DREAMS WORTH CHASING (Complete)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Zainab

In my entire life, I had never imagined that one day I would see my dad cry but today here I am, watching him break down in front of us. Though we were all crying but we never expected dad to cry in our presence.

When I broke the news, dad slumped down from his chair and held his head, mom was already crying, so do all of us. But after some minutes we heard whimpers and when we looked at dad's direction, we saw tears gushing out of from his eyes. Mom had to drag him to his room.

And that night, we all slept with a heavy heart.

We left for Maiduguri immediately after subhi, we all couldn't eat, well how could we when the mind is not set and our heart is broken. So the strange feelings I've been having yesterday was because of it.

I wonder what Abdulmalik is going through now, i'm sure he's broken and all, he loved this man so much. I'm sure if he'll be asked before his father's life was taken, he would have begged for his life to be taken instead.

Astagfirullah!

May his soul rest in jannah and may we all be reunited with him there, Aameen.

****

We stopped at bauchi state, prayed and ate. Hunger hit us pretty hard so we had to force ourselves to eat. We continued our journey afterwards.

"Zainab! Wake up, we are here." Said mum, tapping my shoulder.

"Umm, are we there yet?" I asked in my sleepy voice.

"Will you get up!" Dad yelled, startling me.

I scurried out of the vehicle and there he was, standing tall like the man he was.

My man!

But he looked pale, I mean really pale and tired.

Dad and Usman sat on the mat with the rest of the men and extended their condolences, and we went inside. Chu chu wouldn't let go of mum so we had to go in together with him.

When we got in to the room where his mum was, mum motioned for us to sit beside the rest of the women and she went in to meet her friend.

After some minutes, mum called us in, we greeted her, she answered with her shaky voice. We said our condolences and left the room to pray magrib.

We ate after praying and decided to retire to bed. It was then I noticed the huge and beautiful house. It's beautiful and bigger than the one in Abuja. From what I noticed, almost all of their relatives stay with them considering the fact that there are not much.

I said my azkhar and i was about to lay down when I heard my phone beeb. I checked it and saw a message from Abdulmalik. It read,

"Can we meet now? If yes, meet me in the garden."

I almost squealed in excitement, I've been wanting to see him privately but i couldn't because he was busy accepting condolences from people considering the fact that he's the oldest son. I guess he finally got the chance to text me now.

I got down from the bed, wore my hijab and left for the said garden. I saw him sitting on one of the seats and staring into space. I had to salam twice before he heard me.

"Wa'alaikumussalam, please sit."

I smiled and sat beside him.

"May his soul rest in peace, may jannatul firdaus be his final abode. May HE reunite us in jannah and may HE give you the fortitude to bear the loss, Aameen ya rabbi."

"Aameen wifey, thank you."

Silence.

"He really is gone, he.....he wanted to witness our wedding, he really wanted to. He...... "

"Shh, you need to take heart dear, remember we plan, but HE is the best of planners. And we have to accept it as our qadr. You shouldn't question the action of Allah but rather you should pray for him. And you should be lucky that you'll be praying for him, what of those that died without leaving any children behind to pray for them. You should be grateful for this gift. And one of the most greatest gift in life is when you sit down and make genuine du'a to Allah (swt) and you can literally feel your heart finding ease. It's like the mountains of worries in your heart suddenly crumbles and you feel Allah personally taking your worries, just like He said in the qur'an

Whoever puts his trust in Allah, he will be enough for him (65:3)

So just take heart and continue praying for him. Please stop worrying yourself though it's not easy but you have to try, okay?"

"Wallahi right now, i'm just trying really hard to fight the urge to hug you so tight. With each passing day, I thank Allah (swt) for blessing me with you and also thank you for accepting me even though you were forced at first. I love you so much and thank you for the wonderful advice." He said, staring into my eyes lovingly.

"Don't mention and I love you too." I said, smiling.

We stayed in silence for almost ten minutes, devouring the scent of the flowers.

"I think I should go in, if not I'll sleep here and you'll have to do the explanation tomorrow and you know what that means." I said, breaking the silence and smiling.

"Okay princess, goodnight and sweet dreams, when are you leaving?."

"After the 7th sadaqa in shaa Allah."

"Okay, see you tomorrow."

"Bye."

And that night, I slept peacefully, smiling.

***

The 7th sadaqa was done today and we are leaving tomorrow. Though the whole week was a really tough one for everyone, especially Abdulmalik. We also got to spend lots of time together in his parents garden, I am glad that I helped him in his healing journey.

He is leaving some days after we leave on his mom's request since him staying here won't make any difference. He complained alot before agreeing to go.

We planned to meet later tonight, at the garden. I couldn't wait for tonight. Immediately after I prayed isha, I came out, only to find an empty garden.

I sat on one of the seats fuming. Then my stomach growled, reminding me that I haven't eaten. But I didn't care, I just wanted to see him first before eating.

He came after five minutes! Can you imagine?! And he was smiling.

"Hey wifey, i'm sorry for keeping you waiting, I had to eat. You know I don't joke with food." He said the last part, winking.

How can I refuse to accept this handsome man's apology, the man that stole my heart.

"Fine, apology accepted." I said, pouting.

He smiled and sat beside me.

We stayed in silence for 5 minutes before he broke the silence.

"I'm going to miss you wifey."

"Me too."

"I'll cherish this moment forever and ever. I can't wait for you to be mine."

"Me too."

We bade each other good night and he prayed for a safe journey for us. We left for our rooms with a heavy heart, yearning for each others love and warmth.

And now, as we stood by the car waiting for our bags to be loaded into the booth, I swear I could see the sadness in their eyes.

Especially Abdulmalik's! The sadness that says, don't leave me wifey, I need you now more than ever.

But it's not possible, considering the fact that we are not married yet. We said our goodbyes and got into the car, waving at them.

We have a very long journey ahead of us!