Recap...
Saafiya's family, Auntie Lubna's family, and ours stay behind to clean the banquet hall since we decided that Umme's family should go home. They had enough tiredness to last them a century.
Hamza and I are put on kitchen duty since Saafiya's family had to leave after an hour.
"So are you excited?" Hamza asks and I immediately know what he's talking about. I grab another plate to wash before I answer.
"Definitely but it also kind of scary." I say quietly with a smile. He nods and smiles faintly at me.
"What about your mystery girl? Did you propose or tell her?"
"Yup. I did it a while ago and she accepted. She's ecstatic."
"Well that's good."
"Yup. We'll be getting married soon."
I feel my heart ache and my muscles tense.
"In fact, I'll bring her along to your wedding." He says with a wide smile. It takes everything in me to tell him to not bring her, as amazing as she sounds.
That night when I lay down in bed, the true countdown began.
CHAPTER 32
The warm bed and the soft blanket are so alluring as I smack my alarm clock, and go back to my wondrous sleep.
"Wakey wakey!" A voice yells as I groan and cover my face with my pillow.
Suddenly the warmth of my pillow case is replaced by the cold frigid air.
"Who did that?" I say looking up to see Umme and Saafiya pointing at each other with an innocent smile.
"Five more minutes please." I groan trying to push the comforter back over my cold body.
"I never thought that we had to resort to this Saafiya, but I think we have to." Umme says, and on the count of 3, both of them are playing tug of war with my precious comforter. I hope they don't rip it because I won't have a comforter for tonight—wait a minute today is the 23rd!
I shoot straight up in the bed with wide eyes.
"I think... she got it Umme." Saafiya says looking satisfied with herself.
"I'm going to meet mystery man today!" I yell as I get out of bed.
"Guess someone is excited." Umme says wiggling her eyebrows.
"You guys are so mean." I say fake pouting.
"Now go take a shower. You still have to eat, and the makeup artist is going to be here in two and a half hours."
I nod and go to take a shower. The butterflies in my stomach seemed to have gotten worse over the past couple of weeks but I'm super excited to finally find out after almost a whole year who mystery man is. As I wash my hair, I realize that this is the last time that I will be taking a shower in this house because next time, I will be married In Sha Allah. I thoroughly clean my hair and use my strawberry shampoo and conditioner.
I get out of the shower and decide to dress in a pair of harem pants and a loose full sleeve shirt. I keep the towel on my head since I don't like to blow-dry my hair often. Blow drying my hair in the past always resulted in damaged hair, so I stick with the "au natural" way of drying my hair now. AKA the towel. Plus I have a lot of time before the makeup artist comes over.
Once I get out, I go downstairs and see that mom, dad, Saafiya, and Umme are already sitting there eating breakfast.
"Assalam O Alaikom." I say to everyone as I take a seat in my chair.
"Wa Alaikom Assalam." They all reply.
I see that dad is trying to solve the crossword puzzle, and mom is trying to finish the Sudoku puzzle on the other page in the newspaper. They both look very indulged in the paper, and I smile to myself. I want a marriage like that; I think to myself. One where I look at my spouse the way dad looks at mom.
Although I don't want to eat anything since eating when I'm nervous, results in me being more nervous; I still take a bagel with cream cheese.
I give mom and dad both a kiss on the cheek after I'm done eating and then go upstairs with Saafiya and Umme.
"The makeup artist is going be to here in an hour girls!" Mom yells from the dining room
"Ok, mom." I say to her as I'm finally up the stairs.
"So how excited are you Layla?" Umme asks me as we all flop down on my bed.
"More than I ever have been in my life." I say with a smile. I don't tell them about my last minute jitters as that's for me to deal with.
I then take off the towel and see that the tips of my hair are still wet. I decide to turn the towel around to the dry site, and let it absorb the rest of the water. Once I'm done drying my hair, we all decide to read Zuhr namaz and read some Quran because there still was a lot of time before the makeup artist would arrive.
It feels peaceful to sit down and read the Quran. The rhyming words melodically slipping through my lips as I quietly say them. After a while of reading the Quran, I hear the doorbell ring, and we all go to open up the door for the makeup artist.
She has me sit down on a swivel chair in my bedroom and tells me to place my hair back in a clip.
"I think we should go for a more natural look for you." She says examining my face, and I nod, agreeing with her statement. I don't want people to not even recognize me, as I never wear makeup.
"I won't go heavy on the eyeshadows or the contouring. It will take away from your natural beauty." She says with a smile.
Saafiya and Umme watch in an entrance while the makeup artist works on my face. After what feels and is an hour or so, she's done.
"Here you go." She says handing me a mirror.
"What do you think?" She asks before I even look into the mirror.
But as I do look into the mirror, I gasp. She did a light smoky eye, and put on some nude lipstick. I thought it looked really pretty but I was kind of nervous of what other people will think as I no one has ever seen me with makeup. Saafiya and Umme were really shocked to see the end result and said that this look suited me.
Mom then came upstairs and looked at me in shock.
"Is that you Layla?" Mom asks me as she places her hands over her mouth in shock. I nod with a beaming smile.
"You look so beautiful Ma Sha Allah."
Mom then pays the makeup artist and we go downstairs for a small snack.
"Girls, I made some chocolate oatmeal cookies. I hope they're good." She says and even I indulge in one cookie because they are my absolute favourite. I'm careful to not smudge the makeup as I do so.
It's 3 o' clock now, and I want to go pray Asr but as I am about to go upstairs, I see an envelope peak out from the door. I go pick it up, and see that it is addressed to me. I look around and see that no one is around, so I go upstairs and into my walk in closet.
I open up the letter, and am in shock at what it says.
"Dear Layla,
Although I like you very much, I know someone else who has a place in his heart for you more than I do. And I have a place in my heart for someone else. Therefore, I sincerely hope you can forget about me as I am not meant for you."
I feel my eyes water and I try my best to not let the tears fall because the makeup artist can't come back and fix the smudged up makeup.
I think of a hundred different things that the letter might mean, but in a way, it's too late to do that now. I stay inside the closet for what feels like a couple more minutes but even I know that, isn't true. I rip the paper into shreds and place it in the trash can in my room. No one needs to know of this; it would just worry them even more.
I read Asr Salah afterward, and took some time making Dua to Allah swt about everything that's going on, and the letter that I just received. I read an extra Nafl prayer at the end to calm down my nerves.
"There you are, Layla! We have been looking everywhere for you." Saafiya says with a relieved expression on her face.
"It's time to put on the dress!" Umme says excitedly, and I smile.
She hands me the dress covered in an opaque plastic hanger, and I go into the closet to change. I'm careful to wear it slowly because there still is a while before the ceremony actually begins.
Once I'm done, I walk out of the closet carefully. The dress sways on the ground as I walk, and is made mainly of silk and lace. Arabic weddings usually consist of the bride wearing white, as white is the colour of purity. Saafiya and Umme both gape as they look at me.
"You actually look like a bride!" Saafiya says.
"She will have to wear the high heels of course." Umme says and Saafiya nods. I'm about to scowl but I decide to let this one slide.
"The guests will probably start coming in around half an hour. Some will be here earlier because you know." Saafiya says wiggling her eyebrows and we all laugh.
"Now it's time to do your hair." Umme says as she plays with my hair.
"This is the first time that mystery man will have seen my hair." I say in realization, and a little bit of hidden shock.
"Let's go with a bun with a couple of side braids twirled around it." Saafiya says, and Umme nods her head in agreement.
They spend half an hour doing my hair, and luckily they put it up in a tight bun so that it doesn't slip. I wear the creme under scarf, and they help place the scarf on me that is white with lace, and pearls embedded all over it.
They give me a mirror and I feel shocked when I look at myself. I do feel kind of nervous about showing mystery man my hair because I haven't had a non-Mehram ever see my hair before 2nd grade; which was when I wanted to start wearing it.
Mom comes upstairs and cries when she sees me.
"Now you truly are a woman." She says kissing me on the cheek.
"Here's a small gift from your dad and I." Mom says handing me 2 white gold rings, and 2 diamond bracelets.
"Mom these must have cost a fortune!" I say out in worry.
"It's a gift. Be quiet and accept it." She says, and I smile.
"Saafiya and Umme, you both look so beautiful." She says giving them a kiss on the cheek as well.
Saafiya and Umme are both wearing a beige floor-length gown with a black velvet top over it.
"Bring her down in 20 minutes." Mom says to them with a smile, and they nod.
"The groom is already here." Mom whispers me to with a wink. I blush as she scurries out of the room.
I feel my hands shake and my stomach churn.
Saafiya and Umme spend the next 20 minutes talking about how they were excited for me while I quietly sat there. As they walked me down the stairs slowly, I felt myself go through a silent panic attack; one that no one sees or feels but me.
They have me sit down by the groom and my heart starts racing. They leave after I sit down because of the obvious tradition that occurs during the Nikkah. Mom told me beforehand that there wouldn't be more than 10 people in the room for the Nikkah, and that I could choose to see the groom before the papers were signed or papers; I chose after. My scarf covers my forehead, and my eyes aren't visible to anyone.
"We'll wait for a couple minutes and then we'll start the Nikkah." The imam says and everyone voices out their agreements. I don't say anything or move an inch because I don't know how to react.
"Ok ladies and gentlemen. We are going to start the Nikkah now." The imam says and the mumbled whispers now turn to complete silence.
The imam hands the groom the wedding papers, and I hear the sound of the pen gliding on the paper. My mom who is sitting on my left hands me my papers and I know that I could look at the space filled where it says the groom's name but I don't. I feel the anxiety cluster around me, and with shaking hands I sign the papers. As I finish, a lone tear drop falls on the paper, and I know that I can't do this.
"I need some time." I say out loud breaking the silence.
I hand the papers to mom, and without looking at anyone, I scamper away from the wedding. Away from everyone. Away from the groom. The groom whom I don't love. I go upstairs, and the tears are let loose in the darkness.
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AN: So I decided to update early ;) and I know most of you probably want to kill me but please be patient. The faster I receive the votes, and comments, the faster that the next chapter will be updated. The only reason I updated was because of your comments and votes! So do the same for this chapter and the last chapter of A Halal Love Story will be brought to you soon!! :)
Oh and we reached #81 on top charts!!!!!! WOOHOO!!!
The goal for this chapter is 45 votes, and 25 comments. The faster I reach it, the faster the next update will be ;). PS your comment make a big difference :)
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Hadith of the Chapter
"Whoever treads a path seeking knowledge, Allah will make easy for him the path to Paradise."
(reported by Ibn Majah and others, fulfilling the conditions of Imam al Bukhari and Imam Muslim)"
Source: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/hadith
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