Right From my Mom's Second pregnancy I used to Pray to God for a Sister. But doz Prayers Actually wer only because mom askd me to do so. But then after my 4th bro (Amir) came out, I started to Get quit conscious about the Fact that a Sister is a need For me rather than a want. And whenever My friends Used the word 'Pengal' (which means sister) to convey some or d other situations like.. "pengalk sukalla.." "Pengal vilikunund".. Etc. (those were Just examples). And I always thought about using that word for myself. But I never lost hope. Me and My Family waited n waited For a Lil Sister.
I could find my Dad in Tears in His thahajjud prayers (I used to lay on ma bed wid 1 Eye a lil open n Pretending to be asleep).
And One day i Found out the ultimate 'Secret'. My Mom was Pregnant again. MASHA ALLAH ! "So datz the case.." I said to Myself. I was Happy to find out the Reason behind Dad's Happiness n changes in his moods in Recent Days.
N dat Evening Something Funny Happened. Me n Dad were going to Masjid For Isha Prayer and In the Midway I just Said Suddenly.. "Bappa, CONGRATULATIONS!". He, wid the usual Seriousness On his face asked me, "wot happened?"
. "Ehem.. This time We will use the name Fatimah For sure.. " I said wid a Smile. I could Literally See Him Blushing! OMG! Wotta Moment it was. I Jumped wid Joy !
The News went spreading like fire. That was the time when me and my friends were quit Active In our madrasa. My mates over there were really excited to know that i was going to have a Sibling yet again.
all 6 of us Gave Extra care to mom such that she herself askd .. "now wer did this extra ordinary love for me pop out ??" ..
Little did she know that it was ultimately the love towards our sibling which is growin in her stomach and which we all very badly wanted to be a SISTER !
Atlast The Day came .. The New Year Day.. Jan 1 2010 .. !!
“Umma January 1 nu thanne prasavikkanee.. Please.. Nalla umma alle??”
I remember my small bro Osama, asking a ‘small’ favor to my mom, the other day.
He was asking, rather pleading her to deliver on January 1 itself as he could share his b’day with the coming sibling (he was also born on a New Year morning). He thought delivery was something which was initiated whenever a woman wishes.
Although we, including my Dad, had a hearty laugh on his ‘cute request’, Never knew God would be on his side for this particular statement. But to our utmost surprise, The All Mighty did favor him.
That ‘historic’ evening, mom had a strange wish (as they say, when a lady is pregnant, she’ll start having weird wishes all of a sudden). “Let’s go for a walk” she said me. I never saw my mom going for walks, especially in those chilly winter days and that obviously surprised me a bit. But still keeping the former bracketed fact in to consideration, I accompanied her.
I still remember that walk so well and so the words my mom spoke to me. “I never insisted upon God to let it be a baby Girl. I just wanted it to be a perfect and healthy kid who will be helpful for our ‘Dheen’ and Society in the future” she said with a smile.
I swear, I love and admire my mom a lot for her ‘Iman’ and faith in God. There have been talks from the women folks and other people back in India about the possibility of being the 7th kid, again a Boy and it’s so called ‘consequences’. And yet here she is, comforting me and asking me to be ready to accept my ‘yet to be born’ sibling with my whole heart irrespective of its gender.
By the time we got back home, the sun was at its final phase of disappearance.
Did I have a ‘Yes, tonight is going to be special’ feeling while leaving for the masjid? I am not sure. Because days were yet to go for the ‘delivery date’ predicted by the doctors and I dint find any reason to expect it to be on that particular day itself. Anyhow, prayers were there on my lips every now and then, for everything to go well.
I don’t actually remember what kind of thoughts went through me when I found my mom missing once I reached back home, from the masjid. But one thing I am sure, at that moment, half of my heart went vague!
“umma evide ?” was my obvious question to my brother who opened the gate for me.
“umma bappante kude evideyo poyi” said my lil brother.
Yes. She had gone. And It took me no time to understand from my 1st brother that, mom had called up my dad because of some disturbances which she felt while praying the magrib prayer and now they have left for the hospital.
Asking all my brothers to start praying (I always knew God accepted kids’ prayers easily), I changed my clothes and departed from my home, in that chilly winter, in a positive hope that I would get a cab soon.
But fortunately or unfortunately, I couldn’t get one. Although a couple of taxis stopped by, for some or the other reasons, they disagreed to go to the hospital area which was a lot far away from the spot where my house stood.
I don’t know what made me rush outside, leaving all my brothers at home. But at that moment I believed in a superstitious thing called ‘fate’. “You don’t want me to go huh? Fine !” I had a private talk with God, walking back home. Yes, I was forced to stay home by the ‘One who knows the best’, despite my heart’s hardcore wish to make it to the hospital.
I heard the landline ringing as I re-entered the already kept open gate which led to my house.
By the time I got in, my 1st brother had already picked up the call which was said to be from my uncle who was in the hospital. I wondered why dad had not called up.
“What did he say?” I asked my brother. “She has been taken to ‘some’ room It seems, I dint understand much” his innocence proved to be disturbing to me as I wanted to get the clear-cut message which has been passed by my uncle and instead he ended up confusing me.
Within minutes I found myself ringing up my uncle. The curiosity in me couldn’t be resisted. “She has been taken to the labor room. Keep praying.” He said. My heart skipped a beat with that particular message. I stood there upright and my heart went perfectly blank.
I hung up the phone while the clock in my house showed a perfect time of 8.00 pm.
I still remember the emo-incidents which followed. “yachi, bring that musallah (the sheet on which we pray)..” I ordered.
We all stood lined up in front of the almighty, offered 2 raka’ths of sunnah prayers while A lot of weird and emotional thoughts went through my mind. The past 9 months, the ‘expected’ reactions from the family and other people if it is to be a boy yet again. My mom’s inspirational words, The thought of how badly we all 6 brothers wanted a little sister.
We literally cried in front of the Lord. The almighty, the most Powerful and yet the most merciful.
We knew it was easy for him. “Giving us a baby girl won’t cost you anything. Will it ?” I asked him, in tears. “Please my Lord, we need her.”
I could feel my young brothers looking at me astonished, as they were watching me cry, which was something rare of a sight for them.
I couldn’t help falling in prostration. Yes, he was the only one who could help. And he was the only one who could be called upon.
“at this very moment, please don’t ignore these prayers of me and my little brothers” I kept on pleading to the ‘one staying at the top’.
“I know I am much of a wrong doer. But if at all I have pleased you, at any point of my life, with any of my deeds.. I plead you to take them in to consideration for now and grant me a sweet little sister. I beg you”. That was all I had to ask.
All of a sudden, the phone started ringing.
All my brothers looked at me with curiosity and innocence. Did my heartbeats PAUSE for a moment ? I don’t remember.
With heart-full of anxiety, I picked the call uttering the name of God.
“Hello”
“monu..” started a cracked voice over the other side. “we shall name HER, Fathima. He did answer our prayers my dear son.”
As I gave out a Loud cry and broke out in to tears of happiness and relief, The clock in my house showed a digital status of 11.45 pm. JAN 1, 2010.
