The Summer Snowflake

A Stricken Soul

Aqdas remained submerged within the pages of a Qur'an she had sneaked into her bag. Within the contents lay a bottle of water, a few granola bars and a couple of certain memories she knew would grant her strength.

It was dark and creepy; not a soul visible. The whole park was dead silent except for the crickets cricketing away. The feeling of being lonely and alone was causing her so much uncomfortableness that she decided to find some comfort within the book she cherished deeply.

The darkness brought back the pain that had settled in as a memory. The quiet intensified the whispers of her helpless screams. She shook away the thoughts with much difficulty and focused her mind on the book.

As her eyes skimmed through the verses and her mouth chanted simultaneously, a group of men flouncing down the pavement caught her eye. She instantly shot up straight and fixed her abaya and scarf that had loosened a little.

Her heart dropped to her stomach as she took occasional glimpses at them from under her lashes. With every second that passed by, they took a step closer to her.

Terrified of the incoming danger, her hold tightened over the hardcover Qur'an as she loudly began chanting certain verses.

"Hey you."

One of the guys tumbled down beside her, his eyes scrutinizing her.

"You're a Muslim?"

Another man from five of the men who were leaning over her questioned and she shakily nodded.

They all fell silent for a moment until the one beside her cleared his throat.

"What are you doing here?"

She was so frightened by now that every single word made her shiver in place.

"I....cou.... couldn't sleep."

The one beside her squinted his eyes.

"So you came here all alone?"

She gulped, her throat drying.

"Y...yes."

A man from the group standing over her sat down on his knees, staring hard at her.

"Do you realise you could be molested by gangs that roam around this area after drinking?"

She didn't utter a word. What choice did she have. All she could get prepared was a bag of her bare utilities and elope. She was five months ahead in her pregnancy and the once subtly bloated looking belly was now standing out evident than ever.

A few times she had attempted to pour out her heart to her mother whom she trusted the most. However, the result wasn't very fruitful. It all happened very much against what she had expected of her parents. Instead of giving her claims the benefit of the doubt, they were all sided with her sister's husband, her brother in law.

Reminiscing all those feelings made her feel choked and within a few seconds, she had burst into tears.

"Oh my gosh, why're you crying?"

The one beside her jumped to his feet, holding his hands out front in defense.

"We're not doing anything to you."

Someone else assured her yet her heart was too broken to be controlled any longer.

"Infact we're from a Islamic organisation that we've started to operate lately."

Her neck craned upwards to meet the eyes of the person who spoke up and received a warm smile in return.

"True." Said the one who had been sitting beside her. "Often times we've seen so many Muslim — or rather — just women who have been the victims of horrifying cases that it pricks us horribly. Majority of them happen during these hours and as a step towards building a protective society, we argued upon it and took it over ourselves to assist anyone in need."

He flashed her a smile and she nodded slowly. They didn't seem bad anymore with the smiles they were giving her. Infact, in a long time, she felt blessed.

She hadn't realised that her quietness was making things awkward for everyone until one man hummed a word.

"Miss?"

She glanced at him and brought her Qur'an closer to her chest.

"Yes?"

"You should leave now. It's really late. At this hour, you're at risk."

She smiled down upon the Qur'an that she was holding open over her chest.

"Thank you so very much brother. I'm safe and I will be by the will of God. Like how he has protected me until now."

~~~

Aryeh had his head down for the last fifteen minutes and he occasionally filled his mouth with a spoonful of the turkey pie.

Everyone got together for dinner as was the custom for two days of every week. Although he was aware of the way his brothers thought of this get together idea, he had been silent about it always.

His father returned for the weekend after a long time of driving around. Unlike how his brothers and his sister in law made fun of his work, he was very proud of him.

He smiled as his father offered him another chunk of meat and he earnestly accepted. He was a truck driver, the one that transports things from one place to another.

They discussed his new clients, how business was faring well and about a few topics he loved to enlighten them on. His brothers refrained from talking much and as his father glanced at their silent responses with a hurtful smile, he gave a short laugh and began to rant about his college and the studies.

Unlike the usual responses of being asked to shut up, Aryeh was highly encouraged to keep going on. He knew it was so that their turns would be forgotten about.

He didn't mind one bit.

After dinner, everyone enjoyed a thick slice of tiramisu over Aryeh's amusing jokes and sarcastic remarks. His father laughed so much with him that he ended up hurting his stomach by the end of it.

A few minutes later, they all got up and started cleaning away. His brothers assisted in gathering all of the dirty dishes, his sister in law went ahead with swiping the table clean while he and his father talked some more while scrubbing the dishes.

As soon as they were done with the chores, his brothers hastily bid farewell to their father and headed for bed while his sister in law plopped down on the couch, watching her favourite series.

Aryeh happily walked with his father to his room. He helped his father cuddle up with a blanket and a pillow before shutting the door and joining him excitedly.

"I'll never get tired of this room of yours, Ar." His father chirped, his eyes moving around the small cozy space.

Aryeh smiled before squeezing a pillow in his lap.

"Of course you wouldn't. Mom decorated it for me remember?"

His dad smiled sadly before nodding at him.

"No, it's because you never changed it unlike your brothers."

He smiled and patted his dad's hands.

"Anyhow, you tell me. How's work been?"

Aryeh quickly changed the subject, hoping to give his dad some peace and love.

"Like I said earlier it's been great."

"That's amazing."

They fell silent for a moment before his father patted the pillow to catch his attention.

"I can say you're hiding something."

Aryeh's face lit up. He just couldn't hide anything from his father. The other day, that woman he saw, she somehow never left his mind ever since then.

"Erm, I met this woman....."

His father insisted him to continue.

"I suppose she was like you, kind and gracious."

Aryeh shook his head and a small smile quirked on his lips.

"She was an angel in all senses."