Embraced (#2 Natives series) #ProjectNigeria

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two

               "FATIHA! OVER HERE."

At the sound of her name, Fatiha spun around with her phone pressed to her ear, her eyes searching through her surroundings for her chaperone for the day.

She watched as a tall figure cloaked in a plain black abaya and niqab strutted over to her with unbreakable focus. A light breeze blew through layers of fabrics and exposed clean pairs of white canvas and socked ankles.

Fatiha didn't know how the lady did it, but she found herself colored impressed by how the young woman moved effortlessly through the pack of going bodies with graceful strides, all the while towering and avoiding body contact with the population of men crowding the first floor of the hotel where the book launch for With Baby Steps, InShaa'Allah We'll Get There was taking place.

"You're late." The young woman who Fatiha had only ever seen in pictures called out from a few steps away.

Fatiha gave a sheepish smile when the lady closed the gap between them. She could see now that the abaya wasn't as plain as she'd thought. It had intricate spirals woven into the nape of the dress, the end of its sleeves and down the front in a single line with glossy black thread.

Other than her name and the fact that the young woman owned a bookclub called Veiled&WellRead, Fatiha didn't know anything else about her auntie's friend's daughter.

"Sorry, I was —"

Her words were cut short when her companion threw heavy but slim arms around her then drew her in for a hug. "What are you apologizing for? The fun part hasn't even begun yet." Safiyah pulled back but her hands held onto Fatiha's forearms still.

Her honey brown eyes which were the only part of her face that could be seen were really pretty they nearly gave Fatiha a start when she came in contact with them. She'd thought Noor had really beautiful eyes, but this! God can create abeg! Allahu Akbar.

Framed with long straight lashes that had been darkened and forced into a pitiful curl with mascara, Fatiha had no doubt those cat-like eyes must have unknowingly enchanted a couple of guys at various points in time.

"I find it quiet admirable when someone shows up fashionably late. I love your dress. I'm Safiyah, which I'm sure you already know, of course. I run Veiled&WellRead, which again you must know already. Anyway, we need to go now before the fun part of this launch begins." She said it all in one breath as she pulled a stunned and wordless Fatiha along.

As they stepped into an elevator headed for the fifth floor, Fatiha couldn't help but feel like her earlier anxieties were being washed away by the wave that was Safiyah, CEO of Veiled&WellRead. Fatiha was thankful for her useful babble as it had saved her the explanation of why she'd been late.

After praying, she had taken a quick bath, eaten breakfast and then after a few minutes of rest had began to mull over what to wear. With every dress she'd pulled from her closet, memories of Faisal telling her she looked awful had weakened her spirit. Until, of course, she'd had just less than twenty minutes to get to the venue.

At the end, she had picked out one of the new abayas auntie Halimah had gotten her. It was a simple cut dress that came with a matching veil and an after-dress. But the best part of the two-piece abaya was the little silver belt it came with and, of course, its wide sleeves.

Fatiha had forsaken makeup altogether because she wasn't yet brave enough to resume using it. With a tiny silver bracelet and a black tote bag which seemed ridiculous but was effective for her outing, she had completed her look for the day. There was no way she was going to a book launch without buying two... Three books at least.