Upon their Qadr.

A new recipe in life.

That is the thing about pain, it demands to be felt. I mentally groaned at how true those words sounded. Why did John Green have to be bluntly true about his statements?

I was in the middle of reading The fault in our stars, a book that I have read many times since I got my hands on it, and yet it has not failed to lift me up when I need it. I was not in a particularly good mood, I was minutes away from sobbing for Augustus Waters, when I heard mom screaming from the hall. 

"Haya, Tahera is here." 

"I'm in my room." I yelled back before turning back to the book I was reading. By the time my best friend walks in to the house, gives her salams to my mom, play a little with my nieces and nephew - who I'm sure were watching tv, and walk in to my room, I was pretty sure that I would be able to finish the chapter I was reading. I was at my favourite part of the story, when Tahera walked through the door, her face flushed with sweat, and her hijab looked like it couldn't have had a worse day.

"urgh. Why is it sooo hot" she groaned as she dropped her bag on the ground and plopped herself next to me on my bed.

"um. Hi to you too? What's gotten you all twisted?" I asked her while still focusing on my book, I was at the part where Waters was giving his own speech. Urgh. So much feels. Engrossed in my book, I didn't realize I wasn't paying attention to what Tahera was saying.

"Im sorry what was is that you were saying?"

"yart clazzus.... So haaat" I heard muffles from her as her head was facing the pillow. I pulled the pillow off her face, as she gave me a death glare.

"Ey. What did you do that for." She scowled.

"I'm sorry baby doll, but I don't speak pillow talk. Now tell me, what's gotten your jungis all twisted?"

Tahera sighed a big sigh as she sat cross legged on my bed and hugged my roll pillow.

"Art class is taking a toll on me. Aunty S wants me to re-draw this forest picture and I just can't seem to get it right. Urgh. "she groaned. "and..." she stopped mid-sentence.

"and?" I prompted. "and what?"

"And, I don't know what's happening to our PR visa applications and it's just frustrating me."

"oh." I said as a silence engulfed the both of us.

Meet Ta, in short for Tahera Jamal, my best friend. Our friendship didn't date back to the era before selfies, yet it was very deep. Ta and I have been best friends for around 3 years, we have a bit of a funny story cause we both really don't know exactly when we became best friends. But then you've heard people say, some friendships are meant to be and it happens. Ta and I shared such a friendship. Soul sisters, we call ourselves. We were complete opposites, she was quiet and I was loud, yet she was the ying to my yang. Tahera and I both schooled at an all-girls school. Although we both knew each other since we started school, our friendship actually started when we were in 12th standard.

I wanted to learn how to cook and managed to convince my older sister Falah, to teach me and a couple of my friends. A random message was sent to all my friends, including Tahera, and then we just became friends.

Thud.

"ouch." I screamed as the book collided with my face. "what the heck did you do that for?"

"well, you dragged my pillow away. Plus you had that lost look on your face and I saw your book and I just couldn't resist." She smiled sheepishly.

"not cool Ta." I said tending to my book smacked nose. "just not cool."

She couldn't stop laughing at my sulking face, "oh c'mon, I didn't even hit you so hard. Drama queen"

I ignored her drama queen statement and kept my book on the side of my bed, "are you staying tonight? Please tell me you are."

"yes. Didn't you see the duffle bag I walked in with"

"great!" I smiled, "Let's watch a movie? You pick. But hey! Anything but 500 days of summer, please." I grumbled.

"awh man, I was about to say five-hun.."

"don't. I said anything but that."

"hahaha. Okay okay. Anything but that."

"deal! Come, let's go see what's there at home for us to pig out on." I said as I dragged her out of the bed.

"Nooooo." She dramatically wailed. "I don't want to walk out of this air-conditioned heaven. Don't make me"

I stood on the ground and looked down at the dramatic lump I called my best friend lazily sleeping on my bed.

"Well, we can, no wait, you can make us both a nice hot steaming milky cuppa tea if you want to."

"tea! Omg TEA." She jumped off the bed. "yes. Tea it is." She said as she walked out of my room with enough excitement she could muster.

Tahera had a crazy love for tea and making them. I won't really complain cause I like tea too, and this woman makes yummy tea.

"Well that was easy." I muttered under my breath and followed Tahera to the kitchen while laughing and realized,

Although years ago, the cooking class never took place, a recipe for something new was born, a friendship between two different souls; Tahera and me.