Living on the Other Side

Chapter Twenty

After I had calmed down sufficiently, my mother and I had a long, emotionally-charged conversation. We spoke of Cory and his state of health, and made peace with the likelihood that he had most likely truly betrayed us; we spoke of my father's anger and his strategies for finding us to exact revenge, and what we should do if he were to find us here; and we spoke of our new life here, our faith in Allah, the family we had found in our congregation, and whether or not we could give it up to find a new hiding place.

Ultimately, we made the decision to stay, regardless of the consequences. Moving around constantly would ensure a higher amount of security, but we would lose so much that way. Our faith was strong and unshakeable, and we both knew deep within our hearts that whatever might happen to us henceforth was the will of our Lord and Creator. After this conversation, we prayed through the night together, asking for guidance and mercy from Allah.

The next morning dawned bright and sunny, and as I made my way to my classes, I felt surprisingly at peace. My step was light, my thoughts were cheerful, and the day felt like it was going to be a good one. My prayers and supplications of the night before had been left to my Lord, my tears and my grief had finally found their release, and I was ready to face whatever was on the horizon.

After classes were over and the congregation came together and prayed the 'Dhuhr prayer, one of the men approached me and told me that the men of the congregation were going to attend a seminar at the Others' masjid, and the women and children had decided to go for a long ramble and a picnic for the afternoon. He invited me to join the men at the seminar, then asked me to kindly invite my mother for the picnic on behalf of the ladies of the congregation.

I turned down the invitation to the seminar, for I had study plans for the afternoon. Having missed all of my classes yesterday, I had borrowed notes from the instructors and intended to go over them and prepare any assignments that had been given. However, I promised to give my mother the message about the picnic, and set off to do just that.

Finding her seated with a group of ladies, I politely greeted them and asked her to step aside with me for a minute. She smiled and stood, heading over to a quiet corner of the communal hall. "Yes, Xavier? Is there anything you need?" she asked me.

"No, I'm fine, alhamdullillah," I spoke up, smiling at her. "It's nothing of particular importance—I just spoke to 'Talib, and he informed me that there is a hike and picnic taking place this afternoon by the ladies of the congregation. He asked me to inform you about it, and to extend a cordial invitation on behalf of the others who are going."

Her eyes lit up. "Oh, how exciting! This area is such a beautiful place for hikes, and the weather today is just perfect for a picnic, subhan'Allah. I'd love to go—I'd better go and prepare some food to contribute to whatever we may be taking along with us, then. What about you, my dear? What are your plans for this afternoon?"

"I'm going to be going over my class notes and doing some assignments for the classes I missed yesterday, so I'll be quite busy. The men will be attending a seminar, so I'll have the masjid all to myself for the afternoon. Have a wonderful time at your picnic, Mother." With a cheerful smile and a playful pinch to her cheek, I headed off to the library to collect the books I would need for my assignments.

***

A few hours later found me studying in my room. Hearing the adhan for the 'Asr prayer being called from an automated clock in the community hall downstairs, I looked up at a wall clock that was placed across from the desk I was working at. I found, to my surprise, that I had been buried in my books for the better part of three hours. When the adhan ceased to call, I realized that the masjid was deafeningly quiet—everyone had left for the afternoon on their various excursions. I recalled my mother stepping in to tell me that the picnickers were planning to be back before Maghrib time, which was still several hours away.

Since there was no one present to pray in congregation with me, and I had no magical power to Transport to the Others' masjid to pray with everyone else, I headed down the hall to the shared bathroom and made my wuduu, then performed my 'Asr prayers in the room I shared with my mother. Completing my prayer, I sat peacefully meditating my surroundings. I looked around at the simple room; one twin bed stood against the wall on each side of the room, and a simple wooden desk was nestled between them, currently piled high with my various notes and assignments, along with several reference books.

Suddenly, I heard a strange noise coming from downstairs. The sound was muffled, like someone had stumbled over something and tried to stifle a cry of pain. Wondering if one of the members of the congregation had returned earlier than the rest, I stood up from my prayer mat and quietly made my way down the family wing towards the stairs that lead to the communal downstairs area. I began to make my way down, then suddenly froze in shock and fear; waiting for me at the foot of the stairwell was Kano, my father's chief headhunter.