kitchen was tidy. ‘Mishy, are you done?’ Amma asked, peeping through the kitchen window. I wiped the kitchen appliances with a clean cloth and set them aside on the counter. ‘Yes, Amma. Do you need anything?’‘Can you prepare soup for Nigar aunty?’ she asked with knitted eyebrows. I looked at her and became concerned. ‘What happened to her? Is she fine?’ ‘Hammad told me she’s not well. She’s had Corona.’‘Oh no,’ I whispered with dismay. Nigar aunty was our neighbor and one of Amma’s oldest and closest friends. She lived right next to our house. There was no space between the walls of our homes; they were adjoined. We could hear what was going on in their place most of the time, and they could hear what was going on at our place. We would know when there was a fight in the family or when they were celebrating over a cricket match. I guess they also knew everything about us too. Nigar aunty lived with her second husband and his children. She did not have any child with him. However, she did have a son from her first husband, who happened to be an Australian. She was young when she moved to Australia for further studies and met her ex-husband there. They both connected instantly and decided to get married. Despite Nigar auntys’ family’s objection, she chose to marry him. Her ex-husband did not convert to Islam after marriage, and neither did she change her religion. They both decided to maintain a cross-cultural marriage, and they did so successfully for a few years. However, things changed between them after the birth of their son, Daniyal. As told by Nigar aunty herself, the primary reason was that she did not want her son to embrace Christianity as his religion. She wanted him to grow up as a Muslim. Her ex-husband wasn’t fond of this idea, but he could not do much about it since it was the mother who had to make such important decisions. Both agreed to let their son decide about adopting the religion once he grew up as it was his choice to make. Nigar aunty decided to leave her ex when he developed a drinking problem and spent most of his time outside the home. After filing for divorce, she brought her son to Pakistan and married Khalid Butt, who was already a widower at the time and had three children from his first marriage. She not only accepted Khalid as her husband but also accepted his kids whole-heartedly and treated them just like her own. Apparently, Khalid uncle and his children did not welcome Daniyal with open arms. They detested him from day one and had their reasons for doing so. First and foremost, they believed he wasn’t a Muslim but a Christian as his father had never converted to Islam. Secondly, they did not want their father to divide his love between the new kid and them. Because of frequent fights and lots of misunderstandings, Nigar aunty was forced to send Daniyal back to his father in Australia. She had to have a bigger heart because she sent her son away back to the same person who never deserved him, but she had no choice. She could not let her son face rejections and accusations every other day. She did what she felt was right. But we all knew how much she really missed him. It had been nine years since she had last seen him. She was in contact with him all these years, but even that had dwindled over time. So, when Amma told me she had contracted the virus, my heart went out for that woman. I could never imagine the pain she would have been through during this time and how much she wanted her son to be by her side. Just when Amma informed me about Nigar aunty’s condition, I started preparing chicken corn soup for her. I knew how much she liked this soup. In fact, she was one of the biggest fans of my cooking skills. Every time I tried a new dish, I had to take it to her place and make her taste it. Her approval for a new food item meant a lot to me because she was a great cook herself. Her taste in food was exceptional. I poured the soup into a plastic container and wrapped the box in a polythene bag. ‘Mishi, are you wearing your mask?’ Amma asked me when I was about to leave the house.‘Yes, Amma, I am.’‘Good. Just hand over the bag to Hammad or whoever comes at the gate and stand six feet away from them. I don’t want you to go inside the house. They must have isolated her in a separate room.’‘Don’t worry, Amma.’I stepped out of our gate and glanced at Nigar aunty’s house. Fariya, Nigar aunty’s stepdaughter, peeked at me through her room from the first floor. Ignoring her, I made my way towards their gate and pressed the bell button. After a few seconds, Hammad appeared at the gate. He was Khalid uncle’s eldest son and the better one among his sibling. He passed me an apologetic smile when he saw the polythene bag in my hands. ‘Asalaam U Alaikum,’ I greeted him.‘Walaikum Asalaam.’‘I came to know about Nigar aunty. How is she doing now?’He pressed his lips together in a thin line. ‘She’s had a fever for the last two days. It’s not coming down.’‘Oh. Have you guys considered shifting her to the hospital?’‘No, the doctor has advised us to treat her at home because all hospitals in Lahore are packed with patients. Fortunately, her oxygen saturation levels are fine, and there’s no cough, so the doctor said she can be treated at home.’‘That’s good news. I hope she gets well soon,’ I said. ‘I brought this soup for her. Please give her twice a day.’‘Sure, I will.’ He took the bag from my hands, and I noticed he was wearing gloves on his hands. ‘Thank you for coming over, Mishal, and for this, of course,’ he said, looking over the bag.I shrugged. ‘Anything for Nigar aunty.’‘Yeah, thanks.’ He nodded. ‘Take care all of you. Be safe. Allah Hafiz.’‘You too. Allah Hafiz,’ he said and then closed the gate. I came back home and just when I was about to pick Brownie and hold her in my arms, Amma instructed me to wash my hands thoroughly and apply a sanitizer to them. I sighed. Damn you, COVID!DanielDear Sir/Madam, I would like to apply for an exemption to leave Sydney, NSW, Australia, and travel to Lahore, Pakistan, to see my ailing mother. Unfortunately, my mother has contracted COVID-19 and needs my immediate assistance. Kindly approve my request for exemption so I can fly to Pakistan and be with my mother at this crucial time. Yours sincerely, Daniel Hudson.After typing the application, I sent it to the respective department dealing with accepting and rejecting exemptions to travel outside Australia. When COVID-19 hit the world, and the cases significantly increased everywhere, including Australia, the country decided to shut its borders to international travel. The government did not permit anyone to enter the country apart from citizens and PR holders. Moreover, it did not allow its citizens and PR holders to exit the country without getting an exemption from the travel authorities. The Home Affairs department only granted travel exemption to people on compassionate grounds. I reckoned my reason for traveling could not be closer to being compassionate. So when I found out my mother was down with the virus and needed my immediate attention, I decided to apply for the travel exemption as soon as possible. While I applied for an exemption, I also notified my supervisor on the other end. I got a Skype video call from him when he received an email from me requesting two months break. ‘G’day, how ya goin, mate?’ Kevin, my supervisor, came into sight as soon as I accepted the video call request from him. ‘I’m right, mate, thanks,’ I told him, trying to smile at him. ‘I just checked your email. Is your mother doin’ fine?’‘I don’t think so. She’s not doin’ great.’‘No worries, mate. She’ll be right.’I nodded, looking at him through the laptop screen. ‘So, you need a break, huh?’‘Yep, I do.’‘Do you realize what could happen if you don’t make it back on time?’ he asked, raising a brow. ‘Yep, I know.’‘Your job can be jeopardized if you can’t make it back after two months. With travel restrictions, borders closed, and flights scarcely available, there’s a high chance that you won’t be able to come back on time.’I nodded. ‘I’m aware of all of that, yeah.’‘Still, you’d like to take a risk and go?’‘I don’t fuckin’ care, Kevin,’ I said, getting annoyed now. ‘It’s my mother who we are talkin’ about.’He raised his hands in surrender. ‘All right, mate. All right. I get it. I’d approve your leave for two weeks. Rest is up to you.’‘Ta, mate.’ I let out a quick breath and smiled at him. ‘Thanks, mate. Really appreciate it.’‘Chookas for your trip to Pakistan. I will try my best to inform you about the repatriation flight whenever it is available.’I nodded at him. ‘Hope your mother gets well soon.’I gave him thumps up and then ended the video call. Once I was done with the video call with Kevin, I decided to give a call to my mother to check on her. I had not spoken to her ever since I found out about her becoming sick. I looked up at the wall clock, and it told me it was 11 a.m. in Sydney. Since Pakistan was six hours behind, I figured it must be 5 a.m. back there. I decided against the idea of giving her a call but chose to send her a message on WhatsApp. Hey. Are you up? How ya goin’? Let me know if you’re up; I need to speak to you. Cheers. I sent her the message and kept my phone on the desk. Meanwhile, I started the espresso machine to brew myself a cup of coffee. As I mixed the coffee with a teaspoon, my phone pinged. Mum had finally replied to me after a couple of minutes. Mum: I’m fine, Daniyal. How are you? Is everything okay?Mum always pronounced my name in a different way. She never called me Daniel but preferred calling me Daniyal, which sounded like some Pakistani name. I typed out a reply to her but then tapped the delete button and erased the message. It was better to give her a call and listen to her voice. I pressed the call button and waited for her to pick up my call. ‘Daniyal, beta, are you okay?’ Mum asked me as soon as she answered the phone. From her voice, I could tell she was not well. She sounded sick. Really sick. I felt sick to the stomach after hearing her voice. ‘I’m fine, Mum. How ya doin’? Did the virus really get you sick?’ I asked, scratching the back of my neck in edginess. She chuckled softly. ‘Oh, never mind, son. It’s just some stupid virus. I’m doing better now.’‘When did you get the results of your COVID test?’ She slightly coughed and then replied. ‘Two days ago.’I pursed my lips, becoming more concerned just when she coughed on the phone. ‘And, what did the doc say?’‘He said I have to self-isolate at home for about two weeks, and I’ll be fine then.’‘Who’s lookin’ after you?’ ‘Khalid is here, you know,’ she coughed a bit more and then added, ‘I have Hammad and Fariha here. They all are taking good care of me.’I snorted. ‘As if I don’t know.’‘It’s true, son. You don’t have to worry about me.’‘Yeah, right.’‘How are you doing? How’s your job?’ she asked and then coughed again.‘Mum, I can clearly tell you’re not fine, all right? I’m comin’ for you.’‘Daniyal, you don’t need to!’‘I need to, Mum. Guess I’ll see you soon?’‘Son, I told you I’m fine.’‘Yeah, but I won’t be fine until I see you.’‘Do not risk your career for me. It’s not a good time to travel right now.’‘It’s always a good idea to come and see your mother.’She didn’t say anything then. A deep silence ensued. ***I remained anxious until I received some news about the travel exemption. For the next two days, I continued working from home and waited to receive an update from the travel authorities. On the other hand, my Dad insisted that I come over for dinner at his place, but I turned him down by making some work-related excuse. I did not tell him about Mum because there was no use. He would not be bothered anyway. Or maybe he would but I did not care. Natalie, the girl I was about to get laid with the other night, also texted me on WhatsApp. Yes, we did share numbers after that night. She was nice enough to give me her number despite me ditching her at the last moment. She understood my situation and told me I could give her a call whenever I wanted to. The truth was, I did not want to. Not that I wasn’t attracted to her. I was. She was one of the most beautiful women I had laid my eyes on. However, I just did not feel like having any sort of contact with her or anyone for that matter, knowing that my mother was fighting for her life back in Pakistan. Before I could make up my mind and respond to her text, I received an email from the Home Affairs department. They had granted me the exemption to travel to Pakistan. I could not be much delighted. Without responding to Natalie’s text, I threw my phone on the bed, yanked open my closet, and took out the backpack and suitcase. It was time to pack my bags!Â