Chapter 27: Friends and Family. 

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"If only giving up on him was easy, 

I'd have done it ages ago.

If only his memories were hazy,

I'd have forgotten him ages ago"

-2am-

*

"Alright guys. I guess it is time" Raeef's voices made Yazdan snap out of his trance and look up. They were gathered at the small hall beside the mosque that is usually used for the mosque events. There were a few men with Raeef, around the same age as him and there was Yazdan and Yahyah.

"Ah there you guys are" Yazdan tilted his head and saw the girls flooding in. Ah, mixed gathering.

"As salaam alaikum" said Raeef and there was a unison reply. Yazdan was impressed. He looked over to Yahyah who shot him a grin.

"Alright. So welcome to yet another successful year of the Islamic Society. I am glad we made it!" there were a few laughs, mainly from the men. "Anyway, let us begin with our agenda. But before that, how about we go around introducing ourselves and what we do and stuff, like we usually do?" he suggested and everyone nodded. Yahyah looked at Yazdan with wide eyes. What am I supposed to say? Hi, Yazdan? Zaeef? Nope. Familia cannot come into this.

"Let us start with the females" said Raeef and they agreed.

"As salaam alaikum. I am Ayisha!" Yazdan titled his head and met familiar onyx eyes, seated right across him. And she was watching him with fascination. He felt blood rush to his face and knew he was blushing. Really badly. Way to go Yazdan. Way to make it obvious.

"As salaam alaikum. I am Zamairah" Yazdan broke eye contact with Aanabia when he heard a familiar name. He looked over to the girl, standing on the other side with a smile. Zamaairah Oman was here. But what was she doing here? Shouldn't she be in America right now? He grinned at her but she didn't look at him. Instead, she took a seat and looked down. Ah typical Zamairah. Yahyah nudged him and he looked over to him.

"Itsn't that Zama-" "Yes" replied Yazdan with a grin before Yahyah could even complete his sentence.

"As salaam alaikum. My name is Saher" Ah so Saher is also here.

"As salaam alaikum" He looked over to see Nahal fidgeting. He tilted his head to see Yahyah looking away. Finally he gained some knowledge! "I am Nahal"

"As salaam alaikum!" Why so many salaams?! "I am Aanabia" He turned back to see Aanabia take a seat. She had a dupatta over her head today, he noticed. Masha Allah? Agh. This is annoying. My conscience is annoying. 

Raeef turned to the boys side.

"Let us start" This pulled Yazdan out of his head, towards the matter at hand. Introduction of the boys. 

There was Abrar, who was Ayisha's brother.

There was Tahmeer, who joked a lot.

There was Laham, who was Egyptian and a writer.

There was Ilsan, who happened to be Raeef's brother-in-law.

And there was Yazdan and Yahyah. The members were less but it was nice.

Raeef's sister, Fatimah was not around because she was at work.

They discussed the upcoming Ramadhan issues and how they could make the most of it. Yazdan found out that every Ramadhan, the muslims of the neighborhood gather at the mosque to break their fast together, pray Magrib and Isha before retiring to their homes and Yazdan felt it was an amazing thing. Raeef asked them to help out whenever they could and they readily agreed. Oh how fast can these 15 days go so that Ramadhan is here.

By the end of the meeting, Zamairah had realized Yazdan Zaeef and Yahyah Rashad were present there too.

So straight after the meeting ended, Yazdan stood by the car parking lot of the hall smiling brightly at Zamairah.

"As salaam alaikum, Yazdan" she smiled at him and Yazdan's mind replayed the countless times he had seen this girl running around his house during his childhood days.

"Wa alaikum mus salaam, Zama. How are you?"

"Alhamdulillah good. You? What are you doing here?" she asked and just then, Yahyah walked over to them.

"Ah Zama! You have grown all up from the little girl with pigtails!" teased Yahyah and Zama laughed.

"Salaam to you too, Yahyah"

"Ah right. Was salaam. What are you even doing here?"

"That is exactly what I asked Yazdan" she replied, looking over to him.

"Yahyah's mom shifted here."

"Zaiha aunty is here too?"

"Yes! And Zul too but he wouldn't remember you"

"Of course. How are everyone at home, Yazdan?"

"They are all good, Alhamdulillah. Kayan bhai is married with two children by the way" he told her and she gave him a sad smile.

"I know. I read online. I follow the news all around the world, you know." She said and Yazdan smiled sadly.

"Mom really misses you"

"I miss her more. Sometimes, I prayed someone would take me away to you guys, honestly" she smiled at him and he nodded. Before he could speak, another girl with black hijab walked over to them. She was the one who introduced herself as Ayisha.

"Hey- Salaam" she smiled at the boys before turning to Zama. "We should head home. I have an afternoon shift" Zama nodded before turning to Yazdan and Yahyah.

"Give my love, salaam and regards to everyone at home, alright Yazdan? Tell Qaidah aunty, I miss her and send my love to her the most" said Zama and Yazdan let out a small laugh.

"Of course"

"You have to come by sometime. Mom would be thrilled to meet you" said Yahyah and Zama nodded before saying her salaams and walking away. Yazdan watched her walk away and heaved a heavy sigh. If only his family were here right now.

-

Aanabia watched the exchange between Zamaairah and Yazdan. They seemed close and she felt her heart clench. Zamaairah was well-mannered. She wore a hijab and she was beautiful. To top it off, she had green eyes. She was down to earth and had a smile through everything.

Yazdan looks so beautiful in a Thobe. Masha Allah! She sighed in content that she liked a man of such nature. He was absolutely beautiful in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" she turned to see Nahal frowning at her. She gave a small smile to her sister before kicking off the walls of the parking lot and walking towards their car. She got in, behind the wheels while Nahal got into the passenger seat, buckling up. She pulled out of the parking lot, ignoring Yazdan as she did so. Nahal noticed this but chose not to speak. She and her sister had a lot to talk about.

They reached home in no time. Aanabia parked the car while Nahal got off and walked straight into the house with the intention of making her sister talk. Aanabia switched off the engine of Toyota Sai and leaned onto the steering wheel, placing her forehead on it.

Why am I like this? Why can't I just give up on Yazdan? Should I give up on him? At the thought of giving up on Yazdan Rashad, Aanabia felt something prick her chest, more specifically her heart. It was the kind of pain that she could not describe. Her whole chest hurt. Just then, images of their encounter flashed in her mind like a broken record. The major one was the recent one, where their eyes met at the vegetable barn/shop. It was like everything stopped, time was indifferent and nothing mattered. His cheeks were tinged bright pink and it made him look adorable. This made complete sense to her because it was something she read in Pride and Prejudice, when Elizabeth Bennet realized she was indeed, in love with Mr. Darcy.

"Aanabia?" Nahal called out for her and she snapped out of her reverie. She got off the car and locked it before walking up to the house. As soon as she entered, she realized her mother was not home. Ah great. I can talk to Nahal in peace.

Aanabia rushed upstairs and changed into sweats and tees after a quick shower. She then padded downstairs to where Nahal was, watching some Hindi movie on TV in the living room.

"Hey" she said, taking a seat on the couch, right beside Nahal. Nahal glanced over at her from the top of her popcorn.

"What?" Nahal replied, raising an eyebrow. Aanabia rolled her eyes.

"What is the deal between you and Yahyah?" she asked her and Nahal shrugged, narrowing her eyes.

"What's the deal between you and Yazdan?" she counterattacked. Aanabia let out a sigh. It is only right if I tell her about me too.

"I like him, he doesn't like me. He knows that I like him. He doesn't like anyone though. Or so I think. Also, I have no idea what to do about it. Now you tell me" said Aanabia and Nahal heaved a deep sigh.

"If only I could explain it that simply"

"Why?" Aanabia's eyebrows furrowed at the comment of her sister. Just how hard is it for her to explain things?

"Well... because....... Because....." the awkward pause after each word Nahal spoke told Aanabia that she was not comfortable discussing it. But it was not like that would stop her from nagging. If anything, she could help the poor girl!

"Tell you what? Start from the beginning and I will listen, okay?" suggested Aanabia and Nahal nodded. She gulped and thus began the story of Nahal and Yahyah.

"We met by accident and stuff, you know that. So when I started working for him, I realized he just may be different. That day, he yelled at me because he was tensed and nervous about meeting all of us and it may have been my fault too. Anyway, after that, I spilled coffee on my blouse on presentation day with The Ibrahim Industries CEO and he lent me his shirt to change into. Then I began avoiding him....... Thinking that if I do, I would not have feelings for him." There was a slight pause before Nahal spoke again. "That day, to avoid him I went to work early but he was there. I don't know why I asked him if he had breakfast and when he said no, I ordered food for him. When I went to give him breakfast at his cabin, I heard him talk to his mom about-" She stopped dead and looked at Aanabia with wide eyes. Aanabia nodded at her to continue.

"Ah they were talking about something and I overheard. So I gave him the breakfast tray and walked out to the terrace for air. It is all so confusing, Aapa. I swear I don't want this! I don't want any of this confusion!" by now, hot tears were rolling down Nahal's cheeks and Aanabia felt her heart constrict and hurt, seeing her sister cry. She leapt up and pulled the younger one in a hug, caressing her hair to soothe her. She isn't as strong as she looks.

"It'll be alright, Naha. It'll be alright." She whispered and Nahal's sobs slowly began to subside.

"What happened then?"

"That afternoon, he told me about his family and.. and confessed" the words were barely a whisper but Aanabia heard it clear. He liked her?

"And do you like him?" questioned Aanabia, still caressing her hair. She felt Nahal stiffen in her arms and let out a sigh. Guess she is hesitant.

"Tell you what? Why don't you perform Istikhara?" Nahal looked at Aanabia from underneath her lashes with a shocked look. This was unlike her sister. Aanabia saw this and let out a small laugh, placing a kiss on her cheeks.

"Ruqayyah told me and I did it. On the night of Shab-e-Baraat. You will be surprised at the results" said Aanabia and Nahal shrugged, closing her eyes. Aanabia smiled at her younger sister. She might be all grown up now, but her nature is still that of a little child.

*****

Salaam! 

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xx, 

-aalihha.