Malak ushered us onto the van. She sat down for a millisecond, then quickly got off again.

"MALAK!" I called after her. Where the hell was she going? Abdul-Karim started shivering in my arms from the gentle yet frozen breeze coming through the open doors. I cuddled him closer. Rasheed reached over the seat and gave me his jacket to cover my little angel. I smiled at him in thanks. Maybe he hadn't changed after all.

The door to the van suddenly shut and Malak was no where in sight.

"Sir!" I yelled at the driver, "Please! Stop!" Rasheed took Abdul-Karim and I ran towards the driver. "My sister... She's not on the van! We can't leave her here!"

"Ma'am, please sit down. We double checked the entire safe house. No one was left behind. She's probably in another van." I took a deep breath and headed back to my seat. The driver is probably right... InshaAllah... I looked out side my window only to see nothing. The safe house had been gassed. My best guess would be tear gas. Luckily, the van was completely shut, but my eyes still stung a little. I sat straight, trying my best to find the qibla (direction of Makkah). I immediately started my Isha prayer and I just kept praying and praying. I don't know for how long. All I know was it was just me and Allah and I was begging the Greatest to bring Malak home and to help us win this war.

I took Abdul-Karim so that Rasheed could pray his own prayers. I laid Abdul-Karim's sleeping head on my lap and closed my eyes, letting just one tear escape as I gave in to exhaustion.

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The sunlight penetrated my eyelids as I slowly woke. I looked out the window. From the position of the sun I could tell it was about six o'clock. I admired the beauty of sunrise, putting my complete trust in Allah. As long as he is with us, everything was going to be okay. The van was slowing down by a river. We must be low on fuel. After the Middle East went up in flames, people finally perfected the hydro-powered car. I assume this is one of those cars. Abdul-Karim sat up and planted a kiss on my forehead. I tickled him, making him wiggle off the seat and run behind Rasheed. He was giggling uncontrollably. Rasheed turned around and picked him up, spinning him around. Abdul-Karim kissed him on the cheek. The little boy ran towards me and grabbed my hand, bringing me closer to Rasheed. 

"I wuv you bof... Why are you not married yet?!"  a small smile played on my lips and Rasheed laughed quietly as Abdul-Karim gave us a questioning look. Rasheed gazed at me for a moment. I saw the same questoin sitting patiently in his eyes. Malak had told me to give him a week. It had only been four days. But as I looked at him, my heart fluttered. I knew for sure that this was the same man I had fallen in love with so long ago. I was only vaguely aware of the audience that had gathered around us. An elderly woman nudged me in the side and winked.

"If you don't take this eye candy too I might just consider him for myself!" She laughed the way only old people can, so full of life. Man, I love old people. "Go on! The day is young and so are you! I think we all need a little entertainment and happy endings in this gloomy world! Am I right or am I right?"

"Right!" The rest of the passengers on our van pumped their fists and nodded in agreement.  Everyone stared at me expectantly. 

"But... There's no sheikh!" I blurted out. A relatively young man with a small blonde beard stepped forward. 

"I can marry you two!" he said excitedly. 

"Well what about witnesses?"

"We'll do it." Four young men stepped forward.

Three woman stepped forward with big smiles on their faces. They couldn't be a year older than 20. "Can we dress you up?" I blushed at all the attention and gave Rasheed a small glance.

"Let's do something crazy!" I told him.

"Let's get married," he smiled widely. 

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I was surrounded by excited girls whom had sown together a beautiful dress with some sheets and an old white dress. Under the circumstances, it was probably the most elegant wedding since the war started. A young girl pulled my hair every which way, styling it in a beautiful array of braids. Another woman was carefully putting the rest of her make up stash on my face. The generosity of these people was unbelievable. I guess it's good to know that there are still soft hearts in the world. I slowly stepped into the carefully tailored dress. Another girl wrapped a sequined hijab around my head. I looked at my reflection in a small makeup mirror and gasped.

Whoever that was in the mirror, there was no way it was me! I looked breathtaking! The dress rippled down in layers to the floor and there were flowers sprinkled across the outfit. I hugged each and every woman that helped make this miracle happen when miracles were almost as scarce as food. The only thing that could make this day better... Is if my family were here. Malak. I wish she was here right now. And that's when the nerves started. One tear trickled down my cheek as I began pondering whether I was making the right choice. But... These people, these human beings who have suffered so much just wanted one glimmer of happiness. They just wanted something to celebrate. And maybe I wanted some arms to snuggle in and a husband to love. I wiped the tear away and thanked the girls for the billionth time. They ushered me out, ecstatic for my big day. MY big day. Butterflies ruffled in my stomach. This is it! I thought. And I was ready.

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While I had gotten ready, the sheikh and the witnesses had drawn up a marriage contract on the back of an old menu from the fish shop. I smiled. It was perfect for our situation. Rasheed and I sat across from each other smiling to ourselves, imagining our future life together. I was far beyond excited. The sheikh decided to keep it short. He started in the name of Allah and immediately asked me a question three times.

"Do you, Zahra Rahman, wish, without being forced, to marry Rasheed Zakarya?"

"Yes."

He asked again.

"Yes."

He asked for the last time.

"Yes." My smile had grown with every yes. I was afraid my mouth might outgrow my face. I looked into the small crowd only to see people getting teary-eyed. It was beyond adorable. The sheikh asked Rasheed the same question and he said 'yes' all three times. 

Abdul-Karim came forward with a small teddy bear that had a ring on each hand. One for me and one for Rasheed. A kind widow had supplied them for us. My eyes filled with tears as the little angel came forward. I was just so grateful to these people who had done so much for a stranger.  

Rasheed grabbed my hand and gently slid the ring on to my hand. The small, blue, heart-shaped crystal glistened in the sun's rays. It was perfect. I in return slipped a silver ring onto Rasheed's finger. Before we could do anything, an elderly man from the crowd yelled.

"Well go on! Kiss the bride!" Rasheed chuckled and put his hand on my cheek, pulling me in for a gentle kiss. He then went on to kiss my forehead and then my nose. I giggled like a little girl.

Then someone in the crowd started to sing and drummed on the side of our van. Today could not have been more perfect. We danced together, humming along to Maher Zain's MashaAllah. For the first time in a long time, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. It was beautiful.

"Alright you party animals," our driver laughed. "It's time to get back in so we can get you to your safe house!" People climbed back into the van, ready to face the world again. Rasheed and I sat in the back of the van. I nestled into his arms and laid Abdul-Karim across our laps. He was exhausted and fell asleep a few minutes later. I smiled at all my blessings and thanked Allah for everything he had given me. Rasheed planted a kiss on my head. 

"My wife, Zahra Zakarya. I like the sound of that, " he smiled. 

"I like the sound of that too!" I giggled. I couldn't help but notice how perfectly we fit together. And with that thought we fell asleep. 

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"Alright everyone! We're here! Rise and shine!" After about five minutes of eye rubbing, yawning, and stretching someone finally managed to ask, "So where are we?"

The driver smiled. "Welcome to California everybody!"