Sparks of Love ☑

Ten

What am I doing?

He shook his head, realizing how far he was going to catch a glimpse of someone who was nothing but a stranger for him, a na-mahrum. He wasn't even supposed to look at her in the first place.

"What am I? A teenager in love?" He muttered under his breath bitterly.

Moving his legs, he got himself out of there before the nurse called security. He hadn't even stopped to consider how suspicious he must be looking, lurking outside a public place, watching who came and went.

"I'm losing my mind," he yelled out loud as a gentle breeze hit his face.

But he didn't know how much he had fallen until his mother made a revelation the following day that rained heavily on him.

"I cannot tell you how delighted I was when Sajda told me that Jannat will be at Shumaila's party!" His mother gushed, peeling another slice of the apple and sliding it into his plate. "You have to meet her there so I can take this match forward in time for Ammi's arrival."

Abdur Rehman's hand trembled the slightest as he picked up a piece and bit into it. He was the one who had given his mother the signal to move forward with anyone, but hearing her take actual steps was frightening.

"How am I supposed to talk to her at a women's party?" He finally asked, gulping the knot in his throat.

"You can come meet her when you drop me there," Tayyaba offered with a grin, plucking a tangerine from the fruit bowl.

"You want me to drive you there?"

"Yes, so you have a reason to talk to her."

"Okay." He nodded, focusing his gaze on the perfectly cut wedges. They were browning with the exposure to air, losing their unblemished color.

The match hadn't even been made yet, but it made him feel squeamish already. He wasn't sure what it was, why he was feeling that way, but something inside him was beating his heart, hammering it with words that he couldn't quite make out. He could sit and strain to listen to them, but no matter how much silence he could envelop himself in, he wouldn't be able to hear simply because he wasn't ready to.

"Finish your orange, son," his mother coerced. He nodded at her, reaching for another piece, despite having lost his appetite.

Worry and a certain degree of excitement was forming a ball in his stomach that kept him feeling unsettled for the entire week before his meeting with Jannat.

Even Fawzan had noticed his unease.

"If you're busy today, I could, uh, I could work with Mr. Dulce," the intern had offered, noting Abdur-Rehman's silent mood.

After weeks of shadowing and tagging along with Abdur-Rehman, Fawzan had recently acquired a small desk in the corner of the department. Additionally, he had finally started tagging along the team leaders and integral staff within the department.

Abdur-Rehman had gotten used to Fawzan's presence in his work day, since the young graduate was a fast learner and keen observer. But his offer to leave him alone sounded good that morning.

"If you could, thank you Fawzan."

With Fawzan being out of the way, Abdur-Rehman's first call was to Mahad, who he knew would give him unfiltered advice. It wasn't the anxiety of meeting someone new, no. It was something else. Something which perhaps Mahad could identify.

"Abdur-Rehman, I'm heading out for my lunch, do you want me to grab you a smoothie on the way back?" Bethany asked, bursting through the door after a knock.