Raees

He waited outside her house, trying his hardest to stop his heart from pounding out of his ribs. His mind was utterly boggled that Afrah was actually his wife and that she was waiting for him on the other end of that door. Over the past 6 months, they had prepared. He had to fix up his flat, they had gone to the lawyers, he had to buy her ring and jewellery and thousands of other things but all the while, it had been an abstract concept.

He knew he was getting married but he didn't truly know that he was getting married.

Now it was concrete and it was in front of him, staring him in the face and he was simply struck dumb.

He ran his hand over the smooth material of his black thobe, reaching forward hesitantly to push the doorbell. He could absolutely feel his hand shaking as he wiped it along his pockets, praying no one else would notice. He was nervous and excited and the only word to truly explain it was that he was simply buzzing with everything in his head. He couldn't wait to see her but he couldn't explain why he was terrified of taking a step through the door.

He heard the sound of heels clacking along the tiles before he heard the click of the lock in the door before him. His heartbeat was out of control and he struggled to simply push air into his lungs at that moment. It sounded as if the key was jammed, adding only to his anxious state. The lock finally clicked into place before the door was pulled open, slowly revealing Aunty Zubaydah.

"You know, all the times I opened the door for you, I never expected to open it for my new son-in-law." She said slyly, enjoying the way his eyes widened as if he was utterly scared of her. "I'm happy, Raees." Her eyes crinkled as he looked down, shy to actually look up at her for reasons unknown to him.

"Me too." He admitted, feeling his ears heat up even more.

"Good." She smiled, stepping away from the door to let him in. "I'm sure you want to see Afrah. She's been smiling non-stop since she heard the nikaah on the receiver."

"Ya?" he couldn't contain the absolute delight hearing those words.

"Uhm hmm." Aunty Zubaydah laughed, unable to hold back her amusement at the kid before her. She still couldn't fathom it. She had never, ever, ever expected Raees to be her son-in-law.

Never.

And that too, that he would marry Afrah. She didn't even know how he had come to fall for her but she couldn't deny that she was fond of him- much fonder than any other man Afrah could have chosen.

"You still remember the way to Yusuf's room?"

"Ya."

"Afrah's is the one next door." She watched him walk away, laughing as he forced himself to walk slowly and calmly as if he wasn't dying to charge up the stairs and break her door down.

Raees was unsure how he was still walking. He had to physically restrain himself from walking faster than the sedate pace he kept and he began to feel it in his muscles the closer he had gotten to her door. He cracked a smile at the thousands of signs pointing him in the right direction and he could only assume they were the work of the twins, considering they had spelt the word Bride wrong. The hallway was strewn with arrows and placards reading ridiculous things like "Hell, this way!" or even better- "You're going the wrong way if you fear for your life."

His personal favourite, however, was, "Go back, Moron!" but like the moron he was, he kept going forward until he got to her door.

He stopped, closing his eyes as he breathed slowly, trying his best to calm the racing thoughts in his mind.

Finally, when all went quiet, he knocked on the door and waited...

"Come in."

Afrah

She watched the doorknob turn as if in slow-motion, feeling her neck moisten with sweat. She looked down at her dress, suddenly scared that it had been too open. It was something that she had bought only for him to see. Not even her father or brother had seen her wearing it considering how much of her it exposed.

It was beautiful and long and the moment she saw it, she had fallen in love with the rich silver-gray material that seemed to glitter as if it was made of moonlight. It fell to the floor in deep waves from her waist, covering her silver heels. Small delicate crystals had been sewn into the rich material, starting from the deep scooped neckline till the very bottom. The dress, however, was fitted to her body as if it were a second skin and had exposed her shoulders, arms and had given him the barest hint of her cleavage beneath.

She tried pulling the sheer cape over her shoulders as if it would cover her body but she only succeeded in crinkling the light material. She looked at herself in the mirror, wondering how on earth she could be the same person she was that morning. She unclenched her fists, slowly letting go of the material, watching as it moved back into place washing over her shoulders. She stopped tapping her feet and forced herself to breathe just a little slower...

She wanted his first glimpse of her to look just like this.

Not nervous or anxious or stressed out of her mind

But like this.

Beautiful.

She stood straight, holding her hands behind her back as the door opened and he stepped inside...

Raees

He couldn't take his eyes off her.

She was absolutely breathtaking. He fell in love with her as soon as he saw and every doubt, worry and nagging whisper had fled his mind as he set eyes on her.

"You look so beautiful." His voice was one he had never heard leave his lips. He was in awe of the sight before him and he couldn't stop looking at her, even as she shied away from his gaze.

"Thank you." Her voice was soft and he watched her hands move to grab hold of her cape before she remembered something, and dropped her arms to her side once more. He took a step forward, smiling as she forced herself to stay in place, waiting for him to reach her. It seemed as if the room was too large and his steps too small as it took him an eternity to reach her. He watched her shoulder rise and drop with her heavy breaths that only seemed to deepen more and more with every step he took. Her body was charged and everything in her told her to move a step back yet she stayed just as she was... waiting. Just waiting for him to find her and as he came closer and closer...

She found that she couldn't look at him anymore.

She was shy of him and shy of the utter adoration she saw in his eyes.

His shoes were beneath her gaze before she felt his finger at her chin, lifting it up gently so she would look at him.

"Hi Afrah."he smiled, and in that soft, sweet, gentle smile, she had found his love for her shining through as if to lighten the path before him.

"Hi Raees." She smiled back, self-conscious of her own smile. She tried to keep her lips closed, worried that she would smile too widely.

"I'm happy that we're married." He smiled as he heard a soft gasp escape her mouth at his words.

"I'm really happy, too."

"Sure?"

"Uhm hmm." She wondered why on earth her make-up artist even bothered with blush at all. She had more than enough colour in her cheeks and she was sure the blush made it look even worse.

"I didn't greet you properly, did I?"

She shook her head, trying desperately hard to say something other than monosyllabic words.

"Assalaam-u-alaykum, Afrah."

"Wa-alaykum-salam Raees."

"Howsit going?" he asked kindly.

"Not so good." She replied, mentally groaning at her own reply.

"Why?" his eyes showed his surprise to her reply.

"I'm so nervous that I don't know what to say."

"What's making you nervous?" he teased, knowing full well that it was his closeness that was causing the slight tremors within her skin.

"You." She replied, truthfully.

"Is it a good thing or a bad thing?" she stepped back as she found the space between them seemed to get smaller and smaller.

"Not very good. I don't seem to make you nervous." She smiled, trying to pretend that she wasn't trying to jump out of her own skin just to get away from what she was feeling.

"You're actually making me feel very nervous." He admitted, bending down just a little so that he could look into her eyes that had turned downcast once more.

"Ya?" she looked up, reeling back when she realised how close their faces were.

"Ya. Can't you hear my heart? I swear it's beating right out of my chest."

She shook her head, denying that he looked even the slightest bit nervous.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"How sure?" the material of her dress brushed lightly against his legs as he stepped closer to her.

"Very sure." She could feel him stepping even closer to her, but this time she wouldn't move away, not when she could feel his fingers brush lightly against her waist.

Nor when she felt his arm brush over her skin as he held her, pulling her gently towards him. Her palm rested softly against his chest as he held his arms around her, holding her to him as he hugged her for the first time as her husband. He could feel her soft breaths against his neck, and feel her chest brush lightly against his own as she would her right arm around his neck, holding herself to him. Her palm still lay gently over his chest, feeling every beat as it quickened beneath her touch.

"That was a very smooth move." She teased, her words tickling his shoulder as she spoke into the soft material of his thobe.

"I know." He smiled, feeling her hand close over the material against his chest.

"I'm happy to know I make you nervous."

"Good."

He smiled, stepping back just a little, marvelling at how flushed she had become. "So-" they were interrupted by a gentle knock on the door, beckoning them down for the lunch that had been prepared just for them.

Afrah

Everyone had been confined to the kitchen. No one in the house was allowed to see them as they came down the steps and made their way into the dining room where the table had been set, just for them. Her mother had forbid anyone in the house to look at Afrah, knowing how shy she would have been had they seen her in that dress, much to Afrah's delight.

"So what's for lunch?" Raees asked, once Afrah slid the large wooden doors closed.

"It's a bit different for a Friday lunch but we wanted to go light." She smiled, utterly delighted when he held her chair out for her, pushing her in gently before he took the seat across from her. "We didn't want to go for anything heavy before tonight." She blushed when she realised her words could have been misconstrued as something else entirely.

"Sounds good." He watched as she lifted the lids off of all the platters, smiling when he saw that it was a combination of their favourite snacks before him. She shrugged hopelessly, hoping he didn't mind that there was only a pot of tea before him surrounded by the most unhealthiest junk possible. The table was filled with scones and fresh cream, chocolate and syruped doughnuts, a tray of rolled baklava, koeksisters, a cheese platter, tiny, little toasted cheese sandwiches, springrolls, pies. There was also mini cheesecakes, a plate of custard slice cut into the shapes of hearts and flowers and milktart held in tiny, foil cups.

"My mum remembered that her milktart was always your favourite."

"You mum is amazing." He replied, befuddled at the amount of food before them.

"Yeah.. we might have gone a bit overboard with the food." She suddenly felt embarrassed at just how much of food there was and even worse that it was just the two of them who would be eating.

"I'm not complaining." He said, hoping to ease her embarrassment at the situation. He stood up, reaching for the teapot before pouring them both a cup. "Sugar?"

"No thanks." She said, lifting her spooning carefully before stirring her tea uselessly.

"You don't drink sugar?" he asked, surprised considering Yusuf had always loaded his tea with almost 5 spoons.

"No. I'm somewhat of an anomaly to the family when it comes to tea-drinking."

"Yeah, I see that." He said, spooning half a spoonful of sugar into his own cup. "So, am I eating by myself?" he smiled, watching her reach for a rather huge piece of baklava before he reached for his own.

And as the minutes ticked slowly by and the light had faded to a dark orange outside the window, the young couple had forgotten that time and space and everything else in between had ever existed as all that was, was just the other.

Just them, cocooned in everything beautiful that ever was and they found that this moment had been one that would be branded within the inner recesses of their hearts, never to fade or wither or ever disappear.

Radiant and beautiful

Always.