Under the Olive Tree

18. Thamania T'Ashar

When she told Reema of the news, her cousin's glow powered into a blinding illumination and she raced around her new house in excitement. "My baby cousin is going to marry Muhsin? Muhsin is going to marry my baby cousin?" Reema squealed. "Say wallah. Amani, I can't believe this. I'm so excited I might die. My heart," she gripped her chest and dropped onto the pink couches.

Amani laughed. "Calm down. For all you know, you could be pregnant already," she teased the girl.

But Reema seemed happy even through her words. "God willing, I might! Then I would have two times the good news. Tell me again, he had already bought the ring for you? How did it look?"

"How the ring looked is not important."

"Of course, to you it wouldn't. You're already head over heels for this man, aren't you? I told you. The moment you even considered his handsomeness, I knew this was going to happen. Not so far as an engagement but I knew you would develop feelings for him! Nobody can get close to Muhsin and not fall helplessly in love with him." She threw her head back and stretched her body over the sofa.

Amani pushed Reema's foot away from her. "He's the one that proposed to me, you know."

She shot up. "So you're saying he's the one who has fallen hopelessly in love with you? Oh, that's so romantic, I want to scream with happiness and vomit at the same time!"

"Relax, I hardly think Muhsin's in love with me, Reema."

"Why not?"

Amani snorted at the absurdity of the thought. Muhsin, the boy who had never even touched her, could be in love with her? "Well, because that would be crazy. You can't fall in love with someone so quickly," she reasoned.

Reema narrowed her eyes at the girl. "What if it wasn't?"

"What?"

"You know, the Realm of Souls."

Amani blinked. "The realm... of souls?" She repeated slowly.

Reema nodded excitedly and leaned closer to Amani, the sparkle in her eyes warning of the explanation to come.

"It's said that, before we were born, our souls lived in the Realm of Souls. While we were there, we met our soulmates but became separated once we arrived in the physical world. That's why your heart feels at ease around certain people because you knew their souls in that realm. What if Muhsin is your soulmate and you guys met in the realm before finding each other here? That's why you fell into each other so quickly and comfortably. Because your souls recognize one another!" She exclaimed.

Amani raised her eyebrow at her cousin. "I've never heard of that before. Are you sure it's an actual thing?"

Reema punched her shoulder. "Of course it is. I know more than you. You were uneducated about nearly everything before you came here. The Realm of Souls is a real place. Once we die, we wait there until our time of judgement."

She laughed. "I haven't heard anything about this."

"Ask Muhsin. He'll explain it better to you."

"I'm not going to ask Muhsin."

"Why? He's your future husband, after all."

"Oh, be quiet," Amani scoffed.

"You can go to him with anything."

Then Amani remembered the dream she'd had the previous night. She paused to consider whether she should speak of it or keep silent, but Reema's curious eyes tugged the words from her mouth. "I had an odd dream last night. Muhsin was in it. Fayza, too."