Stated Love

Chapter 21

I'm in my room, packing for the move. I was late to do it, as usual. I'd called Sahar earlier today and asked if she'd like to come over to help and she'd be here any minute now. "Aloya, come downstairs right now please!" Mama yells at me from the staircase. I groan. If she kept calling me over, I'd never get finished packing my things! I drag myself down the stairs and leap onto the living room sofa. "Yes?" I ask. Mama smiles and plays around with her fingers, motioning for me to come closer. I plop down next to her and she wraps her arms around me. "What's up, Mama?" I chuckle. She kisses my forehead and plays with my curls. "Nothing, I just miss you," I hold back on to her. "You can tell me anything, you know that, right?" She asks. I look up to her and she's giving me a knowing smile. I dart my eyes down and fiddle with my fingers. "Well there is something I want to tell you, but you can't get me wrong, ok? You need to believe me," Mama nods. I take a deep breath and then continue with my sentence. "I like Abdallah, and he likes me. Now we're not dating, but we have a mutual understanding on our feelings for each other, we even talked about it and set boundries. To be honest, it's not from his looks or anything; well, partially his looks," Mama throws her head back and laughs. I join in with her on the laughter. "But he's a great guy and we both want to wait for the right time, you get it? I actually see this going somewhere." Mama stops laughing and smiles. "Ok then. What do you see in him?" I take a long deep breath. I know exactly how to answer. "He's really smart and ambitious, actually wants to do something in his life. He's kind, caring, and he feels for me and always wants to protect me. He's on his Deen ('religion' in Arabic) and he's trustworthy-" Mama cuts me off smiling. "I get it, I get it." I blush immedietly. "Thanks for telling me, ok? I'm glad you did and I believe you, I know you wouldn't do anything Haram." The doorbell rings and I dash off of my mom's lap and to answer the door. It's Sahar. She cocks her head to the side and smiles. "Hey, I brought this." She hands a tin foil container to me. I unravel the foil. "Basbousa, my favourite! Thank you so much, I've been craving it for a while now." I place the dish in the kitchen while Sahar says Salam to my mom. "Wow, so it's decided, you really are moving," Sahar touches the wall where I used to keep my framed photos of us. "I really am going to miss you, Aloya."
"Me too, Sahar." We stay silent for a bit, just putting my belongings into boxes. I clear my throat. "How's Salman been? Any sign of him?" Sahar's head shoots up but she holds a casual expression. "He's good. I don't see him around much anymore." It doesn't seem like he's 'good', I say in my head. Whether I go out or visit Khalto Rasha's house, I never see him anymore. Not until our last encounter. "Anyways, enough talk about him. Have you told Abdu yet?" Sahar asks. I bite my bottom lip, hard. Sahar's eyes widen. "Don't tell me you haven't told him! Alaa, what were you thinling?" She chuckles and throws her head back. "Meh, I don't know. I guess it skipped my mind," Or I never had the guts to tell him. "Does Salman know?" I knew that everyone else in her family knew; they said their goodbyes. Sahar frowns. "Yeah, but you shouldn't be worried about that now. Girl, go text your man!" She laughs. 'He's not my man', I feel like telling her. But I whip my phone out anyway. "Should I tell him in person? I mean, I do want to say my last goodbye." I explain. I probably won't be seeing Abdu in a while, and I need to make sure things are good between us before I leave. Sahar purses her lips. "Yes, in person would most likely be best. But invite Zayna or something too. So it's not awkward, you know." I nod my head and start typing:

Me: Hey Abdu, how've you been?

He responds almost instantly, withen the minute.

Abdallah: Hey, I miss you

Me: Same here...

Abdallah: What's up though, is everything ok?

Me: I wanted to meet up, in person, like in a public place. But I think it would be best if Zayna was there too, so that things aren't awkward or if anyone sees us they don't think anything wrong of it

Abdallah: Ok then, I'll let her know :)

Abdallah: Where would you like to meet?

Me: How's Bubbles?

Abdallah: Good, I love that place! I'm free tomorrow, if you are

Me: Yeah, sure, let me just ask my mom...how's three?

Abdallah: Yeah, we'll pick you up :)

Me: Thanks

Me: I can't wait to see you

Abdallah: Same here

Abdallah: Is everything ok though? You seem kind of off :///

Me: Alhamdullillah

The thing with saying 'Alhamdullillah' is that it literally means 'all praises due to Allah'. It never really meant good or bad. "Did he say yes?" I look over to Sahar. "Yeah, yeah. We're meeting up at Bubbles, Inshallah. At three." Sahar smiles and lays down, eyes facing the ceiling. I lay down beside her and sigh. "I miss going out to boba. It was always so much fun. We made so many memories there." Sahar nods her head in agreement. "Yeah. But you better visit frequently so we can still have our boba dates." She elbows my shoulder, playfully. "Yeah, of course."

Sahar ends up staying for dinner and leaves a little later. "Here, I'll walk you out," I say, heading out the door with her. "Thanks for coming, by the way." She looks over at me and rolls her eyes, smirking. "Because I helped you pack or because I kept you company." I slap her shoulder playfully. "Both. You know what I mean, stop making me talk about my feelings." Sahar hooks her arm around my shoulder and since she's a little shorter, she drags me down with her. I stop once we get to the porch. Salman's car is in the driveway. She sits down on the hammock and pats the seat beside her. "What, you're not going to stay for a while and keep me company?" I smile appologetically. Sahar's eyes make their way to the Mercedes parked in the driveway. "Oh." She nods her head and rolls her eyes. "I'm sorry, I just don't want to run into him."
"It's fine, I get it," She exhales deeply and stands up, heading towards me. "Goodnight. Let me know how it goes with Abdallah and Zayna at Bubbles." I wrap her into a tight hug. "I'm sorry. And I will, don't worry. This for sure won't be the last time I see you before we leave though, ok?" She nods and I can tell that she's holding back tears. "It better not be!" She cackles. I wait till she gets through the door before leaving. It's hard to find a friend as great as Sahar, and it takes time too. I'm just glad we found each other and it didn't take too long.