POSTNEMENT OF DECISION

Dear Sabir,

You have asked me to reply you you in Yes or No. I fear the question of marriage cannot be answered so simply and so quickly. You must agree that a woman must feel the ground on which she is required to tread before putting her foot down or up. I like you exceedingly. You know that perfectly well. But honestly speaking I do not know yet whether I love you. There is a gulf between loving and liking, also between loving and marrying. I like you but do not know whether I love you, still less whether I can marry you. So do not hurry up a yes-or no decision. The other side of the picture is that you may one day rise and find that I am not quite all you imagine now, and then you may end u in frustration. I should hate to see you hate a thing you look like a cat in the bag. Full knowledge of each other should precede a successful marriage. I know that this she didn’t-say-yes-she-didn’t-say-no business is unsatisfactory but there is no alternative to it. May I make a suggestion? Let’s go on writing to each other as before, and see how it works out in the near future. But no ties yet. If either of us meets anyone else, the other should not grudge. But do not think I have already met someone equal or superior to you. I haven’t met anyone as yet. If I do I’ll tell you at once. I expect you to do the same — for this is my risk as well as yours.

Yours sincerely,

Saira Bano.