A Voyage Within Qalb

Chapter 24: Fate's Perfect Timing

Narrated Anas: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Help your brother, whether he is an oppressor or he is an oppressed one. People asked, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! It is all right to help him if he is oppressed, but how should we help him if he is an oppressor?" The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "By preventing him from oppressing others." Reference : Sahih al-Bukhari 2444

Author's Note: Assalam Alaykum to you, reader. I've extended this chapter (thus the extremely late update 😅). And also, it's been quite disheartening to write fiction nowadays owing to the horrors going on in P*lest!ne. Please keep them in your prayers & help them if you can, In Shaa Allah. Read the Hadith above! It's been so many years yet the world does not accept the mistakes it has done. 🥺💔 Anyhow, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

24 | Fate's Perfect Timing

Summer days arrived and just when it seemed to Laeeq that the sun couldn't climb higher in the sky, it did. The days were blazing hot, humidity settled under the wings of every gust of wind while he arrived at the hospital on a blue-skied morning. The scattered cloud offered him no protection, and for the first time in his life, he wondered if he'd look weird carrying an umbrella in the sun.

Though he knew, by the stares he was getting, it could possibly avoid the evil eye. By the time he reached the main gate, two old women had stopped him to ask what his name was. Was it really his fault if his skin glowed in the sun like that? One thing he could guarantee was that he wasn't a vampire - the thought plucked a smug smile out of his thoughts as he walked into the Administration department.

Hah. His mind mocked him. Say Ma Shaa Allah everyone.

"You seem to be in a good mood, doctor." Saliha said, handing his entry card to him.

"Ah yes, I just experienced the fleeting feeling of fame." He told her, before chuckling and walking out of the office.

He could've sworn he'd seen Leila Muhammad roll her eyes at his statement. He had no idea what had pushed his arrogant self on display today, perhaps it was the grandiose episode with the sun, but he enjoyed his own company on days like these. He walked into the doctor's office and sat down in his chair. After a quick glance across his desk, he confirmed that it was as neat and orderly as he liked it.

There was only one thing that made the entire morning less perfect - and that was the cooking episode with his sister. He'd decided they'd have the famous English breakfast of fish and chips - and in the process of deep-frying the delicious potatoes, he'd make it into an accident. Now he had a blister on his forehead, a cut on his thumb and an empty stomach. Otherwise, he almost looked like he'd walked out of a novel whose main character had the optimal characteristics of the male species.

In other words, Laeeq knew he was handsome. He sighed, wrapping a band-aid on his thumb.

A knock on his door pulled him out of his thoughts, and he sat straighter as Leila Muhammad opened the door.

"Assalam alaykum." She spoke, walking over to his desk and rearranging with the papers in her hands. "I needed your sign on a few of these."

"Oh, sure." He nodded. "There are the finance department things, right?"

"Yes, but-" She knit her eyebrows together. "You should go through them-"

"I trust you." He replied, a little too quickly.

"That's not the point." She shook her head. "For all you know, I could've put some fishy papers together."

"Like what?" He asked curiously.