Miss World Or Miss Akhirah?✔

Chapter 18: New Beginning ✔️

"Puff! Gone are those days!!  Don't be ashamed my dear  Uncle, a sixteen year old girl beating a 22 year old man in Fifa is nothing to be ashamed off," I said laughing.

He mustered up an angry face before saying,"do you know what really happened?You weren't the one that beat me. It was the computer. Your controller wasn't working."

I raised my eyebrows at him before bursting out laughing, "I am not the ten year old you left you know".

He parked the car in our school parking lot, I stuck my tongue at him before going out of the car. I was standing at the parking lot with so many emotion running through me. The school was so busy as usual with students going in and out. I felt my heart beating fast and a lump forming in my throat. I couldn't move even when Uncle Nour came out of the car, walked to my side and rumple my Hijab.

"You are going to rumple my hijab," I whined. But both Uncle Nour and I knew that wasn't what was on my mind.

"You okay?" Uncle Nour asked and I nodded my head. Ever since Mukhlis' death, Uncle Nour had been there for me. He was always comforting me, reminding me death is inevitable and that Mukhlis is in a better place. He was also the one cheering me up and making me think less about Mukhlis. After the night we read the letter and talked, our relationship really improved, it was perfect.

"Go to class, you wouldn't want the administration to see you holding hands with your female student, would you?" I joked. He laughed, and prayed for Mukhlis.

"See you in the last period student,  and don't you dare sleep in my class," he said making me chuckle.

It was a week after a Mukhlis' death and the first day I resumed school. The first day without Muklis in school. The beginning of the new me. I took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in my throat before entering the school.

I walked past the place we stayed and joked each morning. I pictured Hamdan's hand on top of my shoulder both of us with smiles on our faces. Mukhlis and Bilal laughing over something Leena said. I closed my eyes and opened them again, only to see the place empty and bare. Before I put my first foot in the school compound, hundreds of students ran to me giving me hugs and condolence.

"May Allah have mercy on his beautiful soul,"

"May He grant him aljannah Firdausi,"

"Allah yajikanshi,"

"Allah yasa ya Huta,"

"Innalilahi wa inna alaihi raj'iun."

"He was such a nice guy. We all miss him,"

"We lost a very great friend,"

These were all I heard throughout the day. I also didn't miss comments like , See how she changed just because she has lost a friend, 
she looks ugly in those robes. 'An musulunta yanzu da kaga mutuwa', "and the rest. But I didn't care a bit. I wasn't doing it for them. I was doing it for my Lord, the one and only.

Every corner I took in this school, I felt like I could see Muklis. Every time I entered any class I felt as if he was there sitting right beside me like he usually did. I turned around hundred of times thinking I could see him but I saw nothing. Whenever I felt like crying, I remembered his letter and held back the tears. When I saw Bilal walking towards me with Uthman next to him, I couldn't hold back the tears anymore. I let the tears flow. He ran to my direction and hugged me while I cried on his shoulders. When he realased me he held my chin and turned my face to his direction.