manal | achraf hakimi [COMPLETE]

13.

if you haven't prayed yet, please pray first :)
fun fact: in my language, and most dialect of arabic (except i think darija), morocco is actually called marrakesh.

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5/1/2023

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[1195 words]

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the day prior to the engagement:

manal looked up from her bed when sufiyane knocked on her door. she quickly called out to let him in when he walked inside the room. he looked sly, as if he was doing some secret mission. he almost hit the door on the way in, having had a growth spurt seemingly every passing week.

'sufi?' she asked instinctively, raising an eyebrow at his antics. she was writing something in her planner.

he walked to her little desk and placed a brown envelope on it, tapping it twice, as though directing her attention to it.

'iman sent it over.' he said, which had manal even more doubtful.

'you know,' she said as she readjusted the reading frames on her head. glasses were a new thing to her, something she had begun to need as she got older. 'some person invented this thing called the telephone which then evolved into a mobile phone which people use to contact each other with?' she didn't say it with malice, but only with the intent to tease him. she got up to inspect the letter, and she had figured it out.

'manal don't sass out on me, i'm just delivering the message.' he raised his hands in surrender, as if expecting such a reply from his sister.

'my my you've become very mischievous haven't you?' she knew iman's influence was too strong. she would know.

she then tapped him on the head, as thought apologising for bothering him, to which he leaned his head away. this had manal rolling her eyes, knowing that he was at that age where his hair was becoming very important to him.

'whatever.' he murmured, but not before tapping his sister's nose, as if it was a competition who would get the last word or act in.

'anyways, thank you.' she says, massaging her neck. she had been sitting in an awkward position for too long. 'take this downstairs with you.' she passed him the set of clothes she had ironed earlier for tomorrow. it was her father's and sufiyane's.

as soon as he left the room, she turned to the envelope. she knew iman wasn't bothered by old fashioned modes of communication like this. and the writing instantly gave it away.

this wasn't iman's writing. this definitely belonged to someone else. for starters, iman only ever wrote in arabic, and this one had latin letters on it, a far throw from the arabic script.

she carefully opened the letter, nestling her pen (a white one with an ageing feather on it) in the messy bun (or as much as a messy bun that her hair allowed her to).

she leaned her back against the desk, and put her frames down to read it.

wow this handwriting is horrible. she commented internally, noticing the crooked arabic. she usually read aloud, but didn't want to risk it at this point.

'i need to teach him how to write better in arabic, this will not do.'

it read, with the most inconsistent arabic she'd ever encountered in her life.

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dear manal,

i know you may be upset that i tried to reach out to you before our engagement, but i wanted to address this right away before you have any doubts on my intentions.

iman has informed me that you have found some major faults in my proposal, including my western lifestyle when i'm in europe.

i had never imagined that you would accept my proposal, and therefore decided to focus on my career for a few years instead. my manager had decided that as a publicity stunt i would need to be seen around some people to help my profile off the pitch. i'm embarrassed, and deeply sorry that this was how you found out, through some online articles instead of hearing it from me.

i have no personal relation with that girl, and i intend to uphold this relationship with you forever.

if those findings have casted doubts on your mind about my sincerity towards you, then i beg of you to reconsider.

please do not deny me tomorrow.

forever yours,

achraf.

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her first thought was that he definitely used some google translate to write this but her second thought found it sweet that he went to such extents to writing a letter. she found it flattering that he knew how to appease her romantic heart, one that was driven by old customs and letters.

biting her lip, she thought about his justification. she tried to think of it critically, but could not.

she knew achraf not to be the type to date or have extra-relationships, given his family she hadn't expected it. but she wanted to know before anything could be established that she would not tolerate it at all.

she was glad that he had sent the letter, contrary to what he thought at the beginning of his letter. her istikhaara had been good, so she was wondering why she was still not at ease. this had, while she knew that this would be a problem they would have to solve later, put her mind at rest.

she then took another page from her desk, and started writing her reply. one that she would give to him tomorrow, after they sign the marriage contract.

'dear achraf,' she stopped writing. what was she going to call him, his name? 'manal, it's his name, of course you are going to use it!' her mind reasoned, but still she was lost in thought.

she shook her head and continued writing.

'despite what you may think, i am glad to have received this letter. it certainly has cleared some misunderstandings.

inshallah, i am expecting you to resolve this matter.

do not think me to be inconsiderate, or reluctant. i have faith in Allah that everything will be fine and you should too.

she thought about how to sign off the letter, and tried to use his letter as a reference on how to end it. she saw that he had ended it with 'forever yours' which had a fluttering feeling rise in her.

she shook her head at the thought of being this moved by a letter. although, it was completely her style.

'yours,
manal.'

she sealed the letter quickly, not wanting to overthink any of what she had written. she hastily put it in her drawer, feeling the rush of feelings hit her again.

she would need to get better at self control if she wanted to actually go forward in life, she told herself.

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hi! i have been thinking about what to write and i wanted to make it clear the misunderstanding here. i might switch the order of the chapters so this one comes before the engagement/ nikah !

i'm seriously considering a spin off but with hakim ziyech and a character as well :) tell me if you want to see that !

i wrote this all in one go, and now my back hurts from haunching over my phone.

love you all,
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