T h i r t y F i v e
This one is for AsmaShaikhNovella
:)
If Allah is making you wait,
then be prepared to receive more than you asked for.
☆
Mashal
His eyes showed the kind of gentle concern that no one had ever shown me, not even Zeyara. I was sure in that moment that no man could love me more than my father.
"The only reason I kept you away from me was to keep you out of it and now you want me to-"
"But I was never completely out of it, was I? What about that nuclear weapon and me being the password?"
"That was a mistake. I just wanted to distract our enemies but ended up putting you in danger. However, I did send MZS to keep track of you so that you spend your life normally."
He let out a deep sigh as he finished speaking and tilted his head back to gaze at the mysterious dark sky.
"Z- Zeyara was here for me?" I widened my eyes and gulped.
Baba nodded slightly. "He got beaten up many times while protecting you. Even the US FBI agents were searching for my daughter, you, but he lured them."
I glanced upward at the same sky baba was staring at. My eyes blinked to regain focus but the image of Zeyara's bruised face, swollen eyes and his limping steps flashed in front of my eyes.
That day when he said he fell down and got hurt, he lied.
Instead he got caught up in a fight to keep me safe.
"Baba was Zeyara the actual password?"
My question left him totally flabbergasted. "How did you figure that out?"
"I don't know." I shrugged, "It's the only way things made sense."
He smiled at me. "I'm impressed. You've got my traits."
I smiled slightly before remembering something else I wanted to ask him. "Baba what about that private airplane? Which mafia is working with Alnihayya?"
As soon as my words landed on his ears, he froze. He was far too astounded to be normal. "T-thats nothing. Don't mention that again to anyone. You understand?"
His reaction was questionable but I nodded. He was my father after all, the creator Alnihayya. He has saved so many lives, it can't be anything bad.
"I can't belive you figured all of that on your own!" He shook his head incredulously.
"I'm Mashal Naeem after all." I said proudly at which he smiled.
We stood there in silence, gazing at the sky which was the canvas for our flashbacks. Both of us were lost when baba's voice brought us back.
"Your exams end on the 30th. I'll not be able to risk coming here again but I'll send someone to get you."
My mouth hung loose as I realised what he meant.
"Thank you!" I clapped in excitement and he pulled me into a hug again. I couldn't believe he had finally agreed to it. I also couldn't believe that he had been stalking me so much that he even knew my exam schedule.
"My daughter would be the first person to thank some one for putting her in danger." He chuckled before kissing the top of my head.
I grinned as we parted. "Baba what should I pack and where would we be going?"
He rolled his eyes incredulously. "It's not a vacation young woman. It's a war."
I knew meeting Zeyara after such a long time would be more exciting than a vacation but I didn't reveal my thoughts to baba.
"So...then should I steal a few guns from Zeyara's room. Like I stole this one?"
I picked up the tiny gun that had fallen from my hand on the ground and showed it to baba.
His eyes widened in shock when he saw the weapon in my hand. "Mashal throw that away!"
"Baba it's just a tiny gun. I think it's probably a fake one." I said, confused as to why he would be so scared of a tiny gun when he had been using weapons his own life.
"Fake gun? Mashal it's the worst type of gun you could get your hands on. It's a Russian radiation gun which affects brain cells essentially leading to mind control."
As soon as the words escaped his mouth I panicked and threw the gun on the ground. "So it wasn't a water gun after all!"
Dad stifled a chuckle. "Where did you get that idea from?"
"Well..." I already felt embarrassed of what I was going to say. "Zeyara had coffee in his base so I thought he might even have a fake gun?"
He shook his head incredulously. "You know why I set the button to turn Zeyara's room into a base in the headboard?"
"Why?" I asked, while he still tried to control his laughter.
"Beceuse I thought all the intelligent FBI agents or the army secret service would search for it in difficult hidden places. Only the stupidest person would go and press the headboard."
I frowned crossing my arms in front of me. "Are you trying to say I'm stupid?"
"No way! I mean you are clever. No one else in their right mind could've ever found it" He chuckled.
"Baba!"
He laughed once again and I frowned but inside I knew he was right.
Sanan was right. I'm a different kind of stupid.
"Alright, now I need to leave." He said picking up the radiation gun I had thrown on the floor. His tone had suddenly gone serious again. "28th February, 4 o' clock. Don't pack any clothes and don't even by mistake, bring your cell phone with you."
"Yes sir!" I put my hand on my forehead and tried saluting him as if he was an army general.
Baba chuckled and pursed his lips before adding. "I know you're excited but once you get there you won't want to stay for more than a week."
"They don't have wifi?"
He gave me an 'are you serious?' look before turning around and uttering, "Fi amanillah."
°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•
"You'll be gone for exactly how long?" Uncle Suleiman asked, his face lined with worry.
"Ummm a few weeks?" I replied, unsure of the actual length of my so called stay at my 'aunt's house.'
Uncle Suleiman grabbed the remote from the table in front of him and powered off the telivision.
"Weeks?!"
I bit my lip, staring down at my hands in my lap. I knew it would be difficult to make up an excuse for this and I had even calculated the risk.
The thing is however, I've never been good with calculations.
When I didn't say anything, he continued speaking. "Okay I know something is wrong. Has it got to do anything with Zeyara?"
"No! Not at all No!" I shrieked, almost jumping up from my chair and then immediately regretted my actions. My reaction had shown how much it had actually got to do with Zeyara.
Uncle Suleiman sighed and shifted back in the sofa, making himself comfortable. "Yeah I can see that. Mashal why do you think you can't trust me? Why does Zeyara think he can't trust me? I know something is up with him. I know he isn't just a business consultant."
"Business consultant?" I forced myself to have a serious face and not laugh at Zeyara's supposed career.
"He isn't right? I knew it! My boy can't just be a consultant. He has at least got to have his own business. I mean how can he afford to transfer thousands of pounds to my account if he has a simple job? "
"Uh yeah..." I gulped the urge to laugh.
Zeyara and a business consultant?
Joke of the century.
"Why would he keep it secret? Tell him not to be afraid. I don't want his money. He doesn't need to hide it from me that he has his own business, not a job."
I stared at him with my mouth agape trying to figure out if he actually meant what he said and he did.
"I'll tell him." I nodded, "Can I please go now?"
"Of course you can! I'm so happy. I was right he has greatness running in his veins. He is my son after all. The most successful business man ever."
I stood up, feeling guilty of the fake happiness Uncle Suleiman was feeling. I felt the urge to say it to him, "Uncle I'll bring him back in sha Allah."
He smiled brightly, hope sparkling in his old eyes. "I know you will. Threaten him by saying you won't talk to him again and he will agree. His mother used to do that to me and it always worked."
I nodded at him, returning his smile.
Even though I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to threaten Zeyara when I see him. I would more like jump onto him and never let go.
After getting the green signal from Uncle Suleiman, I rushed up to my room to start preparing for the two exams I still had to give.
Since I get straight A's it seems hypocritical to say that exams are a mental and physical torture to teenagers, forcing them to sit on a chair with a sheet of paper in front of them for two hours, but that's the truth.
Especially when you want to run out of that boring hall into your husband's arms.
I stayed up late cramming the hell out of my chemistry notes. It wasn't like me at all, I never stayed up to study chemistry but what can you expect from someone whose body is caged in Manchester while the mind is a white bird flying from one city to another, swiftly gliding through the cool breeze with no one except Allah holding her there, keeping her tiny heart beating and preventing her fragile body from falling.
I stifled a yawn and leaned back in my chair, my eyes moving to the ceiling in an attempt to hide away from the textbook. I glanced at the clock momentarily to realise that it was already midnight.
"Come on Mashal you can do it. Just the last topic." I groaned and rubbed my bleary eyes, forcing them to look back at the textbook.
Just when dynamic equilibrium had finally started making sense to me, my cell phone buzzed on the table notifying me of an incoming call.
It was an unknown number but I picked it up instantly, thinking it might be baba.
Or better, Zeyara.
As always my heart flickered at that tiniest possibility of hearing his voice.
However that lasted very shortly since the person soon spoke out.
"Mashal?"
"Okay what's with all you men getting my phone number? Is it on sale somewhere?" I grumbled recognising Ibrahim's voice.
First Nathan, then baba and now him.
(Muskaan: I wanted to write what I always write in such situations. It took a lot of will power to not do that. 😂)
"Which men?!" Ibrahim asked. I could imagine him rolling his sleeves, ready to beat up those men.
"No one. At least not you. You're not a man, you're an owl." I whispered inaudibly, glancing at the clock which had just gone over 12. If it was 12 here, it would be 2 in Syria. "Assalam o alaikum. How are you?"
"Walaikum Salam. All healed and ready to fight again. Did you say something about me being an owl?" He inquired and paused before he remembered something else and his voice filled with excitement. "Hey did you see me on the news?! I looked good didn't I?" Ibrahim asked without waiting for my reply.
I chuckled remembering the day I had seen him on Uncle Suleiman's telly. "Yeah you looked amazing will all those heart monitors and oxygen tanks attached to your body."
"Oh shut up you're just jealous." He muttered.
"Of not being in a bed? Yeah I guess I am. I want to sleep so bad right now." I snorted.
"Yeah you better sleep now." His voice had suddenly gone grim and serious. "I don't think you'll be able to sleep peacefully once the war begins."
"War?" I asked, trying to act innocent. I wanted to know how much Ibrahim knew about the situation.
"Yeah. I had no idea it was on our agenda. Only a few senior leaders were aware of this. We are all going to the Palestinian headquarters to prepare for it. It's going to be big Mashal. You saw how huge our Syrian base was? We have hidden bases of even ten times its size in Iraq, Afghanistan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Libya, Jordan-"
"Pakistan, Somalia, Indonesia, India, Kuwait, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Iran, Ukraine, Egypt bla bla bla."
"How do you know?!" He asked out of shock once I finished ranting.
"I virtually named all the Muslim countries I could think of." I chuckled.
"It's not a joke Mashal!" He snapped at my laughter, "It's a very grave situation. We are going to fight for Palestine"
"And who's leading you?" I asked because I wanted to know if he he was aware about baba being alive.
He paused for a while and I could hear him taking a deep breath. "You know when we all thought Zeyara died?"
"No, not me! 'You' thought that he died." I dejected, already feeling the happiness rising inside me regarding what he was about to say.
"Well okay yeah when I thought that Zeyara died, he didn't quite. I'm sorry."
"Sorry?! Sorry?? You're saying sorry that Zeyara is alive?"
"No no! I mean I'm sorry for saying he died. He's such a good actor. He should work in Holywood."
I relaxed in the chair, letting the joy soak up my limbs. How long I had waited to finally hear him say that Zeyara was alive.
Now that Ibrahim had accepted that, it felt more real, more true, more happy.
"I'm not gonna forgive you for something so big by just a sorry. I'll take revenge big brother!" I tried to make myself sound harsh but instead I sounded funny. "When you have a spouse, I'll come and tell you one day that she's dead. Then you'll understand how I felt!"
"Well best of luck with that because I think she's already dead. She's never gonna come and marry me." He sighed.
I had wanted that to be a light joke but Ibrahim seemed so sad. I really need to be a good sister and find him a wife.
"Coming back to the point." He began speaking again. "After baba's death Alnihayya elected ten leaders from around the world. One of them happens to be Zeyara. They will lead us."
'After baba's death' which means Ibrahim still doesn't know about baba being alive.
"Yeah it will be fun!" I chirped, hiding the truth, "I'll see you there then."
"What? What do you mean you'll see me there?"
"You'll see! Fee amanillah for now. I've got an exam." I laughed at his lack of knowledge before disconnecting the call.
It would be hard for me to control my laughter on his expression when he sees me in Palestine.
I shook my head at my own thoughts. I'm such a messed up person. People are preparing for a war and here I am, finding excuses to be happy and to laugh.
Khair, that's what we all need to learn though. To see the best in the worst.
Knowing that studying anymore equilibrium would disturb my own mental equilibrium, I closed the text book, turned off the lights and enveloped myself in the warmth of Zeyara's duvet.
Following my routine of reciting surah Mulk before sleeping, I let myself relax imagining the birds that Allah holds in the sky without strings, as I drowned in sleep.
☆
I'm sorry I was experiencing writer's block (which unfortunately happens to be a real thing)
That's why the chapter is a bit short. I wanted to write more but I also didn't want to keep you guys hanging so here it is!
I'll try to update the next chapter tomorrow in sha Allah. 😊
-Muskaan.