Last Tears

Chapter 21

Hello!
First Authors' note in the story!
I hope you're enjoying this story as much as I enjoy writing it. Hopefully you enjoy it more.
This is to thank each and every single one of you dedicated voters, readers and commenters.

Now do you mind sharing this story so that others can enjoy it as well? Okay? Thanks!
Enjoy
-Aminaj :)
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Marriage: Love is the reason. Lifelong friendship is the gift. Kindness is the cause. Til' death do us part is the length.

-Fawn Weaver

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I watched as Akram's female relatives opened and presented boxes of clothes to me and my female relatives who were receiving the gara*

*(A wedding necessity where the female relatives of the groom come to present boxes of gifts to the bride to be received by her female relatives. These boxes include clothes, shoes, bags, makeup and what not)

As Akram's aunts picked the clothes out of the boxes one after the other and handed it to my Aunts who received it smiling and blessing the clothes; I remembered when each item was bought over the last two months. I remember how Maama and Akram went shopping almost every day after we were engaged, to buy these clothes while Afra enlisted the help of Ahmad to run her errands in arranging the wedding. Maama didn't ask me to come along in an effort to make some part of our unique marriage normal but Akram always secretly sent me the pictures asking if I liked them. A part of me doubted Maama really didn't notice. I believe she just let us be.

"Masha Allah" My mum's youngest sister blessed. "So many boxes, you didn't have to" she said out of courtesy to my future in laws

"Our son loves her so much he couldn't hold back" Maama's sister joked and they all laughed at how I blushed.

My cousins and I served them dinner and after an hour of chatting and teasing me; they left.

XXX

"Oh this is so beautiful!" Aisha grinned at the henna designs that were being made on me. My room back at home was bustling with cousins of mine and Aisha's friends who had come for my henna ceremony today. I came back home a week ago for the last week of activities leading up to the wedding. It was almost 10am when the henna artist Afra hired arrived.

A small knock came on the door and it was pushed open to reveal Afra smiling. "Assalamu Alaikum" she greeted and we answered she came in. She greeted my cousins before my sister pulled her down to sit next to me.

"Hi" I smiled at her unable to hug her because of my two henna-ed arms hanging in the air.

"The design is so pretty" she smiled inspecting it. "Good job Fati" she smiled at the henna artist.

"Thank you Madam" Fati answered before focusing on back on her work.

"You look tired" I said to her my voice low, "Did you get enough sleep?" My voice gave away my concern

"There was a huge mistake with the cake. I had to make sure they fix it" she frowned

"You've really done so much" I smiled at her. "Thank you"

"Once you people are married Saturday morning and the dinner takes place later; I can sleep away all my exhaustion" she then picked my phone to busy herself and grinned at the five text messages on my home screen that Akram had sent in thirty minutes. "You've not been in his sight for a week and you haven't replied him in half an hour; he's panicking"