To Be Or Not To Be

Chapter 10

Islas POV

"Can you believe we're going for boba this late?" exclaimed my cousin Abeeha, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.

My grin widening as we embarked on our adventure.

In the car, we turned up the music, the beat pulsing through our veins as we sang along to our favorite songs.

 we could hear zuni yelling along to the song despite not knowing the words, our laughter echoing in the car as he danced in his seat.

We shared jokes and stories as we drove to the boba spot, the anticipation growing with each passing kilometer.

At the boba shop, we eagerly scanned the menu, discussing the different flavors and combinations.

"Mujhe aaj kuch fruity try karna hai," declared my uncle, eyeing the vibrant options. this was very rare for him as he was more into the classics

"I'm sticking to my classic milk tea," I said with a grin, knowing it never failed to satisfy my cravings.

After placing our orders, we gathered around a table, sipping on our drinks and reminiscing about our day.

"Yaad hai jab hum shehar mein gum gaye thay?" (remember when we got lost in the city) my aunt sighed reminiscing about when she first came to America, her storytelling sparking laughter around the table.

With our bellies full of boba and hearts full of joy, we climbed back into the car. 

liA's POV

As I sat in my room, scrolling through my phone, I saw Isla's message in our group chat. She was always so optimistic. I had seen her around in school before, she was always smiling or laughing, but I noticed her first at the coffee shop. 

Looking at her profile picture, which showed her as a baby, I wondered what she was like back then. Was she always as lively as she is now? a smile crept up on my face looking at the picture of a baby puffing up her cheeks and crossing her tiny arms.

It was so cute

What?

Astragfirullah why am I thinking like this. I should know better.

I have enough on my plate right now, with working towards basketball, spending every chance i get on the court. School, test, quizzes, assignments, and most of all focusing on my deen. The one thing that keeps me grounded is my deen. 

School has been so stressful lately and with the end of first semester coming in a month the workloads been even worse. i decide to go shoot hoops for a bit, clear my mind and then come back. I get up making wudu and praying Asr before grabbing my shoes and basketball and walking to the community center.  

I walk into the court which was mostly empty. There's something about this that helps clear my head. It's like the game takes over, and for a while, I can forget about everything else.

Dribbling the ball back and forth, I feel a sense of calm wash over me. It's just me, the ball, and the court. All the noise in my head fades away, and I can finally breathe again. 

The rhythmic bounce of the ball echoes through the empty court as I dribble towards the basket. With a swift movement, I launch myself into the air, executing a perfect layup. The ball glides through the net with a satisfying swish, and I can't help but smile.

Rebounding the ball, I do it again, each movement fluid and precise.  I can feel myself getting into the zone, the outside world fading away. 

As I transition from layups to shooting hoops from different spots on the court, I lose my sense of time. The sound of the ball hitting the floor and the satisfying swish as it sails through the net become my only focus, getting more confident with every shot.