His silence is his Pride (ON HOLD)

Chapter Seventeen ♥ "The reply"

 "And?" she eagerly questioned.

"And ahhh, he didn't say anything to me and stared at the flowers around us."

"What kind of weather was it?" Her question made me frown.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I said.

"Everything, just answer the question."

"I think it was spring, there was too much greenery around us." As soon as I had finished my sentence, I witnessed mother smiling, broadly. She squeezed my hands a little and said;

"What else?" I began to explain to her the details. How I had thought Hamad was calling me and then it had been Zayed. I mentioned the garden, the light, his clothes, but I couldn't possibly define the way I felt about him in my dream. I already flushed every time I said his name in front of my mother. I hope she hadn't noticed.

"Alhamdulillah wa-alshukr lak ya Rab, (All praises be to God.)" Mother spoke, gleefully, once I was finished. "Mahra my child, that's such a nice dream." Her unexpected reaction took me by surprise.

"But he didn't speak to me." I disagreed and I was serious. It must mean something.

"Mahra, stop looking for excuses. This dream, it's such a positive sign, God has guided you. It's time you put your trust in him."

I was at a loss for words, and a bit disoriented, mentally. Mother watched as I pulled both my hands from her grip and placed them in my laps instead.

"And it also isn't nice of you to keep the Arabs waiting for a whole week. It's been four days since Umm Zayed came to visit. We must give them a reply as soon as possible. What will they think of us if we don't?"

Another moment of silence passed; which paid as a reminder of all the things that I had experienced. At first, my mother insisted me to marry her sister's son, Fahad, but I refused because I didn't want to marry in family. Then came Khalifah, who was outside my family, a nice guy, yet I let him down cause he wasn't my type, which he wasn't. But what excuse do I have now? Hamad was right. I can't find any flaws in this man. Of course he has and if I marry him I'll find out but should I marry him? Why has he even shown any interest in me? I thought he loathed me! Was I wrong?

"Ha binti, is your silence a sign of you satisfaction?" Mother asked. I felt my heartbeats picking up and a shiver ran lightly over my skin. "Shall I consider this a 'Yes'." She tilted her head to look at me. I placed my hand on my neck, it was getting hard to breath.

"Do as you wish mother." I managed to utter, she got up from her seat and framed my face, kissing my forehead. I heard her giving me her blessings all along.  She was extremely happy. I hadn't seen my mother smile like this in a long time. Glee and joy was pouring out of her.

"I will go call Hamad and give him this good news." She said, and went out of the kitchen, leaving me sit there like a clay statue. I stared off into space, not knowing what had I just done!

I don't know how long it had been when I heard my sister Reem's voice congratulating me. She hugged me tight and I managed to hug her back. She too just like mother prayed for me to be happy and have a happy life.

"Thank God you agreed on your own, or else we would've been in a lot of trouble now." She declared, taking the seat opposite me where mother sat, earlier. I looked at her, something about that sentence didn't sound right to me and gave her a questioning look.

"Hamad called your to-be husband yesterday," Reem informed and nudged my knee with her right hand as if she was teasing me, but I was too awed and curious to pay her any attention. "And he already gave him your approval."