Tanim closed the diary. Reading the last chapter was too much for him. Seeing how happy his sister have been even a year and half ago, reminded him that she is probably not so cheered up like the girl in the journal at the moment. Maybe she is stuck somewhere, starving, or even worse, maybe she is being tortured. He felt like bursting into tears, but he was never the crying type. He did feel his eyes tingle with something though.

Tanim grabbed his headphones from his bedside drawer and plugged it on his phone. He put on the Audio of the surah* he was on, tucked the earbuds in his ears and closed his eyes. As the surah started with Basmalah*, he started to calm down and feel better. The beautiful recitation of the verses made him forget all his worries and soon he was listening to the next Surah and the one after.

**********

Soon the week came to and end. On Friday, Tanim was having lunch in the Canteen after he prayed Dhuhr in the nearby Masjid. He was very grateful that there was a mosque near his workplace, otherwise he would've needed to find a place to pray in the Office building. And given that most of the rooms are occupied nearly all the time, that would've been very hard.

The canteen was big enough to fit all the employees in the organisation. But as lunch breaks are taken in different shifts, the canteen wasn't usually that packed. Tanim ate and awaited Raihan who went to bring his food. The roasted potato smelled delicious as he cut a piece with his knife. The food in the canteen was always good, but roasted potato with vegetable sausage  and gravy was his favorite, and this is something he eagerly waited for every Friday.

Raihan put his tray on the table before he sat on the chair in front of Tanim across the table.

"Why did you get pasta on 'Roast potato day'?" Tanim asked.

"Not everyone is crazy about some burned potatoes, you know." Raihan replied casually. He started eating the raw vegetables on the side first.

"It's not burned, they are meant to be like that! At least they taste nice. How can you eat them like that?" Tanim scrunched his face, pointing at the veggies.

"Ever heard of a salad? It's called healthy eating."

"yeah? Says the person who finishes 3 bars of chocolate at one go."

"That was ages ago. Would you ever let that go?"

"I don't see why I should."

Raihan rolled his eyes and changed the subject. "Are you ready for tomorrow's game?"

"What is there to get ready?"

"Like making sure that you got clean cloths and trainers? And how long has it been since you played Tennis? You better not make me disqualified on the first round."

"You should be concerned about your own sports skill." Tanim said as he he chewed on his food, and then he looked thoughtfully  before he decided to agree with Raihan, "But it's true that I haven't really played since the tournament last year in the University. We went to the final that time, so don't worry about it, In sha Allah we will be okay."

"I see that we are going to have problems with over confidence. That attitude's going to make you lose, Tanim. you know what happens when you don't touch a racket for a year? You might struggle to even serve straight tomorrow."

"Oh come on. But if you are that worried, I have an idea. How about we go practicing after work?"

Raihan's face lit up. "Great! Where?"

"Umm... let me see... I think there is Tennis court in the Ravens Park. It's 10 minutes walk from my apartment." Tanim suggested.

"Okay. I would get changed in my house and then meet you there."

"No, that would delay us. Come to my house, you can borrow my gears, I have some extra. You can even park your car there and then we can walk from there. Oh, and you can give me lift too." Tanim smiled broadly. Normally, they couldn't have journey to home together because their route to home was opposite to each other.

"About time you bought your own car." Raihan said, rolling his eyes.

"You know I don't like driving." Tanim answered while cutting the last piece of roasted potato with this knife and fork.

"Then you better marry someone who does, so she can give you a lift to the office and home."

"So basically, what you're suggesting is that, I should marry so that my wife can babysit me? Is that what you're planning on as well?" Tanim asked raising a brow.

"I don't need babysitting."

"Neither do I." Tanim sounded irritated, which made Raihan chuckle.

"Alright, we shall see. Now I shall go back to work, I got 5 minutes left of my break. Meet you in the parking area at 5:10?" Raihan asked as he started to gather his plate and stood up.

"In sha Allah. My lunch is nearly ending as well. Let's go together." Tanim also got up. They put the litter in the bin and the dishes on the trolley.

*****

By the time it was 4:50 pm, Tanim has finished all his tasks and was free to go. Still he wanted to wait a few more minutes so that it's closer to 5'o clock. Having nothing to do, he looked at his colleague to see what he is doing.

Paul was scrutinising something on the computer screen, leaning forward with his elbow propped up on the table. His glasses looked on the verge of falling yet they somehow stayed there on the tip of his nose.

"Doing something important?" Tanim asked curiously.

"These figures doesn't seem to add up. I just updated them this morning yet they look different."

"Are you the only one with access to that log? Maybe someone else made a change."

"The only other person is David," Paul replied, still frawning at the screen. David was the team leader in their department. "But he doesn't touch my work without informing me first."

"Have you tried asking him?" Tanim suggested.

Paul seemed to think for a moment and then he leaned back on the chair. "Good idea." He admitted.

Tanim smiled and got up to get his jacket while Paul called David and waited for him to pick up. His jacket was hanging from one of the hooks on the hangers in  locker room across the corridor. There was few people left now. It was hard to imagine how packed it normally becomes in the morning. Gradually throughout the day, the crowd thins out, and then it becomes so quiet that every footsteps makes loud noise.

Paul was finished with the call as Tanim came back. " Anything? " He Asked.

"Apparantly that new staff is going to have access too, so he can assist me." Paul replied with a grimace, resigning back at his chair.

Tanim chuckled. "Seriousely mate, you just wasted about half an hour of your life while all you had to do was make a call."

"Well it's not my fault anyone gets access to my tasks, and I don't even get informed." He rolled his eyes, "As if I asked for help!"

"Chill, a little help doesn't hurt. Maybe the new guy - what was his name again? Maybe he is in training and supposed to learn working with you."  Tanim looked back at the clock as Paul nodded absently. "Aren't you going to head out?" Tanim asked. They both finish work at the same time.

"Yeah, let me get my coat." He shut down his computer and went to get his coat. Soon they were out of the building and walking towards the car park.

"Isn't the Bus stop on the other exit?" Paul asked knowing that Tanim doesn't have a car.

"I am going with Raihan today. We are supposed to practice Tennis this evening. That guy is so serious about the tournament."

"Well, that sounds like a fun plan"

"Why don't you join us?"

"Well right now I got pick up my niece from an art club and then babysit her until her parents come home. They're both working late today."

"Well, come later when you are free then. It would be nice to have an extra person." they approached Paul's car now.

"Let's see. I'll let you know. Thanks." Paul smiled and bid goodbye as he unlocked his car.

After bidding him goodbye, Tanim looked around the parking area and smiled when his eyes fell on Raihan standing next to his car, waving his hands enthusiastically. He headed towards the car with his head full of thoughts, one of them being The Diary. It looked like he had a busy weekend ahead, so he wondered when will he get to read some more of Aleena's thoughts.

=================
*Surah: Chapters in The Qur'an.
*Basmalah - reciting BismillahirRahmaanirRaheem (In the name of Allāh, The most Gracious, The most Merciful)

==================
Hi there,

I wasn't so keen on publishing just this much, wanted to write some more, but the way I was going, I wonder when that would've happened. I was getting annoyed at myself for not updating. But as it happens, I didn't really feel like write, so I thought I would give you whatever I had written for the time being. Enjoy, although it's very short.

Assalamu'alaikum.