From Aliya to Hafiz

Twenty-one.

Aliya.

The sun was shining brightly when I opened my eyes the next morning.

Well, afternoon.

Checking Muslim Pro, it was fifteen minutes to Zuhur. I couldn't fall asleep yesterday due to the jet lag. I only managed to get a shut eye after praying Subhi.

'Welcome to hell Aliya. Hope you leave in one piece.'

I didn't even know what to make of that statement. He sounded like he was making a promise to me, one that didn't spell well for me. And the casual way he said 'hell,' it was like these people were mad.

No, they were mad.

How could they causally throw the word 'hell' around? I always found it odd when I watched it in films and read it in books. Jasra said it was all a figure of speech but honestly, some words shouldn't be used to figurate speech at all.

Sighing, I got down from the bed to brush my teeth and perform ablution. I wasn't going to take another bath since I took one around ten in the evening yesterday.

The room Hafiz left me in front of was huge, like a presidential suite kinda huge. It had a living room, two balconies, an unnecessarily large bathroom, and a master bedroom, all in a theme of cream and beige. It was like a self-contained apartment without a kitchen.

I understood what he meant when he said it would be creepy to stay alone in his estate. It was weird enough being alone in such a huge space.

"The world of the rich sure is different alright," I mumbled. Saying the prayer for entering the bathroom, I relieved the pressure in my bladder first before brushing and washing my face. I then performed ablution and left the bathroom.

Rummaging through my trolley, I picked a comfortable set of loungewear with lace lining on the edges and changed into them. Auntie told me my clothes would arrive tomorrow evening or the day after in the morning since it was getting shipped by sea.

I only brought four sets of casual clothes and pyjamas with me. Dressing, I walked back to my bed for my phone. The signal bar was still flat and I couldn't place a call.

"Tch, Airtel," I hissed as I walked around the room, even stepping out to the balcony. It overlooked the well-trimmed lawn with well-arranged cherry blossom trees.

After appreciating Allah's beautiful artwork, I walked back to the room, hands on my waist and sighed. "Guess I have to go ask."

A house this big should have a wifi, logically speaking. On the way down, I didn't see anybody. The place was even more magnificent with the late morning sun pouring in through the floor-length windows.

Tracing the way to the living room with the memory of the day before, I came upon Auntie's husband sitting on one of the couches and reading a newspaper. Guess people still did that, or it was just for the aesthetic because he looked good doing that.

With the light casting a faint halo on his frame, golden frames perched on his nose and...well, all I wanted to establish was that he looked good.

His eyes left the paper and settled on me, visibly softening. Not knowing what to say, I blurted out the first thing that came to my mind.

"Happy birthday."

"Whose? Yours?" He chuckled, confused.

"No. Someone's. Somewhere. In the world."

"I guess so?" He cocked his head sideways like he couldn't decipher what lead me to that thought process.

And that made the two of us.