As our gaze met again, his lips parted and a deep voice asked
"Assalamualaikum - Hi, is this Asha aunty's house?"

I nodded mutely, too dumbstruck to even mutter a proper reply to his Salam.

A few seconds passed as we stood like that and when he gave me a quizzical look with an eyebrow raised at me, I finally realized I was blocking the door and still had not invited him in.

With widened eyes and an embarrassed tone, I stepped back and made space for him to enter,
"I am so sorry, please come in."

I opened the door wide open and squeezed myself against the wall as if I was trying to camouflage myself into the terracotta painted surface.

Thinking about how he must have thought I was staring at him made me want to disappear.

The attractive guy entered our house and politely discarded his shoes by the corner before turning to me again,
"Could you take me to where Asha aunty is ?"

I nodded swiftly and avoided eye contact with him as I closed the door and gestured for him to follow me inside.

Why did I always have to turn into an awkward weirdo whenever I met someone new!

Fortunately I did not have to directly interact with him anymore because my mom took over.

As soon as ammu saw him, her face broke into a huge smile as she came forward excitedly, " Isahaq! My oh my you've grown up so much dear!"

Isahaq smiled in reply and said Salam to ammu as he handed her the bag of sweets he had brought along.

"Oh no, there was no need for this beta. Thank you very much! I was just telling your mom she shouldn't have gone through the trouble of sending you back for sweets."

"It's no trouble at all auntie, it's the least I could do. Your house looks absolutely wonderful by the way. Thanks for having us over and Eid Mubarak!"

Ammu's face seemed to be etched into a permanent grin which seemed to get wider as the words flowed out like honey from Isahaq's mouth.

"Who's this handsome young man?"
Nanu said, coming out of the kitchen and walking towards Isahaq with a curious expression.

"This is my friend Maria's son , Isahaq. Look Amma, he even brought these jalebi for us from meena sweets. Maria's children are so well mannered I'm telling you." Ammu introduced the guy to my grandma who raised an eyebrow and smiled in appreciation .

She walked closer and surveyed Isahaq from head to toe, "What do you do dear?"

Isahaq answered in his ever so polite voice, "I'm about to graduate medical school."

This sentence etched the same wide smile on my Nanu's face as the one my mom had a few seconds ago.

Nanu pinched Isahaq's cheek,
"Mashallah! Handsome and qualified. That's a very good thing!"

I gulped in embarrassment as I saw Isahaq smiling awkwardly and standing still not knowing how else to react.

A small smile threatened to break through my face but the embarrassment at my Nana's antics towards Isahaq overwhelmed the amusement.

The guy seemed to have instantly charmed everyone present in the room just by existing.

Everyone gathered around Isahaq and Maria auntie laughed from the side as she watched her son's dilemma. But it was clear from her expression that she was feeling proud of having Isahaq as her son.

✨

As the day went by, people mingled with each other and shared stories about everything and nothing.

In between running back and forth throughout the house making sure all the guests were comfortable, keeping my room safe from the wrath of the naughty kids and finding snatches of moments to chat with my cousins I was soon very exhausted.

It was time for lunch to be served.
A huge buffet table was set up in our garden and chairs were arranged around the perimeter for people to sit.

Since there wasn't enough space for everyone, the elders were going to eat inside the house and the youngsters would be having their meal in the garden.

The table was set in the middle with designer flower vases kept at each corner while steaming spots of various dishes rested in the middle.
I finished setting up the silver utensils by a side table as our helper brought out the jug of fresh mango juice and kept it beside the glasses.

Plucking a few petals from a fallen flower, I scattered the colorful petals around the table to make the set up more gorgeous.

Fairy lights adorned the huge mango tree in our backyard and a few sets of lamps hung from the branches adding a festive vibe to the atmosphere.

"Wow! Everything looks so beautiful." Maria auntie complimented as she walked into the garden and observed the setup.

She lifted the lid from the pot of biryani and breathed in the smell,
" Smells mouthwatering! I can't wait to try it."

"Same," I added with a laugh knowing my Nanu's cooking skills never ceased to amaze us all.

Soon everyone dug into their lunch and chatter filled the air as people laughed with their friends and family and filled their appetite with the delicious food.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed my ammu and Nanu fawning over Isahaq and offering him multiple servings of biryani while the poor guy kept trying to decline politely.

But in the end, he had to give up to their insistence because who can ever win against Desi mothers when it comes to them loading up your plate with extra parathas and biryani.

After finishing my food, I walked inside the house with a tray full of plates to discard in the kitchen.

As I was walking back into the garden I found Isahaq nervously waiting by the open door.

He was looking around and pacing back and forth as if he needed something.

I wanted to ask him if he needed help with anything but then what if he thought I was intruding and being nosey?

So the doubts won over my intrusive thoughts and I continued on my way looking straight ahead.

Just as I was about to pass him, Isahaq's voice caught me by surprise, "Excuse me - Maha right?"

I looked at him and once again nodded mutely. He knew my name ? How did he know my name?!
Oh- he must have heard from his mother.

"I needed to pray my zuhr namaz. Could you give me a prayer mat ? And show me a place to pray?"

He asked and waited for my response as I processed his words for a few seconds.

Why did my brain freeze in his presence and I always end up becoming a mute statue!

I nodded and finally spoke out loud,
"Of course. Please follow me."

Since the whole house was crowded the only place available was in my room. The kids were running around the garden so my sanctuary was safe at the moment.

I led him inside my room and laid the prayer mat in the corner so that it was facing the Qiblah.

He nodded and passed me a small smile, "Thanks!"

I smiled in reply and walked outside, closing the door so he could pray peacefully.

A cute guy who also prays ! He was turning out to be too good to be true and I found myself thinking about him more with each passing second.

I stood by the wall to compose myself before re-entering the gathering.

I've seen many guys who pray but have questionable personalities. So what's the guarantee he's not like that ? I shook my head to clear the doubts, deeply hoping he's not like them.

⭐

Hope you liked this Eidi from my side.
Would really appreciate it if you guys share your thoughts in the comments and give me Eidi in the form of pressing that star in the bottom left corner (:

Thanks for reading - A.M.K

Mini glossary -

Duhr namaz - one of the five daily prayers mandatory in Islam. ( This being the one prayer during afternoon)