Our Space

Chapter 21

The microwave pinged, interrupting Sami's flow. He decided to eat his dinner before he continued with the email. While he ate, he wondered what else he'd say in the email. In the end, he decided to just be completely honest. Finishing his dinner quicker than usual, he took his phone out again, still chewing on the last bite.

This may sound odd but after I left your house, the things your father said stayed with me, though I can't clearly remember what it was. I just remember thinking about how I needed to fix things with my mother so I decided to take that step and reach out to her. By Allah's will, and perhaps your prayers, I happened to stumble across something that put my whole life into perspective. I started to see all my struggles in a new light. As humans, we're quick to see others' flaws and how they might hurt us, but we're blind to see how we hurt others. Since then, alhamdulillah I've managed to somewhat fix some of these problems I had. I recall your father was upset I didn't bring my mother with me so thanks to that observation of his, when I do start looking to marry again now, I'll be sure to take my mother with me to see the girl. At the moment, I'm trying to look for a husband for my sister.

Jazak'Allah khair for your apology though, as I said, I don't think it was necessary. And jazak'Allah khair for your du'as.

Sami Rayhan.

Sami read through the email again. I think she's interested in you. Sami remembered the words and cut out the last two lines from his email. Maybe he had a chance. He could still look for a husband for Manahil and get married. It would be nice to have someone to come home to. He replaced the end of his message with something which he thought sounded less like he wasn't interested in her because although he was scared to show it, he was interested too.

I've been getting caught up in work and husband hunting for my sister so I haven't been able to meet any potential spouses for a while. But the next time I do, I'll make sure to take your father's advice and have my mother present.

Sami was nervous and unsure about sending the email. Taking a deep breath, he told himself it couldn't be more embarrassing than the note Radia's friend gave to him so he closed his eyes and hit send.

***

Radia refused to speak to Hannah for the rest of the day. But that didn't stop her from checking her phone constantly, hoping to see an email.

By evening, Radia had given up. Seeing an email from Sami felt like it would be a dream. A dream like Nouman Ali Khan responding to her email. Except her heart wouldn't flutter if she saw Nouman Ali Khan's name, rather she'd explode in shock and excitement. But there was a sense of nervousness and butterflies that came with Sami. Would he email her? Could Radia be that lucky?

Nope, surely not. Girls in real life just weren't that lucky. As Radia sat with her family all lounging around, she moped about being a real life girl and not a cool girl in some cute romance story, her phone beeped. For a moment, she became hopeful. Maybe I am a cool girl in some cute romance story, she thought, reaching for her phone. Nah, it's impossible.

Unlocking her phone, she saw that she had received an email. Feeling hopeful, she clicked on the email icon and sure enough, there was his name. Sami Rayhan. He'd emailed her. Radia felt herself go breathless. She wanted to scream, he emailed me! But she looked around to see her parents and younger siblings. It would be inappropriate so instead, she got up to leave the room to enjoy reacting on her own.

"Where are you going?" Radia's mum asked.

"Oh, I'm just going to my room. I need to check something," She responded before running out and climbing the stairs to get to her room.