Through your eyes

Elliot

I want to say I don't know why I asked to join Jannah after dinner, but deep down I do. I can't remember the last time spent time like this, hung out with people my age. Was seen as just a person, rather than for Echo. The only thing I can equate it to is when I go to the mosque. Which I'm sad to admit had been far less frequent than I would like. I should make time to go tomorrow.

We make our way out of the restaurant and onto the busy streets. The hustle never really does stop in this area I suppose. I mean I'm guessing with it being the business district, it's not like I hang around here often. I don't venture out of my apartment much, only for work, the gym and mosque.

It's quiet for a few moments between us, both of us lost in our own thoughts. Jannah breaks the silence.
"Earlier, I saw you in the prayer room..." she trails off.

I never expected to be in a situation where I would share this with her. That we would get to know each other to this point. But fate has other plans I guess.

"Um... I guess I just wanted to ask..." she turns to me and I can see she's at war with herself. Whether she should even ask, confused, intrigued maybe. I should just answer right? I'm Muslim, it's not something that can be kept a secret if you spend time with me. I will have to go pray, I won't drink or eat certain things .

Whilst I'm contemplating this, she lets out a deep breath.

"I don't mean to sound rude, and I understand this is personal and if you don't want to answer that's totally fine. I was just wondering about your religious beliefs. If you have any?"

I chuckle at the way she scruches her nose. She obviously regrets even bringing this up and whilst embarrassment is something I never would want her to feel. The way her face scrunches and the flush on her cheeks is adorable.

"Im Muslim". I say. Its best just to get it out there.

She doesn't looked shocked. In fact she looks at me as if things are starting to make sense. And the way my heart thumps is unsettling. It's reassuring that she's not surprised, surely that means I've been doing things right. That I've been following the path towards Allah, so much so that another Muslim can recognise it.

At this point we've stopped on the side of the street. She looks thoughtful as she leans against the side of the building. I do the same to get out of peoples way.

"I reverted in April." I add because I know she wants to ask but doesn't know how.

"I was on my way from a run when I heard the Azaan and my feet took me to the mosque. Things started happening that I couldn't explain ... in a good way. I started learning more about the religion then and everything made sense in my heart. I'm grateful Allah invited me to His house ... and I thank Him for the people who crossed my path."

Her eyes are intense and it tugs the depths of my soul. I wonder if she know one of those people is her.

"I had been feeling this sense of emptiness for a while. I didn't know what my purpose was. And ever since I accepted Islam my life has felt so full. I thank Allah every single day."

"Thats amazing." She clears her throat "Thank you for sharing, that's really beautiful."

I don't know what to say. The weight of her gaze on me my skin feel electric. I can feel the goosebumps rise on the back of my neck. And when I meet her eyes I'm pretty sure she feels this thing too.

She clears her throat again.

"It must have been hard to go through this on your own. I'm not the best person to ask for advice but if you ever need anything to help you on your journey, you can ask me. InShaAllah we can help each other."

"Thank you Jannah."

We both end up walking through the busy streets. The silences aren't awkward and the conversation is never stilted. She asks me more about my childhood, I tell her I drove my mother crazy. That I regret putting her through such difficult times with suspensions and broken bones during my troubled teen years. She tells me Allah knows what is in our hearts, I should try to forgive my younger self. And of course I should make it up to my mother. I ask about hers. I learn about her family, that she's originally from Birmingham, that her parents are Pakistani. She tells me about her engineering course, how she got into it. That her physics teacher in secondary school had a bridge building competition with lolly sticks. The bridge that could stand the most weight would win. She'd lost and ever since she was determined to build the strongest bridge. When it came to choosing a career, she remembered the passion she felt that day. She didn't know what the job would be like only that she hoped she enjoyed studying it. She asks how I got started in tech. I tell her about Mr Dowd, how I got started in computing and how I learnt code. I tell her I didn't have the passion for it either, that it sort of fell in my lap. My passion was to build a better future for my mum and I.

Time flew and it was time to say goodbye. The weird thing is I didn't want to let her go. I wanted to hear more, learn more about her. But we ran out of time. I insist on arranging an Uber to the station. She argues but finally relents when I don't budge. I need to make sure she gets there safe.

"I had fun today, this evening, thank you for helping Jen and I. For dinner, for staying with me, keeping me company."

"It was a pleasure, I don't remember the last time I had so much fun, so thank you. I hope to meet you again. Inshallah."

"I'm sure we will. I have a good feeling about our project. And if it doesn't work out I'll come down with Sadie to catch up with you. You're a really great friend Elliot."

Friend doesn't seem like the right word. Don't get me wrong we get on well. I could speak with her for hours, would trust her with my most vulnerable thoughts. Yet there's this constant awareness, and electric buzz humming in the background. I get distracted by the beauty spot under her eye, the little dimple in her cheek, her laugh makes me lose every thought. That doesn't happen with friends. Right?

"I'd love for you both to come down. The invitation is always open."

My phone pings announcing that the Uber is pulling up.

"Of course I will be taking advantage of that, I'd love to see more of Echo. Text me whenever."

I wave her Uber over and open the door for her to get in.

"Will you do me a favour Jannah?"

"That's very vague Elliot." She give me a cheeky grin. "But if I can, I will."

"Text me when you get home safe." I say knowing I'll be thinking of her. I already feel the distance and she hasn't even left yet.

"Okay... Goodbye Elliot." She gives me one of those adorable smiles. Her cheeks flushed and round, eyes crinkled, straight teeth on full display. And I swear my heart stutters in my chest.

"Bye Jannah."

Hey: it's been a while... been busy with life. I'm planning a few chapters, hopefully I can get them out soon. Someone left me a comment and it really encouraged me. So thank you to my first ever comment poster!!!! Hope you enjoy. X