After, the untimely death of his brother, Kabir raised his brothers son, Amir as his own. What’s worse, he even made Lubna go through two abortions before finally having his own daughter. Kabir, taught everything that Amir needed to learn in life. He gave Amir a great education and then made him partner in his company. Kabir was taken aback, when he learnt that Amir did not want to work with him, but wanted his own share. Kabir, felt cheated and shattered. The thought that  Amir, did not want him was devastating.  Being a slave to his  emotions, Kabir left  the entire company, which he had  built, worth a few billions for his nephew to run and moved to a quieter town with his wife Lubna and daughter, Soha. Unfortunately, Amir’s mother did not try to stop this. And, Lubna could not stop Kabir either!

Twenty years passed and both Kabir’s and Amir’s family grew apart. They would meet only at the occasion of weddings or death of common relatives. But, soon that too stopped.

Amir, managed to multiply the assets of Kabir’s firm, and was a respected businessman. Although, it had been several years, the thought of his uncle would often haunt him. Being a father now, he could somewhat imagine the sacrifices his uncle and aunt may have made. But, it was only after, his mother passed away, that he stated to miss Kabir. However, he was too proud to admit it to himself and continued telling the world that he was a self made man. Amir, may have been greedy, but he had shared all the happy tales of Kabir, with his wife and daughter. Amir’s wife, Rani and daughter Fathima knew that Uncle Kabir was behind his success.

Kabir’s family was happy, but they were not so well-off. Kabir, stayed depressed, but Lubna, stood by him & never made him feel any less due to his emotional challenges.

Lubna and Soha, accidentally bumped into Fathima at a wedding. Lubna, was very reluctant to even exchange Salaam with Fathima. But, Fathima behaved as she had known them for ages. They had never really met, just exchanged glares in the past. Fathima decided to take the first step and invited Soha and Lubna for lunch, the next day. After, a few tries Lubna agreed. At lunch, Fathima, told them, that she grew up listening to stories of Papa’s uncle and aunt. It was shocking for both, Lubna and Soha to hear about small, funny cute incidences that Amir shared with his daughter.

Fathima, said that Amir was a little bull headed but he had great affection for his uncle, aunt and cousin. Lubna, rejected the idea, but was shaken when Fathima said that it has been her dream to unite, both the families together. Soha told Fathima, that she was willing to help, but that her father could not take another blow.

Rani was more than willing to help Fathima with the plan. They both went to meet Kabir and  told him, that even today Amir loves him. Kabir, gave his blessings to Rani and Fathima, but would not give consent to resolve issues with Amir. Soha and Lubna, who were anxious for closure, finally made Kabir agree to meet Amir.

Amir, was furious when he learned about this arrangement. Not because he would hate to meet his uncle, but because it could be threat to his ego. His wife Rani, knew that deep down this was his chance to undo the wrong. She spoke to him that night. Rani told him, that this means so much to Fathima & all you have to do is just catch up. Amir suddenly did not see any harm, in the idea of just ‘catching up’.” The day finally came. Amir drove to Kabir’s house.

There were no hugs or tears. A cold handshake, and then came the storm. Kabir looked at him, and realized, that he still had lot of love and affection for him. All, he could manage was a soft ..why? Amir, admitted, that he wanted to be his own boss. He hated the fifty-fifty terms, and it just had to hundred percent his. Kabir, did not say much, after this, but his eyes looked wet. The pindrop silence in the room, was broken by soft howls made by Amir. Kabir was astonished, to see the proud, Amir with tears in his eyes and saying what Kabir was even afraid to think of. Amir, said that he was young and silly. He did wrong. He might be rich today, but it was only because Kabir was the mentor. At that moment, Lubna walked in, and saw two of them hugging each other laughing and crying at the same time.  She called, Soha, Fathima & Rani  from the other room to celebrate.

“I am writing as part of the #Storytellers competition by The Gud1“.