Six years later

   
🎵People say we shouldn't be together
We're too young to know about forever. But I say they don't know what they're talk-talk-talkin' about (talk-talk-talkin' about). 'Cause this love is only getting stronger...🎵
     I rushed from the washing basin towards my phone which was lying, buzzing on the dressing mirror. From the sound of the ringtone to the timing, I knew who it was. So without hesitation I picked up the call.
  "Are you here already?", I asked a little breathless from my brief run.
  "Yes", was all he said but I could still sense the vibration in his deep voice.
  Checking out my appearance in the mirror once again for the sixteenth time, I mentioned "Okay. I'll be out in a minute."
   I picked up my purple veil which matched perfectly with my multicoloured atamfa. I got the veil from Umma after pestering her about it.
  I went to tell Umma I was going out. I met her at the kitchen. "Umma I'm heading out".
  "Where to?", she asked without glancing at me as she was busy with some ceramic plates. It seemed like she was examining them or eliminating spoilt ones like she normally do from time to time.
  "Zuly's place"
  "Zulaiha" she emphasized on the correction. She never liked it when we call each other with nicknames.
  "Zulaiha." I repeated, biting my inner cheeks.
  When she finally looked up, she commented on my dressing. "Having kids doesn't mean I shouldn't have my own cloths. Little by little you guys are hijacking my wardrobe."
  I laughed a little before saying, "Umma it's not like that. You gave me this one and you have lots of them."
  "They've reduced in number recently. I don't know what to do with you guys. Just go" She waved her hand towards the kitchen exit.

   Subconsciously, I was walking faster than usual. It was due to the excitement that was distributed among my nerves. Though we've been together for over a year, meeting him never seize to excite me. At first I was very nervous but later on I got over it.
   I reached the familiar black Toyota Camry 2013, which was parked few houses away from Zulaiha's house. I opened the door to the passenger's seat and slid in. I never fail to leave the door open. "Sorry I kept you waiting" I said trying to sound as apologetic as I can be.
   "It's okay" he said, being the gentleman he is. He didn't seem to care as he glanced at me. His eyes held strong emotions that I could never reciprocate. "So how have you been?"
  We exchanged pleasantries and let silence fall between us. He broke the silence by teasing me. "I brought a box of tissue for you"
   "What for?" I turned to him, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
    "You need to wipe those tears you've been shedding last night." He chuckled deeply, vibrating his sit a bit.
   I mocked distress. "Please let it go. I couldn't help it. Besides I couldn't cry properly immediately after the movie because Yaya wouldn't let me. So, I ended up crying my heart out minutes later. That was when you happened to call me." I finished it, rolling my eyes.
  He caught me crying the night before because of the touching movie I watched. I still don't know why I picked his call in that condition.
   He cleared his throat. "I'll let you cry in my arms if you become mine." I sounded very serious I hastily raised my head to read his expression.
   His hands were on his labs and he was looking at them. It broke some part of my heart to see him like that, so I tried cheering him up. "Come on! Don't be like that. I'm yours. You're the only guy I'm seeing currently."
   "You know that's not what I mean". He seemed frustrated. "Any guy can come. I just want to secure my position in your heart. I want to at least know you're mine. Nafisa, let me send people to talk to your family. I want them to know I'm here and willing to be with you. Why won't you let me? What's wrong?"
   We've been arguing about me letting him send his family to talk about our marriage with my family for almost a year. We've been seeing each other for almost two years then. I kept refusing, feeling like it was not yet time, like something huge was missing and I had no idea what it was.
   At that instance, my phone started ringing. I hastily picked the call, not bothering to check who the caller who helped me avoid the question was. "Where are you? Is he still around?". Knowing Zulaiha for years, I knew she wanted to meet up with us, so I described the spot we were at and she arrived several minutes later.
   They exchanged greetings and ganged up on me, teasing me. His first serious speech made me regret letting her come along. "Your friend is giving me troubles Zulaiha."
  "Really? What's wrong?" She said it while resting on the same seat I was sitting, making me enter further into his car.
   "She won't let me send my people over to talk about us and I still don't know why. She won't even give me a reason. I don't know if she wants me to propose with a Ferrari or Porsche." He said the last part, trying to lighten up the mood in the car.
   "Exactly" Laughing sheepishly, she added, "You now my girl and shiny stuff. Didn't she tell you she wants all that?"
   He shook his head vertically and said, " Now that you mentioned, you reminded me. She did tell me."
  "Kaii! Banda karya fa. (Don't lie)" I said, trying to defend myself.
   "Do I look like I have the courage to lie? Are you going to deny it?" He looked like he was playfully threatening me. I laughed at that. I've always liked that side of him.
  "Abeg. Leave her alone." Zulaiha popped in again. "How can you say Sadiq is lying? It doesn't even sound right to say it."
  I dramatically rolled my eyes. She was always on his side when it came to things like that.
"Shut up", I told her.
Yes, Sadiq. Do remember that guy I met one morning when Mama sent me on an errand to Madam Joy's house?Yes that gentleman. Well, I met him again in my computer school and we got along after that. See where it led us to.

After talking for an hour or so, we decided to let him go. Zulaiha left first giving a lame excuse.
Before we parted he pleaded with me, "Nafisa, please reconsider your decision. I really want to send my people. Think about it, will you?"
I simply nodded.
"Or do you have someone else?" I lightly shook my head in disagreement. "No? I don't think you do, right?" I barely nodded. Do I? I don't know. I'm so confused it's nerve wrecking to think about it.

We parted on that. He wanted to see me off so he drove to two blocks away from my house and waited for me to walk to my house. I walked slowly, turning at times to glance at him from the distance. He waved when I turn. He was such a sweet guy.
I was few feet away from our gate when I turned to see if he was gone and he was, when I crashed into the hardest thing I've ever felt in my life. It was unlike wall or stone hard but body kind of hard. I lost my balance and fell to my back, elbows supporting me.
"Subhanallah!" I heard a voice which at first I thought was coming from the heavens. I looked up to see an unfamiliar horse standing and a man, young man, dropped from its saddle to squat in from of me. I've been seeing men on horses around my area recently which was weird due to the fact that it was an area where things like that don't happen, but I didn't recognize this beautiful brown horse. It's obvious I had not seen it before because I wouldn't forget its mane so easily. I couldn't make up who the person was because of the glare effect the sun was creating. He spoke again, "Are you okay? I'm really sorry. You were not looking at where you were going and I couldn't stop you.... gosh... I should've at least..."
Wait! I know that voice. It's just deeper than the usual tone I know. Oh my... My heart unexpectedly skipped a beat, forcing me to draw a breath. "Mujahid?" It was more like a question than a statement even though I was sure it was him. I needed confirmation. I could make the outline of his facial features and smell his familiar cologne.
"Yes Nafisa." He let out a breath that felt like he had been holding it for six years. The moment he answered, I started shaking furiously. I think I'm going to be up sick. Gumi anio?(it's not a dream?) "Are you alright? Can you get up?"
I couldn't utter a word, I just blankly stared at him. Adjusting my sitting position, I could see his face clearly. Those thick eyebrows couldn't have gotten any more perfect. His eyes seemed to be deepened in hazel brown covered with hint of maturity. His chin was dusted with what seemed to be a stubble. He grew a little bit muscular, taller and more handsome, obviously. It was obvious his age did good to his looks.
He was silent too, observing me closely. I started feeling dizzy. My thoughts started clouding up on me, making me feel claustrophobic. I quickly regained my senses, then forced myself to get up. He followed a suit. I had too much to tell him, nothing came out of my lips. I headed to the door.
He quickly blocked my way. If I hadn't stopped immediately, I would've bumped into him. "Don't leave like this. At least say something." His eyes were pleading for more than his words could express.
"Something like what?" I said, placing a hand on my hip, ready to lash on him.
"I don't know." He looked away and suddenly looked back, " maybe an explanation of what happened to waiting for me?" He pointed towards the direction where Sadiq's car was parked minutes ago.
"What?" I said with annoyance obvious in my voice. "I don't owe you an explanation about that."
"Yes you do." He said, stubbornly crossing his arms over his chest, blocking my way further. He appeared just for minutes but we were already fighting.
   I glared at him. "It's none of your business"
   "Oh yes it is". He gave a low chuckle, indicating he might be loosing it also. "What happened to waiting for me?" He asked again, more serious this time.
   I sighed, calming myself down. "I never promised to wait for you."
   His brows merged at the point his pointed nose started in confusion. "What?"
FlashBack to Six years back
"Will you wait for me, Nafisa?"
My heart was beating at a very high rate by the time he finished talking. But then, when I looked into his eyes, I felt remove for him, So he has always wanted to make a move but couldn't. His eyes held so much emotions I started to share them too. For that instance I wanted to look into his eyes for the rest of my life and see those orbs in that manner. It screams so much about him that I want to hear only from him. My sweety palms whipped themselves on my skirt, making me swallow hard. I was a goner.
   But I didn't want to admit it so easily. "God" I was tensed with the situation. The way he was demanding too much and I had no control over myself with him like that. I squatted down and stood up again. "This is so sudden."
He all but peered at me, making the situation more difficult than it seems. He waited patiently watching me throw a mini tantrum.
"You know this is not an easy decision, right?" I finally asked after I got tired of going rounds. I was this nervous mess because the situation was new to me and at the same time too overwhelming. I couldn't wait to tell Zulaiha what happened. "But, I'll see about it...I'll try."
He let out a deep breath. He was equally tensed. He clapped his hands together, placing them on his lips. "Thank you".
I smiled in return. At that point I made my mind to wait for him even though I didn't promise him. But, I gave up after two years of not hearing from him.
End of Flashback
"You'll see about it? You'll try?", he repeated in a questioning manner. I reminded him about what happened that day.
"That's what I said." To my defense, I added "I never promise to wait."
    "What?" He was so confused he stared at open space, probably thinking it through. "You didn't wait for me?" It was like he couldn't believe it. I didn't know what was so hard about believing it. He left a girl for six good years without a single word and he expected her to wait for him? That was unfair.
   "Yes."  I stressed it, frustrated of telling him over and over again.
   His breaths turned unsteady, he seemed week. "So I did everything for nothing?"
  I had no idea what he meant by that but I nodded. He wore an expression which portrayed hurt and confusion. It reminded me of four years back when I didn't hear from him. I felt exactly the same, or even more. I enjoyed watching him in that situation.
   It was obvious he had his hopes high, that if he came back to me I'd accepted him without hesitation. He was wrong, I might never trust him again. I smirked, feeling like the smartest young lady alive.
   I didn't give him any chance for excuses on why he didn't contact me, I turned to enter the house.
   "Did you not get my excuses for not contacting you frequently or did you just loose interest in me? Or where you never interested?" He demanded answers. I started doubting how smart he was.
  I turned to answer him. "First and second."
   "What do you mean?" he asked stepping forward.
   I sighed, frustrated at why he didn't get it. "I lost interest in you when I never heard from you." For the first time in our conversation, I was sincere.
   "What?" He barked in an unbelievable way. "Never heard from me? Don't you consider those letters mean of reaching to you? Is that why you never replied them?"
    My eyebrows drew themselves to touch each other. "What letters?" I started searching my memory for letters associated to him.
   "The letters I sent to you now." His voice was strained, deeply strained.
   I scrutinized my eyes. "I didn't get a single letter. I didn't even hear a single word about you. Not even from people. It was like you apparated to Mars or something." I rolled my eyes at the end of my words.
   "Then what happened to them?" He asked mysteriously.
   Brushing off his question, I moved forward towards the entrance of the house.
  He spoke up again." Look," he gestured with his right hand, "I sent a lot of letters to you. I never missed this mail they sent here. Every month for six years. It was supposed to reach you after two weeks but I don't know what happened to them. I'm really sorry I couldn't contact you by other means."
   "Why?" This question had been pondering in my head for six good years.
   I didn't miss how he stiffened. "I can't tell you why. Maybe later on but not now. Trust me, it was the best thing to do." He smiled assuring me it was okay.
   It was sickening to hear him say that every time I asked him.
  It was obvious he didn't want to further talk about it because after he noticed how annoyed I was he kept shut. Then later on said, "So?"
  "So!" I repeated, crossing my arms over my chest and slating my hip.
   "Will I get a chance?" He mentioned in a straightforward manner.
   With the same manner I said, "No". I made an attempt to escape to my home again.
  "Come on. Don't be like that to him."
  I faced him, "Who?"
  "This guy." He pointed to the horse. "He came to see you because last time Ninja came he got really jealous. He is Jade by the way".
   "Why Jade?" I asked,eyeing the horse closely.
   "His eyes are the colour of Jade." He smiled proudly as he said it. It reminded me of the portrait of him in traditional attire kept at the school reception. I had a hard time facing it every time I went there.
  "Whatever." I muttered and went in. This time he did not stop me. Instead, I heard him exchanging greetings with Khalifa. I never cared to turn around and see what was going on.
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And it's a wrap💃🏽💃🏽. Vote of thanks to azee_s 💕. Here's the update.
I've forgotten the Karin Magana thingy😹😹. I have a collection of them. I'll use them starting from next chapter in sha Allah.
Also, there's another picture of Mujahid up there. This is what he looks like in Kayan Hawa. In case you spot him by any chance someday 🌚.
Vote, comment pleeeeaaassseee and share
I love you guys💘.
Bye