The Shades of Spring

Gift of God

She learned a few things in her first couple of days at work.
Nolan was the second son of well-known business tycoon from Kent, United Kingdom.
Nolan was bubbly with everyone he met - age, gender, religion, race, none of that seemed to matter.
He founded Emerald Digital Solutions three years ago with a bunch of friends from college, and worked as a skeleton team till they partnered with overseas budding agencies and  started hiring others about five months ago.
Most of his friends were also from the same social class as him, and were pretty much like him in attitude. They firmly believed in being equals and being leaders who gave and received love rather than being bosses who looked down on their employees.
With his nature, his beliefs and intelligence, he has unknowingly created a complicated love-web where at least six different individuals were involved.

If she had time, she could write a book on them alone!

Sidra integrated herself into the workplace with relative ease and surprisingly made good friends with a few girls. Gabby, Alice and Karen were really nice and a year younger than her. Karen, the emo, never heard the end of Karen and The Manager jokes. But she didn't seem to mind. Sidra figured if she'd met them earlier, she may have invited them to hang out in the afternoon before her Nikah.

Even thinking about the Nikah filled her with such happy thoughts she couldn't stop smiling if she imagined the day.
How happy it made her feel!
She didn't know how she could have started to like him so fast, but here she was, remembering him whenever she saw something that made her happy. Not long ago, she'd seen a nice cosy coffee shop by the roadside and made a mental note to come there for an evening after the Nikah. The exterior was so....rustic and aesthetically pleasing, she couldn't wait to have a table by the short fence with her husband like she'd seen on Instagram. When she realised it, she started smiling at her hands on her lap.
The other day, while shopping for a new hijab to match her Nikah outfit, she'd seen this baby blue polo shirt that looked exactly like the one he'd worn the day of their meeting. As if drawn by a secret magnet, she had gone to the rack and rummaged about for another colour that would match his skin tone.
The thoughts were endless.

The sun continued on its journey of rising and setting, reducing the number of days left before she was due to be at the masjid for the signing of papers.  Since this was sudden, her sister wasn't fully sure of making it on time. For once, Sidra was annoyed by Zubayr's promotions. Then she quickly sought repentance and made dua for his success now and always.

She got two days off from the library to make the weekend longer and explained her situation to Nolan who happily let her off the hook for Thursday and Friday. However, she made sure to do her part of the work before Thursday came, because she did not want problems arising later.
The Nikah was going to be simple and personal, with her family, his family and the Musas.
Her heartbeats were errant on Wednesday morning when she was pinning on her hijab for the day. Tomorrow, her holiday started. On Friday, she was getting married. And she was going to spend the weekend with her husband. Her husband. Ayaan Ibrahim ibn Mas'ud of Tenesk. Her husband. Hers.
Personally, she thought his name had a nice ring to it.

Nolan welcomed her at the door with a huge grin.
"If I had more time to prepare, I'd have given you something better. But with the minor shortage of time, this is all I could," he held out an envelope to her.
Sidra didn't know how to respond. She found the act both sweet and minorly invasive. But Nolan's intentions were never to invade. "Thank you, but you don't have to."

"Come on Sidra. I told you we're a family. And family gift each other. It's not a compulsion; it's a choice."

"Yeah but-"

"Frankly girl, you're making me turn red in embarrassment. Take this. Please, sis."

Sis? Sweet...!
She accepted the envelope graciously.
"Don't open it now," he said quickly, "If you can't stand suspense, I'll tell you what it is. A dinner coupon in Highland Tea Court. For two. Valid for one year. Please open it with your husband."

"That's very very generous of you, Nolan. I can't thank you enough for this gesture."

"Then don't. Think of it as a gift from a brother to his sister. I have a sister. But she's quadriplegic. And.... yeah, I wish I could see her married off as you will be." An expression of pain dimmed his bright eyes and tears glistened in the corners of his eyes which he was quick to wipe away. "I just...I wish Emma was here with me. Dad wouldn't let me bring her. But...I....I'm sorry. This is very inappropriate. I just love that girl and she's an angel and I don't think she deserves it."

"I won't say I'm sorry because there's nothing to apologise for," started Sidra drawing a strange look from Nolan, "Emma must be really blessed to have a brother like you. Perhaps she can't walk like us, but I've heard so much about what an excellent person she is, from your friends. Trust me Nolan, she will find a man who is so in love with her, he won't care about her physical status. He's going to treat her just like a queen who doesn't have to leave her throne for a second."

Nolan looked stunned for a moment then threw his head back and laughed. "For a second there when you said I won't say sorry because there's nothing to apologise for, I thought you were going to say something rude about her disability. Sorry. But yeah, her throne. It never did hit me like that. I still wish she was able to walk around, but from now on, I'll see her as a queen on a throne. She'll like you, you know? And that example you used, it's going to make her happy."

"Happy to be of service. And again, thank you for the coupon."

"Anything for a sister."

She came home with mixed feelings. Maybe the cold feet was coming on? Maybe it's just plain old nerves? Oh Allah, she couldn't stop the trembling of her long fingers.
But not once did she think of changing her decision. She didn't even consider it.

Since childhood, Sidra was known to be the anxious one who always second-guessed herself, questioned her decisions and the most stressed when making up her mind. Because she was afraid of consequences.
Afraid of rejection, failure, not measuring up, becoming a joke and not being valued.
But when it came to Ayaan, there was none of those doubts. She didn't try to guess the future or the disparities they may have in ideas. She understood it and accepted that Qadr worked according to Allah and there was no room for mistakes. If he was going to hurt her, he was going to. If she wasn't going to measure up, she wasn't. If they wouldn't be an ideal couple, they just wouldn't.
But her heart assured her that it was in the Hands of Allah and He would never ever pass it someone who would break it. And the way He'd moved her heart towards Ayaan, she felt at peace. Like a sailor coming back to sea. Like a blue marble exactly on the side of blue against red. Like a pearl nestled perfectly in an oyster.

For her heart that was restless, worried and anxious, he was the gift of peace. The peace that calmed the trembling in her fingers. The peace that she felt when she remembered his name. He was the gift of God for all her Duas. She had been oddly specific about her prayers for a spouse. From physical height to spiritual height, from his stride to his character, she found everything was what she'd asked Allah for over the years. It was funny she hadn't noticed before. But now she did. She looked at him through a special lense that magnified his virtues and made him stand tall among the men she'd met over the years.

To her troubled heart that was afraid of forming bonds, he was certainly the gift that brought her hope.
And that's exactly what Ayaan meant: Gift of God.