—————Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur
—————————Khalid's Condo. 11:00am.
" We're leaving after we get something to eat in the restaurant near by" Mother said as she walked out of her room fully dressed. She wanted to spend lots of hours with her friend and I so wasn't signing up to sit and watch them. I was just going to drop her and find something interesting to do.
There were many things I could do, doing them alone was going to be very pathetic so I was probably going to call up Zarah. " How do I look son?" Mother asked as she looked at herself in the mirror that was in the living room.
" You always look beautiful Mother" I complimented and got up from where I sat. I was wearing three quarter shorts and a body hug, plus my sneakers, casual.
" Thank you son, so let's go" She said and I nodded as we walked out of the condo.
" I really can't wait to see her you know, there's always this amazing sparkle she has in her eyes anytime she's laughing or smiling, she has cute dimples and she's very beautiful, you should see her" Mother said as she got into the car. She couldn't stop talking about her beautiful best friend. " I told you she's also a great cook right?" She added as I got in and started the engine. " Yes you did" I answered with a sigh as I drove out of the garage.
————OSS And Cafe, 11:20am
We found a place to get a nice breakfast very close to where we stayed, OSS and Cafe. Mother ordered Nasi Lamak for us saying it was tasty, it was rice and leaf, with cucumbers and chicken and some weird beans and stew. " You won't regret it, it's nice really" Mother said as we were served.
It was a small cafe, not a flashy restaurant, it had been a while since I sat in a place like this, when I was still in Turkey. " Doesn't this feel familiar, us eating in a place like this?" I asked Mother as we ate and watched her smile." Yeah, back when we were still in Turkey, we always ate out when I was too tired to cook" She answered with a small smile. " I'm really glad we've come this far together you know"
" I am more than glad, we overcame a lot together you know"
" we did, Allah didn't abandon us you know if you think about it" Mother said and my mind traced to what Faryah told me yesterday.
If I needed peace, the only place where I could find definite peace was with Allah.
I've been thinking about it, my mind has been wrapped around that particular statement of hers and I saw sense it.
No one else deserved all the worship and praises in this world but the person who shaped us and gave us life. We had to be thankful to him.
" Mother why did you really convert to Christianity?" I asked as I ate more. " You would have tried to convince Brandon like Faryah tried to do with me" I added and she nodded.
" I tried as well, when I met Brandon, I knew he was going to be the one that was going to help us live a comfortable life and we needed help so I accepted to marry him for our sake, I loved him you know, I still love him and he wanted a church wedding, so I couldn't decline, I gave it to him, I tried to make him see things the right way but then he always pushed the topic away" She answered and I sighed. She really sacrificed a lot for me. Mothers were rare gems honestly.
" That was all for my sake" I said and looked at her. " it was for the best I guess, when Faryah came into our lives, I had a huge feeling she was going to make all of them see what they didn't want to see, I honestly had a very good feeling about her, but I guess she wasn't meant to stay long with us and she was going to leave behind a huge lesson" She was more than right. " Yeah you're right Mother" I answered and I ate more. " She's expecting us by 12:30, it'll take a while to get to her place and I'm so glad she and her husband didn't leave Malaysia" she was talking about her best friend.
" Mother?"
" yes son?"
" What does someone need to do to convert to Islam?" I asked and she smiled widely at me. " Do you plan on converting Khalid?" She asked and I smiled and looked at her. " I talked about this with Faryah yesterday when I went to see my daughter"
" oh, so you want to convert now?"
" I've been thinking about it and I really don't know yet"
" well think about it well, I'm planning to start wearing my hijabs again"
" what about Brandon?"
" Convincing him again won't be the worst idea"
" You know his condition right?"
" I do, and I honestly feel bad for leaving him all alone like that"
" he sent you away"
" I had opportunities to stay and get him back on track"
" you think I'm going to let him lay his hands on you like he almost did last time?"
" He was sober Khalid" She answered and I sighed. I didn't want to say more. She loved him, I couldn't wipe that out of her heart in a minute.
" are you done eating?, we should leave now, it takes about 30 minutes to get to our destination" I said as I drank some water. " sure, I'm done" She answered as she cleaned her mouth. " that was honestly so delicious" She added and finished up her glass of water. We had already paid our bill so all we had to do was to get up and leave.
We walked out of the restaurant with broad smiles on our faces and we headed for her best friends place.
" I like Zarah" She said as we drove on the busy roads of Kuala Lumpur. " I already know that you like her, you talked about her yesterday" I answered and I heard her sigh. " But she's so sweet and nice and everything that happened to her, she watched her mother kill her father, children aren't supposed to grow up with that kind of past tormenting their lives"
" Yeah but Allah's plan is never inevitable" Wow, I couldn't believe that came out of my system. " oh my God, Faryah's influence is so good on you" Mother said with a big smile on her face. " well what can I say, she made me see things clearly"
" then what's stopping you from converting?" I needed to ask myself that question. What was really stopping me from converting.
What was it?.
" Khalid you should know that, when you convert, you're going to make sure you perform your five daily prayers on time, we have Fajr, Zuhr..."
" Asr, Maghrib and Isha"
" you remembered them"
" yea sure, you're going to quit drinking"
" I didn't like drinking in the first place" I answered and I watched her nod. " No pork"
" Pork's disgusting" I mean who eats meat from an extremely filthy animal. " No sleeping around.."
" Don't even continue Mother, you know I'm not like that"
" I actually do" she said and smiled at me. " you know you possess qualities of a good Muslim already?" Was she serious. " I do?"
" yes, you just need a little push and there you'll be good to go, very good to go" She answered and I smiled at myself. " There were sometimes I wish I never had to sacrifice my religion for anything but then when I look at the present I feel it all happened for a reason and you wouldn't have married Faryah if I didn't do that and you probably wouldn't have been this successful, so I'm actually thankful to Allah, even though I left him, he was still with me, with us" That was what Faryah said. He always loves his servants and is always there for them. " Yeah" I answered.
Faryah was the only person that could help me fix my life. She was the only person that could make me be a better person. No one else.
I was sure of that.
—————————Jalan Pantai Dalam, Sanctuary Park Pantai, Kuala Lumpur, 12:25pm.
Well, I never thought of being in a house on a hilltop, a large house. Their house was honestly beautiful and modern, classy. My mother's best friend was a big shot. We were welcomed in nicely and Mother reunited with her best friend. Her best friend that honestly looked like really looked a lot like Faryah.
What if she was Faryah's mother?.
If that was so then yes, we really stayed in a very small world.
Faryah
Ummah was definitely going to be happy to see her granddaughter. She asked us to come today, she called me up last minute hoping I could really make it cause apparently she wanted me to meet her best friend Zainab. She said she was coming over to see her today also. I had nothing to lose and I needed to please my mother and spend as much time as I could with her.
She was always with me when I was pregnant with Najmah, almost due.
She made me feel the love she couldn't shower me when I was taken away from her.
I drove into the house after the security guards opened the gates for me. They changed security guards almost everyday. I could see her best friends car already parked in with tinted windows as I drove in.
My mother and Father lived in a huge mansion on a hilltop near the famous Sanctuary Park. They moved here few years after they lost me. It was a nice house, the interior design was exquisite and there was a lot of space to play around. The perfect area for Najmah.
" Naj Naj, let's go see Grandma" I called as I unbuckled her from the car seater and picked her bag and mine up. She had enough toys to play with here, it was our second home. I walked up the few stairs and rang the bell. Nanny Aisha as expected opened up the door for us and we went in. Nanny Aisha was our Nanny right from childhood, she took care of both me and Farouk when we were little. She was with me when I was taken.
" Assalamu Alaykum Nanny" I greeted and gave her a hug. She was in her late 40's. She was very funny and friendly. " Wa'alaykumussalam Fauziyyah, welcome" she answered as she hugged me back and took Najmah from my arms. " she's getting more beautiful each day, look at her, she's so cute" She said as she played with Najmah's cheeks. " she is" I said and smiled at them.
" Ummah's friend is already here?" I asked and she nodded. " Yes she is, your mother is waiting for you, her friend is so beautiful MashaAllah" Nanny answered. " Come on let's go, your mother is waiting for you in the living room" She added as we walked further towards the living room and we heard the doorbell ring.
" let me get that, did anyone come in with you?" She asked as she paused to go back. " well no one" I answered. " okay don't worry, I'll just look outside before opening it, go meet your mother" she said and I nodded and walked to the living room. I could hear the sweet laughter and chatter of Mothers, so nice.
"Assalamu Alaykum" I greeted as I walked into the living room. " Wa'alaykumussalam" Ummah answered as both she and friend turned to look at me from where I sat.
I could never forget the face of a beautiful woman.
Her name was Zainab.
Why didn't it click sooner.
I paused in my heels as Ummah came to give me a hug a pull me closer to where they were sitting. " Faryah?" Mama Zainab called and I gave her a small smile.
She was the major reason why what happened that day happened.
I wasn't angry.
I was sad and weak.
I had forgiven her but I was still hurt.
I didn't expect to face her so soon.
" Mama Zainab?" I answered and I could feel the room heat up. The tension.
" You already know each other?" Ummah asked as Mama Zainab walked closer to where we stood. She looked hurt, her eyes were so full off regret and fright.
She was scared of me?.
" She's Mama Zainab, Khalid's mother" I answered and watched her mood change. The whole place was quiet. I didn't want to cause a commotion.
I knew Ummah was going to understand, she was as soft-hearted as I was.
" wait, so you're the woman that treated my daughter like an animal" Ummah snapped quietly as she turned to face Mama Zainab. " You caused my daughter great pain, do you know that" she added again as she walked closer to her. " I am so sorry"
" of course you are so sorry" She was angry. " Ummah" I called. I needed her to control herself. " you believed a video over my daughter's words, my innocent daughters words and you called her a gold digger" she was raising her voice now.
" Mother" what was he doing here?. " You maltreated my daughter Zainab, do you know how many years I spent away from her, always wishing and praying for her to be fine and for her to always have the best where ever she was and now I find out that my own best friend treated her badly, even though you had no idea who she really was you had no right to treat her like an animal" Ummah snapped, almost raising her hands to hit Mama Zainab but I had to stop her.
" I'm sorry Aleeyah" Mama Zainab was crying. I honestly didn't want it to result to this. " Your husband kidnapped my daughter you know that, he raped and abused my daughter, your husband took my daughter away from me" Ummah yelled again as I held her back. " Ummah please"
" No Faryah, no"
" it's not her fault" I answered, trying to make her understand. She looked at me teary eyed. " they treated you badly" she was crying now. Oh Ya Allah.
" Yes she did but it was none of their fault, she didn't want me to be abused or raped or taken away, she had no idea about that, even she was a victim of her husband Ummah"
"Fine, then why couldn't they listen to you when you were telling them the truth about that video"
" Our anger blinded us from the truth ma'am" Khalid spoke up as he stood beside a crying Mama Zainab. " you're her son I guess"
" He's Khalid Ummah" I answered and watched her bury her face in her palm. " I'm so disappointed honestly" she said and lifted her head up. " I know you as a nice person Zainab"
" and I am, I honestly am, I really couldn't control myself that day, if you were in my shoes, you would have acted the same"
" No I wouldn't have, I would have trusted someone close to me that I know will never do such a thing"
" I regret not doing that Aleeyah, I'm so sorry, I'm really sorry please forgive me"
" Tell me something, if you were in my shoes, would you forgive me?, be very honest with yourself will you?"
" I don't know"
" Good, I don't know how to forgive you Zainab, your family tormented my daughter"
" But we also loved her"
" Yeah, you loved her, she lived with you for months and you still doubted her, you still thought she could do such a thing"
" We're so sorry Aleeyah, please forgive us" I didn't want to see the people I loved cry. It hurt me a great deal. " Ummah please calm down" I said as I caressed her back gently. " I'm calm honey, I just need time alone" She said as she smiled at me. " I'm so sorry for everything you went through Faryah" She said as a tear rolled down her eyes. " it's fine Ummah" I answered and hugged her tight. " I'll be in my room, I need to be away from them" Ummah said and I nodded and watched her walk up the stairs to her room.
I turned to look at Mama Zainab and Khalid and my eyes brimmed up. I felt so sorry for the both of them wallahi. " Mama Zainab.."
" I'm so sorry for everything Faryah please forgive me"
" It's fine Mama Zainab" I said and walked closer to her. " You should understand Ummah, anyone in her place has to react the way she did" I said as I walked closer to give her hug.
" It's all my fault, if I had controlled my anger we wouldn't be hear today"
" Yes but Allah's plan is always the best Mama Zainab, I have already forgiven you"
" But you've not forgotten"
" It's going to be hard to, you know that, but what matters most is that I have forgiven you, I have no right not to" I said and she pulled me into a warm hug. " I'm so sorry for what we made you go through" She said as she cried on my shoulders. " it's honestly fine" I answered as I patted her hair and looked at Khalid, he was avoiding looking at me. " Khalid, it's okay to cry and let people see you know" I called and watched him look at me. " I don't want to cry"
" If you say so" I answered as Mama Zainab let go of me. " I'm going to talk to my Ummah okay?, she's just hurt Mama Zainab, everything will be fine In Sha'a Allah" I said and watched her nod. " In Sha'a Allah" she answered and I smiled at her.
" You're always going to be a blessing to all of us" She said and I smiled a little. " Always" I heard Khalid add to what she said and I ignored him.
" It's best if we leave now, your mother needs time alone" Mama Zainab said and I nodded. " Yes she does, I'll see you out, I'm sorry you had to go through this, I know you wanted to catch up with your best friend"
" Facing a problem that has been given me a hard time now is better than that Faryah" She made sense.
" Ma'am Najmah seems hungry" Nanny Aisha said as she brought Najmah to me as I walked Mama Zainab and Khalid out. " Oh she should be" I said and collected my daughter from her.
" She looks just like Khalid when he was a baby" Mama Zainab exclaimed as a wide smile spread across her face. "Can I please hold her, she's so beautiful, oh my" She added as I handed Najmah over to her.
" she looks just like you Khalid, look at her eyes" Mama Zainab said as she held Najmah and played with her.
She had a genuine smile on her face.
Baby's always had that impact on people.
They always made them smile.
I watched Mama Zainab play with her granddaughter and I just couldn't help but imagine how happy our family would've been if they didn't kick me out.
Just the thought of it made me smile because it was indeed beautiful.
Very beautiful.