A Halal Romance

A Thunderstorm

Thunder crashed outside the house.

Zahra shuddered as chills swept through the house. "Hadi?" she called, peeking into her older brother's room.

He fumbled to hide something, then looked up at her. "Yes? Everything alright?" he asked with a concerned look on his face.

"Is this a normal thing? I'm worried...thunderstorms never happen in Cali," she said.

He smiled. "Zahra, are you really worried about a little lightning?"

Her jaw dropped, and she exclaimed, "That's so meannnn! I'm telling Mama!"

The look on his face showed he knew he had messed up. "I-I-I was just kidding! Zahra, come back here!"

Giggling, she raced down the hall to her parents' room.

✨✨✨

As lightning illuminated the room, Zahra thought back to that day.

Five years ago. That seemed impossible; it felt like yesterday her older brother chased her through the narrow corridors. Now he was on the other side of the country after being accepted into MIT. Of course she was happy-in fact, she was insanely proud of him, since MIT was so difficult to get into, but a part of her wished he could have stayed home.

With a sigh, she pulled herself up from her bed where she'd been curled up, seeking warmth from the storm.

She pushed open her door, which was always ajar. Her brother's room was right next to her own, though it hadn't been opened in weeks.

With trembling hands, she turned the doorknob, and squinted through the darkness as the door creaked on its hinges. Flicking the light switch, she sent dust flying through the air.

Man, it feels illegal to be here. What am I doing?

Most of the room had been emptied when Hadi packed up to leave, leaving bare furniture and dirty laundry he hadn't bothered to do. Shaking her head with a smile on her face, she picked up the pile of clothes - then recoiled as a pair of stiff socks fell out.

"I think it's best I leave those here," she mumbled, permanently traumatized. A thought occurred to her.

All those years ago, he always seemed to hide something from me... I wonder...

She crouched by his dusty chest of drawers, tugging open the jammed bottom drawer, coughing as the dust hit her face. Coverless textbooks were sprawled along the inside, and, inspired by curiosity, she removed them.

As the pile of books beside her grew, she noticed a brown satchel neatly placed beneath the mess of books. It seemed quite old, with frayed leather and light scratches. She opened the latch to find thin journals filled with Yusuf's scrawled handwriting.

Pulling the pages open, she found the first page smeared with a coffee spill.

That's my coffee-addicted brother, she thought, smiling. The next page, though, contained his diary entries. She'd never thought of her brother as a "Dear Diary" person, but obviously she was wrong.

After reading for hours, she finally placed the books back, safely tucking them in between the worn leather. Her mind was reeling. Hadi had admitted to loving her best friend, Khadija, for years, before meeting his current fiancée.

As she placed the textbooks back inside the drawer, she realized how little she'd considered marriage. Yes, she'd dreamed of finding the right person and getting married occasionally, but never thought of who she'd marry.

Flicking the light off and leaving the room shrouded in the same darkness she'd found it in, she retreated, shutting the door behind her.

"What are you doing here?"