CHAPTER 5

Today Fatima and I are meeting up after work to talk about her and Udar’s almost marriage. I am still shocked she almost got married, and I am just finding out now. Today I am wearing white high waist wide leg trousers, a black top, white swing coat, black stiletto heels, a blackveil, and a black handbag.

I perform my Asr (late afternoon) prayers before going to see Fatima. I just finished at the office, and I am on my way over to her place.

I arrive at her house; I park my car and walk out to meet Fatima. The home has a black cast iron gate with lovely flowers all around the front porch. It’s a two-story building.

I ring the bell three times before the maid opens it for me. I step inside and walk straight to Fatima’s room.

The entryway is as lovely as the front porch; there are grand stairs cases with black bannisters leading to two separate parts in the house, and also a big crystal chandelier.

“As-salamu Alaykum,” I say walking into her room

Fatima’s room walls are painted white, with two lovely paintings hanging above her headboard, and a chandelier in the middle. The bed has a white blanket and light brown coloured throws. The pillows are white, dark green and light brown in colours. The bed-side table is white with a brown handle and a flower vase. There are two white couches in front of her bed with a TV at the far end. There are two doors; one is the bathroom while the other is her closet.

“Wa- Alaykumsalam, how are you doing?” She says coming up to hug me

“Am fine, and you?” I say sitting down on one of the couchesinfront of the TV.

“I am fine. How was work? Any drama with your new husband” She says laughing

“He is not my husband, andno,we did not fight today because he travelled,” I say remembering how lovely today was because Ismail is out of town

“Oh, and speaking of the husband. I am very sorry I did not tell you about Udar, but it’s because I was ashamed” She says, pulling her head down using her hair to cover her face

“Why would you be ashamed? You are not the first girl not to marry a guy who proposed to her” I say wondering what happened

“I know, but the reason we did not get married was not that I didn’t like him or something. It’s something I am very ashamed of,” She says tearing up

“It’s okay; you don’t have to tell me,” I say, rubbing her back while hugging her to stop crying.

“No, it’s fine, and it's high time I tell someone else the reason,” She says wiping her tears with her palms

“Alright if you want too.”

“It all started after I graduated high school; I was waiting for my admission to uni. Papa and mama called me one day and told me a family had asked for my hand in marriage for their son.

At first, I was fruss because I won’t be able to complete my education, but then mama said if I agree to marry him, I won’t have to stop going to school. They will still pay for my education,and if my husband wanted too, he could pay, but I will go to school regardless.

So after that, I started considering marrying him, andhe is Udar. When I first met him, I liked him right away; we were like a match made in heaven for each other. He was God-fearing, loving, caring, and very handsome; I fell in love with him. I accepted the proposal after two months.

We were meant to marry a month later, but then something happened. Udar did something that hurt my feelings.

It was the day I got accepted into uni. I was so happy I could not wait to tell him the news, but I got the news of my life. I was about to walk into his office when I heard him say,

‘‘You know they only reason I am marrying that girl is to get my inheritance’’.

I stopped dead in my tracks because I could not believe what I was hearing. I loved Udar, and I thought he loved me too, but I guess I was wrong. I was about to turn back and leave, but the next words I heard shattered my heart to pieces.

He said, “Do you really think I would love such an ugly fat thing. I only told her I loved her to make the marriage happen faster.”

After that, I quickly ran out of the building because I did not think I would have been able to hear anymore” Fatima says crying

“Ya, ALLAH! Fatima, I am so sorry that happened” I say hugging her

“Thank you even though it’s not your fault,” Fatima says hugging me back

“After that…” Fatima says wiping her tears but I cut her short

“You still want to continue?” I say shocked she still wants to talk about it more

“Yes, I have to finish the story.”

“Alright then, if you want too, but I am fine.”

“The next day, I told everyone I did not want to marry him again. Everyone asked me why, but I was too ashamed to tell them why. I felt like one of the reasons why I was not good enough for him was because I was fat, so I told no one. I did not want anyone pitying me, andalso I did not want anyone to hate him because of the things he said about me. But even though I told my mother months later, and she understood and promised not to tell anyone.”

“You have such a beautiful heart,” I say hugging her with tears in my eyes too

“Are you crying?” She says noticing she is not the only one crying

“No, no I am not crying,” I say trying to push back my tears

“I love you, and I am very sorry I did not tell you.”

“I love you too, and I forgive you, and he is not worth you, dear. You are more than that.”

“I know that now,” She says smiling faintly

“And besides you were not that fat,” I say recalling the first day we met.

Fatima and I met in university; we were roommates, and I won’t lie Fatima was fat, but later on, she started excising and eating healthy. I can tell you for a fact that if any man could get a good glimpse of her, he would be begging Fatima to be his wife because of how good looking she is now.

“I was, and I can never thank you enough for saving me,” she says, tearing up again.

When Fatima arrived at university, she ate like she was eating for five people and slept like a log, but because I am a fit person. I always tried my best to stop her and always asked her to join me at the gym. At first, she did not agree, but something happened that made her change her mind.

We were eating lunch at a restaurant when Fatima’s old high school mates walked in. I went to the restroom for a minute and just for me to come back and see my friend in tears. I asked her why she was crying. She said they made fun of her because she was fat. I asked her if she wanted to get back at them. She said yes, and I told her she needs to lose weight, so when next they see her they won’t be able to say anything,and most importantly she needed to do it for herself because she was not looking good.

So, after that day, my dear best friend became my gym partner and never allowed herself to gain weight. She also made sure she looked good for herself.

“That’s why I am in your life,but I have to ask did you know Udar and Ismail are best friends,” I say smiling

“No, I just recently found out, and I think Ismail too recently found out about me.”

“You mean Ismail is just finding out too.”

“Yes, it was the day he came to visit Udar at the company and………” Fatima says, but I cut her short

“Wait, Udar is your boss,” I say with shock all over my face

“Yes, and as I was saying, I think Ismail never knew I was the one, like I was the one his friend almost married, even though he knew me,”

“Why do you say so? And wow! Udar is your boss” I say finding it a bit weird that my best friend and I have best friends as bosses.

“I know how it seems, but anyways I know because he came to the company I work at, and I bumped into him. I asked him what he was doing there. He said he came to see a friend, and just for me to find out that his friend is Udar.

On his way out, he came to say bye and also said ‘so all this while you are the Fatima Udar almost got married too and also took away his inheritance.’ That’s how I found out he was good friends with Udar for Udar to tell him about me. And it also meant he just found out who I was to Udar.”

“Oh, that makes perfect sense, and I can’t believe Ismail said you took away Udar’s inheritance. Udar needs a serious knock on the head,” I say, folding my arms.

“I know you will be happy to give him one,” Fatima says laughing

“I won’t mind, but I must say our lives seem very cliché right now,” I say laughing

“I know right,” Fatima says giggling

“Anyways, I also wanted to ask you to talk to your best friend,” Fatima says, referring to her sister Abeela.

“What has she done this time?”

Abeela is Fatima’s younger sister; the whole family refers to her as the wildcat. She loves getting into trouble, and every time her family can’t talk to her, they always come to me. Abeela and I are close even though her sister is my best friend. She is like the younger version of me, so we get along very well. She is 18 years old, so I am not surprised Fatima is complaining because it’s that time when every teenager feels like no one can tell them what to do.

“What has she not done? Please, I need you to speak to her about the ways she dresses these days. We tried talking to her, but you know how that goes. So please talk to her before you leave.” Fatima says

“I am sure her dressing is not that bad, but I will talk to her anyways.”

“Thank you.”

“You are welcome only if you get me some food,” I say smiling

“Will, you ever change?” Fatima says walking towards the door

“No, I won’t,” I say to her, smilingbefore she steps outside.

I am about to step out of Fatima’s house to go homewhen I am pulled from behind into a big hug from Abeela. Abeela is brown skinned and 5’5 foot tall.

“As-salamu Alaykum, kiddo.”

“Wa- Alaykumu Salam, how are you, aunt Umit?” She says stepping in front of me

“Am good; how are you?”

“I am fine, too; how is work?”

“It’s a bit stressful but fine. How is school?”

“It’s amazing, and there is so much I want to tell you about school, but I am on my way out,” She says

“You are going out looking like that?” I say taking a good look at how she is dressed,and I am disappointed to say this is no way a Muslim girl should dress to go out. She is wearing a very short skirt that stops around her thighs, even though she is wearing pantyhose, it’s still too short. You can practically see her thighs

“Yes, what’s wrong with it?’” She says like nothing is wrong with what she is wearing.

“WHAT IS WRONG WITH IT?” I say in a stern voice.

“Aunt what’s wrong with it, this is how everyone dresses now.”

“Abeela, one thing about life you should understand is, that just because everyone is doing it does not make it right. The way you are dressed is not Islamic, and you know that so why are you doing it.”

“I know, but if I don’t dress like this I will be left out,” She says whining

“Abeela you don’t have to dress like this to follow what is trending. They are other ways you can dress and still follow what is trending.”

“I know, but they are not fashionable.”

“Says who? Am I not wearing what is trending and still looking modest?”

“Yes, you are but......” She says whining

“But nothing; Abeela, I am not telling you not to dress fashionably. What I am saying is, you should dressmodestly. And most importantly, anything you do in your life make sure, really make sure before you do it, Allah is pleased with you because nothing is worth doing if Allah is not pleased with you.” I say trying to make her understand

“I understand what you are saying aunt, but it’s hard you know,” She says looking sad

“Nothing is too hard with Allah beside you. As long as you pray and always tell yourself, you are doing it for the sake of Allah; everything will fall in place. And never forget nothing is too small to pray over” I say and hug her to make her feel better

“I feel so bad for dressing like this,thank you so much for making me understand what I was doing is wrong,” She says hugging me back

“I am always here for you, my dear,” I say feeling happy I was able to make her understand what she was doing is wrong.

“Alright aunt I am going to change, but you are going to help me pick what to wear,” she says pulling me upstairs to her room

I walk into Abeela’s room; the room walls are painted brown with a chandelier in the middle. The bed has a charcoal blanket with white patterns. The pillows are burgundy and white in colours. The bedside table is silver with a pink blush lamp. There are two dusty pink couches with a TV. There are two doors; one is the bathroom while the other is her closet.

“Aunt, how should I do it?” Abeela says from inside her closet

“Do what?” Fatima says from outside the door

“Dress modestly but still wear what is trending,” Abeela says

“Oh, it’s easy you can wear anything you want you just have to know how to wear it,” I say sitting down on one of the couches in her bedroom

“Umit you did not make sense,” Fatima says sitting beside me

“Okay what I am trying to say is, for instance, if you want to wear ripped jeans you can but you have to wear patched ripped jeans. And also, you can wear anything as far as you look modest in it.” I say

“You make it sound so easy!” Abeela says falling on her bed

“Because it is, you will see,” Fatima says and helps Abeela pick something to wear

“Alright, if you guys say so,” Abeela says

For the past three days, I have been struggling with a problem for the new interface of the game. I know the best person to help me with this because I have met half of the people at work and they have all directed me to the same person. I don’t have a problem going to the person, but I know he is going to make fun of me if I go to him. I build up courage and knock on his room door even if it’s 11:00 p.m. I don’t care because I have to present it tomorrow.

“Hi,” I say after he opens the door

“What is it, Umit?” He says, rubbing his eyes with his hands making him look like a child.

“I need your help,” I say, biting my lips praying he does not send me away.

“Umit it’s 11:00 p.m. can’t it wait till tomorrow morning.”

“No, it can’t.”

“Did you kill someone and you need me to help you with the body?” He says

“Ha-ha very funny, coming from someone who just woke up,” I say finding it unbelievable he is making fun of me, even though he is just waking up.

“I know, I do try my best, but I was not sleeping,” He says looking happy with himself

“I am serious,” I say using my phone to hit him

“Ouch! That hurt, young lady” He says rubbing where I hit him.

“Good! Now help me.”

“Alright, with what,” He says stepping out of his room

“This,” I say showing him the problem

“Let’s go to the library and discuss it,” He says, walking towards the library.

We take a sit in the library; I explain to him the problem, and under two minutes, he solves it.  

“Wow! That was fast and thank you,” I say

“I know, I am too much, and you are welcome,” He says feeling himself

“You are not serious,” I say,hitting him with a book while picking my laptop to go to my room.

“Hey! Why do you keep hitting me?” He says trying to look hurt

“Because I can, and I like it,” I say smiling

“That’s bad,” He says sounding like a child

“Whatever and Goodnight,” I say walking toward the door

“Good night,” He says from behind me.

The next morning, I wake up smiling like there is no tomorrow because I know today In Shaa Allah (if Allah wills) I will blow Ismail’s mind with the new game I have programmed. While I was praying Fajr (Morning) prayer, I made sure to make a lot of duas, for my succession today.

I get to the office; I show Ismail the new game. Ismail loves it, ‘finally,’ but that is not what is making me freak out for the past two hours. The board of directors are coming later this afternoon to see the game. I have been pacing up and down my office thinking of possible adverse outcomes.

“You need to sit down and cool down, everything is going to be fine,” Emma says from one of the seats in front of my desk.

“How can I calm down? What if they don’t like it? What am I going to do? What if they insult it more than Ismail did last time? Oh, Allah, I don’t know what I will do.” I say thinking of various ways this could go wrong

“Don’t worry, I saw the game, and it’s amazing, they will love it. You have nothing to worry about,” Emma says, pulling me to sit down.

“Alright if you say so,” I say,trying my best to stop overthinking about it.

I finished my presentation with the board of directors a few minutes ago. I am waiting in my office to know if they liked it or not. I wait for a minute before Ismail calls me to his office. I say a few prayers on my way, hoping they loved it.

I burst into Ismail’s office, not caring to knock before entering and making a loud thud while doing so.

“Hey! Why did you enter like that?” Ismail says jumping from his seat, due to the loud thud I made bursting into his office

“Sorry, I am just really anxious to know what they thought about it,” I say

“Hmmmm,” Ismail says, sounding neutral, so I can’t tell if they loved it or not.

“ISMAIL,” I say calling his name loudly

“Chill woman, they love it.”

“They what,” I say getting excited

“ALLAHU AKBAR, ALLAHU AKBAR, ALLAHU AKBAR (Allah is the greatest) ALHAMDULILLAH (PRAISE BE TO ALLAH), they loved it, they loved it, they loved it,” I say feeling super excited

“Yes, they did,” Ismail says smiling

“We need to celebrate; dinner is on me tonight. You guys should pick any place I will pay. I will call Waheeda and tell her not to cook” I say smiling

“Anything is fine with me,”

“You eat everything so why won’t everything be fine with you,” I say giggling

“Hey! It’s not a bad thing” He says smiling

“Even though you still eat everything,” I say laughing

“I don’t have your time; just go and call your sister.” He says sending me away

“The only reason you are chasing me away is because you know I am saying the truth,” I say smiling

“I don’t care, just leave my office,” 

“Alright Ma’ as-Salama see you later,” I say walking out of his office

“Ma’ as-Salama and I don’t want to see you later,” He says.

I smile, knowing fully well he does not mean it, mostly because he wants to eat dinner.

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This is just a sample! The entire book has been published and is available on Amazon Books, Google books, Lulu Store, Okada Books, Smash Words and Dreame. If you wish to purchase it, go to the platform you wish to purchase the book, and type the name of the book. Thank you 😊