"Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuhu!" He then turns to his left followed by me,
"Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuhu!" After the taslim (concluding part of the salah) is over, he reads tasbeeh and makes du'a. I follow suit, adding my own set of prayers in the du'a, raising my hands at the level of my face and folding them into a crescent shape.
'Ya Allah, may your grace and blessings remain upon mankind. Give everyone the strength to bare with the difficulties they have been put into. Shower your rahmat upon my family, keep them hale and healthy. Please bestow peace and happiness in my Zaan's life. Fulfil every wish and desire of his. May he succeed in everything he puts his mind into. Take away all his pain, if he has any. Make our relationship stronger and may love blossom between us. Ameen. Summa'meen.'
I get up from the prayer mat, seeing he was already halfway out of the room. I smile at his retreating back. Today when he woke up late for Fajr, I asked him to lead me in Salah. He stared at me for a few seconds as if have descended from a different planet, then nodded. I jumped in happiness at that. Then he lead the entire prayer, his recitation so beautiful I had a hard time believing he has recently resumed reading namaz. But that's my Zaan, he never forgets once he learns something. And the basics of Salah were taught to us when we were kids.
The feeling of contentment consumes me, as if all the rose plants in the garden have flowered all at once. The pure joy and satisfaction, of a kid yearning for a rainbow and then when it suddenly begins raining, the look of astonishment and joy on his face resembling mine. The smile remains on my face all through my day.
I decide to read a book before I go down for breakfast. Sameer asked me to meet him at the stables today. I love horses and luckily Dawer is home to one of the most beautiful breeds. My bucket list has a mention about learning horse riding and I plan on crossing that wish before I leave Dawer. And I will make sure nobody stops me this time with the excuse that I am too small to handle a horse.
After breakfast, I rush towards the stables where all the horses are kept, I spot Sameer there in his cowboy appearance.
"Hi there Mr.Cowboy, can I introduce myself to these beauties here?"
"Hello! Noor ji, ofcourse you can. Who am I to stop a beauty from interacting with another?" He grins and I just shake my head at his flirty nature. He was always like that. Infact, Zaan beat him up once for calling me 'hoor'. In his words, no guy should use such precious words for me.
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"Hey you! I am Noor Sajid Durrani. Nice to meet you Stanley." Their names have been placated around their neck in a small chain. I slowly run my hand across it's back and it's tail raises slightly as it snorts. I squeal.
"Does that mean she likes my touch?'
"Yep! She does. Who wouldn't? Would you like me to teach you the basics of riding a horse. I will also reveal some secrets about handling Stanley."
