The Perfect Union

Chapter 5 - What to do???

Aliyah's POV

Finally it was Thursday. It had been a very very long week at work and I was glad to be on my way home. The knowledge that I had a 3 day weekend ahead of me had my spirits so high nothing could faze me. Not the 45 minutes wait for the bus nor the stinky drunk guy who was sitting next to me when the bus had finally come. In my head I was going over my plan for the next 3 days. I was so happy I thought I could burst. I literally got off the bus and skipped all the way home.

As I reached home and opened the front door with my key I could hear my mum. By the sounds of it she was sitting in the front room and was in the middle of a phonecall.

'Thank you so much for accepting our daughter, really sister Razia you have made us so happy with the proposal I have no words. We couldnt ask for a more perfect boy for our Aliyah. But you know what kids are like these days, I will discuss this matter with my husband and Aliyah. Would it be ok to call you on sunday' i heard mum say 'Inshah Allah then sunday it is. Give my salaam to everyone and again thank you so much you have made me really happy. Allah Hafiz' and then she put the phone down.

By this point I had reached the door to the front room. I was trying to silently make my way to my room but my mum had spotted me.

'Aliyah come here. Guess who was on the phone. It was Razia. Alhamdulillah she finally phoned. Its abit far for them to come up again and she didnt really have any choice but to phone. Aliyah they loved you. They said they think you are perfect for their family. They wanted to officially ask for your hand in marriage' I could tell my mum was ecstatic.

Slowly but surely my happy bubble was bursting. It had been 10 days since Ahmed and his family had come down. Although the lack of communication had worried me initially I was relieved. I had just thought they werent as happy with me as we had thought and maybe they were taking time so the whole matter would just fizzle out. For the first time I was thinking the refusal isnt going to come from my side and therefore I wouldnt be responsible for my familys disappointment.

My mum was still talking, I heard something about Ali being ill and thats why Aunty Razia hadnt called before. It was only after she called my name like 3 times did I break out of my thoughts.

'Aliyah so what do you think?? Do you need more time to think? I've told Razia I will call her with an answer on Sunday' my mum told me.

'OK thats fine mum. Erm....can I just go get changed because Im really tired. And its nearly time for Maghrib. We will talk about this later. Is that okay?' I asked.

'Of course beta. You go get changed and I will get some food for you' my mum said getting up happily. She walked towards the kitchen, phone still in hand. I was pretty sure she was about to call my dad and tell him what had happened.

I slowly walked up to my room. My head buzzing with all the thoughts finally flowing through. Every little thing that I had refused to think about since last sunday just burst threw the wall I had built in my head. I was defeated, I didnt even have the energy to stop them.

I walked into my room. Like a robot I got changed and started putting my things away in their right place. I was so lost in all the thoughts it was only when I heard the Adhaan on my phone did I snap out of this trance. I quickly went to make wudhuu.

I came back to my room and layed out my prayer mat. I took a second to compose myself. Now was not the time to think about everything. Now was the time to forget everything and dedicate all my time to Allah SWT.

I finished my prayer and sat abit longer on the prayer mat. I prayed for Allah SWT to give me some guidance to help me make my decision. I was scared of what was going to happen so I asked for courage. I sat there abit longer praying every pray I knew. Just as I was putting my prayer mat away my phone began to ring.

I looked over at my phone it was Samaa. I looked at the name flashing on my phone and within that split second I knew exactly what I was going to do. The fact that Samaa had chosen this exact moment to call proved to me that Allah SWT was showing me a sign as to what I had to do next.

I picked up the call. 'Asalaam Alaikum' said Samaas beautiful happy bubbly voice.

'Walaikum Asalaam habibi. Isnt your voice a sound for sore ears. How did you know I was thinking about you' I asked her.

'Well thats what best friends are for habibi. Whats the point of being best friends if you can never be there when they need you. So how are you sweetheart. I am sorry I have called or text for the past week or so. Dont get me wrong I wanted to. Its just I knew what you must going through with the whole proposal thing. I was waiting for you to call me when you needed me. But I dont know why I just had this weird feeling all afternoon and I couldnt wait any longer' she said quickly.

'Oh habibi like you ever need a reason to call or text me. But seriously you dont understand how much I needed you just now and then you called' I said.' Alhamdulillah I am so happy to have a friend like you. You are such a blessing. Anyway forget me. How are you?? I asked.

'Me? I am perfectally fine. Just the usual heartburn, waddling around like a penguin. Oh and the fact that i have to pee like every 30 minutes because my baby thinks my bladder is one of those squeeze toys everything is fantastic' she laughed.

I silently prayed for Samaas health. She was 8 months pregnant and very uncomfortable at the moment. But still she was her same sarcastic self.

'Well I know its hard for you to come and see me so I was thinking I am on holiday tomorrow. Would you like me to come and see you' I asked.

'Are you crazy??? You dont even have to ask. Yes please come down. Its been so long since we have had a good catch up' she said.

'There was something else. I needed a favour..... Would Abdullah be able to arrange a meeting with Ahmed?? I dont want to keep it a secret from family or anything its just Im sure if a request a meeting hes family will say theres no need. His mum has already told my mum that they are not concerned about what happened with my engagement. Actually Aunty Razia has specifically said that Ahmed doesnt want to know at all. But I want to tell him. Regardless of him not wanting to know I have to speak to him one time before everything is made official. I owe this to him as well as owing it to myself' I said.

'Oh habibi, I told you before Ahmed is not that kind of guy. Abdullah has told me he really isnt concerned about the past. But I will do this for you because you are insisting so much. I will call Abdullah now and I will text you later with all the details ok. And Aliyah you need to forget about the past.'

' I will try S. Anyway Ive got to go. Make sure you text me ASAP. See you tomorrow Inshah Allah. Allah Hafiz.'

'Allah Hafiz' she replied and the line went dead.

I dreadingly went downstairs into the kitchen where I could hear my mum retelling the phone conversation to Haider, Dad and Rabs. They all stopped when Iwalked in.

'Asalaam Alaikum Abba. Im glad you are here. I wanted to ask is it ok if I go london tomorrow. Its the first day off I have had in ages and I really want to see Samaa' I told my dad as I walked over to give him my usual hug.

'Sure beta. You want to borrow the car to drive down or you want Haider to book you a train ticket' he asked.

'Train should be fine Abba. You know what london is like no place to park. And there was one other thing. I asked Samaa to get Abdullah to arrange a meeting with Ahmed. I know mum already asked Aunty Razia and she had said that there was no need, I dont think I can make my final decision without speaking to him once. I hope i havent done anything wrong' I asked my dad unsure of what he might think.

'I totally agree with you beta. I have enough trust and respect for you to understand why you want to do this. I am happy with you meeting Ahmed if thats what you really want' he said.

'Thank you so much Abba. Come on then nerd. Time to book me a train ticket' I said pulling Haider out of the room as Icould tell mum and dad wanted to talk alone.

As me, Haider and Rabs walked up the stairs talking about random nonsense I heard mum say....

'Are you sure thats the right thing to do. What if Ahmed changes his mind'

'If Ahmed changes his mind after hearing what Aliyah has to say, Im sorry Saraa no matter how much we like him and his family that will mean he is not the right boy for our daughter' dad replied.