The Truth Behind The Lies

By Tanweer Akhter

The author felt compelled to write this book to clear her name following false allegations made against her.

It describes in candid detail a family feud involving her own sister and other members of her family with who she'd been through so much.

Most of the details described go back many years but still remain raw and she has published this book in case there are others who can similarly relate to the incidents which she recounts in intimate detail.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tanweer Akhter
• Release date: May 20, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463300787

Tanweer Akhter

Established Author & A Crime Investigator.A Wise Person Identifies The People's True Nature Even With Their Words Being Shown Nice; But To The Foolish People, Even A Person's Deeds Being Seen Nice of True Nature Are Insufficient To Identify Him.A Person's Intellect Becomes Apparent Through His Dealings, And A Man's Character is Known By The Way He Exercises Authority."If You Had Not Turned Away From Assisting The Truth, You Would Not Have Felt Weakness In Overpowering Falsehood".-Imam Ali"Indeed, They Enfold What Is In Their Hearts,Trying To Hide It From Him! But Even When They Cover Themselves With Their Clothes, He Knows What They Conceal And What They Reveal! Surely He Knows Best What Is Hidden In The Heart."- (Surah Hud-5)When People Can Get Away With Crimes Just Because They Are Wealthy or Have The Right Connections, The Scales Are Tipped Against Fairness And Equality. The Weight of Corruption Then Becomes So Heavy That It Creates A Dent That Forces The World To Become Slanted, So Much So- Justice Just Slips Away.Imam Ali Said:"The Day That Justice Is Brought To The Wrongdoer Is Much More Severe Than The Day Oppression Is Done Unto The Oppressed."Allah Does Not Love The Public Utterance of Hurtful Speech Unless (It Be) By One To Whom Injustice Has been Done; And Allah is Hearing, Knowing. (Qur'an 4:148)If u Are Neutral in Situations of Injustice, u Have Chosen The Side of The Oppressor.Silence Becomes Cowardice When Occasion Demands Speaking Out The Whole Truth And Acting Accordingly.THE TRUTH:SHIELDCREST (publishing company) is listed on WRITERS BEWARE as a warning. In February 2019 WRITERS BEWARE blog.THE TRUTH:MEREO BOOKS (publishing company) still owes me a huge refund of £2,770 of a book they didn't publish and owe me book sale royalties.Last year in 2020 I found out from another company the worst bitter truth about SHIELDCREST publishers that they didn't have much book sales in the past two years & they only had 151 books online at that time. When I confronted the SHIELDCREST Manager he was in a shock how I found out.I knew too much. Then I noticed a man named VICTOR MINOT who put his comment on SHIELDCREST Facebook & wrote, 'By Going Out Of Business".Another thing I've noticed from my experience is if the SHIELDCREST Manager can't profit from the Authors book sales becos the Authors want to self publish, instead of being happy for them he has a habit of keeping a hold of the Authors manuscripts that they've paid for the editing & doesn't release it back to them, just like he mistreated his previous Author & kept a hold of her refund & her PDF. It just shows the nature of his character. God forgive.I also found out from a DEBT Collector who looked into (MEMOIRS publishing company) who have now changed their name to (MEREO Books) who owe me a huge refund & book sale royalties, this DEBT Collector emailed me that MEMOIRS publishing company doesn't exist anymore & he would hate to see me lose more money to another criminal.(My Honest Reply To My Previous Publisher SHIELDCREST Who Called Me A Liar Is Unlike Them I Have No Reason To Lie Beco's I Don't Owe Anyone Anything. Neither Do I Owe Any Favours To Anyone ,Nor Do I Owe Any Money, Nor Do I Keep A Hold Of Other People's Belongings Or Property, Nor Do I Take Advantage Of People's Vulnerability Or Their Bad Experience In Life & Use It Against Them To Cover Up A Misconduct, Nor Would I Be Dishonest To Authors If I Was Listed On Writers Beware As A Warning Becos It Would Be Unfair To Authors Who Put Their Trust In u, And Neither Do I Need To Cover Up For A Colleague If They Commit A Crime. So I Have No Reason Whatsoever To Lie. Some People Just Can't Stand My Honesty Or Truth Coming Out Of My Mouth Becos It Just Reveals The Truth About Who They Are. From What I've Experienced That's a fact. First People Will Call u A Very Honest Person Until u Find Out The Truth About Their True Nature, Then They Will Show u Their True Colours Too That's When They Will Call u A Liar To Cover Up Their Own Misconduct.My Message To Both of My Previous Dishonest Publishers Who Committed Misconduct & Wrongdoings is, Where Their Credibility & Position is Right Now In Front of The World is For All To See. One is already listed on WRITERS BEWARE as a warning, & the other one will soon be too if they carry on not owing their authors their refunds & book sale royalties like they did to me.Whichever direction they smell money that's the direction they run to. I ask is it a publishing company or a casino where money is going in & not coming back out?I do wonder why SHIELDCREST are called a ROGUE OUTFIT by a well known author, what is it that they did so bad to one of their previous authors to be called this? This is strong evidence that shows their character of who they are in front of a judge in court.Truth Wins When Crime Comes To Light.I want to say my honesty openly to the whole world today, the bad experience I've had with my previous publishers has affected me badly in trusting anyone again, since I've met many dishonest people in my life in the past. It has affected me in many ways the damage & harm they've caused is done. But I don't want this to happen to another victim author again. I don't want any authors to ever be a victim in the hands of their publishers. Those who do not know much about publishing books to take advice from Writers Beware, they are trustworthy & reliable & want what's best for authors.?I want to especially thank WRITERS BEWARE for the humanity they have in their hearts to care about authors & to give them advice & reassurance & hope. Without them many authors lives would have been ruined by publishing companies. I am so very grateful & thankful to them, & I'm proud of WRITERS BEWARE for their good deeds in helping innocent victims, & giving them hope & success with their books. So Thank you WRITER'S BEWARE. It makes me so happy that u care for humanity & the love u give to authors. THANK U.??The First Warning To Watch Out For Whether To Trust Any Publishing Company is To Check Out Their Websites. If u Find Out They Are Listed On Writers Beware & The Publishers Slowly Start Changing Bits Of Information on Their Website To Get Away With Getting Caught. Or even if they suddenly change the name of their Publishing company without notifying their authors .1 reason can be their businesses weren't running good they had to close it down.Then This Is A Clear Warning To Stay Away From Those Publishing companies.?Another warning to look out for is if u notice small Publishing Companies who are not well known, but have many positive reviews on their free index then there's a catch here, if u notice even the well known Publishing Companies have positive & negative reviews which are proper real reviews. & u will notice some small Publishing Companies will go to any length for success that they will add many positive reviews, but some u will notice a red triangle next to each person's review which is a warning, that their email account hasn't been verified. As I investigate cases I notice every little detail & about a person's human nature the way their behaviour is & body language.. So please remember all these warnings I don't want to hear another author victim upset becos their publisher didn't owe them book sale royalties.Haven't I Seen Enough Tragedy In My Life That These Dishonest Publishing Companies Come Into My Life To Rub More Salt On My Wounds? Have They No Shame At All? They Even Went To That Length To Leave My Ebooks On Sale On Google Books Website Becos I Don't Have Access To My Ebooks On Google.To Make Things Worse I Also Discovered Two Of My Ebooks Have Been Made Free For People To Read Without My Permission On Google Books. Now Whoever's Done This Went To That Length To Ruin My Writing Career. And I Will Openly Say My Honesty In Public, Becos I Have Evidence.I Will Also Mention 1 More Important Information That Whatever SHIELDCREST Sent To My SOLICITOR To Cover Up The Truth Of Their Wrongdoings, Well It Backfired On Them. Becos I Had Already Sent All The Evidence To My SOLICITOR, The POLICE DEPARTMENT, & The JUDGE In Court For Their Record. SHIELDCREST Didn't Even Have The Nerve To Be Honest To My Solicitor Of Their Wrongdoings.So u See SHIELDCREST Publishers Were Caught Out With Their Lies.This Is How I Investigate Crimes. I Leave No Stone Unturned.? RED FLAG WARNING WRITERS BEWARESHIELDCREST publisher talks very highly about their publishing company like there's no other publishing company better than theirs. & they can't even answer to one simple question to WHY they've ended up listed on Writers Beware?& they were in the mission of ruining my writing career for covering up the truth of their own wrongdoings.?RED FLAG WARNING WRITERS BEWAREPublisher In Question:SHIELDCREST:Manager: STEVE ROBSONManaging Director: LEIGH STEPHENSON ? They should be honest about why they are listed on WRITERS BEWARE as a warning, & not hide the matter to get away with it, & not to put blame on their authors for their own negligence & wrongdoings. & if they feel they will lose their authors by being honest to them about their publishing company listed on WRITERS BEWARE, then they have no one else but themselves to blame for that. When someone does injustice to an innocent person then what do u expect this is the outcome of it. They call themselves UK's Number 1 book publishers & they ended up listed on WRITERS BEWARE as a warning, is it any wonder why they ended up there? They should have apologized to the previous author they mistreated by terminating her contract after they themselves were responsible of ruining the authors manuscript, & for not paying the author her refund & not giving back her PDF either. There's no benefit for any authors who have to pay a publishing company to have their books published & earn only a pound from the book sales. More benefit is to self publish u pay nothing & earn more than a pound.? RED FLAG WARNING WRITERS BEWAREPublisher In QuestionMEREO BOOKSManager: TONY TINGLEEditor: CHRIS NEWTONThey should be honest why they didn't pay their author her book sale royalties & the huge refund they owe the author even after the author sent them the evidence of the payment receipts with dates on it, & their post code address which is on the receipts too, which clearly they could have checked on their records on those dates payments were made. Such a huge amount of payment cannot be forgotten by a publisher. They have it on their records. So no excuses.This world is VERY cunning & clever.They take advantage of a person who is honest with a good heart by not being honest to them with the truth, they will do anything that will benefit them somehow. Be careful who u meet & who u trust in life not everyone is what they seem. Always check their backgrounds, their character, & behaviour towards others. As for an honest person they try to look for good in everyone & their honesty is taken advantage of & this is why they get tricked & used & played around with all the time. Don't let people take advantage of u or trample over u. You learn from the experience u have in life with the people u meet in your life.? (I Strongly Feel that CHANNEL 4 DISPATCHES investigation Team Should Investigate Both My Previous Publishing Companies Thoroughly. Becos If Authors Are Not Being Paid What They Should Be Owed, From Book Sale Royalties To Refunds, Then It Is A Serious Problem Here That Needs Looking Into. And Why Shieldcrest Free index Are Removing Author's Reviews Who Have Had Bad Experience With Shieldcrest Publishers When They have Evidence? This Raises Questions of Shieldcrest Free index Company's Credibility. Free index Have Not Stuck To Their Policies Either, Becos Everyone Should Be Treated Fairly & Equally.?When People Show u Who They Are, Believe Them.RED FLAG WARNING WRITERS BEWARE? If a publisher breaks a contract agreement they've signed themselves, & they break the agreement by not paying the author what they owe of book sale royalties which was agreed on the contract, & then they do not owe the author the refund that the author paid in advance for a book they didn't finish or publish, then it is breaking the publishing law. What they did is illegal & against the law. It's more of a crime of misconduct & stealing money from the victim who paid in advance by trusting that publishing company who took advantage of that trust & betrayed that victim. Even though they are aware of their wrongful actions, but yet ignore the issue & hide it, even though there's evidence they owe the money. Then they have done wrong & broke the law.What are these publishing companies going to do teach me the laws of what's right & wrong? When I work for the law & investigate crimes when the justice system fails to bring those to justice for their crimes. I am very firm when it comes to investigating crimes of misconduct. I take crimes & misconduct VERY seriously becos those who do it RUIN innocent peoples lives. It has to be stopped. I will also say my honesty, I don't trust both my previous publishers at all when it comes to owing book sale royalties. I don't trust them a single bit after what I've witnessed & experienced with the evidence I have.? I am thankful to God that I have strong evidence against both of my previous publishers, otherwise they would have got away with their wrongdoings & called me a liar too. And thank God I sent all the information & evidence to a Judge I know in court. Who is a better witness than a Judge. I have sent other crime cases I have investigated to this judge too. This Judge I know is aware of my honesty that I would never lie. At the end of the day we will all have to answer to God. It's best to be honest.One important thing I've learnt from the cases I've investigated of misconduct. The culprits responsible of misconduct themselves always have a way of making false statements against their victims, & they play around with the justice system to get away with their crimes. It's really shocking how they do it but they do to save their reputation. And I will tell u how they do it is by making their lies into facts. They will twist their victims words & make up their own story. They will NEVER admit to their wrongful actions of misconduct, becos they think they have a status & money, that they can get away with anything.And NEVER apologize to those who commit misconduct or mislead u with false information, or ruin your manuscript of your book, or those who owe u huge refunds or book sale royalties, they will make u feel.guilty of something they did wrong, they don't deserve an apology they will even twist your words of apology & make something else out of it. Some will go to that length to make false documents about their businesses & companies, & payment details to hide the truth to get away with their misconduct, & these things happen believe me from what I've experienced people are capable of anything when it comes to saving their reputation & company name. Always keep receipts of the payments u make otherwise anyone can make anything up. & NEVER pay money beforehand or in advance becos if your manuscript is ruined by the publisher neither will u get your money back nor your manuscript.? Us authors have a clean heart we put our trust in publishing companies when we pay them in advance, but not everyone is trustworthy when it comes to money. So please be careful when it comes to making payments. And NEVER sign a contract until u have read it properly whether it's a shared risk or if u feel the information is misleading. u learn from your experience.Another thing I've learnt from my experience is to NEVER give your biography of your tragic experience in your life to small publishing companies, becos they have no sympathy, remorse or guilt when they take advantage of your past bad experience & use that against you to cover up their wrongdoings of misconduct when u find out the truth about their companies. They change & show u their true colours. My first previous publisher MEMOIRS who have now changed their company name to (MEREO BOOKS) who still owes me a huge refund & book sale royalties when I was the victim , my other publisher (SHIELDCREST) took advantage of that issue too, & even used that against me to cover up their own wrongdoings of misconduct. People are so cunning in this world they will go to any length to ruin innocent people's lives as long as it benefits them somehow. God forgive.My previous publisher (SHIELDCREST) did injustice to one of their authors didn't they? They refused to give the authors money back & her PDF, And look at the outcome of it, they ended up on WRITERS BEWARE as a warning, becos God was watching what they did. God knows how many lies & false allegations they made against that author to get away with their wrongdoings. God forgive. It seems by the looks of it, that the publisher didn't want any manuscripts with errors or mistakes in it, becos they can't find a professional editor to fix it, that's why they ruined the previous authors manuscript of course & decided to keep the authors payment & PDF. They told the author they would remove their logo, their name, publish it with all of the errors so that it would not sit on the shelves with professionally published books. The author had paid in advance. This is the mistake the author made, becos u cannot trust a publisher whether they will give your refund back. At the end of the day everything is to do with trust and they broke that trust. Once u lose trust in a person u can NEVER trust them again. EVER.? For example, if a publisher can hide information from their authors that they are listed on WRITERS BEWARE as a warning, then it does make u think what else are they hiding? After that whatever documents they put forward of their company won't have any credibility due to them not being honest in the first place and hiding the truth. If they were truly good people & did nothing wrong then they wouldn't have ended up on Writers Beware now would they? They can't put blame on their authors for their own negligence & mistakes of wrongdoings.RED FLAG WARNING WRITERS BEWARE ❎When I contacted the Writers Beware & mentioned the information I had & the evidence against my previous publisher SHIELDCREST, They were not surprised at all becos they'd received past complaints about this publishing company. And then again a well known author also mentioned on his website to stay the hell away from this publishing company. He found out the truth as well. Then the other author Alice Shortcakes views about this publishing company on 'Absolute Write' website makes a lot of sense to me. I completely agree with the authors views.?When I confronted the SHIELDCREST Manager about the author ALICE SHORTCAKES views on her website on 'Absolute Write.' The SHIELDCREST Manager made this excuse that it's probably someone they've rejected. And he expects me to believe that. Why don't I ask the author ALICE SHORTCAKE myself what the SHIELDCREST Manager is saying is true or not, becos from what I've experienced all that's been coming out of the Managers mouth is lies. This Manager also mentions to me if I want to add a review on ALICE SHORTCAKES website saying that I've had 7 books published by SHIELDCREST, & that I'm happy with them. When he mentioned this it did sound odd & not right to me becos why would a publisher who calls itself no.1 book publishers want their author to add a review in their favour? This also raises more questions about their free index reviews why they have so many. I've learnt a lot about how people's minds work when they try to hide the truth.And why was it bothering the SHIELDCREST Manager so much what the author ALICE SHORTCAKE mentioned on her website about their Publishing company? Was it something she found out that the Manager didn't want out in the open? Beco's the way he mentioned to me how to write the review in his own words on ALICE SHORTCAKES website does make u think twice that something fishy is going on here. At the end of the day it was beco's of the SHIELDCREST Managers wrongdoings that their company ended up on WRITERS BEWARE as a warning in the first place. No one else it to blame. If u look at ALICE SHORTCAKES website on Absolute Write now, or on WRITERS BEWARE, u won't be able to click the link to SHIELDCREST publishers website becos it will say; 404 PAGE NOT FOUND. What does that show?? However one of the things Alice Shortcake mentions about Shieldcrest is that, "there are only five legal deposit libraries in the UK. How exactly will the other seven copies be used to aid sales? Shieldcrest seem determined to cram as many misconceptions about publishing as possible onto its website." ?There is always a motive to why people commit crimes of misconduct. & some people's motives are very clear to why they do it. Very clear indeed.Since I have evidence against many people who have committed crimes of misconduct. I know I will have many enemies in my life too, & this is expected. u get used to it. No culprit will like to be caught of their crimes, & if u have evidence against them then of course they will not be happy but turn against u. But what can I do, a crime is a crime & it can't be ignored, & my job is to investigate it.

Book preview

The Truth Behind

The Lies

A True Story

by Tanweer Akhter

⁣

Published by Tanweer Akhter

© Copyright Tanweer Akhter 2020

THE TRUTH BEHIND THE LIES

Connie The Little Criminal

All rights reserved.

The right of Tanweer Akhter to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, nor translated into a machine language, without the written permission of the publisher.

Condition of sale

This ebook is licensed for the enjoyment of the purchaser only. To share this ebook you must purchase an additional copy per recipient. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Book formatted by www.bookformatting.co.uk.

⁣

Dedicated to my son Adam

Table of Contents

Title Page

MY SISTER AND I (A POEM OF HONESTY)

Family Members

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

I MISS YOU A LOT DAD

MY SISTER AND I

(A POEM OF HONESTY)

My sister and I were once so close

But the bad path is what she chose

A path of dishonesty and lies

Along which she broke all family ties

Listening to outsiders and family ‘friends’

She tortured me up till the end

She caused me so much pain and grief

Spreading rumours, convincing people to believe

The lies she spread were too much to take

She didn’t stop there or think once for sake

Dad begged her to stop and think of Mum who was ill

But she didn’t care and carried on still

Dad again cried and begged her to stop

With anger she threatened him she would call the cop

She would scare Dad and say she was ill and would die

To get Dad on her side to cover up for her lie

Dad wouldn’t sleep with worry all night

He would eat less or not eat at all at times

But my sister would not end her game of crimes

She carried on with her scheming plan

Involving her friends as her clan

She then tried to snatch my son away

Cos she wanted my son with her to stay

She spread rumours she was a better Mother

When she was living at my house with us together

As she has no kids of her own

She wanted my son for herself alone

She tried to turn him against his Mother

She was brainwashed to say this by others

To Social Services she made a malicious case

And wanted to remain anonymous and hid her face

She did not think of the pain she caused

How cold hearted she was on her face it clearly showed

It was her who had tortured my son

Who went and told the Social Services what his Aunt had done

His Aunt would pinch him and make him bleed

She was the one who harmed my son indeed

She would lash out at my son and swear

How he had felt she didn’t even care

She had made my son cry many times

She would laugh with her friends and found it all fine

This was my sister I grew up with

Who I’d never dreamt would be as evil as this

5 years of hell I had to go through

Only I knew the pain and how hard it was too

And in all this what was my crime

All I asked her was to help me with my ill Mum that time

She replied, "Do it yourself for all I care

I’m not bothered about Mum so don’t you dare call me there

In the past I’ve done my share

Now I have no time to spare

My friends are right my Mum is mad,"

If Mum had heard this she would have been very sad

To have raised a daughter like that

Mum bought her everything she ever wanted and

Had she forgotten Mum had raised us

Cos bad mouthing Mum is all she does

She then gave me an evil look

That was enough of her insults I took

This was the reason I kept my distance

And looked after Mum without her assistance

I would come home tired and get harassed by sister and her friends

I would try to ignore it, but it would never end

She tried to ruin my life with all her lies

It’s the innocent ones that suffer with cries

Who listens to innocent people these days?

It’s the dishonest ones that people praise.

Family Members

INTRODUCTION

I have written this book because I was wickedly accused of things I had not done. False allegations were made against me and I want to clear my name and demonstrate my innocence, so that people can’t take advantage of my past and use it against me in the future. My own sister, out of jealousy, selfishness, and bitterness, made my life hell, though we had once been very close. We had been through so much together previously. I could not believe that 10 years later my sister could be so evil and cruel to me even though I had stuck by her many times – particularly when her marriages didn’t work out. She repaid me by listening to outsiders, bad ‘friends’ and relatives who gave her bad advice and turned her against me and the rest of our family. And what was my crime? All I had asked her to do was help with Mum, who was very ill: I cannot understand why she reacted in such an evil way.

CHAPTER ONE

In 2007, my Mother and my older sister Maaria went to Pakistan. A year after their return, Mum decided that Maaria should get married for the third time, to my Dad’s nephew, who is deaf and dumb and works as a tailor abroad.

While they were there my Mum and my Dad’s sister Khalida asked Maaria if she wanted to marry this cousin of hers. They said he would keep my sister happy and look after her. Dad was not happy at first, asking how my sister and his nephew would communicate with each other, and knowing that my sister was having strokes and couldn’t look after herself. It would also be difficult for his nephew to get used to everything here.

Maaria asked me to have a word with Dad to help her out. I told her If you’re really happy, then go for it, don’t worry about what Dad thinks. I will talk to him and make him understand.

I had a talk with Dad, who still wasn’t convinced, but I told him he should be happy. My sister was not well anyway and he should be grateful that his nephew was willing to marry her. At least he would be there for her and look after her. She couldn’t live on her own when she wasn’t well.

I told my sister that I had had a word with Dad and that he’d be OK about it. I told her to go ahead and pack her things if she wanted to go abroad and get married. Mum and my sister got ready to go to Pakistan, to Kashmir. My brother’s then wife, Saleena, wanted to go abroad too, to see her Mum, but Dad said there would be no one left behind to cook and look after the house. I told him I was here and I would help out. So Dad agreed, but Maaria wasn’t happy about it. She told me that Saleena would cause problems for her and spoil the trip abroad for her. I knew what my sister meant.

It had been six years since my brother had married Saleena, and she had done nothing but cause our family grief. Because my brother had married her overseas we didn’t know the girl’s family. They had shown my brother the girl for a few seconds and then hid her away in case she showed her true colours, revealing what she was really like. Dad agreed that it would be good if Saleena went with my Mum and sister, because Mum wasn’t well herself. She had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s five years earlier, in 2003, and her condition was deteriorating. From the shaking of her arms we could see she was getting worse. Dad said it was good: that Saleena should go with Mum to look after her on the journey to Kashmir. My sister at that time was ill herself and was unable to do anything for Mum.

They all got on with packing, but Saleena obviously had her own plans. She started packing her suits and stuffed 45 of them into her suitcase. Maaria asked her why she was packing so many clothes – as if she wasn’t coming back. Saleena answered that she wanted to take everything and didn’t want to leave anything behind. She told Maaria to wait and see, as she would be a changed woman when she returned. Maaria didn’t understand what she meant.

When the day came for them to leave for the airport, Dad reminded Saleena to look after Mum and walk with her in case she fell. She would need a wheelchair. Saleena ignored Dad, getting her own things ready and checking herself out in the mirror.

At that time I was having second thoughts about Saleena going abroad. I didn’t think it was a good idea after all. It didn’t look as though she was planning to come back to Birmingham.

At the airport Saleena walked fast out in front and did not bother to look back to where Mum was or see if she was all right. Maaria was angry and asked Saleena where she thought she was going, because Mum wasn’t well and needed help and she couldn’t provide it as she wasn’t well herself. Saleena replied that a guy working in the airport had asked her to join him for tea. Maaria looked at Saleena angrily and told her to stop flirting with men and to help Mum.

In the aeroplane Saleena kept asking for her passport, so Maaria gave it to her. Saleena kept kissing her passport and saying that she couldn’t believe she had a British passport, and that she had to keep it safe. If she lost it, her chances of coming back to the UK would be over. Maaria looked at her, shocked.

On arrival In Pakistan, Saleena locked her handbag, which contained her passport. She wouldn’t give it to Naheeda, my eldest sister, to put away safely with all the other passports. Saleena said she would look after her passport herself, so they left it with her.

When my sister got married, Saleena tried to cause problems for her. She told Maaria that she dressed up in front of her husband and that Mobeen preferred her to Maaria. Maaria told Mobeen what Saleena had said. He signed to her to tell her not to listen to Saleena.

She’s lying, he said. She tried to come into my room and locked the door behind her. I got scared and asked her what she was doing. She then put her scarf round her neck and started dancing in front of me. I unlocked the door and ran out. Maaria believed him. Saleena was not happy because Mobeen liked Maaria more than her.

Maaria shouted at Saleena Aren’t you ashamed of yourself for flirting with my husband? What do you think my brother is going to say when he hears about this? He is your husband and what you are doing is very bad. Saleena made a cheeky face and looked down, ignoring Maaria.

The day came when Saleena’s Mum and Dad were coming to see her and to take her to their home, which was two hours from Kashmir. Saleena quickly started asking my relatives for more suits to give to her grandmother and other family members. She packed three more bags and took loads more suits than had been given to her at her wedding. Saleena ate a great deal of food that day. She cleaned out all the big food pans. She was eating more than she normally did because she knew she wasn’t going to return to Kashmir, and her Mum never cooked much in their house.

When Saleena’s parents came to collect her they reminded her to bring her handbag with her passport in it. My Mum and Maaria said to Saleena’s dad, Doesn’t your daughter look well? She’s put on weight since being in England. Saleena’s Dad made a face and said, She hasn’t put on weight. It doesn’t look like you fed her at all! My Mum and sister looked up, shocked and confused.

Mum told Saleena to leave her passport because she would be coming back to Kashmir after she had visited her parents’ home. But Saleena replied, No, I would rather take it with me. I can look after it myself. Then she turned to my oldest sister’s husband, Amjad, Help me with my bags and suitcase, she said. Amjad tried picking up the suitcase, but it was very heavy. Amjad asked Saleena, What have you got in your suitcase? It’s as heavy as lead. Saleena didn’t say anything. She started dragging it with him to the van. In was even hard for the van driver Saleena’s Father had hired to pick up the suitcase. They left, and we didn’t hear of them for three weeks.

Meanwhile back in England, Dad decided that my son and I should go abroad. Last time had been horrible for me, but he said this time would be different. He said my oldest sister Naheeda’s husband Amjad was asking for me to go and that he would look after me in Kashmir. He said he would keep me happy and take me shopping everywhere.

I was remembering the last time I went, 10 years before in 1998. I was seven months pregnant then. I went to my brother’s wedding my in-laws had phoned me asking me to go over to Pakistan – and to make sure my Dad paid for the tickets as they couldn’t afford it

When I got there, my husband’s family gave me a hard time. They kept me locked in a room, and it was May, so it was very hot. One of my Aunties was very ill at that time with cancer, and my in-laws wouldn’t let me visit her. Even when I wanted to go to my Dad’s house in Kashmir, they kept me in Mirpur

My Father-in-law said Has your Dad written his house over to you and is this why you want to go there?’ ’I just prayed to God to help me get out of that place. I wanted to come safely back to the UK. I was treated very badly and it gave me a chill thinking about it and going back to Pakistan. Dad interrupted my thoughts and said, Don’t worry, this time you are not married. You don’t have in-laws. You should just go and enjoy yourself." I agreed with him and went with my son Adil. I tried to make myself feel better by telling myself it would be different this time.

I was thinking about my Aunty, who I had never seen and who had cancer. She had died seven years before and I never had a chance to see her. I felt sad, but I was thinking that at least this time I would see my other Aunties, Mum’s sisters. Her second oldest sister had had strokes and was very ill. I wanted to see her again. The last time I had seen this Aunt was when she had come to the UK in the 90s. I was very close to her and loved her and had asked her all about her childhood days. We used to talk about old days and how nice people used to be. I loved to look at old family photographs and I knew my Aunty would love looking at them too.

My Aunty would tell me stories about little people the size of her hand. She told me that my Great Grandfather, with a few other men, had been digging a well for water under a mango tree in Pakistan. When they had dug deep they saw a lot of movement and spotted little creatures running. They looked close and saw that they were little people the size of a hand. It has scared them and they quickly left. I used to ask my Aunty if it was true. She would say,That’s what everyone is saying Even my Grandfather mentioned the story.

I used to love listening to my Aunt reminiscing, she was a lovely person and good people are always remembered and missed a lot. I felt a bit better in the aeroplane with my son, who was going abroad with me for the first time. I wanted to make it fun and exciting for him. Then I was thinking about Maaria. At least I would see her in Kashmir, so that would be interesting.

When we reached Pakistan, everyone came round to meet me. I was only there for two weeks. My sister had gone the year before for eight weeks and this year she was staying for seven weeks. I congratulated Maaria on her wedding. Adil was wandering around looking at our three-storey house. We went to the top, to the balcony and could see all the fields and orange trees around our gardens. In the distance we could see the mountains. I took photos of everything!

Adil felt like having chips, so I asked my cousin’s sister and they started frying. As soon as the chips were made Maaria and her husband took the first plate, so my son had to wait for the next. The next plate of chips was made to be shared between Adil and three other children. Again Maaria took those children’s chips for herself, so the children took my son’s plate. My son ended up with no chips. I got annoyed because I didn’t understand why Maaria was behaving in this way. Adil ran out of the room crying

I said to my sister, You have taken the children’s chips and now they have taken my son’s chips. She replied, So what! I come first. They’re my in-laws and I can have as much as I want. She didn’t seem at all bothered, just kept eating. I said, We have only come here for two weeks and we will be gone after that, while you will still be here. Why do you have to compete with a kid? You’re not a child. It’s not nice what you did. I came here to enjoy myself with my son. It’s not fair what you are doing. So? They are my in-laws, after all, said Maaria. I looked at her, shocked. What’s happened to you? I said., You weren’t like this before! Yeah, well, I’m married now. Replied Maaria. I left and went to the house next door. My cousins signed to me, saying, Don’t worry. We will make some more for your son. I smiled and said OK.

Mum was there talking about Saleena. It’s been over three weeks and she hasn’t come back, or even phoned from her Mum’s house, she said. I was already feeling down because of the way my sister had acted. It had been a horrible day for me and my son. I tried to keep my distance from my sister for the rest of that day.

My oldest sister Naheeda told me that Saleena had taken her passport with her. That was when my eyes opened and I came to my senses. She did what? I said. You let her go with her passport? What were you thinking? She won’t be coming back now. No way. Her passport was her ticket out of here and now she doesn’t have to return to us in the UK. I knew it. I had had a bad feeling about her coming abroad and I knew she was up to something. "Now you can kiss her and her passport goodbye,’ I said. My oldest sister went quiet. My day had turned from bad to worse. I really wished that I had not come on the trip to hear all this.

Maaria’s attitude towards me was changing day by day. She’d even turned her husband Mobeen against me. I was feeling very down. I asked Naheeda if she could take me and my son out to the shops. I really wanted to get out of the house. Naheeda said, There’s no one to take us. Dr Farhaan (her brother-in-law) only has one day off from his job and he goes hunting on Sundays I felt so down and said, What about our Aunties? Could someone at least take me to see them? I never saw my oldest Aunty before she died. At least let me see the rest of them or call them to collect me please! But no one bothered to call them or take me to my Aunt’s.

My two weeks had nearly come to an end when we received a call from Saleena’s family explaining that Saleena was on her way back to Kashmir to our house to meet me. So we waited for her. She came with her brother and sisters, all dressed up and painted like dolls. She brought her Grandmother along too, who quietly sat looking down and not talking much. Saleena was doing all the talking. She said to me, Aren’t my brother and sisters beautiful and fair? I was thinking Saleena would have to put a spell on us for us to believe that. However much make-up you put on a donkey he will never look fair. I felt like laughing.

Mum asked her where her passport was and Saleena replied, I left it at my Mum’s. I haven’t brought it with me.’ Mum asked why she had done this and she replied, Don’t worry. I will look after it myself. I haven’t lost it. You are staying here now, with us, said Mum. Saleena replied, Look at my baby sister. She won’t let go of me. She won’t let me stay. I will have to go back to my Mum’s." We all went quiet. I knew what was about to happen because it had happened before: Saleena was not planning on coming back.

The two weeks had finished and my time abroad had ended. I said to my oldest sister Naheeda, So much for the holiday shopping! What can I do? she replied. There was no one to take us. Your husband Amjad promised Dad he would make sure I went everywhere, I said. I didn’t even see my Aunties. I heard later that one of my nearby Aunts was ill. She had rung my Mum asking for us to go over to see her because she was poorly and could not get in a car to visit us

On the journey back home I just wanted to cry. As soon as I got to the airport in England our family friend Zeenat and her husband collected me to take me home. This seemed strange, because normally Dad or my brother would meet me. I hugged Zeenat and said how glad I was to see her. Aunty Zeenat, I asked, Where’s Dad? Zeenat replied, Let’s get to the car first, then we’ll talk. Is everything all right? I asked. What happened? Is DadOK? I could see the worried look on Aunty Zeenat’s face. Her husband was driving and asking me how my trip to Pakistan had been. Then Zeenat told me what had happened. My head was spinning. I was exhausted anyway after the eight-hour journey but what I was hearing now was even worse. I felt dizzy. I just wanted to scream and cry, but I couldn’t. I had to be brave and take in what I was being told. She’s gone and left, Aunty Zeenat said. Who has gone? I asked. I had a feeling who it might be, but I didn’t want to believe it. Your sister-in-law Saleena, said Aunty Zeenat. She took the plane two days ago and reached England. She came back with her Grandmother and went straight to another town where her relatives live. My head was hurting and my heart was pounding. I couldn’t take it in. I didn’t want to hear any more, but I tried to make the effort to listen. Auntie Zeenat carried on, Your Dad and brother are really upset. Your Dad’s not feeling too good. Just don’t mention anything yet, it will upset them more. Just be there for them. I know it’s a shock for you all. I’m really sorry. I knew it, I said. She was waiting for her British passport, which is why she waited six years until the right moment. I still can’t believe it. I know, it’s a shock for all of us. You just don’t expect something like this to happen. Now pull yourself together. Be brave for your Dad and brother. Aunty, remember that time when you were talking about your daughter-in-law, your son’s first wife, and how she went abroad and eventually came back straight to her own relatives’ house in another town without you knowing? I asked. ;Saleena must have overheard that conversation at our house. Her ears were listening to what you were saying and she did the same thing as your daughter-in-law. My God, I can’t believe what she did. I know, it’s so bad. Said Aunty Zeenat

We reached the house and I walked slowly in. Everything seemed silent. I walked into the sitting room and saw my Dad sitting quietly, looking upset. Then I saw my brother sitting opposite him on the other sofa, also upset. He looked up at me and nodded and said , Are you OK? I confirmed that I had heard what had happened: that Saleena had returned to the UK to live in her Nan’s house in another town. Aunty Zeenat was waiting at the door. Aren’t you coming in? I asked. No, my daughter, I have to go. I’m in a hurry. Have to go somewhere else. I will see you later. Don’t worry. If you need anything let me know. I nodded. OK. Thanks for the lift. That’s OK, any time, she replied. I’ll see myself out. She left

We’ve brought you a pizza because we couldn’t cook today because of everything that’s happened. Said my brother. Dad wasn’t well. It’s OK, honestly, pizza is OK. I’m not that hungry right now anyway, I replied. I was felling nauseous because of what was going on. Waheed said, You know the night before Saleena left to go abroad she phoned her Aunty, her Dad’s sister? I heard the conversation. Saleena was telling her Aunty that after going to Pakistan she was going straight back to her house in another town and she would marry her cousin there. I heard her say it. Now I know it was all planned. I looked at my brother, Why didn’t you mention this before? Maybe we could have stopped any of this happening. Waheed replied, I did ask Saleena about what she was saying to her Aunty. She told me abruptly that it was nothing and that I had misheard her. I told Waheed that Saleena’s Aunty was bad news she phoned saleena all the time, three times a week, and was turning her against our family. She had repeatedly told Saleena to go to her house. Saleena had even mentioned it to me. Her Aunty had tried to turn her against you and had told Saleena to stop talking to you and to ask you for £3,000 and then make it back up with you, I said. Saleena had told me this herself. Her Aunty had told Saleena that she had done that to her husband when he had broken up with her. Waheed knew they had all planned it together. He had rung Pakistan and Saleena’s mum had answered the phone. He had asked to talk with his wife but she had made up an excuse that Saleena was tired and was in bed sleeping. It had only been 6 pm, too early in Pakistan to sleep, so he knew something was going on. In fact at that time Saleena was on the plane with her Nan, travelling back to the UK, to Manchester Airport. Saleena had paid extra to move her ticket to an earlier date. They had tricked us all. Dad had then called Saleena’s Nan asking if Saleena was in the UK but she had lied saying, No she is not in the UK, she is in Pakistan. Later, when her Nan got caught lying she said Saleena had come back early because there was no one to cook for her in-law’s so she had brought Saleena back with her. Doesn’t her Nan have any shame I said to Waheed. She is old and ill herself. She knew how ill Mum was and she still went along and split you up with your wife. What is the use of her Nan praying to God when she wrecks people’s marriages? People can be so cruel and evil, having hearts of stone.

Waheed looked down, sad. I felt so sorry for my brother. Don’t worry, forget her. I said. She isn’t worth it anyway. God always does things for the best. She didn’t suit in our family. She didn’t appreciate how well she was living. She had everything here, and one day she will regret it. Her time will come. You just stay happy and forget about her.

CHAPTER TWO

Weeks went by and my mum and sister Maaria returned home. Maaria came home all happy, all dressed up. I hardly recognised her. She came straight in and the first thing she said to my brother Waheed was I am successful. I am married and have a husband. Where’s your wife? Oh, sorry, you don’t have one anymore. She looked at him in an accusing way. I was shocked at my sister’s words. I saw my brother was upset. He said to Maaria, You shouldn’t have said that. Maybe you do have a husband and you’re happy, but God can take all that away from you so fast that you won’t know what’s happened to you. It’s not nice to say what you did. Yeah, well, I’m married now and happy. Your words mean nothing to me. Maaria said. I looked at her angrily, What’s wrong with you? I said. "Just because you’re married doesn’t mean you can think like this. Everyone gets married, that’s nothing new. People don’t change when they get married and