Asha: From being fat to being blessed.

Asha walked on the sandy beach, twirling her toes in the white sand. She seemed to merge with the sea in her long blue gown and sky blue scarf. Her family had taken the cottage on the beach for a weekend for the family get together so that all the parents and children could come together and have fun. She looked up and saw her younger siblings and cousins jumping with joy as the wave came in. They loved the sea and sunshine. Every month they would come to the cottage and reunite their bond.

Asha was twenty eight. She was overweight and no matter how much she tried to loose weight, she couldn’t. One could say she was fat. She had been like this since she was a child. It wasn’t because she ate so much but rather, she had inherited it from her parents. The fat gene ran in the family.

At eighteen, Asha had looked forward to getting married. All her friends were being proposed too, they got engaged, and they got married. Now, they had a child or two and when she’d meet them, she couldn’t help but yearn for her own husband, her own children… her own family.

Her family had tried many times to get her married. Lots of men had also come to see her. Some were too old or were divorced and looking for a new wife. One had been a drunkard and another, a wife beater. She didn’t understand what these men thought of her. Just because she was fat did not mean she would settle for losers. After a while she got frustrated. People started talking that she had grown horns and was not accepting anyone’s proposals. What? Accept the proposal of a drunkard? She’d rather have horns than a husband reeking of alcohol.

Here she was, ten years later, still single. Her dreams however did not die. She still looked forward to meeting someone who would like her enough to want to marry her. She was a good daughter, sister and friend. Her friends adored her and she was always there for them. Whether it was their graduation, their engagement or their failed relationships. She held their hands and was their support during their tough times.

“Safia! Don’t go too far!” she cried out. Her sister Safia was rather adventurous. Asha could swim but she was in no mood to rescue any tiny mitten. She sat down and started drooling on the sand. She drew a heart with an arrow across. On one end she wrote ‘A’ for Asha and on the other a question mark. Who would it be? A few drops of loneliness fell from her eyes. She wished she was pretty, she wished she wasn’t fat and she wished she was smarter, and then may be someone would also like her.

That evening they returned back to the city. She went into her room and switched on her PC. As she signed into the messenger, she saw her friend Barkha was online. Barkha and she had been in school since 1st standard. They had remained friends till the time they finished high school. Barkha moved to USA to pursue her medical studies. Right now she was doing her MD. She was married to Aziz who was also a doctor. Theirs had been a friendship turned marriage story. She had been so touched by it. Asha had attended their wedding in the States.

“Assalam Alaykum” Asha typed. “Walaykum Salam!” Barkha replied .They both chatted about what was the latest happenings. Barkha gave the good news that she was expecting. “Alhamdullilah!” Asha typed back. She was very happy for her friend. She would make a good mother. Time had passed by so fast. It felt just the other day that they had been kids playing seven boxes in the school playground.

“How are you doing?” Barkha asked. Asha wanted to write fine. Yet she wasn’t. She was a controlled person but today she felt like unloading herself. She told Barkha about how lonely she felt. She saw all their friends with their family and she realized she didn’t have one. She saw how beautiful and slim the other girls were and when she saw herself in the mirror, she couldn’t help but feel ugly. She saw all the others having achieved so much, they were either engineers or managers or doctors and she was just a book keeper. She cried as she let Barkha know her deep feelings, her inhibitions and low self-esteem. How she wished she could changed who she was, what she was.

Barkha was quite at her end. She let Asha speak her heart out. At times someone just needs to listen and that’s all it takes to help the other person. When Asha had finished venting, she smiled sadly and told Asha “My dear friend, I am quite sad to hear that you are feeling all these. I have always admired you for your simplicity and how content you are in life. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side. You wish to be in someone else’s shoes because they are either prettier or more successful or have a family. Yet go into their thoughts and you will see they want to be in your shoes. To be free, to have no responsibilities, to be given only a book or an account to handle and not to be held liable for the company’s performance.”

Asha’s eyes were fixed to the computer’s screen as she took in every word that Barkha said.
“I have known you since we were kids. I know you weren’t the smartest girl in class, but you were the kindest and most generous. You would put our needs before yours. I have seen the way you love your brothers and sisters. The way you treat your parents. You are a wonderful person. Look at yourself through my eyes, and you will know what I see.”

Asha was so deeply touched by Barkha’s words that she felt her eyes moist. The screen got blurred. She wiped her eyes and gulped down the choke that came to her throat. “I know that you are sad about your weight. I wish I could do something about it. But dear, it’s destiny. You were born with a fat gene as you can see it runs in your family. That should not make you feel you are lesser than anybody else. Think of all those people who have been born crippled. Those who don’t have sight or hearing or are mentally handicapped. Don’t you and I feel blessed that Allah Taala did not choose us to have a defect?”

Asha was struck. She had never thought of it that way. Yes, she had seen how difficult the lives of handicaps were. She did volunteering service at the Government hospital down town and it had saddened her to see their trials. She thanked Allah that she had been spared from such a fate.

“Therefore, my dear, I don’t want you to ever think low of yourself. I repeat you are a great person. We all love you. Right from Zaida to Farida to Asma to Munira to that silly Nisa and me :-)!”

Asha laughed. Nisa had been in school with them. She was such a pain that everyone would scuttle when she came.

“I just want you to be happy dear. For now, be content that you have a family – you are not an orphan. Be content you have a job – You are not unemployed. Be content you have people who love you – You are not unloved. InshaAllah you will get a wonderful man to be your husband and ten kids that you’d give anything to get this singleton moment back in your life :-)”

Asha laughed. Oh Barkha. She always had a way of bringing a smile to her face.

“I’ll pray for you dear, but you got to promise me that you will not be saddened. Be happy for all the bounties you have. Promise me?” Barkha asked.

“I promise” Asha typed back. Her heart was at peace. She realized the truth in her friend’s words. Why, she was blessed with so many things that she had overlooked them for just one thing. “Thank you dear. I feel so much better. You are right in all you say. I will remember this everyday”

“That’s my girl!” Barkha was happy. She never wanted to see Asha down. “Okay dear, have to go. Your brother has been calling me for a long time and you simply don’t know his demands. That’s why I say... Enjoy your bachelorhood ;-). Love you… Take care... Allah Hafiz.” “:-) Allah Hafiz” Asha typed back.

She leaned back on her chair and smiled. Barkha had always been one who said a lot in just a few words. If one would go on and on for ten pages on how gloomy the weather was, she’d changed the mood by simply saying “Paint some sunshine” Nodding her head smilingly, she switched off her P.C and prayed two rakats of prayers. She thanked God for all He had given her and asked forgiveness that for a few moments she had turned ungrateful. She prayed for her friend and for the safety of the unborn child and finally she got up and folded her praying mat. Yes, Life was beautiful and she was truly blessed with so much love and friendship.