Chapter 27 –Surprises
"O you who believe! You are prohibited to inherit women against their will; and you should not treat them with harshness, that you may take away part of the Mahr you have given them, unless they commit open illegal sex; and live with them honourably. If you dislike them, it may be that you dislike a thing and Allah brings through it a great deal of good."
~Surah An-Nisa, verse 4.
After returning from their honeymoon, a strange feeling enveloped Waliya. She did not speak to Aahil about it, not did she mention it to anyone else in her family. It was a hope that she had, but she doubted she would ever be lucky enough to be blessed with such an honour. Her despair grew deeper two weekends after they had returned from their honeymoon. Waliya was sitting in her jeans and loose fitting t-shirt, working on some advice that had to be delivered to her higher up for a client when she got the call to rush to the hospital.
Changing into an abaya and tying up her scarf as quick as she could, Waliya rushed to get done and call Aahil to let him know where she was going to be. He spewed question after question at her, but with one annoyed, "I don't know!" he finally relented and cut the call.
Disobeying as many rules of the road as there were, Waliya rushed over to the hospital. All the while her heart was beating out a disjointed rhythm as it tried to force itself out of her chest, while her mind conjured up different scenarios of what could have actually happened and to whom.
Her mind seemed disconnected as she parked the car robotically and rushed up the elevator and dialled her mother's number. "Waliya, come to the maternity ward," her mother said cryptically and gave the room number.
With raised eyebrows, Waliya stared at the screen. Her mother's weird behaviour made her panic as she got out of the elevator and ran the other way in an almost crowded hospital to the maternity and paediatric wards. Nearly ten minutes later, Waliya reached the maternity ward her mother told her. Standing outside the ward was her mother and father and her brother in law pacing like cages lions. Waliya greeted them and stood mostly by her mother to find out what was happening.
Two hours later, Waliya was welcomed into the room to see her exhausted sister. Zakia's forehead glistened with sweat, her eyes looked tired with an almost gloss of fatigue. Her usual warm smile spoke of her tiredness, yet deep in her eyes, Waliya saw the happiness and excitement of finally giving birth to her little princess. "Assalaamu alaykum, Waliya," Zakia said, her voice on the edge of sleep. "Meet your niece, Rania Mohamed."
Waliya walked warily to the little clear cot beside Zakia and looked over to see a perfect little bundle wrapped up tightly in a semi-thick pink blanket. An unexplainable emotion overcame her as she stared into little Rania's eyes. An immediate sense of protection enveloped her and she could barely think straight. Want like she has never felt before filled her body. She wanted her own little baby, her own gift from Allah.
A warm, thick arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her against their body. "In Shaa Allah," Aahil whispered into her ear.
Forgetting momentarily about her sister and her new niece in the room, Waliya turned and faced him, her hands automatically flying to his chest, one hand over his heart. Her eyes spoke the words she found difficult to utter. How did you know?
Leaning down, he kissed her forehead and whispered into her ear again, "I could see the way you looked at her, sweet heart." Then, he pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Hold your little niece," he told her and lightly pushed her forward.
Heart beating wildly, Waliya reached into the plastic cot and lifted her niece up. It wasn't the first time she held a newborn, but it had been years since she held a newborn baby. The way she held her, it was as if she were cradling the most expensive crystal in the world, the most treasured gift. Nothing in the world had ever mattered so much to her as she stared into the eyes of her niece, not that she never loved Anas and Mu'aaz but somehow Rania managed to steal a special place in her heart. Perhaps it was the fact that now, Waliya was able to bring her own little gift into the world, she supposed that now she could also be responsible for her own child. But never mind what the reason was, Waliya had a special bond with Rania already.
Aahil and Zakia speaking to one another became background noise for her as she focused only on Rania. "Assalaamu alaykum little cutie, I am your maasi, I am Waliya," she said in a baby voice as she introduced herself to the bundle of joy in her arms.
Rania's pink face scrunched up together and she looked almost as if she was about to cry, but then a little gurgling type of sound came out of her small mouth –a laugh. "Yeah, you are my little Queen and I am the Princess," she cooed and placed a small kiss on Rania's forehead.
"Waliya," Aahil said as he came to stand beside her. Looking up at him, she found him holding a date out to her. "Chew on it to soften it and then give it to her," he said kindly.
"Oh, I knew that," she said matter of factly, yet her mind was still reeling with the thoughts of having her own babies and holding them like that one day. She took the date from him and softened it before she broke a piece of and sweetened Rania's mouth. As she spread it along her gums and tongue, she had the feeling of being overwhelmed by love for Rania and this intense sense of responsibility. While she cradled her, Waliya didn't want to squeeze her. It seemed odd to her that she suddenly had these unusual feelings for Rania when she hadn't experienced that type of over protectiveness and concern for Anas and Mu'aaz.
Aahil watched Waliya as she gently cradled and rocked Rania in her arms. The manner in which she held the baby was so precious that Aahil could not help but long for his own children with his adoring wife. He could not wait to hold his own child in his hands and feel that overwhelming love and rush of responsibility.
Aahil could already picture their life together as he ran around on a patch of green grass in their back yard playing soccer with his son while Waliya was pushing their small daughter, an exact replica of her, on a swing hanging from the huge tree. Then, as Waliya leaves their daughter on the swing, he sees her belly swollen with their third child and a huge grin on her face as he collapses just in front of her feet. She would laugh at him and crouch down with ease that would belie her massive belly and hold him before he would place a chaste kiss on her forehead.
Shaking his head, Aahil withdrew those images and instead focused on his beautiful wife in front of him. He was mesmerised with the way she seemed completely in awe of Rania, almost as if she had never been with a newborn before.
However, before he could hug her and reassure himself that she was definitely real and his wife, his cell phone rang. He gave one last glance filled with longing, before he excused himself and answered the call.
"Aahil, where are you? We have been trying to reach you and Waliya for so long now! Aqeela just gave birth to a boy!" his father said frantically to a boy.
Aahil ran his hand through his hair, a sign of his frustration. "We are at the hospital," he said and then proceeded to give the name. "Waliya's sister gave birth to a girl half an hour ago."
Nadeem gave praises to Allah and Aahil could happiness in his voice. A baby was a blessing to the Ummah of the Prophet Muhammad {S.A.W} as it was part of his sunnah to extend the Muslim nation and it didn't matter whose baby it was, everyone was happy for the family. "Masha Allah, Masha Allah. We are at the same hospital. A few wards away. We will definitely come to see your in laws and say Mubarak. Is there anything that we can bring for the baby?"
Aahil held back his sarcastic reply, since it was his father and he held the utmost respect for his father. Furthermore, it was a grave sin to be rude to your parents since they were a means for you to attain Jannah. "Nothing that I know of right now, daddy. In Shaa Allah if I find out anything, I will let you know," he said. "I will let Waliya know that Aqeel gave birth, and In Shaa Allah once she is done with her niece, we will come see Aqeela."
It was later that night as they laid in bed, when Waliya turned on her side and faced Aahil with a hopeful look on her face. "Aaaaaaahiiiiil," she said with a broad smile. Without his eyes leaving from the laptop screen, he answered her. "Jee?"
"I know this is weird, but can I ask you a question?" she began, the smile still quite hopeful yet the nervousness was obvious in her voice.
His eyes left the laptop screen and he shoved it on the bedside table as he turned and gave her all his attention. "Why would you feel like you cannot ask me a question? You can always ask me anything, any time of the day, it doesn't matter where I am or who I am with, I am yours first."
Shyly she nodded her head as he placed a kiss on her lips. "Now, sweetie, ask me what you want to."
It was at times like these when Waliya wished that she had more confidence to speak her mind. She wished that she was one of those much braver, outgoing, bolder girls. "Do ... uhh, you want to have children?" she stuttered out nervously.
He chuckled and brushed back her hair. "What makes you think I don't?"
Still blushing, she shook her head. "Nothing in particular, it is just that we never really spoke about it before," she answered hiding her cheeks in his chest.
"Liya," he laughed. "I want children so bad, but it will all happen as Allah wishes. I want a household full of children, Liya. I wouldn't mind at least eight children, love."
"Ei-eight?" Waliya stuttered out.
Sniggering, Aahil answered. "Jee. I think it should be a good number as a minimum. I want like 14 or 15 children, In Shaa Allah."
"Can I like not say Ameen to that?" she asked, her voice shaking. Fifteen children caused her desire to have children just simply vanish into thin air. Of course, faith in Allah would make it possible, but she just could not fathom how she would manage it? Just thinking about it made her head hurt. Would she then have to have one child every year? That would mean that she would be pregnant for almost sixteen years? That would mean that by the time she was almost 41 or so, she would be having her last child? Was Aahil certifiably insane?
Chortling, Aahil rubbed his hand over her face and arms, trying to comfort her and soothe her. "If you remember, Liya, my family does have the twin gene," he pointed out unhelpfully.
"That's if it passed to you and ..." she sighed, the fear obvious in her voice. "Oh gosh, there are so many other things to think about. Genetics play a major role in it all. What if I am unable to have twins? Fifteen children are a lot!" she cried helplessly.
"And more than a handful!" Aahil added on teasingly.
She clutched his shirt in her fist and pulled it lower as she spoke to him, her voice was filled with the fear of having fifteen children. She doubted she would have the patience and rationale to deal with so many children. "I don't like how you think it is funny while I am freaking out here!"
He placed his larger, darker hand over hers and smoothed out her clenched fingers from his shirt as he calmed her down. "Relax, my love. You are not pregnant yet, and we have a while to think about children. They are an amaanat from Allah, and the best thing that you and I can do is ensure that we bring our children up to the best of our capabilities –irrespective of how much, or how little children we have."
As he kissed her creased forehead, she felt better. It was as if he had some magic touch with the way he always managed to soothe her nerves and make her feel better about anything that she stressed about. "I know, Aahil, but still, you want fifteen!"
"Calm down, Liya. It isn't anything to stress about. Allah will give us as many as he sees fit. We have a long while to decide on how many we have."
Unconvinced, she nodded and leaned her head on his chest as he cradled her head and played with her hair. "Still, though, it's my womb and I don't think I can manage fifteen," she mumbled and fell asleep.
Three months later, Waliya was sitting on her couch in the lounge with her feet pulled up to her chest as she ate ice cream from the tub while watching a movie. She was nearly half way through the tub when she started feeling queasy. Waliya let out a slight moan, but nonetheless continued eating her ice cream and watching her sad romantic movie. Nearly ten minutes later, she dropped her ice cream tub with the spoon falling to the floor with a loud tingling sound in the empty flat as she ran to the bathroom. A burning sensation followed as she emptied her stomach into the sink. Suddenly, it felt as if her body could not itself upright any longer, so she clutched onto the sides of the sink, as the second wave of nausea and vomit hit her. Every single time that she threw up, her head felt heavier and heavier, her stomach recoiled against the empty feeling. Waliya tried to think if perhaps she had had something to eat that could have caused food poisoning, but nothing came to mind.
Her heart felt heavy at the thought that once Aahil came home, they were going to go out on a date, but now that she felt so horrible, it wasn't going to be likely. Her legs started shaking and causing her to start feeling as if the earth was rotating ten times faster and feel twice as bad as before. "I need to call my mother," she muttered weakly as she slid down to the floor. "She'll make me feel better," she added. "Right after I relax," she sighed helplessly.
Aahil entered his flat, a dozen red roses in his hand, a box of chocolates in his other hand and a new dress for Waliya. "Assalaamu alaykum!" he greeted cheerfully.
When Waliya didn't return his greeting, he became slightly worried because he knew she would be waiting for him. After he placed the flowers and chocolates on the table, he noticed the melting ice cream messing the floor and the sticky spoon on the tiles and that was when he felt anxiety creep in. Where was she? Was she okay? Did something happen to her? Because he knew with an unfailing certainty that she would not fall asleep and leave half a tub of ice cream casually on the floor.
"Waliya? Waliya?" he called as he walked down the passage. "Where are you, my love?" Once he passed the bathroom, he saw her lying on the floor. His heart felt as if it had literally stopped beating. Was she still alive?
What had happened?
In a split second, he found himself crouching on the floor pushing back her wayward strands of hair from her face after he felt her breath from her mouth and as he tried to lift her up, she spoke. "Mummy?" she half whispered, half cried out.
Aahil's heart broke, she sounded exhausted and sick, but worse than that, he saw splashes of what seemed to be vomit on her mouth and clothing. "No, love, it's me, Aahil," he said gently.
"Hmm," she said and curled into his chest. "I'm not feeling well," she said weakly.
That is an understatement, Aahil thought, but said nothing. "What's wrong?" he asked as he laid her down on their bed.
"My tummy is hurting and I threw up –like, a lot. I have a headache, and I feel weak," she listed. He knew immediately that she was truly not feeling well because she didn't question him –after all, he was an hour late –nor did she greet him or seem worried about their date.
"Okay, my love, I am so sorry. Why didn't you call me?" he asked worried.
Waliya's eyes remained tightly shut as she curled herself on his pillow and tried to sleep. "It was –" she yawned and then continued, "too far for me and I was too tired."
He nodded, even though he knew she couldn't see. "Sleep my love, I'll call a doctor in the meantime."
Aahil Khan, who although was an anti social person, knew a great deal of people and many of whom owed him enough favours to collect on. One such person was a friend of his mother's who also happened to be a doctor. She was someone whom he knew, but not someone he knew well. He knew that she would do the best for him because of his mother, but her oath of confidentiality would prevent her from talking out of the house. Knowing that his wife needed care but that she couldn't move presently, Aahil called Doctor Farah Teladia to ask her if she would be willingly to help him –although he would probably bring his wife in after hours.
She had agreed, and while he waited Aahil took a bucket of warm water and a face cloth and began wiping down Waliya. Once he was done, he cleaned up the mess of the melted ice cream and just patiently waited. He tried to calm his frantically beating heart, which was pushing forward all unwanted scenarios –all the worst possible case, but nothing seemed to work. It was then, that he decided to do the one thing he knew would undoubtedly work: he began reading all of her favourite Surahs to her, over and over again.
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Amaanat: A trust, a gift from Allah