The first shock came when Zuni got married in the second year of college. They had never anticipated a life without each other. Somehow, in their minds, they were going to marry two twins and live together as a combined family. It was a rude awakening when their parents accepted a proposal for Zuni. For the first time in their lives, they were not getting or sharing identical things. As the wedding date approached, the differences became even more prominent. They were both apprehensive about the life after that wedding but Zuni looked forward to it while Zubi dreaded it. The former was walking into a new path of life where a new partner awaited him while the latter felt as if she was losing someone dear and was being replaced in her sister's life.
Zubi fainted when Zuni left on her wedding day. The following time period was of great adjustment for both but especially for Zubi who went into deep depression. Gradually, Zubi accepted the reality and absorbed herself in studies. Needless to say that it was a very slow process accompanied by a lot of pain and tears. Zuni also missed Zubi but that gap was somewhat filled by her husband's love. Zubi, on the other hand, had mixed feelings. She was happy for her sister's blissful marriage yet her yearning for her constant company overshadowed that happiness.
Their parents thought that the best solution was to find a suitor for Zubi. They tried their best but unfortunately they could not find anyone. Time went by and years passed. Zuni became a mother of two beautiful boys in three years. The babies helped Zubi come back to normality. She dotted on her nephews and never missed any opportunity at babysitting them.
Five years after Zuni's marriage, their parents found someone for Zubi. The guy lived in Germany. Zubi who fainted at her sister's marriage who was going to live in the same city, flew off to Germany after her own marriage. Life took a new turn but by now she was much mature and handled the new situation very wisely. It was not before five years down the road that she next saw Zuni on her visit to Pakistan. The two sisters could not believe how life had separated them and put distances between them. When Zubi's visit came to an end, the bitter reality faced the sisters once again. They had no idea when would they be able to see each other next time. In those emotionally laden moments, the sisters made a pact. They promised to marry Zuni's older son to Zubi's daughter on their growing up.
Time passed. Zubi went to Pakistan after another five years with her daughter once but after that although she went every two years, she went by herself as her daughter got busy in school and activities. The children grew up knowing the engagement and seemed to accept the idea pretty well although there was not much communication between them.
After her daughter's graduation, Zubi went to Pakistan with her daughter and husband where her daughter got married to Zuni's son. The sisters were ecstatic and the couple was happy. The groom came back with Zubi to settle down in Germany. The newly weds got an apartment on the other side of the city to start their new life.
The trouble soon followed. Zubi's nephew was still trying to find a job while her daughter was attending college and working part time. Money was not a serious problem since both parents were still giving them an allowance. The main issue was the gap in their mind sets. It was a clash of the East and West. He had never been outside his country before marriage while she was born and raised outside Pakistan. Germany was her homeland. Her husband thought she was too liberal. He did not understand her late study and working hours. He objected to her friendship with male classmates. She thought he was way too conservative, demanding and non cooperative. He expected her to cook and take care of the household chores while she demanded that he do all that since he was the one mostly home.
Zubi came to know about the tensions between them. She tried talking to both but found that both were headstrong and did not want her interference, so she backed off. She was fully aware of the cultural differences and was mentally prepared for an initial adjustment period between the couple. She kept an eye on them from a distance and with an increasing degree of concern, watched the situation escalate. Still, she was not prepared for what happened next. One evening her daughter came to her house crying with bruises on her face and body. He had raised his hand on her daughter!
Only Zubi knew how she managed to stop her husband who wanted to kill the man in the initial rage. Once in control, he insisted on sending the guy to prison by informing the authorities. Zubi was also deeply hurt and wanted to punish him but then remembering her sister and her own previous love for this nephew, she talked sense into her husband and daughter. They filed for divorce and he flew back to his homeland.
Zubi's family decided to put this tragedy behind as a nightmare and move on. It was not easy but the short duration of that unfit marriage turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Things got even better when her daughter got remarried within a year to her former schoolmate whose parents were also first generation immigrants from Pakistan. They found out that the guy liked her since school days but kept it a secret knowing that she was already engagement.
The smile on her daughter's face and the laughter in her life made Zubi forget about the rift between her and her sister. A year after the second marriage, her daughter became pregnant. Everything looked rosy but destiny had something else up her sleeve.In the seventh month of pregnancy her daughter's appendix ruptured and she died on the way to the hospital along with the baby!
Zubi never went back to Pakistan ever again nor did she ever saw her sister again in her life. The sisters who were once inseparable and tried uniting their children hoping to commemorate their love, died without ever talking to each other after the incident while the cruel destiny silently watched her doing from a distance!
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