Broken Trails

Lady Zaid (the mystery girl)

Later that day Mayra told her father that she wanted to talk to Haroon so that night Ramzia set up candles all around the living room. After Maghrib salah Haroon sat on the sofa waiting to have his meeting with Mayra. He was nervous, not sure how it would all end but he was praying that things would go well. When she finally entered the room he had already thought up a billion ways things could go wrong. He looked up at her when she greeted and he responded. Mayra sat on the couch across from him. He could tell she was nervous too by the way she continuously tapped her foot on the rug. "I told you i wasn't a chicken." He told her after moments of awkward silence. She just smiled at her feet shyly. It was clear that the bold young lady he had spoken to the day before had disappeared. "So... you said you wanted to talk..." Haroon said, not sure where to begin. Mayra nodded "Yeah... I just thought we should, you know, to ask each other questions and stuff." "Of course... ask away." He said quickly rubbing his head as if to prepare himself. She looked so pretty in the candle light, her skin glowed and her eyes sparkled. He barely heard her first question, he had been too busy thinking about her beauty. "Say that again." He said. "I asked if you could tell me more about yourself." She repeated. "Oh... well let's see... umm... I'm twenty-six, never been married and I have no kids. I love swimming, talking and reading Quran... hmm okay, your turn." Mayra smiled, her lips looked soft and her teeth were white, Haroon had to literally tear his eyes away from her very attractive mouth. "I'm twenty-one, not the greatest cook but I do try, I have never been married either and I don't have kids. Hmm... oh and I love listening to Quran and nasheeds." Haroon smiled remembering how she had snuck up to listen to his recitation. "what?" she asked, wondering why he was smiling. "Nothing... I was just thinking." "What were you thinking?" "Just that, I already know how much you love listening to Quran." He replied offering her a crooked smile. Mayra's cheeks grew hot with embarrassment. "Don't worry, no one knows, that is... unless you told someone." "O-Kay... moving on." She said looking heavenward and giving in, a little, to the smile she had been fighting. Haroon chuckled "Okay so what do you do when you're angry?" "Well, first I yell at whoever made me angry, give them a piece of my mind and then I ignore them..." Mayra told him seriously "Oh and if I'm angry enough, I cry." "Haroon had to smile "Wow, that was... umm... really... honest." Mayra laughed "Well, I'd like to think you are being honest as well." "I am, I am." He replied. "Okay then what do you do when you're angry?" "Well for starters, I rarely get angry and when I do, I don't like talking so I leave and go somewhere quiet where I can relax my brain and calm down." "Hmm, so what about other women, do you have any ex girlfriends or fiancés that I should know about?" Haroon shook his head "No, no and no... I see you're the jealous type." He said winking. "Whatever." Mayra said rolling her eyes. He laughed "My sisters will definitely love you." Mayra smiled "If you say there are no girls in your life then who were you talking to on the phone? I doubt it was a man and if it was, I'm worried." "What! When?" He asked looking surprised. "On the porch, right before the snake incident you were talking to someone over the phone." "Was I?... ohhh yeah, you're right, I was." He said remembering. "Mmmhm, can you deny that, that was a female?" Haroon laughed "No, I can't, that was definitely a female." Mayra looked ready to attack. "Lemme guess." He continued "You wouldn't approve of me talking to any female as I did." "You've got that right...all that, I love you stuff and... kisses... would you approve of your wife talking to some guy that way." Haroon shook his head inwardly amused by this feisty little woman's argument. Haroon sighed and reached into his pocket for his phone "Well I guess I'd better call her up and tell her THAT is all over, mommy time is up, I can no longer pronounce my love for her or send kisses, those have now been reserved for someone else." He said grinning. Mayra wanted to die. Never once did she consider his mom being the lady on the line. Her jaw dropped and she covered her mouth "Oh ...n n no, uh... I had no idea." She stuttered. "Nooo, it's nothing, ima call her." He insisted as he pretended to search through his mobile contacts. "No, no, don't, please."She pleaded, her cheeks were on fire now. "You enjoy embarrassing me, don't you?" she asked squinting at him. Haroon chuckled "I can't say I don't, I have to say, it is kind of amusing." "Okay, you're wicked." She said hiding a smile "Don't forget, what goes around, comes around." Haroon laughed "Is that a threat?" Mayra pursed her lips "Maybe." She said looking up at him and Haroon found himself lost in the swirls of the honey brown eyes that sparkled at him mischievously in the candlelight. His heart skipped a beat and he quickly looked away for fear of being captivated by those bewitching eyes of hers.

They talked for a while longer before Khalid announced that he was going to bed and that they should too. "Inshallah, you'll both be here tomorrow. No rush." He teased. Mayra smiled shyly and rose from her seat. After giving salams to Haroon she went to her bedroom.

Haroon stayed three more days before taking his leave. He thanked the Fareeds for their hospitality and took Khalid's number and promising to keep in touch. Mayra already felt like a part of her was going with him. She missed him the moment he drove out the gate... and he missed her too.

Haroon told Ghaada all about Mayra and everything that happened while he was away and she sat there listening attentively. She was so happy for him, he had this new energy about him and she could tell he could hardly wait to officially call her, his wife. "We really need t schedule a date for her to come and meet the family." Ghaada told him." "Yeah, that's what I was telling her." Haroon agreed. "I'd like to speak to her myself." Ghaada was saying and before she finished her sentence he was already dialing the number." Ghaada laughed "It doesn't have to be now, son." Haroon smiled "I want you to talk to her now." He told her. After speaking to Khalid for a bit, he asked to talk to Mayra and then handed the phone to Ghaada. They talked for a while then Ghaada handed the phone back to Haroon. Mayra promised to kill him for not telling her that he was going to give the phone to his mother before hand, so that she could prepare herself. Haroon just laughed wickedly.

Fatima and Janaan were excited about the upcoming weddings. "Haroon has been so happy since this girl agreed to marry him, I wonder who she is and what she looks like." Janaan was saying. "Me too, I can't believe we still don't know her name, Haroon is going overboard with this 'lady Zaid' thing, he refuses to tell us his mystery queen's name, and he made Ghaada promise not to tell anyone. "I don't know why he's making such a big deal out of it, I mean really, what are we gonna do? Cast evil eye on her because we're jealous of her name!" Janaan exclaimed. "I know right." Fatima agreed laughing. "You could at least let us talk to her." Fatima told him "I want it to be a surprise Teems, don't worry, you guys are gonna love her." He said with a smile. "You told her about us, it's only fair that you tell us, about her." Janaan argued. "I didn't give her any details, Naani." "Oh please, you didn't tell her our names? Like we are gonna believe that." Fatima said "Okay, all I told her was your nicknames... Teems and Naani, and I told you her's...'Lady Zaid'." "You know what, whatever! You're just acting stupid. I'm not wasting my breath just to know some lady's name!" Janaan told him before stomping out of the kitchen. "She's getting mad." Fatima pointed out. "Yeah, Haroon, I really don't see what the big deal is, it's just a name." Ghaada was saying as she dried her hands. "Can't yal just be patient, she'll be coming tomorrow with her mom and father, inshallah, by this time tomorrow, all of your questions will be answered... but to tell the truth, I just like the suspense." Ghaada shook her head "Big old man like yourself, behaving like a little boy, but I guess a woman can do that to you." Haroon laughed. "Let me get outta here before you guys kill me." He said rising from his seat and carrying his plate to the sink. "Yeah, run away." Fatima told him "and never return." "Oh I'm gonna return, and when I do, I'll be bringing my 'Lady Zaid'." He said grinning "And all of you will love her." "Nah, I'm thinking we'll have to get rid of her from day one cuz she's already got you acting like an idiot..." Fatima was saying. " Blah blah blah, blah blah." Haroon said, trying not to hear the rest of her sentence. Fatima scowled at his back as he went. Ghaada laughed and shook her head at both of them.