Trust Me (An Islamic Love Story)

Chapter 18

"Ameen."

A strange sensation runs through my veins, electrifying yet peaceful. A simple word gives me hope that the unknown is not something to be fearful of and that I can trust Allah to handle my affairs.

Someone knocks at the door, and Jana and Sana enter the room. "Hey!"

"Are you okay?" Jana asks me worriedly. I know they can tell I was crying.

"Yeah, I am fine," I sniff. "Thanks for asking."

"You're welcome," they respond with an unsure smile and sit down. "What were you and this little angel doing here?"

My heart skips a beat. Calm down, Abeer. Angel... it is not a bad thing. It's... "Hey, a penny of your thoughts?" Sana asks, sitting down.

"Nothing much..." Except for the chaos, I mentally say. "Did you buy some bangles too?" I ask to change the topic.

"Yeah we did," Jana replies excitedly. "Wait, we both will show you. They are not as nice as yours, but..." She shrugs.

Both Jana and Sana leave to get the bangles, and I ask Hooriya, "Why did you become so quiet suddenly?"

"I was thinking," she answers, her brow creasing slightly.

"What were you thinking?" I prompt her curiously.

"I was thinking about why you said everyone hates you." She pauses and studies my face. I feel like pinching her cheeks, but I don't and play along. "Why will anyone hate you, Ana? You are so nice like a fairy."

"Ah, but fairies don't exist," I argue.

"I mean you are so nice like an angel!" She exclaims.

I stiffen a little. She is just a kid, Abeer. Look at her pure intentions. She isn't taunting you as he did or as Azar does.

Hooriya is so innocent; I can't believe I was at some point in my life like her: innocent and happy. That's when a horrible thought crosses my mind.

I look at Hooriya and breathe out. "Hoor, I want you to listen carefully," I say, and she nods attentively. "If anything bad happens, ever in your life, if someone says something bad to you, or does something you don't like, never hide it from me."

"Okay," she agrees. "But you live so far away, Ana. How will I tell you?"

"Tell your Mom then or Dad," I suggest. "They love you a lot, Hoor. I love you a lot. You know that, right?" She nods with a bright smile. I pull her into a hug, realizing she is the only person I am comfortable being this close to. I close my eyes and pray to Allah that what happened to me should never happen to my Hoor. My eyes start welling up. Please Oh Lord, I beg you to keep her safe. "Promise me, Hoor," I pull away and look into her questioning eyes. "Promise me."

"Don't worry, Ana, I promise," she giggles. "I love you a lot. so if I don't want to tell my Mom and Dad because they sometimes scold me, I will call you and tell you."

"Good." I remember that Jana and Sana said that they want to show me their bangles. and they still haven't come back. which is a little strange.

Hoor and I both are about to go outside, but my mobile rings, and on the screen flashes Azar's name. "Hoor, you go I'm coming."

"Okay," she says and leaves. I attend his call, even though I know I shouldn't.

"Abeer...?"

"Yes, Azar," I say, feeling weird about Azar addressing me by name and not angel. It must be something serious then.

"Look when we have the Mehndi function, I want you to choose the cone which has the alphabet 'A ' written at the bottom," he proceeds quite quickly.

"That's very random," I can't help, but say. "Why?"