NORTON

The Quiet Norton house

CHAPTER 1

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It's 7am and the two bedroomed apartment is grave quiet as usual. Aayan stands in front of a mirror, adjusting his skullcap. His kurta dress quietly swings in response to the breeze coming in through the main bedroom window. The light drizzle has stopped and the anticipated journey to the mosque will be easier for the family of three who will walk for an hour and twenty minutes to the place of worship. Not that the weather has ever had any sway over the decision to fulfill the duties of showing reverence to Allah. Religion comes first, second and last in the Norton household and the Quran is their life manual. To Aayan, this has been the status quo of his family life since he got married so, as husband, leader and guide; he acts as an alarm clock that gets his wife, Kim, and five-year-old daughter, Pumla, out of bed early every Friday. Between getting out of bed and locking the door before the humble march to the mosque, Kim lays out Aayan's outfit, feeds and bathes their daughter then finally gets herself ready while her husband has breakfast. As a devoted house wife, the speed in which Kim gets everything done is testament of the number of years she had spent as a home maker. Albeit that the apartment is a cosy size with furniture pieces one can count with one hand, the amount of time Kim spent on her feet earned her the title 'good wife.' The repetitive duties included baking bread every second day because Aayan would not spend a dime on anything his wife could personally make with her hands. Purchasing of clothes was also an activity left to unholy spendthrifts who Aayan did not want his name associated with. As a pious family, their attire reflected the ways of people who seek the light of Allah and showed respect for their bodies which they understood to be the temples of the Lord. Their appearance drew stares in the small busy city of Zeekahview where modern culture was the way of life. But if anyone was deserving of shameful feelings, it wasn't Aayan. He understood how the worldly lot had been influenced by the devil himself; causing them to think they are wise. They roamed the streets foolishly thinking they understood life but Aayan had found real life. A Life that went beyond a grave and he had proudly led his wife to it. The Dulux family had resented him for converting their once Christian daughter to the Muslim religion and further limiting their access to her but their feelings were inconsequential. To Aayan; the Duluxes had failed to raise their daughter in a manner that was pleasing to the most-high, therefore cutting them off Kim for a while was a necessary measure. But now that Kim was fully converted, she could see her parents on Christmas day because the day had no real significance in the Norton household. Aayan could compromise that holiday as well as a birthday celebration here and there. Either than that, his wife was no longer an acquaintance to many from her past. The friends Kim had before she got married were shunned long enough to stop trying to make contact. By the time Kim was carrying Pumla, only Mrs. Dulux and her younger daughter, Winnie, were actively involved in Kim's life. Aayan didn't particularly love the Dulux ladies but he tolerated them merely because he could relate the situation to his relationship with his mother and brothers. Everyone in his family was on the right path but even if they were believers of another religion, he would've kept them in his life.

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Aayan holds Pumla's hand while Kim locks the small burglar gate that leads to their rented home. He does not particularly love the little girl but he has unexpectedly warmed up to her over the years. He had never desired to be a father but he would have preferred that the unwelcomed member of his family be a male child. That way he wouldn't be the one to pay the dowry when the child was ready to marry. Aayan had known most of his life who he was going to marry but Allah clearly needed her in another world. His late fiancé was only ten years of age when their families decided Aayan would marry her when she came of age. He was a year older than she was and he remembers being at peace with the arrangement and their halal dating. Five years after her passing, he met eighteen-year-old Kim at a supermarket and felt something he couldn't describe for her. It took him a year to convince his family to give their blessing for them to commit to each other. The Norton seniors thought it haram for an Islam man to enter into a love relationship with a person of a book. Kim's family on the other hand still had reservations about the union and if they could, they would separate them still. Kim was drawn to Norton's big beautiful golden eyes. He was a beautiful man with deep dimples and glowing skin. Underneath the long dresses, Norton was a well-built man with smooth even-toned skin. So even though his religion was foreign to Kim, his appearance and desire to be with her won her over. She just didn't think the depth of submission for her husband and belief would play such a prevalent role in their every-day-life. She had an idea of how her wardrobe would change but it was only after saying "I do" that she learned that the hijab was going to become her second skin. And although she once dreamt of owning her own beauty salon; she greatly appreciated being a stay-at-home mother and wife as it allowed her to put on less and not have ninety percent of her face covered most of the time.