Same Masks Different Eyes

In Room 601, the Raeeses and Qaisers impatiently waited for their children.

“What’s taking them so long?” Suhail asked in irritation.

“They will be here soon, just give them time,” Rahila assured Suhail.

Just then, Ahmer and Ruqsana entered the room. Sania rushed to Ruqsana but stopped when her daughter flinched. Saad held Sania and placed a hand on his chest to give her a reassuring look.

“What took you so long?” Suhail asked Ahmer.

“Sorry, we were discussing something important,” Ahmer answered.

“What exactly were you two discussing?” Saad asked.

“Our future, what we will do after graduation,” Ruqsana replied.

“And what will you do after graduation?” Sania asked, narrowing her eyes as if sensing she wasn’t going to like the answer.

Ruqsana looked at Ahmer, who nodded before they turned to their parents.

“I will find a job as a software engineer,” Ruqsana answered.

“And I will work as an animator,” Ahmer answered.

“You can’t be serious,” Saad gritted his teeth.

“And who gave you the right to decide that?” Sania asked.

“We’ve always had the right,” Ahmer answered.

“It’s you who are holding us back,” Ruqsana added.

“This is why I didn’t want to leave you two alone,” Suhail hissed, “it’s always some trouble with you two.”

“Are you two out of your minds?” Sania asked.

“Haven’t we made it clear what we think of working women?” Saad asked.

“You have,” Ruqsana affirmed.

“Do you truly believe you have a future as an animator? Suhail asked.

“I do,” Ahmer affirmed.

“You don’t,” Suhail said firmly, “You will join my party after graduating and that’s final.”

“And you, young lady, will remain at home and that’s final,” Saad said.

“Why do you even want to work? You are from the richest family, and being married to a prominent family,” Sania asked Ruqsana.

“Why do you insist on being an animator so much?” Suhail asked Ahmer.

“I want to be more than just a trophy wife,” Ruqsana answered.

“I love animating, it’s my real passion, not politics,” Ahmer answered.

“Do you two think the world runs on passion? Be real!” Saad growled.

“I am marrying my son to the daughter of one of the richest men in the world, not an office woman who’d rather work than nurture the family,” Suhail said.

“And I am marrying my daughter to the son of Aslanistan’s most powerful man, not some lowlife animator whose earnings depend on how popular their sketches are,” Saad said.

“Let’s all just calm down,” Rahila called for calm, “we can discuss this without insulting our children.”

“This is not the time for calm bhabhi,” Sania said, “we need to knock some sense into their brains.”

“Here’s the thing, you can’t stop us from living the way we see fit,” Ahmer shrugged.

“Are you sure about that?” Sania scoffed.

“Did you forget why you haven’t been able to get an internship, Ruqsana?” Saad asked.

“I’d rather not resort to this but if you don’t listen willingly, then I’ll be forced to use my connections to make sure that no animation studio in Aslanistan hires you,” Suhail told Ahmer.

“What if we leave the country?” Ahmer asked.

Their parents blinked in realization before breaking into screams.

“WE WON’T LET YOU LEAVE THIS HOTEL, LET ALONE ASLANISTAN!” Suhail threatened.

“YOU THINK YOU CAN SURVIVE IN A NEW COUNTRY? YOU HAVE BEEN PAMPERED YOUR ENTIRE LIFE!” Saad warned them.

“IS THIS WHAT YOU TWO HAVE BEEN PLOTTING IN YOUR LITTLE GET-TOGETHERS?” Sania asked.

“Won’t you stay even for your mother?” Rahila asked Ahmer.

“Sorry Ammi, but we can’t live like this,” Ahmer replied.

“DIDN’T YOU HEAR ME? YOU AREN’T LEAVING THIS HOTEL, LET ALONE THIS COUNTRY,” Suhail repeated.

“You can’t keep us here, it’s a democracy not a dictatorship, which means we have rights and we will go to court for them if we have to,” Ahmer said firmly.

“So that’s it?” Suhail asked Ahmer, “You’re just going to cut ties with us? Yesterday I thought you called my bluff but you really just don’t care whether I disown you or not?”

“If you don’t want us to leave, listen to us,” Ruqsana pleaded.

“What’s there to listen?” Sania snarked, “You have it figured out. You can just leave the country and cut ties with us. We can’t do anything to you once you are out.”

“We don’t want to, but you aren’t giving us a lot of choices,” Ruqsana retorted.

“You have already made your choice. You spit on our years of love and care for a boy you met a week ago,” Saad spoke, his voice dripping with venom, “a boy you weren’t ready to marry then.”

“What you’ve done to me is anything but love and care! If only I could make you see how cruel you’ve been to me,” Ruqsana retorted, close to tears. She had hoped the threat of leaving the country would make them back track but they weren’t budging.

“You can,” Rahila said.

“What?” Ruqsana asked.

“Ahmer, remember that animation you made in your school with your friends?” Rahila asked Ahmer, “The one you got a consolation prize for.”

“Oh no! Not that, it’s too edgy,” Ahmer waved his hands around to emphasize how badly he didn’t want anyone seeing “that”.

“It’s exactly what they need to see,” Rahila said.

“Bhabhi, you think a cartoon will convince us?” Saad scoffed.

“If it won’t, nothing else will,” Rahila insisted.

“This is a waste of time,” Sania scoffed.

“Exactly, we aren’t getting anywhere with talking, so we might as well watch,” Ruqsana smirked.

“Oh no! It’s the worst thing that can be shown in this situation,” Ahmer tried to convince them.

“Hn! Your son doesn’t share your confidence bhabhi,” Saad scoffed.

“This is ridiculous,” Suhail said, “You should be helping me knock some sense into them instead of making us watch Ahmer’s school project.”

“Do you want to lose our son?” Rahila asked fiercely, making Suhail flinch, “If not, then for once, try to understand him,” Rahila turned to Saad and Sania, “The same goes for you two.” Rahila and the three of them stared at each other for some time.

“Tsk! Fine!” Suhail agreed hesitantly, “Let’s see this cartoon of yours.”

“I really think we should continue our talk instead,” Ahmer said, hesitant about showing his anime.

Ruqsana held the remote control to Ahmer, “Ahmer, you’re an animator, you have to believe in the power of anime more than anyone.”

Ahmer nodded and took the remote. He switched the TV on, went to UTube, searched for “A Dying Art” and played it.

The anime was about Shams and his father, Qamar. Shams was a bright and creative soul who loved drawing. He wanted to be a painter. But his father came from a military line and wanted Shams to follow in his footsteps. He would often beat Shams, tear his drawing, throw his tools in the bin and put him down every chance he got. When Shams tried joining a painting competition in secret, Qamar found out. He made a ruckus at the competition and forced Shams to return home. He also prevented Shams from making friends who were creative like him. Shams grew up to be quiet and lonely. He joined the military just like his father wanted, right at the start of a war. Worried about his son, Qamar regretted the way he had treated Shams. He found drawings Shams had hidden and framed them. He promised himself that when his son returns, he would allow him to follow his passion. But Shams does not return. He lays his life down in the service of his country, saving his comrades from an ambush. Qamar is devastated as he buries his son in his grave. He becomes an empty husk of a man, remembering his son through his paintings, until his death.

After the end of the anime, Ahmer sat silently waiting for taunts about how stupid the story was, the ridiculous costumes he designed for the military, making them look like bikers rather than soldiers, the father’s extreme cruelty, the over-the-top gore and other things wrong with his anime.

The worst part was his intent behind making the film, ‘Anyone who sees it can tell I made it to make my father feel bad,’ he criticised himself internally, ‘Of course, he was too busy to see it but I doubt it would change his mind.’

He waited for his father’s usual taunts but no one made any comments. Ahmer turned around and was shocked by what he saw: everyone was crying.

“Is this what you think of us?” Saad asked Ruqsana.

“It’s very similar,” Ruqsana admitted.

“Why didn’t you ever tell us?” Sania asked.

“I tried,” Ruqsana replied.

“This is exactly like us,” Suhail noted.

“It is,” Ahmer murmured.

Everyone remained silent, still processing what they had seen, trying to sort their feelings.

“It’s like we’ve been shown a mirror for the first time and we can see how ugly we truly are,” Suhail muttered.

“We thought we were protecting you, we never realized how much pain we were causing you,” Sania admitted.

“We were so desperate to honour the past that we didn’t give a thought to your future,” Saad added.

“It’s no wonder you want to leave us, this is no way to live,” Suhail whispered.

“Despite all the hurt you’ve caused,” Ruqsana spoke, “I still love you two and want you both to be a part of my life. It’s the same for Ahmer, even if he won’t admit it,” Ahmer turned his face away, “But we can’t go on like this. That’s why I beg you, please give us a reason to stay.”

The parents looked at each other, then Saad said, “Can you two give us some time to discuss amongst ourselves?”

Ruqsana and Ahmer nodded, going outside the room. They waited in the dining hall of the hotel, grabbing some sambosa as snacks. Their parents were taking time, discussing their future, creating both anticipation and fear in their hearts.

“Do you think they will finally agree with us?” Ahmer asked.

“I hope so,” Ruqsana answered.

They got a text from their parents to return to the room, which they did. After they got seated, they began discussing the future.

“Though we are still uncomfortable with letting you work,” Saad told Ruqsana, “we understand that your values are different from ours. If you’re okay, we’d like you to work under Adnan to get a sense of how our businesses operate and eventually become a business partner with him.”

“Adnan has always been supportive of you, so I’m sure he will be thrilled with the idea,” Sania added.

“I’d love that,” Ruqsana answered, hugging her parents.

“As for you,” Suhail spoke to Ahmer, “I was hoping we could meet halfway. I understand that you are passionate about animation but as you are aware, our country’s animation industry isn’t booming. So I was hoping you’d be involved in both animation and politics.”

“You mean, be a member of your party and work as an animator on the side?” Ahmer asked.

“Yes,” Suhail affirmed.

“I don’t know, being an animator is a time-consuming job, I won’t be able to give much time to politics,” Ahmer pointed out.

“And I don’t expect you to, just be involved to a limited degree,” Suhail said.

“On that note,” Saad chimed in, “if you’d like to work under some renowned animation studios, we can help you with that.”

“It sounds good to me,” Ahmer said.

“Do we have a deal then?” Suhail asked, raising his hand.

“Deal,” Ahmer shook his hand.

Rahila smiled, watching Suhail and Ahmer get along for the first time in a long time.