Seema had a long conversation with her daughter about Maryam. She felt very uneasy about the whole situation.
"Are you sure about this? I don't think we should get involved in their issue." Seema warned.
"Come on mother, its just for a few days. Besides, I've already made a promise to her. And you would have agreed if you saw what happened that day." Farida tried to convince her mother.
"Fine, but I just hope she's not coming here to pry on us." Seema said as her eyes widen.
"Mom, are you saying that they're planning something against us? Like...I don't know. Revenge?" Farida asked amused by what her mother said.
"Well, yes. I just need you to be careful." Seema warned with both if her eyebrows raised.
"Yes mom. I will be." Farida assured and picked up azrah. The girl was half asleep throughout the meal. Seema looked at her worriedly.
"I don't think you should go out with them now. They're tired."
" Yes mom. I'll just lay her down in their room." Farida replied as she walked upstairs with azrah's head on her shoulder. Ajwad was busy munching on the chocolate his mother bought at the park.
Farida laid down azrah and changed had a shower, then changed into something else more casual than the previous one. She also changed her hijab and wore a shayla.
She proceeded to the living room and met her mother still sitting there with ajwad on her lap. His mouth wide open as seema tried to get out the little pieces of the meatball he ate at the park out from between his teeth.
"I don't let them eat so much meat for a reason you know." Seema said after hearing farida's footsteps descending from the staircase.
"It won't happen again ma. He had tears in his eyes. I couldn't say no." Farida explained.
"Dear, don't you think you should resign from work, or seek for a transfer or something." Seema advised her daughter who's mouth was open and eyebrows raised in amusement.
"Resign? What are you saying mother. I cannot get a better job. And there's no such thing as transfer in this kind of work mother." Seema sighed and placed ajwad carefully on the floor after successfully removing the meat out of his teeth.
"Thank you!!" Ajwad said very loudly into his grandma's ear and ran upstairs. The two laughed at his retreating back.
"I'm serious about this. Just find time to think about it." Seema said and left to the kitchen. Farida thought for a while and announced her departure.
"Stay safe." Seema replied and watched through the small kitchen window as her daughter drove off.
She thought as she washed the dishes. Allah had answered her prayers and thing are going well. Perhaps she did not need to worry anymore. She know that no matter what may arise in the future, what happened in the last two days will make it less worst. When you think there's no way, Allah will provide a way. Seema knew that it was fate that made Farida meet with the man at the park. By the time that she would remember the love she used to have for sudais, her heart would have been owned by another.
Seema mentally reminded herself to ask her about Fahad. She looked through the window again as she heard a car approaching. It was Ali, her husband. She watched as he parked his car at its spot and proceeded to the door. Seema turned off the tap and dried her hand with a hand towel that was hanging on the wall just beside the sink.
She rushed to the living room to open the door for her husband and assisted him with some of his things.
"Welcome dear." She greeted him with delight. Her eyes twinkling like never before, indicating that she was in an exceptional good mood.
"Thank you my dear zawjah. You're eyes are telling me that something good has happened today." Ali observed as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. He rubbed both of his palms because of the cold as night time approached. It gets really cold at nights in London.
"First you have a bath and eat. Then I'll tell you everything." Seema said to her husband with a smile and followed him upstairs to keep his things in their room.
"Okay. I'll be downstairs in a few minutes." Ali said and soon seema left the room and went back to her work in the kitchen.
Ali knew that the good news had to be concerned with their daughter and her children. That was the only thing that would usually make seema happy. And if his family is happy, he will be.
***
It was past six in the evening, darkness had descended as the night drew near. The sky had turned almost reddish in shade with a few patterns of blue from earlier in the day. As the sun peeked through the clouds shining very brightly underneath them, it left gold touched on the red clouds. It was heading to its resting place to retire for the night but the moon also peeked out from the west to claim its own share of sunlight. They smiled at each other so brightly that the sun reflected the moon with its light.
It was a beautiful sight for sudais to encounter. The sun set had been his favorite time of the day as he just loved to watch the magnificent beauty unfold. He breathed the sweet scent of nature, but there was a little scent of rain in the air. It was October after all, the rain season. Well, one of them. Considering the fact that it rained a lot in the UK.
Judging by the scent of the rain, somewhere near the city had been blessed with rain drops and the wind was generous to have passed the message to the whole city.
Sudais was enjoying all of that glory alone in the garden. He strolled around with earpieces plugged to his phone in his ear. He listened to his favorite surah in the Quran "Ar-Rahman". A surah that always managed to bring tears to his eyes. A surah that always made him grateful for everything and every privilege he had.
His fists were folded in his black Adidas sweatpants pockets which he topped with a white hoodie and a pair of black Adidas canvases.
He was so lost in his reading that he didn't realize that his brother Afaan had been calling his name.
Afaan walked faster to his brother and placed a soft tap on his shoulder, sudais being startled by the unexpected touch turned around abruptly, almost hitting his head with his brother's. Sudais pulled out the earpieces from his ears and raised an eyebrow in question. Something he loved to do.
"Brother, its going to rain. You'll get drenched." Afaan said as he gave the now red-black sky a glance. Sudais was surprised at the sight of it, just a little while before then the clouds were red.
"I didn't realise it, thank lil bro." Sudais smiled wryly and threw his left hand around his brother's shoulder. Afaan appeared to be a little taller than sudais, but sudais was bulkier because of his body building.
Zaynerb stepped out of her car and slammed the door with more force than necessary. It was all to get the brother's attentions. Her heels clicked rapidly on the tiles floor as she walked towards them.
Sudais shoved his hand in the air to wave at the approaching lady. She greeted back with a shriek that almost got Afaan blocking his ears.
"What did I miss?" Zaynerb asked with her eyes fixed on sudais. One would think he was her fiancé and not Afaan. Her and sudais got along well.
"Uhm. Nothing, I just had a stroll in the garden and your dear husband to be came out to save me from getting drenched in rain. Sudais replied and the sky sparkled as lightening greeted them all.
" Its about to rain. Let's go inside." The three of them went inside the house. Afaan said impatiently, he didn't go out to get drenched. He walked ahead the both of his brother and zaynerb.
The three were unaware of the two pairs of eyes that had been on them since the time zaynerb shut her car door loudly for everyone to hear.
Aysha stared at them through the window as she thought deeply.
"These two should get tied together soon. They don't like each other. I'm afraid my son may bring up an excuse to call the whole thing off soon." She commented and gave a quick glance to her sister marwa, zaynerb's mother.
Another lightening struck and the dropped of rain was heard. It started slowly then increased gradually until the earth beneath the feet of everyone in the city was soaked with the first rain of the season.
"Don't worry yourself sister, let fate decide the outcome." Marwa once again showed her wisdom although she was the younger one. It had always been like that for ages, marwa was always the sensible one. But unfortunately, her daughter never took after her mother. she was like a younger version of Aysha who raised her when marwa was sick.
"Sure." Aysha sighed.
Afaan dashed inside the living room with a funny look on his face. One wouldn't be able to tell whether he was furious or sad.
Sudais followed behind him grinning sheepishly as zaynerb laughed at the both of them.
"What have you done this time sudais?" Aysha questioned her son playfully as she and marwa stepped away from the window, letting the curtains fall to cover the opened side of the window.
"Nothing um. I was just teaching Afaan to have fun." Sudais said as a matter of fact.
"He pushed my into the heavy rain right after I saved him from it." Afaan grimaced as he was climbing the stairs. He didn't like the joke at all. Mostly because a lot of thing were in his heavy mind. The thought of marrying zaynerb was already doing damage to his brain and the event that took place the other night made it worst.
So many things that cannot be shared on the young Man's mind. Watching his brother's back had been his first priority that he had forgotten how to take care of himself. He slammed the door shut behind him and began to change his wet cloths.
In the living room, marwa scolded zaynerb for not using a veil.
"Mom please!" Zaynerb shot back at her mother.
"Zaynerb, your mother is right. You are wrong and you have to make amends. You should never go out without a shayla. What is wrong with you?" Aysha spoke in defense of her sister. Besides, the girl would soon be her daughter in-law so she needed to be straightened out.
"Yes, Aunty. I will." Zaynerb replied calmly. An affection she would never share with her own mother.
Marwa was disheartened after seeing her daughter express the love that was meant for her to her aunty. But she shook the negative thoughts out of her head.
Sudais was seated at the corner, watching the drama unfold. Even he couldn't figure out why zaynerb would not listen to her mother, and her mother was right. She's always wanted to guide zaynerb to the right path.
Soon sudais got up and headed to his brother's room, leaving the three women arguing in the living room.
"Okay, goodnight. I'm going to bed." Zaynerb announced as she walked towards the staircase.
She silently cursed, her mother embarrassed her in front of Sudais.
***