manal | achraf hakimi [COMPLETE]

.2

by the way, the characters in this book are muslim, and will behave as muslims. such as, they'll pray five times a day etc etc. however this book does not entirely depict islam. some customs illustrated in this book are purely cultural and should not be interpreted as islamic. for example, islam prohibits interactions between men and women that are not their direct relatives. this rule is not entirely followed, in this case, between my main character manal and achraf.

sorry for the lecture, but i wanted to put it here as a context thing. i've added this to the intro to just as a disclaimer

chapter starts below this line.

14/12/2022

[807 words] not edited

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1 year later
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'what's this?' manal whispered as achraf gave her a pen with a feather. they were waiting for iman to wear her trainers so they could go play some football in the sand again. they were both aged 14, while iman hadn't reached her 14th birthday yet.

'it's a pen.' he replied, rather simply which had manal facepalming. he didn't understand her question. achraf's arabic got better each year he visited his aunts house far from his home in madrid.

'i know what a pen is, i meant,' she cleared her throat feeling it itch, 'what for?'

she was very surprised that he got her something. she thought he probably forgot about his life in morocco when he returned to spain every year.

'writing?' achraf shrugged his shoulders, not knowing what to say. he had seen the pen and decided to bring it to her as a gift. he guessed she was a studious person, and the shy smile that lit her face when he gave her the pen confirmed it.

'well, thank you anyway.' she continued. 'it's really nice.'all achraf could do was put his hands in his pockets. manal was looking at the pen, and things were getting awkward quickly.

'iman, yallah, hurry up.' come on. he shouted out as he heard the patter of feet rushing towards him yelling 'wait' come closer.

iman joined them, and they were quick to walk towards the makeshift football pitch on the semi arid ground. the other kids from nearby houses had also come, wanting to play football.

the teams split up, and the dust rose in the air once the football hit the ground.

they played until manal decided that she was tired and didn't like feeling hot and sweaty, and sat on the sidelines under the shade of a tree.

she took the pen out of her pocket again, and examined the feathers on it. this was so different to her. why would her friends cousin get her a pen?

they had only met once or twice, and that too to play football. she bit her lip, not noticing her best friend brushing her arm against her, taking a seat as well.

'achraf got you that?' she asked, almost knowingly.

manal nodded, looking up and to the side hearing the call to prayer in the distance. the boys in the pitch scattered, getting their things. she knew they were going to go pray. she looked at the sun in the afternoon sky, and knew she would have to go home too.

'i think he likes you.' iman whispered. manal's head snapped to face her friend. to her surprise, she found that he was once again looking at her from across the pitch. she quickly averted her eyes to her friend again who looked giddy and excited.

'iman. i think you've been watching too many dramas.' she made her stance clear. she knew all about the dramas that existed on television, especially the turkish ones dubbed in arabic. their dramatic and exaggerated romance stories had gotten to her.

manal didn't want to think about these things. she knew she had gotten older and had a better grasp of romance, but she was not interested in these things. she just wanted to play football and go home.

'i'm just saying what i think!' manal's eyes hardened at her friend, who decided that she'd drop the subject. 'anyways, mama says that he's going to play football for some spanish team like professionally!'

'really?' i didn't think he was that serious.' manal countered, not believing the girl. sometimes, it was hard for manal to grasp that he had a whole other life in spain.

a life far from the balcony in iman house and the makeshift pitch close to hers. she knew her life was small, minuscule.

'i don't know, he promised me he'll take me to see!' iman continued, not noticing the thoughtful silence from her part.

'i'm sure he will.' manal affirmed. she wanted to stop talking about achraf. the boy was messing with her head.

the girls linked arms and started trekking back to manal's house. they had to do lessons in the afternoon and wanted to go together.

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talk to me. tell me what you think. i i hope it's a little exciting, even though i know it feels a bit boring. it'll get messier later :)

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