Twice Upon Qadr - A Shot At Love **EDITING**

Chapter 17

Here is the article! Be totally honest! I can handle it, I’m tough :P

-Houssam

Hana sat in front of her computer, staring at the screen, wondering how she could form her response while still keeping it professional. The fact of the matter was his article was unbelievable. It was a piece of literary genius, and no that wasn’t just her lovesick heart talking, she had also shown it to Ilham and Hisham who had both been really impressed with it. It was deep and meaningful, she had been prepared to edit, yet there were no spelling or grammar mistakes. It flowed well, and he had chosen the recent shootings in Chapel Hill that took the lives of three innocent people, Deah Barakat, his wife Yusor Abu Salha, and her younger sister Razan. Hana didn’t know the three of them personally, but she didn’t have to for such a horrific crime to affect her. As she scrolled down the page, she paused, rereading her favorite part from it.

Deah and Yusor hadn’t even been married two months yet. In fact their wedding pictures were expected this week. Pictures and memories that they will never get to see, to enjoy, to display proudly. Their love story came to such a sad ending that one cannot help but feel heartbroken for the relationship they had, and for the future they won’t. But at the same time I can’t help but smile. Because while they are no longer together on this earth, InshaAllah they are walking hand and hand in the gardens of Jannah, at peace and surrounded by love and happiness.

It was a beautiful article, and she wanted to tell him so. She really did. She just didn’t want her emotions and feelings to get in the way.

AsalamuAlaikum,

Barak Allahu Feek for writing this. SubhanAllah it is truly an amazing article. It’s touching and well written and I am very impressed. I didn’t know you had such a talent for writing MashaAllah!

I look forward to reading more of your work!

-Hana

She reread it a couple of times before pressing send, the butterflies in her stomach fluttering like crazy. Once she had sent the email, she turned her attention back to the tests she was grading. She was a little behind and had to grade over fifty tests before class tomorrow. Since she was going to be watching Kareem in the morning, she needed to finish everything today. She had gotten through half of a test when her phone beeped, indicating she had an email. As she picked up her phone and opened the app, her eyes widened as she saw Houssam’s name.

Walaikumasalaam!

HE SHOOTS! HE SCORES!

Did you really like it!? Man that’s awesome! I was so worried. I mean I’ve read a few of your articles and I gotta admit I was feeling a little bit inadequate. It means a lot to me to get such good feedback from you! I’m already starting on the next one! :)

Hana’s heart started beating fast. Where did he read her articles!? When she was in college she had written a few pieces for her school newspaper but that was years ago! She knew she should have left it alone but she had to know.

Yes it was amazing! I don’t know why you felt inadequate! Where did you read my articles!? That’s funny because all I wrote for was the newspaper at UCSB and that was a really long time ago!

Almost immediately he responded.

I looked them up :) When you said you were a photojournalist I knew you had to have written some things, so I went to the school’s website. I had to go through the archives but eventually I found them. I loved the one you wrote on the unfair advantage the jocks get. It was brilliant. But why should I be surprised, so far I have seen nothing but brilliancy from you!