Blessed (Halal Romance)

Chapter 2

Yahya Mansoor

"So, what do you think?" Mom asked me.

"I think you're wasting your time," I replied to her distractedly.

"Yahya! Why do you keep doing this to  yourself?"My mom exclaimed angrily, "You are 32 years old; don't you think it's time you find a wife? Do you want to spend the rest of your life alone?" Mom said it sadly.

After Asr, Mom visited my house and told me about a girl she saw at the masjid. She said the girl would be ideal for me, so I had to clarify to her once again that I'm not interested.

"It's not about being alone, Mom; I'm just not ready." I sighed.

"You pray five daily prayers, give zakah, are successful, and have a nice house. Is that not ready enough?" Mom tried to reason.
"It's not just that, and you know it." I reminded her.

"Kids are a blessing from Allah (SWT), and having them or not is a test from him. You shouldn't let something that was destined in your qadr stop you from being happy." Mom said it gently.

"I know, Mom. Don't you think I know it? I have accepted my qadr; having a child was not in my destiny, but do you think it'd be fair for me to bring someone else into this and make them go through the same?" I told her gently to get her to understand.

"The woman who is written for you will go through any situation Allah (SWT) will test her with, with a smile on her face, because you deserve the best, Yahya."Mom cupped my cheek and told me lovingly.

I felt overwhelmed to hear Mom say that. I think I needed the reminder that Allah (SWT) always has a plan for everyone, because with hardship comes ease.
.......

"Yahya!"

I was still lost in the conversation I had with Mom yesterday. It took me time to register that Adam was screaming my name.

"What?" I asked dryly.

"What. What. That's what you ask me after I've been screaming my head off to get your attention." Adam replied exasperatedly from beside me.

We were sitting in his living room, playing video games.

"You lost for the third time today, dude. What's with you?" He asked, concerned.

"Nothing, just thinking about something Mom said," I replied.
"What happened?" he asked.

"She just wants me to get married," I said after a while.

"You should. It's the best thing a man could do," he said with a grin on his face.

He knew my reasons for being hesitant to get married, and he never pushed me, but for the past year, he's been hounding me to get married, ever since he did. Apparently, best friends are supposed to do things at the same time. Adam was married to Sameera, who was his distant cousin. He saw her for the first time at a wedding and asked for her hand in marriage the very next day. Since then, he has been whipped, and I couldn't be happier for him. But he has to stop hounding me.

"You know what? I have the perfect plan to change this attitude of yours. Let's get food. Sameera is with her friends. We could pick her up on the way and get food. What do you say?" He asked me, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Alright." I chuckled.

.......

We reached the halal restaurant that we frequent often, which is 20 minutes from my home.

Adam and Sameera entered the restaurant, the door sliding closed after them.

I reached for the handle and pulled forcefully when suddenly a woman reached for the handle from the other side, only for her to lose her footing and bump into me.

She righted herself immediately and stepped back from me, and her hand went consciously to her face covering.

They say some moments in life are so monumental that your body gets an out-of-body experience. That was how I felt when I got my first glimpse of her before I lowered my eyes.

She was fully covered from head to toe in abaya and face coverings, leaving only her eyes uncovered. She had the most mesmerising pair of eyes I had ever seen. I forgot to breathe for a second.

"I'm so sorry." She apologised.

"No, I'm sorry. It's my fault. I shouldn't have pulled the door so harshly." I cleared my throat before glancing at her to reply; it felt like I had swallowed sand.

"Sawda, you alright," a man asked, who was followed outside by three women who were all covered in hijab. It seemed that they were leaving the restaurant.

"Yeah, I just slipped; no worries," she said, glancing at me, and when she caught my eye, she lowered her eyes quickly.

Hearing her name made my heart skip a beat.

"Assalamualaikum." I turned to greet the man.

"Waalaikumassalam." The man replied with a nod.

Before I could say anything else, my phone rang, showing Adam's number. I declined it.

"Are you alright? Did you hurt  yourself?"I asked her concerningly.

"No, I'm fine." Sawda replied.
Before I could make sure whether she was really alright, Adam called again.

I glanced at the phone.
"You should pick up the phone; it seems important." The man told me.

" Yeah. I'm sorry once again, Assalamualaikum," I said with a nod.

"Waalaikumassalam," they all replied.

I turned and entered the restaurant, all while trying to control my breathing. Do I have a respiratory disease?