LUCENT

25

Hi everyone. I know that, like me, a lot of you feel helpless. Witnessing a genocide and ethnic cleansing of an entire people and being unable to do much is heartbreaking. But please continue to pray for them. Continue to spread awareness and donate if you can.

Allahumma aslih ahwaalal-muslimeena fi filisteen, Allahumma aslih ahwaalal-muslimeena fi filisteena wa fi kulli makaanin ya dhul-jalali wal-ikraam. Ameen.

Allah is with the oppressed.

TAYYIB

I narrowed my eyes at Nadira, warning her, and she smiled cheekily, mischief swirling in her eyes. "Get off the counter," I say sternly.

"I'm just trying to help," she whines with a pout.

She was standing on a kitchen counter to look into the overhead cabinets better. I had offered to make her pizza, and she so badly wanted to help. The problem is, she's a terrible cook.

After almost ruining the dough, she opted for something simpler, like handing me ingredients and tools. The other problem is the overhead cabinets were too high for her to reach. Nadira was not short, but the cabinets were made with me in mind.

"You don't have to help. Just sit and look pretty," I say, causing her frown to deepen. I walk over, wrap my arms around her thighs and lift her off the counter. I gently place her on the ground.

"Come roll out the dough," I urge.

"I don't want to ruin it again," she says.

"It's fine if you ruin it. Just give it a go," I reply, moving her into place. I stand behind her as she grabs the rolling pin and begins flattening the dough.

I kiss the top of her head and smile. "See. It's not that hard." She tilts her head and gives me a heart-melting smile.

"Can it be shaped like a heart?" She asks.

"Anything you want," I respond.

As she requested, I did my best to cut the dough like a heart. She spreads the sauce, and I add the mozzarella and basil leaves. I put it into the oven, and we cleaned up and loaded the dishwasher.

"How long do we have to wait?" She asks, bending down to look at it.

"I set a fifteen-minute timer. It should be done soon. You can pick a movie. I'll bring it when it's done," I respond.

"Okay!" She beams and hurries out.

I pull out my phone and check the timer. There were still 8 minutes to go, so I looked through my emails. I had given some of my workload to Junaid and Owais. I trusted they would handle things, but I still had to ensure they were going about it a certain way.

"It smells good in here," a familiar voice says.

"What do you want?" I ask, not looking away from my phone.

"Tayyib, look at me," he says, and I glance at him briefly. " Do you see what we have in common? Have you forgotten the nine months we spent in a confined space together?" Sa'ad complains.

I stare at him blankly.

He rolls his eyes and shakes his head. "Why did I expect you to change?"

"I also wonder," I reply.

He gives up on talking to me and walks over to the oven. "Can I have some?"

"No."

"You may deny me, but Nadira would never," he says, exiting the kitchen.