In The Hands of Fate

By

Yaqeen Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander

In the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur dwelled Jamie, a young girl, still innocent and untouched by

the harsh, persistent realities of life. She was youthful, pretty and ambitious. Her life was

rejoicing, her ways full of spirit. She was humorous and easy going, a girl who seemed to

possess all the delighting qualities and aura that would appeal to any decent man. She was

not privileged, royal or rich but she was unique in her own ways, making the best of every

moment. And like every other girl she too harboured and cherished the dream of having an

ideal man in her life, a guy who would love her unconditionally for what she is, make her

feel special and precious.

Jamie was a science student and completed her bachelor’s in science from a reputed local

university. Soon afterwards she applied for a job and got appointed as an English teacher in

a local government school. She was smart, well-read and loved new experiences. She was

the member of a regular family with parents, a brother and a younger sister. Her family was

her greatest priority and she made all efforts to make them comfortable especially after her

job when she got a chance to serve her family financially. Her income was reasonable but

her parents had too many expectations from her many of which were unrealistic. She had

everything except she didn’t feel the freedom which she wanted to have. She worked on

weekdays and on the weekends she had to drive her parents to their relatives or friends’

places. She felt shackled with no freedom to choose on her own. But she always continued

happily, thinking that it was a means to see her family glad.

In the later days of her college, Jamie often used to see a man in his forties at the library. He

often used to search through books and do his work at a table. Once Jamie was borrowing

some books and she passed by his table. He looked at her and smiled and it just happened

that they exchanged some greetings. She came to know that his name was Shahrul and he

was doing his research. Afterwards, they met in library few more times. Jamie found out

that his personality was dynamic and he was good looking, besides being soft in his tone and

manners. He talked to her with respect. All this was enough for Jamie to fall in love with

him.

Shahrul now became the first love of Jamie. They both adored each other and wanted to get

married and stay together for a lifetime. But when her parents discovered about their

relation and the fact of their age difference, they outwardly rejected the proposal and

refused Jamie of any meetings or connection with him. Eventually, it led to their breakup

and her life changed drastically until the point she got convinced that love wasn’t meant for

her. This event had a profound effect upon her and since then, the meaning of life became

different for her.

After this incident, Jamie in order to forget her woes would hangout more with her friends.

She used to go out and ‘chill’ with her friends which included some guys as well. It so

happened one night that she got late and going back home wasn’t possible due to some

unavoidable circumstances. So a friend invited her to stay overnight in his home and due to

the trust, she agreed. Once they reached there, he started making advances towards her,

attempting to seduce her. She resisted to her utmost level but it didn’t move him until he

became violent. The house was empty and the skies and the earth then witnessed the

torment of an innocent girl whose chastity was torn by this monster.

Losing her virginity forcibly completely changed the course of her life. She no longer cared

about who she went out or met with. She thought she had nothing more to lose now.

Nothing worse could come to her now. She fell down from the abyss of morality and there

was none to take her hand and guide her faltering steps. She then went for occasional dates

and had physical relations for short periods. She started to derive pleasure out of this short-

lived fun. She continued making new friends and getting intimate to the ones she liked

more.

After certain years then, she met a guy online from a foreign country who was studying at

some university in Kuala Lumpur. And just after some initial conversation, she felt an

intrinsic longing for him in her heart. His name was Ryan and he gave her respect and made

her feel special. He was decent and more of an intellectual kind. She was twenty-eight while

Ryan was twenty-one. They met once in a cafe and just afterwards, her heart opened once

again towards love and she expressed her desire to marry him after all these long years. He

liked her too but due to his conservative family background he was compelled to reject this

proposal of hers. So once again she felt shattered and her dreams of having a loving partner

faded away. As of now, she feels that her future lies in the hands of fate.

Epilogue

Ryan is currently completing his degree at the University. He never fell in love since. Jamie

continues to live in Kuala Lumpur with her parents and occasionally visits her grandma.

Nothing much has changed over the years. She still works as a teacher in a government

school and tries her best to satisfy everyone around especially her family. She is twenty nine

now and still awaits her soul mate, the one who will look into her eyes and speak to her

heart. She is hopeful in her longing and believes that a day will come when she will get

married and settle down finally. She desires an affectionate and romantic husband who will

give her cute and adorable babies. Will she be able to follow her dreams and get what she

has been waiting for through all these years of emotional exploitation? Will she ever get the

one who will bring her out from the clouds of her dark past towards the sunshine and light

of a new, bright and blissful future? The question lies in slumber.

(Based on a true life experience as narrated to the Author)

(Yaqeen Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander is the Executive Director of Inspire ME™ & can be reached

at www.yaqeenulhaq.com)