I woke up, startled by my unfamiliar surroundings, where was I? Then I realised: 'my' bedroom. But why on the floor? Last night's events flooded back into my mind and I flinched, scowling. I must have fallen asleep after crying to my Lord about all my problems on the prayer mat.
Today, there was no string of hope to lighten the weight that lands on my chest every time I wake up in the morning and this morning the weight seems to have doubled in, well... weight.
I stormed off to the bathroom and performed my wudu to pray the Fajr prayer. I had run out of energy (and probably tears too) so I spent my time in sujood making Dua and praying to the Almighty. When I was finished, sleep wouldn't come so I exercised in the gym - no one would be awake right now. After my workout, I showered and finally felt sleepy so I clambered into bed snuggling under the covers and finally fell asleep.
I woke up hours later and, upon checking the time, found out that it was nearly time Asr. I still hadn't prayed Dhur. I quickly got ready to pray, unfortunately remembering what was planned for me later on today. Turns out, I didn't run out of tears, because as soon as I prostrated to my Lord, I started crying all over again.
Dizzy, thirsty and tired: I slowly got dressed in something informal and loose once I finished praying and made my way to the kitchen. I walked long strides, hoping not to bump into anyone. Thankfully, the kitchen was empty; I made myself something to eat and gulped it down. I, somehow, had enough decency to put the plate and empty glass in the sink, but left grabbing a bottle of water on my way without washing them. (Why should I?)
Locked up in the bedroom, refusing to respond to anyone and ignoring all phone calls and text messages I was receiving, I hoped that the events planned for later would be cancelled by chance. Later that afternoon, there was a sharp knocking on the door. Ignoring it as I had done all day, it eventually stopped. However, it was replaced with the jangling of keys as someone unlocked the bedroom door. I jumped out of bed and sprinted into the walk-in wardrobe, locking the door behind me. Astaghfirullah, they had no shame.
Considering that the bedroom door could get unlocked, that meant that so could this door. I wrapped a head scarf around my head and secured it tightly with a pin. Standing still, I listened attentively, trying to get some sort of understanding of who was in the bedroom, where they were and what they were doing.
Gently, I unlocked the door and stepped out.
David stood in the middle of the room, TV remote in hand with his head turned towards me. He must have turned off the TV because the room was incredibly quiet compared to mere moments ago.
"I was looking for you." he stated.
"What do you want?" I growled, glaring at him.
"You have a date. Hurry up and get ready."
"I don't date." I snapped, but he was out of the room, shutting the door behind him, before I could finish my sentence.
~ ~ ~
An hour and a half later, I was sat at a table for two, with Daniel opposite me. He had reserved a table for us both at a fancy restaurant. As fancy and romantic as it sounds (which was exactly what it was meant to be), I was not having it. I said it before and I'll say it again: I. Don't. Date.
I had dressed up in an outfit that was very casual to show that I'm not interested. David did tell me off as "this isn't the kind of outfit one should wear" (his words), causing an entire argument to start. I mean, he was forcing me to go on this 'date' and now wanted to dictate what I was going to wear. I wasn't going to have any of this.
Daniel was clearly trying to start up a conversation. He's really trying his best to make this a good experience, but I wasn't allowing him. It almost made me feel sorry for him. Almost. Out of sympathy, too.
"So... how was your day?" he asked.
"Horrible." I snarled.
"It can't be that bad." He waited for me to respond, which I didn't do, so he continued: "Come on, you can tell me. What's the problem?"
"Everything." I growled, lifting the menu from the table to block out view.
"Okay then. To fix 'everything' you'll have to start from something: break the large problem into smaller pieces."
Was he seriously giving me advice?
I rolled my eyes and continued reading the menu without processing what I was reading. Soon enough, a waiter came to take our orders. Daniel ordered a steak and I ordered a salad which was the only thing that was practically halal. In fact, the whole restaurant didn't have halal food. It only made me in an even more foul mood.
Daniel continued to blabber on and on and on, but I didn't pay any attention to him at all. I would zone out often and would reach for my glass of Coke as soon as I returned to reality.
Thankfully, we ate dinner in silence. The steak smelled really good, and my salad wasn't enough, but it wasn't like I could get anything else.
Despite it pretty much being part of my culture to argue over who will pay until the honour of paying becomes yours (and you accidentally gain everyone's attention in doing so), I decided to not even bother putting up a fight and let him pay. I wasn't even here by choice, so why be honourable?
Quickly, I made my way to the exit in vain hope that I could escape and go back to the mansion, however, Daniel was faster than I'd expected him to be: as soon as I stepped out of the restaurant, he was right behind me.
"There's a really nice park nearby, let's take a stroll there." he said in a way that did not sound like a suggestion.
I turned towards King, who had accompanied me, but always kept his distance. It was his turn to be my bodyguard as he and Steve took turns, not that I needed one, but I guess David was scared I'd run off or something. He gave me a slight, but firm, nod as though he wasn't telling, but commanding me to go ahead with Daniel so I grumpily followed him.
Daniel was right: the park nearby was very nice with wide walkways and exotic plants and flowers as far as the eye could see; I was in a bad mood, which prevented me from enjoying the view.
You can enjoy it in your memories later.
We took a stroll in silence – an uncomfortable, awkward silence. To overcome the discomfort, I ignored Daniel's presence and focused on remembering the park and all its beautiful flowers.
Subhanallah.
The flowers were so beautiful, under the dark blanket of the night, you could still differentiate the different colours.
We continued walking until Daniel sat down on a bench. I sat down on the far edge of the bench, leaving as much distance between us two as possible. My eyes landed on a random bush opposite us and I fell into a trance. I was thinking of my next steps. Where was I going with this kidnapping?
If I told the police, they wouldn't believe me: I don't have any evidence. I couldn't confide in anyone because that could get me into trouble. I felt like I was cooperating too much and wasn't doing enough to get back to London – to get back home.
London. I thought about my family. Who would they tell and how would they search for me? There was no use of sitting around and waiting for them to find me because if I did, they probably wouldn't find me. Ever. This world is too big.
That is why you shouldn't think of them. It won't help you. You must somehow get out of the USA and back into the UK. As soon as you're back in London, you'll be fine.
That was the question: how do I get to London? I could easily book myself a plane ticket and fly home, but I didn't have my passport. If I took another way to get back to London, what would it be? How would I get home? Would I really be able to get home before David can get to me?
I weighed up my options as to whether travelling illegally was worth the trouble. Was I seriously considering illegal migration? I would do anything to have my way and get home, but not if that meant breaking laws and getting arrested in the process.
"It's getting late. We should go." Daniel announced getting up to leave.
I had forgotten about him and about my bad mood. I strode back to the park's gates and made my way to the car. I was so tired and needed to sleep.
"Goodnight." Daniel said and I nodded in return, stepping into the car.
I'm tired, that's why I thought of illegal migration. I would never consider such a thing, especially because of its consequences...
Right?
• • • • • • • • • •
Hmm... 🤔
Would she really travel illegally to get back home. I guess we'll have to find out... But in the follow chapters that is 😁
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