Chapter Three

Amal slowly walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. For a couple of seconds, she stood there, her hands gripping the handle as her mind echoed with everything her parents had said to her. Inhaling slowly, Amal made her way back to her room- falling down on the bed with a sigh.

Her brain was still trying to register everything that had happened and Amal felt as if it had all been a dream. A part of her even hoped that it had been.

A marriage proposal- even the thought of it sent a tremor down her spine. Usually, whenever her marriage was mentioned at home, it was done in a joking manner, mainly by Usman. Her parents had mentioned it a couple of times as well but Amal knew that they hadn't been thinking about it too seriously yet. Neither had she and now... Amal shook her head, burying her face in the pillow.

When she had stared at her parents dumbly back in their room, they had revealed that it was Mrs. Ahmed who had brought up this topic to them. 

Mrs. Ahmed of all people! 

Of course, Amal had nothing against her good-natured neighbor. On the contrary, she rather liked Mrs. Ahmed who wasn't one of those judging neighborhood aunties that Amal tried to avoid.

As soon as Amal had heard Mrs.Ahmed's name, it clicked to her at instantly that she must have asked for her nephew. Her parents had confirmed that thought, and went on to tell her that Mrs.Ahmed had just mentioned it casually, expressing that she wanted Amal to meet him.

Of course, Amal had heard about the nephew- Mrs. Ahmed talked about him all the time! Now though, Amal realized that she was guilty of zoning out whenever Mrs.Ahmed started talking about her nephew. In her defense, Amal never felt the need to listen to what her neighbor's nephew was up to!

Or at least... she thought she didn't.

Her parents had told her that they had been looking into it for the past couple of weeks. Apparently, Usman was acquainted with him as well, though only slightly, and from what her parents had found out- they told her that he seemed like a nice, religious boy.

At her aghast expression, her parents had reassured her and said that it was just a simple meeting and nothing serious. Yet, Amal felt weirded out- even the idea of meeting someone for the purpose of marriage seemed terrifying.

A sigh escaped her lips as Amal turned around in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She felt her cat, Eddie jump up on the bed and as he curled down next to her, Amal turned around, stroking him. Her parents had told her to do istikhara, think about it, and give them her answer in a couple of days.

As Amal lay in bed, she did think about it. Of course, Amal knew that she'd be getting married some time or another, and she didn't have anything against the idea of marriage. It was a beautiful sunnah of the Prophet and half of deen. Despite this, marriage scared her. It was a bold step, an end to a part of life and the beginning to another.

It was 'change' she feared and after marriage, she knew that a person's life changed completely. The times that her thoughts would wander to her marriage, Amal would push them away. She wanted to live a day at a time, focus on the present. Now, though, the idea had somehow crept into her present as well.

Ignoring the anxiety in the pit of her stomach, Amal wondered about what her parents had said. It would just be a meeting- they said, but Amal wasn't sure she was ready to face that awkwardness.

Forcing herself to stop thinking about it for a while, Amal dragged herself out of bed to pray Isha. Once she was finished praying- she sat on the prayer mat a bit longer, asking Allah to help her in whatever matters she was to face and aid her in making the best decision.

Truly, while her human self hardly held the wisdom to assess the situation, Allah knew what was best for her. 

She had only gone back to bed when her phone vibrated. Frowning, Amal picked up her phone, noticing that it was a text from Usman.

You awake?

Amal's eyebrows arched as she sent him a reply.

Depends on why you're asking.

Come out for a second.

Too cold.
What is it?

Well, if it's too cold for you, I'll go get ice cream on my own...

Don't you dare! I'm on my way.

Seconds later, Amal had quickly worn her abaya over her pajamas, put on a hoodie, fixed her hijab, and slowly tip-toed outside. She grinned at Usman who was waiting outside and the two silently made their way towards the front door, careful so as to not wake up their parents. It was once when they were in the car that they finally relaxed.

"What's the occasion?" Amal asked, turning on the heater and rubbing her palms together for the temperature had been dropping for the past couple of weeks. "It's been ages since you last took me out for anything."

"Two weeks ago, Amal," Usman raised a brow as he drove, "I took you and Eman out two weeks ago."

Amal grinned. "Yeah, yeah, same thing," she said, leaning back in her seat, "When are you going back to work?"

"Next week," Usman said, and for the rest of the car ride, the two chatted about the most random of things. It was when they had gotten the ice cream cones and had stopped the car on the side of the road, enjoying their ice creams, that Usman spoke up.

"You should consider meeting him, Amal. From what little I know of him, he is a nice guy."

Amal froze, the smile dissappearing from her face as she lowered her gaze, a sigh escaping her lips, " I- I have been thinking about it, Bhai, but... I don't know."

Usman nodded, as if he completely understood her, his expression softening. "I get that you feel strange about this whole thing- I did too when Mama and Baba brought up the topic of marriage to me, but it's just a meeting for now. Anyways, he's a decent guy," Usman said, licking his ice cream, "He rarely comes to town but he always comes to the masjid whenever he is here. That's how I first got acquainted with him."

Noticing that her ice cream was starting to melt, Amal quickly took a bite before she turned to look at Usman, frowning slightly. "It'll be too awkward."

Usman chuckled, shooting her an amused look. "Of course it will be, but it's going to happen sooner or later. Life is going to throw pretty awkward moments at you- awkwardness is nothing to fear. Own it."

Amal blinked, slightly taken aback. Her brother's words were reassuring and Amal smiled. "Waah," she said, after a short pause, "You can talk wisely too sometimes. I had no idea!"

Usman rolled his eyes- starting the car again, as the two drove back home- bickering and laughing like any normal siblings.

Assalamualaykum! A bit of a shorter chapter... but I hope you enjoyed it. 

What do you think Amal should do and what do you think about Amal and Usman's relationship?

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