​“Majeeda, come back home!” her mother screamed from the window of the mud hut as the sun was about to drown in the water canal near their home.

​

​Unwillingly, she ran back home, with messed-up hair and mud all over her. As she crossed the doorway, her mother grabbed her by the arm. “What have you done to yourself?” she asked, dusting off the mud.

​

​“She had a fight with the neighbor’s daughter over that doll again,” Aslam said, appearing suddenly from behind.

​

​Her mother knelt down and cupped her daughter’s face in a gentle caress. “My love, how many times have I told you not to fight?”

​

​“Mama, that Saira keeps insisting on marrying my doll off to hers. I told her my doll is too young to be married off; she has to complete her education.”

​

​Her mother smiled while looking at the doll in Majeeda’s hand and kissed her daughter’s forehead.

​

​Meanwhile, her father entered the home. “Arshad is coming along with Uncle and Aunt this Thursday,” he told her mother.

​Hearing this, the children became excited; their father’s cousin usually brought them toys and candies every time he visited. But for the parents, this news made them pale and worried, as if a nightmare that kept them awake at night was about to come true.

​

​Days passed. Thursday arrived. Majeeda’s father was getting ready to go to work. While combing his moustache, he said, “See, today Arshad and his family are coming. Spare no expense in their hospitality.”

​

​Majeeda’s mother asked anxiously, “Don’t you think this is unfair and a bit early?”

​

​“That is what has been happening for ages, and I cannot back off from my commitment. Even if I wanted to, they would cut off all ties with us, and no one in the tribe would speak to us.”

​

​He fixed his hat and left for work. Majeeda and her brother went to school.

​

​Majeeda’s mother started preparations to welcome the guests. During dusting, her eyes were drawn to the doll placed on the woven cot. She quickly grabbed it and hugged it tightly while tears flowed from her eyes, and a flashback of Majeeda’s words regarding the doll flashed before her. She quickly wiped her tears as if she had decided something in her mind.

​

​Upon her return, Majeeda again had messy hair; she seemed furious this time. Her mother grabbed her close. “What has caused the cheeks of my rosebud to burn and her eyebrows to sharpen with anger?”

​

​“Mama, Saira says I will be married off soon according to her mother, and I won’t be able to play with dolls or attend school anymore. Is this true?”

​

​Hearing this, her mother’s heart sank with anxious sorrow, yet she forced a smile that did not reach her eyes. “No,” she said. “This cannot be true. My daughter will play with dolls for as long as she wishes. She will attend college, become the most educated woman in her tribe, and gain the independence to make her own life decisions.”

​

​She patted Majeeda’s back and hugged her tightly, just like two molten pieces of steel holding each other.

​

​The sun stretched the shadows, and there was a knock on the door. Arshad, a middle-aged man with an irregular black beard and small moustache, was standing outside with his elderly parents. They sat in the front room of the hut along with Majeeda’s parents. Majeeda and her brother were not at home; her mother had sent them away to play earlier, sensing the delicate nature of the matter.

​

​They were served with hospitality. Everyone was busy talking; the men—including Arshad, his father, and Majeeda’s father—sat in the front room, while the ladies sat in the other room, separated by a curtain.

​

​The guests asked for Majeeda, but her mother quickly told them that she was outside playing. This seemed to displease Arshad’s mother.

​

​Suddenly, Arshad’s father spoke. “Brother, I have come here to fulfill the commitment we made years ago. It is time that we tie Arshad and Majeeda in marriage. Masha Allah, Arshad now earns very well.”

​Majeeda’s mother, listening from behind the curtain, tensed as though she could no longer contain herself.

​Majeeda’s father became pale. His hands trembled and his eyes roamed the floor, but he nodded and agreed.

​

​But then, Majeeda’s mother came out from behind the curtain, holding the doll in her hands.

​“I do not agree to this,” she said.

​Majeeda’s father signaled her to stay silent, but she continued like a fire igniting from a spark.

​

​“My daughter, Majeeda, is barely twelve. She does not even know how to tie her hair yet.” She pointed toward her own hands. “I tie her hair daily with these hands. And do you know what I always tell her while doing that? I say, ‘Grow up, how long will I be doing this for you?’ She turns back to me and says, ‘Mama, you will keep doing this as long as I grow as tall as you, as long as I go to college, and as long as my doll grows up.’”

​

​She held up the doll for everyone to see. “Yes, this doll. My daughter plays with her and refuses to marry her off to her friend’s doll because she thinks her doll is too young for marriage. Then, how can I let my doll—my Majeeda—be married off at this tender age?”

​

​Arshad’s mother interrupted. “What are you saying? Have you gone mad? What does a doll have to do with human traditions? Did you forget that you, too, got married at this same age?”

​

​Majeeda’s mother took a deep breath and let the storm inside her explode.

​“My daughter doesn’t even know what marriage is. I know this is tradition; every woman in our tribe had to go through this. But how long? How long will we crush our daughters’ dreams like this? This has to end someday, and I am setting the foundation by not letting this happen to my daughter. She won’t go through what I had to bear. She will grow up. I will tie her hair with my own hands until her wings grow and she learns to fly. She will make her own life decisions. She will become an educated woman, unlike me.”

​

​This made Arshad’s father angry. “What nonsense are you speaking, lady? Enough of this disrespect. Brother, ask your wife to keep quiet.”

​

​Majeeda’s father looked proudly at his wife. “She has done what I failed to do. As a father, as a man, I was afraid of the traditions, afraid of being cast out. But I forgot that my world revolves around my family. How can I burn my world, the core of my existence, for external approval? How can I shatter my rosebud’s dreams? I was the one who taught her how to walk, and now when she is learning to fly, how can I cut her wings off? How can I put a dagger in my own chest to rip out my very own heart?”

​

​Arshad’s father became infuriated. He threatened to cast out their family and left, saying nobody would marry a rebel’s daughter who broke the tribe’s tradition. But Majeeda’s parents stood firm, ready to face any hardship for their daughter’s future and happiness.