Tawakkul

Chapter 7

The rain on that day was more than it had been for the previous weeks combined, and not only was it a force to combat with, it continued over a few days. Persistent to make Sultan learn his lesson. The groom looked at the sky as his brothers discussed the poor weather and his sisters helped him get dressed. Biting his lip in embarrassment. His mind wandered to when his parents had told him not to eat from the stove, warning him that if he did, it would rain on his fateful day. 'Alright, I get it, they were right,' he thought. He felt as though the rain was mocking him, and maybe it was. the clouds danced to the poetry written by the rain, and the sound of drums matched it, marching on the ground.

Aaliyah sat decorated in jewellery, her red dress spread out over the floor, and the intricate gold patterns snaked up the dress, contrasting her fair skin. She held a staring competition with the ground as everyone around her hastily enjoyed the uniting of the two families. Brought onto the stage was Sultan, next to him, his older brother. For the first time, their eyes met. The moment was captured, held in the air, Aaliyah's eyes were like honey, like the moon, like the wilderness when the sun peeks through the trees, hauntingly enchanting. A brown which promises to write out your soul. A brown which dragged you to your knees.

Stars were visible in Sultan's eyes. He was in a daze, looking at his wife-to-be. His breath caught in his throat, "Mashallah," the word stood guarded behind his tongue. His brother sat him down, his gaze did not waver, fixed on the beautiful woman in front of him. He heard his brother laugh lightly behind him,

"We lost him, you okay romeo?" Asad nudged him to his senses. Sultan turned to him with a grin,

"She's gorgeous," he mouthed, receiving another round of laughter from Asad.

Aaliyah took no notice of the constant staring that Sultan gave her. Her brain was running through a list of things she had done, making sure she hadn't left anything unfinished.

'I gave them all breakfast so everyone's eaten, check. Abu gave me the key to his locker, I put it on the desk in my room, check. I told Aafreen the recipe for haleem, check.'

She heard a sob behind her, which distracted her thoughts. Aaliyah turned her head, her rose dupatta remaining firmly on her brown locks, the gold nose ring making a slight noise. There, behind her seat, stood Zoya, Hamza's daughter. Her doe eyes were full of tears, which travelled down her face. Her cheeks were a rosy red and her face was puffy.

"Zoya beta, what happened?" Aaliyah placed her hand on zoyas' face, wiping the tears.Her mhendi stood out compared to her fair skin. Her gaze had softened in concern, and Sultan watched this exchange between Aaliyah and her niece with great concentration. The little girl only sobbed in reply, melting into her aunt's hand, her red lips pouting. 'She must love Aaliyah so deeply', sultan thought, 'she's missing her already.'

"Phupho, if you leave, who will make me breakfast? '' Sultan held in his laughter caught completely off guard by the statement, as the girl kept crying and Aaliyah just looked at her slightly shocked, a bit amused but mostly touched.

The celebrations carried on late into the night and it was finally time for the bride's family to wish her goodbye. Aaliyah looked around not being able to see her father, .she had one of her hands resting on Hamza's shoulder, who helped her walk to the door, where Aaliyah stood refusing to walk further

"Bhai where's Abu?"

Hamza looked around and sent someone to find their father.

"I'm not leaving without meeting abu"

Hamza nodded, sultan stood next to Aaliyah seeing her shoulders tense as he watched her with soft eyes. They brought over her father who looked devastated to let go of his daughter. He held her head and kissed the top of it, her dupatta clung to the top, her makeup threatening to smudge. He then looked at Sultan, a look which told him more than his words would.