Lovestruck in the Capital City (Preview Only)

05: Talks Over Tea

Mahnoor Hidayah Muazu was the first guest at any of his lectures to completely capture his attention and genuinely make him curious.

That said a lot because he had been giving talks and lectures for years and had met thousands of people. He honestly considered looking her up on the net just to find anything but after conversing and catching up with his family, the thought moved to the back of his mind. He never thought she would call on that same day but she did and he was surprised.

"Are you there?" She asked when the silence from his end began to stretch. "I'm sorry if this was a bad time."

Abdulmanan snapped out of it and quickly said "No, it isn't. I was just surprised, that's all." He let out a small breath. "I didn't expect to hear from you today."

"Oh..." She laughed. It was a warm sound. "I didn't think I'll call you today but I had a talk with my parents not too long ago and I thought I should muster up strength and do it. As I said earlier, thank you for such an amazing lecture. I learned a lot and I was able to understand things better."

He stepped out of the kitchen and closed the door behind him. "You're welcome." He signalled at the three at the dining table that he was heading up and when they nodded, he proceeded upstairs. "I'm glad it was good for you."

"Really, if this is a bad time, I can always call back."

He found himself liking how considerate she was. "I'm serious, Hidayah, this isn't a bad time. I'm actually free so it's all good."

"Well, that's a relief. It was a long day and I don't think I want you staying up longer than you have to because of me."

"I'm good, Hidayah. It's alright."

"Right..."

There was silence and he decided to ask random questions to get her to ease into the conversation. "How's your friend? Safeena, right?"

"Yes, it's Safeena. She's good, I guess." There was rustling before she spoke again. "I spoke to her before my parents came back just so I could be sure that she got home safely."

He stepped into his room and shut the door behind him. "She did get home safely, right?"

"Yes, she did. She said if I eventually call you, I should let you know that it was a great pleasure meeting you in person. She's like your biggest fan."

That surprised him. His bed dipped as he sat. "Really?"

"Yes." She sounded really happy. "She goes on and on about you. She likes how you talk about things that affect us at points in our lives and she also likes the fact that you didn't just stick to what you studied. You explored other areas and I think that's really cool. It isn't easy to do that but from what I saw earlier, you are doing a great job."

His cheeks were warm. "You've complimented me a lot in less than three minutes."

She laughed again. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. I'm just honest and I like to tell people how I feel about them. I've passed on her message."

"And I'm really grateful; to her and to you too."

She sniffled. "Right...I'm sorry if I'm a bit awkward. I'm just really nervous."

"Take your time, Hidayah."

"Why do you call me that?"

He frowned although she could not see him. "Hidayah? You don't like people calling you Hidayah?"

"No, that's not what I meant." She then went on to explain. "When I introduce myself, people often try to get my first name right. They keep repeating Mahnoor and if it gets too hard, they just call me Noor. People often forget that my name is Hidayah."