The Essence of Noah (Muslim story)

Cool

True to his word, Noah and I walked to Uni together in the morning, though given the seven am timing, there wasn't much conversation except for the abrupt and uncontainable yawns every now and then, followed by a subtle laugh.

We parted ways when we reached my campus, exchanging 'see you laters' and 'yeahs'. I was almost tempted to bring up Mads, and ask about their 'friendship' and the letters he receives from her- at least I'm almost a hundred percent sure it's her. But I didn't, because I've noticed that I have a habit for screwing things up when it comes to Noah, with my over defensiveness, lack of humour and more than occasional bitter remarks. There's only so much he's probably willing to take before I unintentionally pierce a hole through his patience and make him hate me. So, I hold back on that for now, and allow myself to enjoy his company that's kindled with secret fondness.

As we walked, with Noah by my side and my feelings squeezed in between us, I couldn't help the smile that was playing peek-a-boo on my face. I'm excited, but it's a strange kind of excitement. It's not the type that comes with surprise, or leading up to a big event, or the excitement you get before you go on a ride. It's none of them, because they all have endings; you get over a surprise, and events and rides eventually comes to an end. The excitement I feel now though, doesn't feel like it'll ever fizzle away, and that alone makes the fire burn brighter.

~*~

I go over the conversation with mum, specifically where she asked me what I'm going to do with my feelings, and no matter how hard I think about it, I have no clue, what I'm going to do. Telling him straight up isn't even an option; Noah might not even like me. To him, this could be a mutual friendship or neighbourship, just like him and Mads, and I don't want to risk embarrassing myself and ruining our friendship. I haven't even thought about it from Baba's perspective, or religiously, because they're practically the same thing. I just have to keep it to myself and once I tell Baba, he'll start sorting out marriage arrangements- and this is assuming Noah returns my feelings.

Because of this, the only advice I find remotely useful is mums; to talk to him and hang out, minus the confession part. It's not like I haven't been doing that already, and nothing 'haram' has come from it. I can do that- perhaps prove my family wrong.

"Hey," I turn to my side, as Noah falls in step with me.

"Hi." I reply, caught off guard at his abrupt appearance.

"You finished early today."

"Yeah, tutorial was cancelled." I fiddle with my bag strap and watch my shoes as they hit the pavement.

"Lucky." From the corner of my eye I catch him smiling as he pushes his hair over his head.

"I know."

"So how was your day?" He asks, as he looks at my side while I look straight ahead.

"Alright. Yours?"

"Yeah, not too bad." I nod and so does he. For a few moments more, we walk, surrounded by the sound of passing traffic and pedestrians. The silence, I reason, isn't necessarily because we haven't got anything to say, but because we can tolerate each other without words, something that in itself says a lot about a fast blooming friendship.

However, once I deem the silence has lasted too long and Noah isn't showing any signs of interrupting it, I ask, "How long have you and Mads been friends?" At this, Noah looks to my side with a quirked brow, then ahead.

"We went to high school together." He clears his throat.

"Oh." I press my lips and keep my gaze ahead. "Did she move interstate as well?"

"Nah, She took a gap year, that turned into two." He chuckles. "She started off backpacking around Australia, then ended up in Thailand." I smile at his amusement.