PROLOGUE

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Word count: 1013


"calm down, she will be alright" Asad comforted his friend Rafiq, who stood in a state of up and down in front of the labor room. "don't panic so much"

" didn't you see how much in pain she was" rafiq almost yelled

"bro it's normal, relax" just then, a baby's crying voice came from inside which made Rafiq jump out of happiness "see didn't I tell ya!"
A nurse came out with a baby in her hands "you are blessed with a daughter"

"mashallah" rafiq whispered between his lips and took the baby in his hands and lifted her up to kiss her.

"do you know of that hadith?" asad asked rafiq

"which one?"

"our prophet Mohammed (SAW) said that in whichever house the first child born is a girl, allah has bestowed his blessings on him"

"surely my little angel is a blessing from Allah"
Rafiq adored his daughter's smell and didn't want to leave her but he had to give her back to the nurse as she had to take her back to her mother "can I meet Isra?" rafiq asked the nurse

"not now, we will shift her to the ward soon, then you can meet"

Rafiq was beaming with happiness and was waiting for the moment he would call out azan into his daughter's delicate ears.

After a while, isra was taken to the ward and rafiq was allowed to meet her. "I've been so worried about you!" rafiq squealed as he entered in
"I am alright, did you look at our daughter?" isra had no bounds to her happiness

"ah yes mashallah" rafiq said, closing his eyes and smiling "she is my most beautiful and lovely angel"
He leaned onto little baby's cradle and took his daughter in his hands and sat facing isra.
"what name did you like for her?"

"johara" isra mumbled which rafiq couldn't hear
"I didn't hear you dear, what did you say?"

"johara" isra said louder and clearer this time, her eyes shone upon saying that

"that's a beautiful name but I haven't heard it before" rafiq whispered

"oh yeah" isra said excitedly "I want our daughter to be unique and different from everyone else and have a personality trait as beautiful as a jewel. BTW, did you have any name or any suggestions?"

"no, it's solely a mother's right to decide what her baby's name will be, of course with the consent of her husband and I love this name you chose"
He said that and lifted up the baby to have her ear near his mouth.

"allahu akbar allahu akbar" rafiq had started reciting azan in his daughter's ears while isra sat looking at them with a wide smile on her face "ash hadu anla ilaha illallah"
"ashhadu anna muhammadar rasulullah"
"hayya alas salah, hayya alas salah"
"hayya alal falah, hayya alal falah"
"allahu akbar, allahu akbar"
"laa ilaha illallah"

And then rafiq whispered the name in his daughter's ears "your name is johara, your name is johara, your name is johara"
Rafiq repeated it for three time in her ear and saw his daughter having a little smiling tint on the corner of her lips.

"indeed you are a jewel" rafiq whispered in his little daughter's ears

Johara was a sweet girl. She used to do so many such activities that made her parents look and awe at her.

"rafiq! RAFIQ!!!!!" Isra yelled at her highest pitch which was even probably audible to the neighbors.
"look look, our johari is walking!" isra was freaking out
Rafiq came running in the room, hearing that and after seeing the scene, his jaw dropped "my little johari is walking" rafiq ran towards her which made her lose her balance and fall

"she was walking so nicely, why did you run?" isra whined
Rafiq was too busy hugging his daughter to reply to isra which actually made her smile deep inside.
She took her phone and said "I am gonna click some photos of this father-daughter duo"

Rafiq looked at the camera and smiled while making a peace sign in his fingers near johara's face but then suddenly johara stump on the floor and looked up, right and left so innocently that her parents burst into laughter.
"cutie"

                               °°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
When johara was five, a very unfortunate event took place.
It was 7pm, tuesday. Rafiq returns from his office, fully worn out.
"isra, isra!" he called out

"yes" she came out of the bathroom, wiping her face with a towel "you've returned. I was just coming in a minute"

"oh" rafiq sighed in a very unusual manner

"are you ok?" isra asked her husband with concern as his sigh worried her. She sat beside him on the sofa for better control over the conversation.

"uh oh" he kept sighing "where's johi?"

"she slept already" isra said twitching her eyebrows as she was still worried by the way rafiq was sighing

"so soon?" rafiq asked "yeah, she was already very tired after her preschool" isra said "she had her dinner and immediately went to bed"

"oh" rafiq sighed again

"are you really ok?" isra asked another time more firmly this time

"yes, I......" rafiq twitched his face in a strange way which made his face wrinkle "am... Ah" he pressed his hand against his chest "isra" he was speaking with difficulty

"rafiq, rafiq, what is happening to you?" isra held on her husband "hold on" she grabbed her phone and ringed the emergency number for the ambulance and rushed back to rafiq.

"everything is gonna be fine, hold on just a little"
In about five minutes, the ambulance arrived. Before that, she also rang to maryam, asad's wife to come over as her daughter would be left alone with the maids and that's definitely not safe, definitely!

As soon as the ambulance arrived, isra left with her husband in tears with asad leaving Maryam, idrees and inayah behind.
Little johara didn't even know what has happened, she was just in her world, snoring and sleeping peacefully.

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