''[The Morning After]''
The next morning arrived with little fanfare.
When Heena woke up, the household was already bustling with activity.
Clatter, chatter, noise—everything you'd expect from a house preparing for a funeral ceremony.
Servants rushing back and forth with supplies. Relatives arriving and being directed to guest quarters. Ceremonial attendants making final arrangements.
Today, as the daughter-in-law of the deceased, Heena obviously needed to attend the funeral proceedings.
Even though she had been seriously ill, that didn't mean she could stay sequestered in her room all day and avoid her duties.
Heena dressed herself in the simplest white mourning dress available—plain, unadorned, appropriate for a grieving family member.
And of course, she wore the veil.
There was a specific ritual requirement: all women of the household, whether newly married or long-established wives, had to wear veils during funeral ceremonies.
