TAWAKKUL

19. New Friendship

We turned to face a couple standing at the door.

The lady was beautiful, in an unconventional way. Medium built and fair skinned she was. Her cheeks were adorned with pimples and freckles.

Yes, I used the word adorned because they really suited her and gave her blushed cheeks. Her nose was slightly on the broader side. She had pink lips and striking green eyes.

She wore a light blue maxi dress paired with a navy blue hijab. She had a broad smile on her face and was holding something in her hands.

The man with her seemed to be her husband. He had striking features and was much more good looking when compared to her wife. Handsome and smart just like the other Turkish men I met a while ago.

I was lost observing them when Azlan's voice pulled me back.

"Merhaba!" he greeted the guests.

I greeted them as well.

"We just live next door. Came to know that our new neighbors have arrived. And that is why we came to meet you. Welcome to the neighborhood! You don't look Turkish. Where are you from?" she asked excitedly.

"Yavaş yavaş canım, sorularınla ​​onları korkutacaksın." whispered the man. (Slow down dear. You'll scare the guests with your questions.)

I understood what he said and smiled.

"Sorry sorry. I'm Asli. This is my husband Ibrahim. He's not well versed with English."

"Merhaba. I'm Tawakkul, and this is my husband Azlan.
It's really fine Asli, you don't have to be sorry. I'm so glad both of you came to meet us. And yes, we're not Turkish,we're Indians. Just landed in Istanbul a while ago. Now please come in." I told her, smiling.

"Lütfen içeri gel, Ibrahim!" said Azlan. (Please come in, Ibrahim)

That was surprising because I didn't expect Azlan to know Turkish. He spoke with an accent as well. Maybe his Turkish was much more well versed than my broken one.

This man really had a lot of secrets didn't he!

" Türkçe biliyor musun?" asked a surprised Ibrahim. (Do you know Turkish?)

"Evet ediyorum. Türkiye'de iki yıl kaldım, dili biraz kavradım", Azlan replied.

I couldn't completely grasp what he said there. From what I understood, he said something about two years.

He stayed in Turkey for two years? That was new to me.

Well everything about Azlan seemed new to me anyways. I didn't really know anything about him.

Asli handed me over the Baklawa she got for us.

After a little more chit chat, the adhan for Maghrib could be heard.

Ibrahim was ready to leave for the Masjid when he asked Azlan to tag along.

I almost laughed seeing his face. He was so reluctant. Seemed like he didn't know how to pray.

Wait, did he?

But Ibrahim somehow managed to take him along.

I and Asli prayed together.

She was a sweet woman. She gave me her number and asked me to call her whenever I needed help. She also offered to send us some food for the night but I declined. I didn't want to trouble her any more.

Both of them left after Ibrahim came back from the Masjid.

I was really happy to have got such wonderful neighbors. What made me even more happy was that they were pious as well.