Vein of Life.

Chapter Seven.

At all. 

Saleh looked slightly disturbed by the whole situation but remained quiet nonetheless, not offering any sort of apology or explanation. 

The silence was interrupted by the sound of a honk and a car door being opened and closed. I hesitantly peeled my eyes off of Saleh and turned around to find uncle Yus striding towards us, a large grin on his face. 

"Hey kiddos, what's..." he trailed off when he saw our expressions. "Woah what's going on here. You guys look like someone died. Oh no! Amira did that fat thing of yours die? The fluffy cat, what's his name?" His eyes shifted between us and slowly, his grin faded and worry replaced the humour in his eyes. "OK, one of you better start speaking." 

I didn't want to tell uncle Yus about what Saleh just said, so I sighed and turned to him with a small smile. "The boys managed to dent my new car and I just had a little bit of a fit." 

He narrowed his eyes at all three of us. He glanced at the back of my car and flinched at the size of the damage. "Ouch, bad hit. Isn't this the new car your dad bought you Amira?" I nodded my head meekly. "Aw, don't worry, I can fix this up for you easily. My best friends a panel beater, remember?" 

I laughed and nodded my head. "Thanks. Since you're here can you also pacify dad's anger when he gets home?" 

He smirked and put an arm around my shoulder. "I'll up the levels of charm, don't you worry." He rubbed my arm and then turned to Saleh. "You," he pointed at him. "Why are you so quiet?" 

"I'm always quiet." Saleh picked up Wael's soccer bag from the car and turned to head inside. 

"Hey! I might only be two years older than you but I demand respect!" Uncle Yus tried to joke but Saleh ignored him and walked in. He turned to me with furrowed eyebrows. "What's with the attitude?" 

I stared at the spot that Saleh just occupied. "I don't know," I whispered quietly. 

~~~~

In my younger years, I always believed that a most beautiful sight was when someone walked past you - alone - and although it was directed to no one in particular a small, twitch of a smile rested upon their lips.

And I'm not just talking about any kind of smile. I'm talking about those smiles that really reflect the inner-self of an individual. The ones that induce you to turn around and look at the individual as they strolled off into the distance, thinking, 'wow, they must be really happy.'  It was the kind of smile where you just knew they were doing it, not because of someone else, but because their heart was internally smiling. 

Seeing that as a child allowed the world to transform into a bubble of happiness, innocence and anticipation. Anticipation for the day you would have a reason to walk with a smile on your face.

Now though, as I grew older, I realised that it wasn't just about happiness.

Those people, they harboured inner peace. 

A rarity, really.

They were so completely at one with themselves, that they didn't need to look at their minuscule motorola flip phone to laugh at someone's message, they didn't need to have someone by their side making them laugh, nor did they need the approval and appreciation of the people walking past them. 

They knew what life was all about and exactly where they were headed. 

I thought back to an Islamic lecture I had once watched, that spoke about the best way to gain inner-peace. The sheikh had said that a believer had to have not only firm faith, but a solid trust in God, as this is what would help us battle our trials in life. It was when we understood that this life is the last stepping stone towards a world that would be more eternal, that our struggles were alleviated.