A Muslim's Romantic Journey

Chapter 44.

Safia’s POV

I was in a really foul mood. One of the reasons for that was Yusuf. I knew he was going to his parents’ house early today because they had guests coming around and Aunt Jerry said Yusuf had to be there in the morning. But he hadn’t even woken me up before leaving. He left me a little note saying he was gone. I phoned him and asked him why he didn’t wake me.

“You looked so peaceful in your sleep.” Was his reply.

“You should have told me. It’s not nice waking up to an empty place.”

“Alright, I’m sorry. I’ve got to go now.” Then he hung up.

The other reason for my bad mood was Amy. She said she was going to pick me up in her dad’s car but then she told me she couldn’t make it at the last minute so I had to take a bus. And it was a cold day. Winter had begun which always made me feel down.

Just to top things off, as I was sat on the bus, someone I knew came and said hello to me. She was a girl who I used to talk to from time to time in my college days. She was nice but a bit too overly bubbly and happy and ever so slightly fake. A couple of times she had made sly insulting remarks which I tried so hard to forget.

“Hey Saf!” That was a nickname I disliked more than Safi.

“It’s Safia.” I reminded her. ”Salaam Alisha.”

“Oh my gosh, I haven’t seen you in so long! What have you been up to?”

“Not much.”

“Let me guess. Did your parents take you back home and get you married off to a boy you were unknowingly betrothed to at birth?” She said laughing. She always had something against my lifestyle. I was apparently too strict of a Muslim for her standards. It was fine by me if she didn’t continuously hint things like that. I thought she would have changed but she was still the same. I glared at her. I stopped myself from giving any sort of response thinking she wasn’t worth it. “Hey come on, smile! It’s sunnah.” I could almost hear the mockery in her voice.

“I’ll smile if you do a simple very important thing a Muslim should do. Be nice.” Her face fell a little.

“What do you mean? I am being nice.”

“I know what you meant by saying my parents took me back home to get me married off. You think just because I try to practice Islam that I won’t be able to marry someone of my choice? Well I did marry someone of my choice.”

“I was only joking, ugh.”

“Don’t ugh me.” Keep cool Safia, I told myself.

“What is wrong with you?”

“What’s wrong with you? I’m not that same old Safia that you can think you can laugh at.” I started silently praying, Oh Allah, please get her off the bus. I don’t know how but you are the all-Powerful. Please have it written in her Qadr (fate) that she is to get off at the next stop.

“Touchy much?” She said rolling her eyes.

“Fake much?” I retorted. She looked a little shocked and stood up. It was two stops later when she finally pressed the button meaning she was going to get off at the next stop. In that much time, I was thinking of my behaviour. I was being a little mean. She was mean too but that didn’t give me a right to be so rude.

“Alisha, I’m sorry. I just had a rough morning and I didn’t mean to be so rude.”

“Hm.” She pushed the hair from her face, gave me a dirty look and walked off. I tried to get rid of the mental image I had in my brain of clawing her face off.