Imran's POV
A mischievous smile played on her lips as we grew closer. She had dressed up like that on purpose and her purpose was to drive me crazy. Suddenly she pushed herself to the end of the couch. She was leaning on the armrest. Then I grabbed her by her waist and pulled her closer. She giggled when I started tickling her sides gently. Breathing in her perfume my desires ran faster with the rushing blood in my body. Our closeness had done things to me I never imagined it would. Looking down at her eyelashes which spread beautifully as she lowered her gaze I placed my finger under her chin raising it.
Our blissful moment broke when she placed her hand on my shoulder and pushed herself away from me. I moved back confused and noticed her cheeks which streaked wet with tears.
I tried to get closer to her avoiding her hand that pushed my shoulder. She pushed herself away, sobbing. I was hurt and confused. Why wouldn't she let me close now?
"Hey...", I took her hands in mine still trying to fight against her hand that pushed me away, "W-What's wrong?", I looked down at her lips as she bit them trying to keep in her cries.
What did I do? Did I hurt her? Why was she moving away?
"P-Please", I begged her not to leave me, "Afi...", it hurt so much when she moved away little by little. My hand reached her bare leg and started caressing it, "Afaaf...", she pushed herself away getting up from the couch and left through the open doors hiding her face as she cried. Her cries still echoing in my head breaking my heart and shattering it to a million pieces. I was hurt and nothing could fix me except her. But now she was gone and it felt like she was not going to return.
I blinked my eyes a few times as the light from the window on my right blurred my vision. I looked down at myself and found myself lying on the couch. I remembered I had told Afaaf that I was going to take a nap before I leave for work. Then I remembered the dream I just had. What kind of a dream was that? It made me feel hurt even though nothing of that sort had happened really. Such a bad dream! It spoiled my mood. I recited AudhuBillahi min Ash-shaytaan-nir-rajeem three times and got up to do redo wudhu as sleeping had made my wudhu invalid.
Afaaf wasn't in the room right now. Maybe she was downstairs making breakfast. I had slept after praying Fajr and reciting two pages from Qur'an. I had been feeling too exhausted for no particular reason due to which I was fighting myself today to wakeup for Fajr.
After redoing my wudhu I checked the time. I only had half hour before leaving for work. I changed quickly and went downstairs. As I passed the living room I saw no one there. An unknown fear crept in me and suddenly I craved for the sight of my wife right before me. I guess that bad dream was affecting me.
I found her in the kitchen making breakfast. She didn't know of my presence yet so I tip toed to go stand behind her. I took her by surprise holding her around her waist. She jumped all of a sudden and I started laughing.
"Salamualaikum!", I kissed her cheek when she turned around with a panicky expression covering get face.
"Walaikumusalam! Don't ever scare me like that Imran! You're insane!", she hit my arm playfully and I laughed giving her another kiss.
"You didn't wake me up. It was supposed be a nap"
"I didn't wanted to. You looked tired", she tried to set my messy hair as I looked at her face. She smiled when she was done with my hair and turned around to take out the eggs on the plates. We went to the dining room to have breakfast.
"Fahad left early again?", I asked her.
"Yeah", she nodded taking a bite of the toast, "Amna and the baby are sleeping"
"Doesn't this feel so perfect?", I told her, "Just you. And me", I took her hand.
"You'll get late for work Mr. Romantic", she looked adorable trying to control her smile as she looked away.
"I love you", the words came out on their own as I stared at her. Her head turned to me immediately as she weren't expecting those words.
"What's happened to you?", she asked, "I thought I annoyed you", she winked.
"So that's what you say back when you're husband tries to be romantic to you?", I frowned.
She giggled and said, "Aww. I love you too Imwan!", I smiled at that funny nickname.
That day I didn't want to leave for work. I just wanted to stay with Afaaf and spend some time with her. She was much more fun than work. When I left for work and she stood at the door looking at me drive away. I wanted to go back in and hold her one more time. I had never felt so strongly for her since days. It didn't felt right to leave her alone at home in a new neighbourhood even though Amna api was there with her. I was stressing.
It was just the stress from work, I assumed. Another project assigned which I had to work on with a team including tech guys from another company. I never liked working with men from their company. Especially Danny. Let's just say he wasn't very welcoming towards Muslims. But I had to deal with him. So many people have changed their views about Islam as a religion but another majority of stubborn ones still remain. I decided I would try to control my temper this time and avoid any unnecessary argument with him.
When I took a break from I called Afaaf asking her what she was doing or whether she had been thinking about me the whole day just like I was thinking about her. We had a silly conversation about Finding Dory and Finding Nemo. She made me laugh so hard when she was trying to talk whale just like Dory did in the movie. I ended up choking on my spit and coughing. She got panicky and apologised a hundred times.
I was dreading to get back home and when I finally arrived home and parked my car just outside, I saw the neighbours teenage son in his car who looked 19. The car was filled with three other teenage boys of around his age and older who were listening to loud music. I had met his father earlier and I disliked how they were Muslim but still so different from us. I didn't made much conversation with Mr. Iqbal because I didn't want to get close to such Muslims. I looked at them with a straight face and frowned at their ignorance. Muslim teenagers were heading towards doom and didn't respected their religion at all.
Trying to avoid them I locked the car and was about to move towards the door when Mr. Iqbal's son came to stand before me.
""Hi! So you're our new neighbours? I'm Faisal", he stretched out his hand to shake mine. That's all they ever carried from their religion. Just a Muslim name.
I looked down at his hand but didn't to shake, "Salamualaikum", I said and went inside. I wasn't going to grow close to such people who weren't close to Allah.
Afaaf's POV
As planned, mum, Ayesha and Ali visited last night. They were so happy to see our new house and they liked it too. Although we still needed to do more clearing and cleaning up, the house did looked better. Ali kept telling me how his best mum in the whole world bought him a kitten to make up for that day and he couldn't stop talking about it. Ayesha said that he wasn't leaving the kitten even for a minute. He had put it to sleep and only when the kitten did close it's eyes he decided to leave to come meet me.
Ali was so shocked when he saw baby Areej.
"Wow! Mum! Look! An actual real baby!", he said showing the baby to his mum as he sat holding the baby in his hands.
When mum held Areej I was going to tear up at the sight. The last time I saw mum holding a child was when Ali was a baby and mum took him in her arms as he was giving his mother a hard time with his screeching cries. As soon as mum held him he calmed down. Now I wanted mum to hold my children too. We weren't planning to have kids yet since I had asked Imran to save up some money for their needs first. Only then we would try. I felt like that time was going to come soon.
"Come let's show you my room!", I pulled Ayesha while mum and Ali still sat talking to Amna and playing with the baby.
"Isn't Imran upstairs?", she asked fixing her hijab.
"No. He has gone to help out his friend with something", I said stepping up the stairs.
I showed her the bedroom. The beige walls with that maroon colour wardrobe standing out like always. The dresser to which I added a bigger mirror. The black couch right under the window. The other room wasn't ready yet. I told Imran we would make it a small living room just like the one at Khadija's place.
"Ma Sha Allah!", she looked around.
"May Allah always bless your marriage", she took the photo frame which Amna and Fahad bhai had gifted us. She sat down on the be looking down at it.
"Ameen", I said sitting beside her.
She kept it back on the bedside table.
"Can I ask you something?", she turned to me.
"Anything", I said with a smile.
"Afaaf I know you guys just moved into a new place and there are so many payments to worry about. And I don't even know if your husband is going to like this but... I-I... really need some cash for-"
"How much?", I cut her off.
She told me the amount and I got up to look for it in my bag.
Why did she had to give me a reason to give her money?! It wasn't like she was asking for loan from a bank. She didn't needed to give me a reason for this. She never used to give me a reason before I got married. She would ask her and I'd give. Sometimes I'd ask her and she would give. We shared the expenses back home. And why would she think that Imran wouldn't like this?! This was what I earned so I was free to give it to my family if I wanted to. Alhamdulilah, Imran never stopped me from doing.
My eyes welled up and a tear escaped my eye as I smiled at our memories before any of us got married. I placed the amount in her hand and she smiled saying 'Jazak Allah'.
"Ayesha... You don't have to give me a reason for asking for money. I know that it's hard these days since I am no longer living with you and you have to deal with it on your own but I am still going to be there for you, mum and Ali. I know I can't return the love which you and mum brought me up with but I know will do anything for you", I was smiling as tears ran down. Ayesha was tearing up too.
"Remember that day on Eid when I was 8 and I asked for you to give me your tiara because I didn't have one", I chuckled, "and you immediately took it off from your head and placed it on mine. That love... I'll never be able to return", I hugged Ayesha and she hugged me back.
"And remember all those gossips about my so-called crushes and leading actors in dramas and reality shows and fashion", she laughed.
Ayesha was my best friend. We always had so much to say. Never did we ever thought that life would take such a turn around. Never did we ever thought that Ayesha will have Ali, never did we ever thought I'll get married and move so far away. Life at that time was so beautiful. It was beautiful now too but in a completely different way.
Next morning
"Hareeeeeem!", I screamed.
"Afaaaaaaf!", she screamed back.
"How long has it been since we called each other?", I had been so busy that I only could text her sometimes.
"It has been ages!"
"You have to come meet me at our new home. Well it's not 'our' apparently cause we are sharing with Fahad bhai and Amna but... You have to come meet me!"
"I would if I could"
"Why can't you?"
"It's complicated. I'll tell you after some time In Sha Allah"
"Why? What happened? Is it something bad"
"No no. Don't worry. Everything is okay. I'll just tell you later when the schools start"
"I can't believe Ramadan is going to arrive in a week!"
"I know right! Remember the last Ramadan? Everything was so different now I'm married and... Oh my God! It's going to be my first Ramadan with Imran!"
"About time you realised!", Hareem laughed.
"This sounds so crazy. I'll be spending Ramadan with my husband!"
"It sounds romantic!"
"Afaaf...", Imran was calling me.
"I think you're busy at the moment", Hareem teased, "that's fine. I understand"
"Hareem! He just needed something"
"Hmm... Something", she stretched every syllable.
"Hareem enough. Besides, I don't go that shy anymore when some one teases me about him. Hey, I'll call you later my mother in law is coming over and I really need to prove my superwoman abilities to her. Wish me luck"
"Best of luck. Salamualaikum!"
"Walaikumusalam", the call ended.
Imran had left for work and he was calling me to lock the door behind him.
Aunty Sabeeha and Mariam were coming over and they were going to have lunch with Amna and I.
First I tidied up my room then the living room. Everything was in order. After cleaning up I went to the dining room where Amna sat feeding Areej while she had a glass of milk herself.
I asked her if she'd help me make Chicken Qoram. She said she'd put Areej to sleep and join me soon.
"I wish I could be as energetic as you Afaaf. Believe me. Being a mother is so exhausting sometimes. I wish I could get some me-time but that just does not seem possible!", she went on as she chopped the veges.
"Maybe you can have some me-time if you start working when Areej is old enough", I suggested.
"I've preferred to remain a housewife", that was odd. She didn't wanted to work?
"But you know how both men and women need to work these days to make the ends meet"
"Yes but I want to fulfill my responsibilities at home first. It's not like I'm against working women but I really find satisfaction in playing my part as a housewife. When Fahad came to know that I have a degree in interior designing he really wanted me to make me use it for myself but I had always been satisfied with being a housewife"
"Sounds legitimate", I said.
"And as easy as it seems being a house wife is just not that simple", she added, "people seem to underestimate housewives but believe me they have a lot of potential for what they do. Just like Aunty Sabeeha"
It really wasn't understandable for me at first as why would someone want to remain at home all day and look after kids and cool meals for her family all time long. But what Amna said did made sense. Working women and housewives both have their own struggles in life.
We kept talking about this and that and maybe because of me not paying attention to the Chicken Qorma it turned out too salty. I really wanted to cook this the best way possible and prove to Aunty Sabeeha that she can be proud of her daughter in law but I messed up everything and I didn't even know if there was any way to fix it.
Before I could say anything about the ruined Qorma to Amna, I heard the door bell ring. Aunty sabeeha was here already?! I could hear their steps coming closer to the kitchen. I couldn't let her taste this! It was awful! I covered the pot with the lid and turned around. She was standing there.
We said salaams and she looked around the kitchen,
"So what are you girls making?", she asked.
"Smells nice", Mariam said.
"Afaaf decided to make Chicken Qorma. It's almost done", Amna spilled out everything before I could tell her to stay quiet in sign language.
Great! Now what?!
"Amna! This was supposed to be a surprise", I said gritting my teeth.
"Oops", she bit her tongue.
"Oh! Amazing!", Aunty Sabeeha went near the stove, "Let's see what's in here", she removed the lid.
Please don't taste it. Please.
She took some gravey in a spoon an tasted it. I knew what her reactions would be.
"I am sorry. I accidentally put a bit too much salt. I know it tastes horrible", I said before she could begin to criticise.
"No. It's a little extra salty otherwise it's delicious! The salt issue can fixed. Do you have lemons?", she asked.
"Yeah", Amna got up and opened the fridge to take out two lemons.
"Don't worry. I've got this", she took the knife and cut them in halves. Then she squeezed the lemons to pour their juice to the pot, "this is will lower the concentration of salt. Let it stay on the stove for five minutes". I nodded and stirred the gravey and covered it with the lid again.
Then we set the table for lunch and all of us ladies had lunch together. The Qorma was delicious and it taste too salty anymore. Aunty Sabeeha's trick worked.
She was really happy to see us managing our lives on our own. She told Amna and I to look after each other and work together to keep the atmosphere peaceful in the house. She was truly very wise and I could see wisdom shinning in her character. She had passed down that wisdom to hey children as well and I was glad she did. I was also blessed having her as my mother in law.
Just when Aunty Sabeeha and Mariam had left, my phone rang. It was Imran.
"Salamualaikum!", I beamed.
"Walaikumusalam. Can you please quickly find my USB? The blue one. Be quick. Connect it to my laptop. See if it has any file named BX44501. If you find it copy it and paste on the desktop".
"Hold on! Where did you keep it the last time?"
"Um... I can't remember", he huffed, "please find that file and paste it on the desktop. It's important. Okay. Love you. Bye!", the call disconnected.
Why was he in such a hurry? It must be something urgent.
I went to our bedroom and started searching for the USB in his drawers. That's where he kept all his work files and stuff. It was not there. Now I had started to panick too.
I searched through his side of the wardrobe and others drawers. It was no-where.
Ya Allah! Where has it gone?!
Just as I was standing in the middle of the room and beginning to have a mini heart attack my eyes fell on the files in the new cabinets. When I searched through the cabinets I found it hiding under the files.
I sat on the couch with Imran's laptop in my lap which he didn't take to work today for some reason. I connected the USB and looked for the file BX-something. I said Alhamdulilah when I found it and pasted it on the desktop. Within the many folders on his desktop, there was an unamed folder which had pictures. I right clicked on that folder. It opened up showing pictures of Imran and I in Marrakech. Aww. They were our honeymoon pictures. Forgetting many chores that I had lined up for today I sat there going through all those pictures. They made my heart warm. I missed us travelling to Marrackech and all the amazing incidents that happened there. That was the place where we finally grew close. That trip had been such a blessings and only after that trip everything was back to being perfect for us. Despite the occasional petty arguments Imran and I were living happily together. Suddenly I realised what an amazing blessing that was. I decided that tonight Imran and I should pray nawafil together and make dua too for our successful marriage and healthy children with beautiful souls.
When I closed that folder I saw another folder right below the BX44501 folder named 'R'. This was strange. There was no other folder there before. It showed that it contained pictures. Maybe those were the pictures from our nikaah or walima day. I clicked on that folder. When it opened up, I stared wide eyed at it's contents.
WHAT WAS THIS?!
Cliffhaaaaannnnnggggeerrrr
A/N
Salamualaikum and Eid Mubarak! 😊
How are you? Hope all good In Sha Allah! 💝
I am fine Alhamdulilah. 💗
One of the biggest blessings of Allah arrived once again. The Day of Arafah. Which is a part of the Hajj pilgrimage. A legacy of our Prophet Ibrahim عليه السلام and his sons عليهم السلام.
It shows the world how us Muslims stand strong together as an Ummah(nation) and it's so heart warming to see them coming together for the same purpose; Ibadah.
However, a many of us don't actually show our generosity towards fellow muslim brothers and sisters, and the first thing we do when we meet them for the first time is judge their Imaan. That's what Imran did in this chapter and it wasn't acceptable behaviour. Don't worry, he'll come to know of it soon.
Also, I don't know if I'm the only one here suffering from bad dreams. But if there is anyone out there who is suffering, here's what you can do about this problem. I hope this helps you because it has helped me most of the times, Alhamdulilah.
Jazakum Allahu Khayrun especially to all the new readers for supporting this book. It reached #11 on the last update and it made me so happy! May Allah grant you hasanaat for bringing a smile on your sister's face. 💞💕💖💓
Allah Hafiz 👋