...but the feelings he had been trying to ignore and get over came back with full force, he just drove away.
Days later.
It had been more than a week since Aisha met Sadeeq and he had been communicating so poor with her and she had no idea why.
Well, her major problem was that her love for him was just intensifying the nicer he was to her and as they got closer. She couldn't watch their friendship get limp, something needed to be done and she was more than ever ready to bring the old them back.
She pressed the doorbell again after a while in her train of thoughts.
"Coming." She heard a faint voice from the interior.
A downhearted looking Sa'eeda opened the door and Aisha resisted a laugh. "Long distance relationship wahala." She voiced and walked past Sa'eeda who rolled her eyes.
"Good evening to you too." Sa'eeda frowned at her cousin sister.
"Where are my manners? Good evening sad and lonely long distance lover." Aisha laughed lightly. Sa'eeda just hissed and was about to leave, because people take it as something funny and that irked her.
"Come on my baby girl, I'm sorry." She held her wrist. Sa'eeda turned to look at her with a blank expression.
"This look is scary you know." Aisha tried to laugh but seeing Sa'eeda's hardened face, she stifled.
"Hajiya sent me to mummy. That she'll give me a message, is she home?" She decided to let Sa'eeda be.
"No she's not. She went to the neighbourhood, for naming ceremony." Sa'eeda replied coldly as she reached for her phone on the TV stand.
She laid on the longest couch after handing the television and decoder remotes to Aisha. She scrolled through her phone then pursed her lips to a thin line. She sighed and flipped the phone to her chest, she closed her eyes.
A while later, Nooria stepped into the house. She exchanged pleasantries with Aisha ere climbing upstairs to get the incense sticks she promised Fatima.
"I want to give Jasmine too but she's travelling tomorrow, so that should be when they come back from their trip." Nooria voiced as she descended down the stairs. Aisha smiled at that. "Is Sa'eeda sleeping?" Well, that was rhetoric.
Aisha gave a positive answer before asking, "is Jasmine travelling?"
"Yes, they are travelling to Abuja tonight. I think their flight is at 10pm." Nooria explained.
"Oh," was all Aisha said, wondering what they were going to do there and why they didn't tell her. She changed to being enthusiastic about the whole thing. "Oh my God, Jasmine didn't tell me. Let me call her now." She brought out her phone and dialed Jasmine's number.
"Sister-in-law guess what." Jasmine beamed through the phone. Nooria smiled and shook her head then sauntered into the kitchen.
"What?" Aisha inquired.
"My husband and I are travelling to Abuja."
"I know that one, tell me what you guys are going to do there." She rolled her eyes.
"Enjoy ourselves obviously." Jasmine's voiced dropped.
"And it's Abuja that you want to go to? Yuck!" Aisha teased.
"We're leaving the country after I have my baby you dumbo. For few weeks."
"For the honeymoon you didn't go." Aisha simpered.
"Yeah whatever. I've been trying to reach Sa'eeda but she's not picking up." Jasmine voiced on the other end of the line.
"She's sleeping and I think her phone is on silent mode."
"You're home?"
"Yeah, Hajiya sent me."
"Yes I called her minutes ago and she said you're not at home. So We'll be visiting Zayn and Eira after Isha then we'll take off from then. Tell Sa'eeda when she wakes up, tell her it's so nice that she's ignoring me and my calls." Jasmine spoke.
"Okay then. Safe trip and my regards to big bros." Jasmine answered and disconnected the call.
"Mummy I'm leaving." Aisha yelled a little.
"You should wait for Sa'eeda to wake up."
"Nah I'm okay, I didn't tell Hajiya that I'd stay long."
"Okay then, tell her we'll talk on phone."
As Aisha existed the house, she placed her phone to her ear and wait for the other person to pick the call.
"Hello Sadeeq." She uttered as soon as he answered. She kept quite.
"Let's meet, I want us to talk."
"Where are you?" She heard him faintly said.
"I'm at..."
*
"I told you not to worry about it, I made reservations for us." Jasmine told Muslim for the nth time. He laughed
"What's funny?"
"I'm just impressed. I can't wait to see that though." His smile calm and intact.
"You two are always arguing, habiby told me." Eira's voice came as she held a tray of fruits which was requested by Jasmine.
"Awwn habiby." Jasmine mimicked in an annoying tone. "What's wrong with ‘Zayn’?"
"Habiby is much more better." Zayn spoke.
"Alright habiby." Jasmine and Muslim uttered in unison. They both laughed, Eira joined them.
"No, no. ‘Zayn’ is for normal people whilst ‘habiby’ is for my habibty." Zayn explained as Eira sat before him. He snaked his arm around her waist from behind and pulled her closer to him. She pecked his cheek and relaxed on his side.
"Ew." Jasmine commented.
"You guys are so cheesy." Muslim pretended to puke.
"While you guys are so unromantic." Eira said.
"No it's just hayaa'." Jasmine batted her eyelashes.
"Yeah yeah, we love in private, but then it's perfect." Muslim added.
"Wow, cute babies alert. I mean what the hell." Jasmine stared at her brother and his wife.
"Y'know, half-caste men are just so perfect. I mean just take a look at habiby." Eira said proudly in her Arabic accent.
"I don't understand why you're using plural here." Jasmine laughed.
"Exactly my thought." Muslim supported.
"My love is so perfect. Come here." Eira said and snuggled into her husband.
"Maybe we should leave." Muslim cleared his throat.
"Yes I need a private time with my wife." Zayn voiced jokingly.
"I just can't imagine how your babies would look like. Your blue eyes, his hazel ones. Ya Allah." Jasmine couldn't help but adore the unborn children, probably not conceived yet even.
"Our princes and princess will be cuter Jaz."
"That is for sure."
They chitchatted a lot before the couple took the other to the airport. Jasmine hugged Zayn and Eira while Muslim just shook hands with Zayn and waved at Eira, the bid byes and departed.
*
Seated on the Italian bed and covered in a white Chantilly veil, dressed in a white and golden lace sewn into a blouse and wrapper–which she found hard to wrap and tie around her waist–smelling like vanilla, or was it lavender? One could not point out, all decked up like a bride, with a very light makeup that made her look ravenous; was Jasmine Usman Sa'ad.
It was hard for her to get Muslim out of the apartment but she managed to, just to prepare that absolute surprise for him. Their first night wasn't so good as they didn't get to meet each other even, they didn't even perform the sunnahs, like the dua for newlyweds, the two raka'at nafl prayer and all.
Jasmine heard the sound of keys fumbling and the door opened, her heart started palpitating and she felt sweaty. She breathed heavily and calmed herself down.
She looked down from beneath her veil and patiently waited for Muslim to turn on the lights. He did that and seemed busy removing his wrist watch, he didn't notice the way she decorated the room.
"Jaz? You—" he halted and looked around the room in awe. It was so beautiful, decorated in maroon and white.
Muslim's eyes landed on the bed and he walked to his wife proudly, he sat beside her and unveiled her face. Jasmine felt needlessly skittish and she couldn't meet his eyes.
"Look at me." He lifted her chin with his finger, his eyes lingering on her. "You look—" he searched for the perfect word in his brain. "—absolutely ravishing and winsome." He was right. She looked innocently pulchritudinous.
She smiled, effortlessly alluring.
"Come here." She said and held his forehead then whispered the dua. "I did all these just for us to do this. We didn't do that, remember?" She clarified. He smiled and did exactly what she did.
"Is that all?"
"Mhm." She nodded yes.
He moved to her ear and whispered, "you look utterly beddable too." She released an uneasy chuckle.
"Calm, we're cool if you–" she silenced him by giving him a lingering kiss. It took her a lot of courage to do that because she was hella nervous.
They parted and looked into the eyes of each other, getting lost in them as they read each other through them. There's this unquenchable thirst, hankering and intense yearning to be in each other's company, the insatiable desire to be with each other forever and to complete each other. It was evident in that environment, it was in the air they breathe out that adagio dominated the whole room, it was pleasantly hot in there.
Muslim felt so grateful and lucky to have perfectly and flawlessly imperfect angel in disguise as his wife, his life partner and as well, best friend.
Life is really unforeseeably dynamic.
Who knew that they could be in desperate need of each other, forever, everyday, till doomsday?
"You sure you—" she kissed him again and he moved closer and closer to her in inchmeal.
"I love you." She breathlessly uttered. "I need you."
"Heck, I want you, all of you. You're mine, mine alone..." Her eyes became teary.
*
"Are you sure you're ready to do this?" Jasmine asked him for the one hundredth time as they stood by a door. She felt sick and was in need of him to hold her but she needed to be strong for him. Morning sickness after all.
"Yeah I'll be just fine." He gave her a curt smile to make her not panic but she knew better.
"Aunt Maryam." Muslim smiled as he entered the room he was directed to. Ummulkhayr would always call her aunt Maryam so he got used to it too. He met with a small parlour that contained to two-seater couch, a table and a television set. A brown door was adjacent to the couch and the room was cool due to the air conditioning.
"Good morning." He greeted as he crouched down a little, it had been long since he saw her and it felt good that he did.
"Muslim." She kept her book and spectacles aside. "It's good to see you. Have a seat please." Maryam offered and stood up from the couch for her guests.
"No I'm good aunt Maryam. But maybe she might need to sit." Muslim referred to Jasmine, his wife. She greeted Maryam.
Maryam noticed the small bump Jasmine had and offered her the seat. Well, there was this feminine urge to wear something that would make her bump visible so they all know that she had Muslim's baby in her, they're one. We can call that jealousy rather than overprotection.
"Sannu. Ga ruwa, na ga kina numfasawa da kyar(Well done. Take water, I see you're breathing heavily)." Maryam gave Jasmine a bottle of water and she took it.
"Thank you."
"We used the stairs, that's why." Muslim smiled as he stood.
"This is just the second floor." Jasmine rolled her eyes at Muslim.
"Juna biyu ai ba sauki, Allah ya raba lafiya(pregnancy is not easy, may you deliver safely." Maryam prayed and the couple whispered an ‘amin’. The thought of bringing a child to thee world made Jasmine tense.
"Um, is she your wife?" Maryam finally asked. The woman can be very sweet, but nosy too.
"Yes, she's my wife." Muslim smiled, though he felt uneasy.
"Oh." Maryam smiled then turned to look at Jasmine. "She doesn't look like a Nigerian."
"Yes. She's Zayn's sister." Muslim said.
"Oh Zayn's sister, now I see, they so much look alike." Maryam flashed her teeth in a smile. "Your cousin sister, right?"
Muslim nodded.
"Let me get you a chair. I don't like you standing like this." She was talking like she wasn't blaming him for the condition of her niece, or was she her stepdaughter.
"Jaz, maybe you should go and see the patient, I'll have a word with aunt Maryam here. Or if you're comfortable, you can stay here." Muslim smiled at Jasmine.
"Meet me inside then." Jasmine smiled too and stood up, she went to the door and opened it then slowly sauntered in. Her stomach churned as she approached the bed.
She met with a very beautiful lady, laying innocently and helplessly on the hospital bed. She walked slowly to her as her heartbeats hardened with each step she took. She was finally beside Ummulkhayr's bed.
Jasmine focused on nothing else, not even the beeping sounds from the machines as she analysed Ummulkhayr, she was on life support. She looked so beauteous, ma shaa Allah.
Her dark blended skin was glowing shine and highlighted by the light from the bulbs that illuminated the room–although it was morning–and contoured by the shadows the light casted on her skin. Absolutely cute.
Jasmine read her facial features, from her brows, to the protruding eyes and thick long eyelashes, then the straight pointed nose and the brown-lined nudish lips. Her hair was in display, it was dark brown and looked silky but wasn't so long. Jasmine concluded that she's Fulani.
She couldn't point out what was that or why but she relaxed after seeing her, not until she started thinking, "If she were to wake up, would Muslim marry her? Would he love her more?"
Meanwhile in the mini living room, Muslim couldn't wait to see his Ummulkhayr, but then, he needed to ask that one question.
"What happened that day?"
"She fell from the balcony of her apartment, Jafar was outside and he saw that, he didn't think it was her until someone caught his attention. He went and she was in a pool of blood, Zubairu came down through the lift and they called for an ambulance, although we knew she was dead, no objections to that because her head was injured and she was bleeding profusely. It was more like we just took her to hospital to confirm her death, having zero hope that she would be fine, judging by the height of the building and others said she didn't even move when she fell. But then, surprisingly, doctors performed a surgery on her head, her hair had to be shaved off for that and pronounced that she was alive but had slipped into coma and might probably never wake up." Maryam was almost in tears as she narrated.
"She one time woke up and we were over the moon albeit she had amnesia, but she fell back into coma and hasn't woke up, up till now."
"I'll do whatever it takes for her to wake up, I'll try." Muslim boldly said after a little while, but the emotions were hurting real bad.
"What are you going to do?" Maryam asked, with hope in her eyes.
"I'll speak with my wife first." Muslim said and stood up, before following Jasmine.
When she saw him, she shifted and sat on a sofa while Muslim dragged a chair to the side if the bed and sat on it. His eyes turned red and tears filled them. He was seeing Ummulkhayr after more than two years, and all those times, he thought she was no more but at least he was glad he saw her again.
He wiped his tears and swallowed, then held Ummulkhayr's hand up from her side. Jasmine felt it in her stomach, she was hurt by what he just did.
"My Khayr." He started and it got tougher for Jasmine.
"I miss you a lot, Ummu. You have no idea how miserable I have been since the day I thought you left me. Until I found Jasmine with the love and life she brought with her, I found love and friendship in her, she healed me and now I'm starting all over again, her hard work will be all in vain Ummulkhayr if you don't wake up. She's hurt already, help me, help is angelic wife of mine, don't let her stone of a husband turn back to what he was after she had changed him to become a better person, to be able to love her and myself too. Please wake up my Khayr." He finished his heart touching speech and rested his forehead on his hand and Ummulkhayr's, he let tears flow freely.
He felt her hand tightening around his, but he knew it was just his instincts. He spent a while in that position before he stood up and kissed her forehead then went away with his wife who watched everything. He thought that staying there and crying would never help, but crying to Allah would.
__________________
Ramadan mubarak everyone🌙.
I'm sorry for keeping you waiting, I am just trying to have a productive Ramadan, I hope we all are.
May the blessings of Allah be with you all.
Thank you,
Fatiimah.