The Rahman family was having a quiet time at home – all busy with their own stuff. When the clock struck 5pm, there was a loud bell on the door. The Rahman family wasn’t expecting anyone; so they were doubly curious to know who it was.
Soon it became known to the Rahman family that a family had come from the capital city to here in this town where the man of the family would be working. They wanted a little help in guidance around the town. And the man of Rahman family promised that he would give them a hand.
The man of the other family, Shahid by name left for the capital city again, saying he had some urgent business and would leave, keeping his family in Rahman’s residence and he would be back. That night he never came back. So Rahman’s family treated their remaining guests with warmth and honor. They cooked good recipes and gave them their daughters’ beds to the three remaining guests. The daughters of the host family slept on cushions in the living room.
When morning came, there was still no sign of the new family man. So the new guests had breakfast as well.
But these guests were all uninvited and Rahman’s family started to become skeptical – where on earth was the new family man? Another day went by and the new family guests remained. By now Rahman’s family got irritated.
The next day in the morning Shahid showed up at Rahman’s residence, saying he got busy with business stuff and he apologized gravely and Dr Rahman forgave him and so did the rest of his family.
Shahid got keys for his new home which was some distance away from this residence, about a mile away. The two families had tea and light refreshments.
Then the family set out for their new home in an attempt to tidy it and buy furniture. In the evening both the families were invited to another family’s residence nearby within the town. Word was passing fast that in the town a new family had arrived.
Soon Shahid’s family came to Rahman’s residence after cleaning their apartment to dress up for the evening’s invitation. They were exhausted from the day’s work but became happier as they had light refreshments and at the thought of the invitation they would be attending.
Both the families got ready to go out for their invitation at Javed’s residence. And they remained there for two hours, talking to the hosts and dining. For dinner they had polao, chicken masala, beef curry, vegetable curry, and pudding, custard and payesh as desserts. At the end, both the families said goodbye and set out for their own homes.
Soon the family was invited at other hosts’ homes where Rahman’s family would also be invited and they would all chit chat and dine.
By now the daughters of Shahid were attending school, the same one as Rahman’s daughters. They were facing problems with the English language as they were fluent only in their native language. They had a lot of catching up to do. Soon they were able to relate to English and bit by bit everything started to fall together.
Rahman and family were soon going back to their home country on account of their kids’ regular continuing education. So Shahid and family were feeling a bit insecure because they had come to Rahman’s family until now for help, counseling and advice.
They invited them to their place. Rahman’s family had a great time dining at Shahid’s residence. They cooked well and was able to satisfy Rahman’s family’s appetite. Rahman’s family was in turn thankful for Shahid and family’s invitation for lunch.
Shahid’s family was humbled and they knew they would miss Rahman’s family very much. They helped the other family pack up their stuff for the rest of the days. Finally Rahman’s family left, leaving a lot of used but reusable belongings with Shahid’s family.
Shahid’s family silently grieved at their residence but was soon back on pace with their life. Shahid gave full attention to their daughters’ studies and tutored them. He prepared long and hard for lectures at the Technical
City University. But it wasn’t long before Shahid was laid off from his work.
Back in the country, Rahman’s family was settling down making furniture for their new home and admitting their daughters to a nearby reputable school.
Then one day when Rahman went to drop two of their daughters in the second shift at school, most surprisingly he encountered the wife of Mr Shahid. She said her husband was laid off from his work. So they were back to the country with their daughters. And for the moment she was with her cousin sister to pick up her children from school. Rahman sighed in grief at the fate of Shahid’s family and wished them all the best on their current journey.