The dark clouds roared and the lightning illuminated the otherwise calm and bleak night. The drops of water tumbled down from their protective cocoon and fell to the ground, drenching everything in their wake, from uneven puddles to the skyscrapers.

Zoha looked through the window of her hospital room at the rain outside. It was almost midnight, which meant approximately eight hours since she had given birth.

"It must be the rain."

She consoled herself knowing too well the rain had just started and it could never be the reason for his absence.

She kept on gazing at the streaks that the water had formed on the windowpane. One. Two. Three. They were coming in succession. Pilling up.

Just like the odds have a way of catching up to you.

"He's on his way, Zoha."

The reverie of her troubled thoughts was broken by her mother's voice. Zoha didn't look at her.

"Took him long enough, don't you think?"

Mrs. Amina sighed and opened her lips to say something but Zoha had already turned to the other side. She was exhausted and the emotional turmoil was also an added strain. It wasn't the right choice to give her a lecture at this time. She wasn't a kid, now a mother of three.

Mother. Kids.

Mrs. Amina immediately looked at the squirming bundle in the crib to her side. The baby who had gotten the introduction to this world just a while back without any of her parents adored her. 

Mrs. Amina was disappointed in Zoha. Instead of mourning the absence of the husband who didn't have it in him to swallow his pride and end whatever wrong was going between them, she should've been taking care of this baby. What was its fault in all this?

She carefully picked the baby in her arms and slowly traced her features. The nose was exactly like Afaaf, who would be pleased that little sister had her nose just like hers. And her hair, just the same colour as Adeem. He would also be happy.

"They'd be here in the morning with your Nanu. Your siblings can't wait to meet you."

Mrs. Amina whispered softly. That was the exact moment when the baby's eyes opened from the confinement of her petal-soft lids. The smile wasn't reciprocated but the finger Mrs. Amina had put into her fist was held onto tightly.

And that's where a teary smile graced Amina's lips. She kissed her granddaughter's tiny forehead.

The first ray of the sun had shone through the window coming straight out of the clouds. Mrs. Amina looked at the spectacle with awestruck expressions.

"Zoha, you weren't able to come up with a name right? I think I've found one. We'll call her Inara."

She glanced back at her daughter but to her dismay, Zoha was already asleep. Mrs. Amina shook her head and turned again to the baby in her arms.

"Did you hear me? Your Nano has given you a name. Inara. Ray of light."

The baby tried opening her eyes wide but on failing to do that, her hold on her grandmother's finger had tightened.
A tight hold on a bond for a lifetime.

The clock in the living room struck four. The bright glow of the late noon was turning into the evening. The orange rays of the setting sun were peeking through the window. Mr. and Mrs. Sukhera exchanged a worried glance.

There was a silent conversation going on between them. Zoha, sitting on the edge of the sofa, was noticing it all and the wish of sharing the same bonding with their son raised its head within her, surprising her as well, the same son who was there with his parents to sort things out with her.

"We've discussed everything, Mr. and Mrs. Sukhera. There are mistakes on both sides. But what Wijdan and Zoha need to understand is, they're not alone in this relation. They are parents of three small kids who deserve a happy life. Nothing both Wijdan and Zoha has mentioned is unworkable. They can sort it out if only they want to."

Rehman Shafee tried knocking some sense into his daughter and son in law. All this was taking a toll on both the families. Wijdan and Zoha had been a normal couple with normal couple problems but how these small problems changed into full-blown showdowns and issues they couldn't seem to work on, no one knew. Both held onto misunderstandings and miscommunication which strained their relation to the extent that one day a seven-month pregnant Zoha was at her father's doorstep along with her two kids. The situation was unexpected for Rehman and Amina. They had always thought their daughter was happy and contented with her married life but seemed like that wasn't the case.

"This is what we are trying to make Wijdan understand, Mr. Rehman. They aren't just two people now. The kids are involved in every decision of theirs, with one who has just come into this world. What decision they take should come considering the children and their future."

Mrs. Sukhera's words brought silence to the living room of Rehman and Amina's house. Every eye was now directed towards Zoha and Wijdan waiting for them to finally come up with a decision instead of oscillating between denial and acceptance.

"Zoha!"
Wijdan's clear voice had her looking up at him.

"Let's go home."
He had announced his decision. He wanted his family back. Now it was Zoha's turn to accept it or reject it.

She thought about the emotional trauma she faced for the last two months. How he refused to come over and take her with him. How he wasn't there when she went into labor giving birth to Inara. How he was the last one to see his daughter.

But then her thoughts drifted towards the faces of Adeem and Afaaf and then towards Inara who was right now asleep in her Nano's lap.

She took a deep breath.
"I'll get the kids ready and pack our stuff.
Shouldn't take us long."

They had gotten the point their parents were trying to convey. They had chosen the path of compromise and another chance for the sake of their kids.

As Zoha watched Wijdan putting the suitcase in the trunk of the car, she became aware of the fact that this was their last chance and they needed to work on this marriage.

But would these two months ever be erased from their life story? When they both introduced one another to their worst and were on the verge of falling apart? The actual reason had faded somewhere in the haze of new misunderstandings and their refusal to see sense. They couldn't even remember how it all had started but they did know this wasn't how it was supposed to end.

Adeem and Afaaf were talking animatedly to their father and he was also fully attentive towards them, answering their questions, listening to their anecdotes of this stay at their Nanu's place. His eyes darted towards Zoha who was silently sitting on the passenger seat but no words came out of his mouth. The same was true for Zoha. She didn't know how to start something which had never felt the need of starting in the past.

And the five days old Inara was sleeping soundly in her mother's lap not even realizing that she hadn't been once doted on by her parents together. They were too tangled in their own mess.

Wijdan Sukhera and Zoha Rehman had met through a mutual friend during their university days. Both were poles apart in nature and aspirations. Wijdan's career was set in civil service as his family had an old niche there while Zoha was majoring in Economics. But the spark was there and it led them to start seeing each other. The relationship was on for months after that and when both embarked on the professional career lines, they were already engaged.

When Wijdan got appointed in PAS, he and Zoha had gotten married a few months after that. Zoha's father, Rehman Shafee was a retired army officer and the only person who wasn't quite fond of this relationship but Zoha was happy so he had to let things go the way they were going.

The first few years went in a beautiful haze with Wijdan's posting shifting from one district to another and the birth of Adeem and Afaaf with the gap of just two years. But once they had settled down back in Pindi for a long period of time things started taking a turn for the worse.

The traits they both used to find appealing in each other, started irking them. Zoha's tenacity which Wijdan used to admire back then when they were dating, now rubbed him the wrong way when in arguments she'd hold her ground and refuse to bend to his will. Wijdan's bossy attitude which Zoha always said added to his aura was no longer tolerated by her because she was the one subjected to it most of the time. Starting from mild discords they reached a point where they couldn't stand each other. Zoha's third pregnancy had a gap of five years apart from Afaaf but the news of a new member adding to their small family also had no effect on them both. A huge showdown where Zoha called him a liar and Wijdan hinted at her having an illicit relationship with an old friend of hers, things took the final turn, and the next day Zoha was right there at her parents' doorstep announcing she was never going back.

The situation was unexpected for both Rehman Shafee and Amina Rehman. They hadn't thought things were this bad between Zoha and Wijdan. Zoha spent the last two months of her pregnancy with her parents and the attempts of reconciliation also started from both the families. Wijdan's parents didn't want the couple to break apart. Rehman and Amina were also of the same view. Though Rehman Shafee wanted Zoha to have full liberty of choosing the life she thought the best for her but she wasn't alone. There were three other lives associated and dependent on both her and Wijdan so he wanted her to take a wise decision.

And a decision wise in the eyes of everyone they had taken. Of working on their marriage and trying to be better at parenting for their kids but the wish of having each other back had diminished somewhere. This was the thing the elders didn't see or chose not to see. They just focused on the part that Zoha and Wijdan were together and were no longer fighting.

But Zoha and Wijdan could never get back together after that. They were living under the same roof. They were still husband and wife. Were parents to their kids but they were no longer the companions they once were for each other. Their arguments were still going strong but they had stopped letting the others know about those. They had instead turned their home in a dysfunctional family house. Without even realizing it.
"Mama! Can you check these sums for me?"

Afaaf stood in front of Zoha but she was lost in her own thoughts.
"Hun?"

She looked on at Afaaf who put her notebook in front of her on the table.

"My sums, Mama."

"Oh, yes, sure."

She started going through Afaaf's mathematics homework meanwhile looking around at her son.

"Adeem, are you also done?"
The twelve-year-old hummed in response. He was busy decorating his science journal which was the reason his teacher was so fond of him.
Handing Afaaf her notebook back, Zoha got up to check if the snacks she'd asked the house help to prepare for the children were ready or not when she realized the seat right in front of her was empty when it shouldn't have been.

"Where's Inara?"
She asked her kids both of whom shook their heads.

"Her homework is also half done."
Afaaf announced checking Inara's copy which earned her a disapproving glance from Adeem. He knew this would land Inara in trouble. Their five-year-old sister sure knew how to do that a lot.

"Must be in the lawn chasing butterflies! What do I do with this kid!"
Zoha exclaimed making her way towards the attached lawn the door of which opened into the main lounge. She could see her twirling around through the glass doors.

"Inara!"
Twirl this way round. Twirl the other way round. No effect.

"Inara!"
Zoha had opened the sliding doors and was now standing on the threshold which separated the boundary of the house and the lawn. Inara stopped abruptly and stood straight like a deer caught in the headlights.

"I told you not to come out here until you are done with your homework! Why don't you ever listen to me."

"But there was a butterfly, Mama!"

Her meek answer hadn't affected Zoha in the slightest. She hated it when her kids lacked in academics. The responsibility of their studies was on Zoha and if any of them performed average or below average, then she would be the subject of Wijdan's jibs for days to come. She never had a problem with Afaaf and Adeem but with Inara, things were looking a bit bleak. Not that she was slow but wasn't bright in the subjects she was supposed to be good at and that was enough for Wijdan to get angry, cons of being born into the family of high achievers.

"Your Baba will not be happy if you turn the homework sheet blank so let's get back to work."

Zoha held her tiny palm in hers and both started walking towards the doors. Inara looked at the place she was twirling just a while back.

There was a butterfly.

Wijdan handed the tablet to Adeem who was looking excited on finally being able to play this game he was trying to get a hang of for half an hour. Both Afaaf and him were very much into video games and any activity which ensured brainstorming, something Wijdan liked a lot. It was the telltale sign of sharp kids who would contribute a lot to the community and raise their family name higher than it already was.

Afaaf and Adeem were busy playing the complicated game on the tab when Wijdan's eyes fell on Inara who was sitting in a corner with her drawing book opened. She seemed to be deep in thoughts.

No matter the issues with Zoha which were never resolving, Wijdan had a good rapport with his children. Both Adeem and Afaaf were very fond of spending time with him whenever he was free from his extensive work commitments but the same wasn't true for Inara. She had shown no interest in the activities Wijdan usually incorporate his other kids in. She would be uninterested or get distracted way too early. This was something Wijdan never liked. He wanted his kids to follow the carved path for them and to his satisfaction, both Adeem and Afaaf were fulfilling the criteria to the t. But not Inara. She was lacking somewhere. Although it was too early to say that about a six-year-old kid, still Wijdan could tell this child of his wasn't going to live up to the expectations. He just hoped he was wrong.

"Eid Mubarak, Dado!"
An Eight-year-old Inara bounced in the traditional attire she had worn especially on Eid. Mrs. Sukhera smiled at her granddaughter and touched her braid where she had put beads to give it a whole festive look.

"How do I look?

"Very pretty!"

"This dress is also very pretty! I loved it! Thank you, Dado!"

She kissed her Dado's cheek. Mrs. Sukhera beamed in the love showered on her by her grandkid.

"Where are Adeem and Afaaf?"

"Ah, the same old. Afaaf is creating a racket because she doesn't like her dress."

Mrs. Sukhera raised an eyebrow. She had specially sent the dresses for the kids on this Eid. She was about to ask more when Adeem and Afaaf entered the room.

"Oh, Afaaf!"
Mrs. Sukhera exclaimed. She could imagine how Afaaf would increase the charm of this dress even while buying it and she wasn't wrong.

"Eid Mubarak, Dado. And don't listen to Inara. I love this dress."
She glared at her younger sister who narrowed her eyes in reply.

"But you were just whining!"

"Was not!"

"Were too!"
Adeem closed his eyes fully tired of these everyday arguments between his sisters.

"Can you two stop?"

"She's lying!"

"No, she's lying!"

"Oh stop you both! It's Eid and we shouldn't fight today. Afaaf! Come here, sweetie! Let me see you closely. I knew this dress was made for you only."

Mrs. Sukhera called for Afaaf who promptly sat next to her grandmother. Wijdan and Zoha joined them soon. The men of the family got busy in their own talks while the women were mainly talking about the tiresome shopping and how it had totally exhausted them. Mrs. Sukhera was continuously looking at Afaaf and praising her choice along with Afaaf's budding beauty.

"But she said I'm looking pretty."

Inara thought dejectedly but she had become the part of the background by now.
Like she always did.

Zoha massaged her forehead and then glanced at her daughter who was looking as uninterested as Zoha was hoping her to be.
"Sixth place in the science competition even after I prepared you for it losing my sleep every night."

Inara played with her fingers not looking up at her mother.

"Inara, I'm asking something."
"Mama..."

"Yes?"
"I don't like science, or mathematics or geography. No, I don't like any of these subjects."

"Then what do you like? And studies don't go on with the likes of someone. I worked hard on you, Inara! I worked so hard. Both your siblings topped in this competition. Adeem even got a distinction. He scored the most in five years! Why can't you?"

"I also topped!"
Zoha raised an eyebrow. Inara pulled out a sheet from her bag and handed it to Zoha.
It was the certificate of excellent performance in a creative writing competition. She had gotten a distinction. Inara was eyeing her mother hopefully. Maybe now she'd say something encouraging. Inara! I'm proud of you. Inara, you are no less than your siblings!  Inara, Afaaf is good but you aren't bad either!

"We are working extra time on your weak subjects from now on."
The certificate was conveniently placed in the drawer of the study table and the hopeful, anticipating eyes of Inara had suddenly filled up with tears.

"Give it back to me!"

"No!"

"Mama, please give it back to me!"

"Not unless you start working hard!"
She suddenly got up.

"I hate it here! I hate it here!"

With that, she wiped her tears and ran out of the room leaving a bewildered Zoha behind.

Miss. Ayesha smiled at the students who were fully attentive towards her. She wanted to use this time to do something which would interest the kids. She was done with her lecture anyway and this time was reserved for activities that had nothing to do with the academics.

"So everyone, today you guys are going to tell me which fictional character do you think is like you? Someone you relate with. Someone, you think has it the same as you? I give you five minutes to decide and then I'll ask one by one and you all will answer me, right?"

There was a certain shift in the class hearing her announcement. This was what she wanted. After a boring mathematics class, she wanted the kids to have a relaxed state of mind thinking about the things which actually excited them.

She waited for five minutes in which the students had all decided on the characters they were going to mention. She could already tell which names she'd hear a lot. But she was enjoying this.

"Maryam?"

"I'll be snow-white."

Ayesha nodded.

"Umer?"

"Iron man, Ma'am!"

She shook her head smiling.
"Tooba?"

"Thumbelina, because I'm small like her."

Ayesha was enjoying this.

"Inara?"

Inara looked up from her drawing book where she was doodling something. Every eye in the class was right now directed towards her. She sighed and got up.

"The ugly duckling."

Ayesha's smile vanished immediately. She was ready for every bizarre answer to her question but not this. Especially not the way it was said. As if Inara had contemplated this before as well. There must be something that led her to come to this conclusion.

On finding her teacher not asking her why and how Inara sat down and turned back to her book.

She was drawing a duckling.

Zoha ran her eyes over the report card critically. Above-average performance in every subject with distinction in art and English.
"She's the best at creative writing in the class. Also, her drawing is top-notched."

Ayesha commented earning a nod from Zoha.
"But there's something else I wanted to talk to you about."

Zoha placed the card in front of her giving full attention to Inara's teacher.

"A few days back I asked a question in my class about which fictional character the children relate to."

Zoha scrunched her eyebrow.
"Inara's answer was the ugly duckling."

Ayesha leaned forward to put her point across.
"See I know it was just a question and I shouldn't worry about Inara's answer. But the thing here is, I asked about the character they relate to and not the character which is their favourite. There's a difference. If Inara had told me that the duckling is her favourite character, I would've been totally okay with it but she thinks that he's like her and relates to him that is worrisome. This tells us that Inara is somewhere self-deprecating which shouldn't happen. Why? I don't know but I hope you'll sit your daughter down and ask her this because as a teacher I can't see a student of mine thinking of herself something lesser than the average."

Ayesha had made her mind to ask Inara herself what was wrong but a colleague of hers had stopped her telling her about the family Inara was from and how they would make it an issue so she should drop it. Only Ayesha wasn't someone to do that. If she couldn't ask Inara herself she'd let her mother know for sure.
Zoha was tongue-tied. She couldn't accept or even deny anything. She just knew one thing that this matter was something she needed to discuss with Wijdan. It was decided.

Afaaf held onto the wall and looked on at the door with anxious expressions. The voices coming from their parents' room were getting louder with each passing second. They were arguing and it had been a long time since such a showdown had happened.

It had all started when Zoha put Inara's report card in front of Wijdan and then told him about what her teacher had said. Wijdan tried brushing it off thinking it was just a childish attempt on Inara's part but Zoha was adamant that they weren't giving the right environment to their kids. The mild disagreement had come down to a full-blown showdown. Both were blaming each other for everything that was going wrong in their lives and with Inara. Not once did they bother to sit down and calmly analyze why their daughter was feeling she was a misfit.

Inara bunched the cushion trying to tune out the noise.

"This is your fault!"

Afaaf wiped her tears hurriedly and ran to where Inara was sitting.

"Neither can you study properly nor you can do anything right! Why did you have to tell your teacher that! You know what? You were right! You are an ugly duckling!"

She shook Inara when Adeem held her hand standing in front of her.

"Are you out of your mind?"

"I hate her!"
She shouted. Inara sank deeper into the couch. Adeem hugged her sideways to tell her he was there. Afaaf kept on wailing and Wiijdan and Zoha's arguments kept on piling.

It was a dark night.

Mrs. Amina ran her fingers through Inara's hair. It used to work every time but right now sleep was far away from Inara's eyes.

"Nano, can't you convince, Mama? I don't want to go."

The kids had come to spend the weekend with their grandparents. It was an attempt of normalizing the situation on Wijdan and Zoha's part. All three of them were pretty shaken by the latest fight between their parents.

"I couldn't because you all have school to attend but you can come here anytime you want to. Your mother will not stop you."
Rehman and Amina were saddened by the way Wijdan and Zoha were acting around the kids. They were making their household toxic and weren't even realizing it. The Sukheras were based in Lahore so it wasn't possible for the extended family to visit the kids every day but this could be done with maternal grandparents as they were at the distance of just a twenty minutes' drive.

Inara snuggled more into the warmth of her Nano. The familiarity of her embrace had Inara almost crying. She was just a kid. She didn't know why she was feeling what she was feeling. But after the way her parents had reacted to her teacher's comment and the way Afaaf blamed her for every wrong, Inara knew one thing for sure.

She was the ugly duckling of the prestigious Sukhera family.

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