"Whoever believes in Allah, He will guide his heart." (64:11)
It's finally my birthday week! I turn eighteen next weekend!
It's Sunday today and Francisco, Rosa, and Ashley are supposed to arrive today. All three of them got the week off of school.
I braid my hair and do my makeup. I haven't done my makeup this fancy in a while. These past two weeks since I wore the hijab in public for the first time with Aman, I've been toning down my makeup a lot and wearing my hijab in public. On the show, I still show my hair, but I want that to change soon, in sha Allah.
Aman likes my new style. He's also gotten a lot better since that one day. I don't know what got into him.
I finish my makeup in the bathroom and hear someone come into the room. I figure it's Audrey. It's weird because Salma is never here. She always goes out into the city. I've hung out with Audrey a lot more because of that, and I can say, we've gotten a lot closer. We always talk in French so we can both practice and not forget it since we almost always speak English with people.
I become startled when I see someone out of the corner of my eye in the bathroom. I turn and see Francisco, Rosa, and Ashley standing there. I automatically smile.
"Oh my gosh!" I yell. I run to all of them and we have a group hug. Then I hug Rosa individually. She smells really nice. I assume it's one of the fruity perfumes she always uses.
I hug Ashley, but it's harder since she's pregnant.
Lastly, I hug Francisco.
"It's so nice to see you," he tells me.
"It's nice to see you too," I reply. He's so much taller than me that he engulfs me as we hug.
The four of us sit on my bed. We talk for what seems like hours.
"How's Santa Rosa?" I ask.
"It's nice," Ashley says, "Everyone cheers for you every week. You're getting a lot of fame."
"If I make it to the top three, then I'll be back for a few days," I say. We have four more weeks left on the show. This week, one person will go home and the three who stay will get to visit their hometowns. What I'm really visiting is my temporary hometown since my hometown is actually Gaza City back in Palestine.
"You will make it!" Rosa exclaims.
"In sha Allah," I say since they all know what it means.
Mason walks into my room. He sees my friends.
"Sorry for interrupting," he apologizes.
YOU ARE READING
Alina Kanaan
SpiritualCOVER BY: Meromada_Floweritta Alina was born in Palestine and has lived through some of the most intense and horrid wars in the country. At the age of 14, she and her family move to California for a new start. Since singing is her passion, she audit...
