*(Karachi, 1892 - Fatima's Complicated Relationship with Emibai Jinnah)*
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### **The Arrival**
The monsoon rains lashed against the windows of the Jinnah residence as fourteen-year-old Muhammad Ali Jinnah stood stiffly in the parlor, his new bride trembling beside him. Six-year-old Fatima peered from behind the velvet curtains, her small fists clutching the fabric as she took in the stranger who would now share her brother's life.
Emibai Jinnah, just fourteen herself, looked like a doll in her red wedding lengha, the heavy gold jewelry making her slight frame appear even more fragile. She kept her eyes lowered as Mithibai embraced her, murmuring blessings in Gujarati.
"Fatima," Jinnah called, his voice unusually warm. "Come meet your new sister."
Fatima emerged slowly, her gaze locked on the delicate henna patterns covering Emibai's hands - hands that would now prepare Jinnah's tea, mend his clothes, claim his attention.
"Say salaam," Mithibai prompted.
Fatima muttered the greeting, then immediately turned to her brother. "Bhai, you promised to help me with my English lesson today."
Emibai's shy smile faltered as Jinnah hesitated. "Perhaps later, Fati. Emi has had a long journey from—"
"I'll wait in the study," Fatima interrupted before flouncing out, leaving an awkward silence in her wake.
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### **The Displacement**
The household rhythms changed overnight. Where Jinnah's study had once been Fatima's sanctuary, now Emibai's soft knock would interrupt their lessons, her whispered "Chai, Bhaisaab" accompanied by steaming cups that Fatima pointedly ignored.
One afternoon, Fatima stormed into the kitchen where Maryam was grinding spices. "She can't even read! What do they talk about all night?"
Maryam wiped her hands on her apron. "A wife doesn't need to read to please her husband."
"That's stupid," Fatima declared, grabbing a handful of pistachios from the counter. "Bhai loves talking about books and politics. She just sits there like a—"
"Like a good Muslim wife," Mithibai finished sharply from the doorway. "Which you'll need to learn to be, Allah help us."
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### **The Breaking Point**
The confrontation came during Ramadan. Fatima had saved for weeks to buy Jinnah an English translation of the Quran for his birthday, carefully inscribing it: *To my favorite scholar*. She presented it at breakfast, only for Emibai to produce an identical copy.
"Bhai always wanted this edition," Emibai said softly, her copy wrapped in silk with an embroidered bookmark.
Jinnah's face lit up. "You remembered from that conversation last—"
Fatima's book hit the floor with a thud. "She can't even read the Arabic one! How would she know about English editions?"
The room went still. Emibai's eyes filled with tears.
"Fatima!" Jinnah's voice cracked like a whip. "Apologize this instant."
For the first time in her life, Fatima defied him. "Make me."
The slap rang through the room before anyone could react. Fatima touched her stinging cheek, staring at Mithibai in betrayal. Without a word, she fled to the rooftop, where she tore the pages from her English primer one by one.
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### **The Illness**
When cholera swept through Karachi that winter, it took Emibai first.
Fatima watched from the doorway as Jinnah cradled his wasting wife, his legal eloquence reduced to desperate prayers. On the last night, Emibai's fevered gaze found Fatima in the shadows.
"You...love him too," she whispered.
Fatima froze.
Emibai's skeletal hand grasped hers with surprising strength. "Protect him when I—"
A coughing fit interrupted. By dawn, she was gone.
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### **The Aftermath**
The house became a mausoleum. Jinnah withdrew into work, while Fatima haunted Emibai's empty room, running fingers over the untouched wedding gifts. One day, she found Jinnah there, holding Emibai's favorite shawl.
"I never even tried," Fatima blurted out.
Jinnah stared at the intricate paisley pattern. "Neither did I."
For the first time, they grieved together - not as siblings, but as two people who had failed the same fragile soul.
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**Historical Anchors:**
1. **Emibai's Age** - Actually 14 when married to 14-year-old Jinnah
2. **Cholera Epidemic** - Ravaged Karachi in the 1890s
3. **Cultural Details** - Accurate wedding customs and household dynamics
**Key Themes:**
- **Female Rivalry** - Education vs. traditional wifely virtues
- **Guilt & Grief** - Complex emotions after Emibai's death
- **Jinnah's Emotional Distance** - His lifelong difficulty with intimacy