Amina related but still sad at giving birth to her fourth girl child, yet another baby girl. Her husband, Hamid, visited her after the birth of the child and told her not to worry. "We could try again as long as we are young." Hamid and she had tried unsuccessfully at conceiving a baby boy in their six years of marriage. She drifted off to sleep forgetting her fear for a while that her husband would marry another woman. She was oblivious of the future, of what was in store for her and her daughters. Next morning, she woke up and looked outside the window next to her bed; the plants had bloomed with flowers, and the sun was bright and shining. She was happy to go back home with some hope in her heart. The baby was in the white cradle, tightly wrapped up in a pink blanket which said 'Girl' on it. Amina looked at her with watery eyes and said, "I love you, my child. I don't care what they say." She lifted her and kissed her on the forehead. The baby had full round eyes, pink cheeks, ten toes, ten fingers and a head full of hair. She was so beautiful, so fragile and innocent like the morning dew. Amina hugged her new born with motherly instinct and whispered in her ear, "my precious."
Hamid arrived right in time, holding balloons and flowers in his hands eager to take his wife and newborn home. He stopped at the door gazing upon his wife who was feeding the baby with heart full of pride and admiration. The nurse came with the paper work for Hamid to sign and left quickly after congratulating him. He kissed and hugged his wife and headed home.
They reached home with feelings of nervousness and excitement. Confirming Amina's fears, there was no one on the door to welcome them. Hamid knew that he would never complain to anyone for their cold attitude which was the result of their failure in not having a boy. He turned to his wife saying, with open arms "welcome home ladies." After a long stay in the hospital for 15 days she was relieved to be back home.But everything looked different and unfamiliar in her own house. "It feels so nice to be home" Amina said delightfully. "This is your house, child, our house. You like it, eh?" She remarked to her daughter. The house-maid came from the kitchen and greeted the parents "Mubarak." She had message from her mother-in-law "Noor, wants you to go to your room with your baby."
Amina received her meals in her room; for no one came to invite her to join others, as if she is to be blamed. She had been noticing her sisters-in-law passing by her room pretending not to be blamed. She knew that there would be no feast or celebration for the new baby. After waiting for seven days, she asked the house-maid "Did anybody called for the Kazi? Somebody must say prayers in my daughter's ears." The maid kept quiet; she knew no one had sent her to the Masjed.
After six months she heard Kazi talking to her mother-in-law. She thought finally the time has come for her daughter to get God's blessings. She left what she was doing and went to her room. She gave baby a bath and dressed her in a new dress she had bought for the day. It seemed that Kazi was not there for her daughter's ceremony, but for some discreet reason. He left after a brief meeting with Amina's mother-in-law.
At night, when Hamid came to his wife in their bedroom, she told him about the Kazi's visit. Hamid hesitated first but then he said "He brought a marriage proposal for me." She felt as if the sky had fallen on her head. "No, Hamid you can not do this. You can not marry another woman. I know I am to be blamed for not being able to bless you with a son. But remember what you said "We could try again as long as we are young. Remember?" Her tears came rolling down her cheeks on her baby she was holding in her arms. Hamid held her tightly "Listen, there is no way I will marry another woman. You know me. Don't you?" They went to bed after putting all the children to sleep, but Amina could not sleep. She kept thinking "What if he marries? What will I do?" She knew her husband was being pressured by his parents and other relatives. He never mentioned it to her in so many words, but he would love to have a baby boy to carry on his family name. The only way she could hold on to her husband and not lose him to another woman, is by having a baby boy.
Next day she left her children at her mother's house; cleaned her room and decorated it with flowers, she made it enticing for her husband with Itar. She put on her scarlet red wedding dress which had mirrors all over it. She had some jewelry, too, matching the dress. She braided her hair with beads and gold thread ribbon. When Hamid came to the room, he found her in a look which was long forgotten. He could not resist kissing her and made love to her.
A couple of weeks passed by and Amina found out that she was pregnant again and went for her examination. The doctor who delivered all her children had advised her not to have baby before a year between conceptions. Amina had always suffered from high blood pressure during her pregnancies which had started to affect her kidneys. The doctor did a check up and warned her that she was too weak for the pregnancy. She was asked to take complete bed rest and extra care of her diet. She herself could feel that this pregnancy was different from the last. She felt tired all the time, and she knew her health was deteriorating. Her body was showing a prominent bone structure; one could count the number of rib bones, her hands looked like two dried up branches hanging on the skinny tree with a big belly.
It was time for the baby to come and doctors thought it would be better if Amina had a caesarian. Amina was feeling terrible; even strong dosages of anesthesia would not make her pain go away. She was worried and said to herself "What would happen this time?" Doctors could see the case getting complicated. Amina's blood pressure was increasing, and her heart was beating rapidly. Amina kept struggling for every breath, determined and hopeful. After five hours of painful labor she gave birth to an eight pound healthy baby. The doctors congratulated both the parents "It's a baby boy, a healthy boy. He looks like his father." The baby's loud cry brought a smile to her face. "Look we did it. It's a boy, our baby" Hamid said jubilantly. Amina, not responding to anything anymore, smiled at them and took her last breath of success.
