Sparks of Love ☑

Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Six

Abdur Rehman was a good boy. He stayed out of trouble and he kept his mother happy, but there was one instance in his youth that put him in deep trouble.

He and Mahad had taken Mahad's dad's car out for a joy ride—it was merely supposed to be within the neighborhood—and had crashed it into a pole.

Abdur Rehman had phoned his sister then. "I have to tell you something," he had whispered.

Pulling into Yahya's house now, Abdur Rehman couldn't help but wonder what trouble Yahya had put himself in.

"Is this some secret ploy to make me clean my room or something?" Rafa asked, getting out of the car at the same time as Yahya was closing the car garage.

"Ha ha," he only said, which was another red flag that worried Rafa. Yahya never missed a chance to tease her about her mess-making habits. She exchanged glances with her husband, asking him if he saw what she did.

What's going on with him? She eyed.

Beats me. Maybe work's tough? Abdur Rehman shrugged.

I doubt it. How hard could it be to teach a bunch of middle schoolers?

The smell of the house she had made her most beautiful memories in hit her as soon as she walked in. It erupted flashbacks of her life with her family. This was the place she was born, she was gifted with the unconditional love of her parents and when they were away, Yahya took care of her just the same. Sometimes much more.

When she first fell from her bicycle, Yahya had sneaked ice cream to her room to stop her from crying. He was the one who held her hand and walked with her to the class on her first day of school. He was a master in consoling her tantrums. Oh! How much she loved him.

Rafa grinned to herself, not only was she the sweetheart of her family and friends, but she was also happily spoiled.

"Make yourself at home," Yahya offered, watching Rafa plop herself on the living room couch and taking off her socks. "Abdur Rehman, do you want soda or anything?"

"I'm fine." He sat down next to his wife, calmly waiting to be told why they were invited over out of the blue. What crisis was going to be revealed to them?

Yahya took his time, rising their curiosities to the brink. Leisurely he retrieved pomegranate juice from the fridge, poured himself a cup, and then returned to the couple.

"Where do I start?" He asked out loud, looking at the couple one by one.

"Have you landed yourself in thousands of dollars worth of debt, and narrowly missed having your license revoked?" Abdur Rehman asked.

Yahya gave him a questioning look. "No...and that sounds suspiciously too specific. Let's have a conversation about your driving history later in private." He turned to Rafa.

"You accidentally kicked a kid at school?" She proposed.

"How in the world could that happen?"

"Well, kids are small and hard to see sometimes. I'm imagining it wouldn't be difficult to mistake one as—"

"No."

"Well, if it's not what Abdur Rehman suggested, and definitely not what I suggested...what is it? What happened? What did you do?" Rafa wondered, edging to the end of the seat to stare at him intently.

"I have been robbed of my heart," he said in all seriousness as he leaned deeper into the armchair and stared at them.

"What?" Rafa exchanged looks with her husband. "Yahya...if this is some elaborate joke, I have places to be." She started to rise.