white tulips

Six

It had been a week now that I didn't visit Aaliyah. I felt so guilty but because of school and all the homework I had to do there was no time left for me to go to the hospital. That's why I decided to visit her today. I packed some snacks and UNO to play with her. After I packed everything I didn't waste any more time and went there as fast as I could.

"Hey Liyah, how are you?" I sat myself on her bed next to her. "Well, you know but Alhamduillah I am still alive." "Mom said you're getting weaker." "She overreacts. I'm fine." She lied. But it would be unnecessary to argue with her now. "If you say so. I brought you something." I handed her them snacks. "I love you. What would I do without you?" I laughed. "You wouldn't have anything decent to eat." "You're right. How was school? Tell me everything."

"There isn't much to tell, only that this one boy I told you about-" "That annoying boy?" "Yeah, except that he isn't as annoying as I thought. He is actually nice I think." "You think? Does that mean.." "No. Definitely not but I guess we're kind of friends..? I'm not exactly sure either.. But Hamza said he is interested in Islam and that they went to the mosque together." "MashAllah, good for him." "Yes, but let's talk about something else." "You mean someone else?" Yes, yes I did. But I didn't say that. Instead I just laughed it off and we played UNO together.

It was almost 5 and Aaliyah fell asleep. That was my sign for me to go. As I started to get up, I got a notification from my phone. I looked at it and started smiling. Wait.. Why did I start..? Nevermind.

"Hey snickers, can we meet up at the coffee shop to talk about Islam? I'll bring my sister. "
"Hii, ofc!! Be there in 10!"

Why did I just sent that. Two i's ?? And wouldn't be a dot be enough?! But worst of all, why. do. I. care.?! Nevertheless, if I wanted to be on time, I had to leave now. I got on my bike drove there as fast as I could. On my way I was thinking about what questions he might has and was anxious that I wouldn't exactly know the answer to. That thought made me so scared I almost didn't realize I made it to my destination.

I took a deep breath and entered. My eyes flew around the tables and I spotted Moon and Tae sitting at a table. Tae held coffee in his hand, while Moon was drinking hot chocolate. Standing on the table there was another hot chocolate. Did he really remember or was that just a wild guess because his sister also had one? But back to the important part. I went to their table and sat across Tae to look at him while we spoke.

"Hi.", I said. Honestly I didn't know what else to say. "Hey snickers.", he responded with a smile. His teeth were so straight that I almost stared too long at them. Moon also greeted me with a beautiful smile. We all sat together and Tae started to ask questions. Not that hard questions; like how to learn to pray and about some islamic terms as in Tawaqqul and Sabr. I tried to answer them to him as good as possible and he seemed to understand everything and noted some of it on his phone. Moon, next to me, was on her phone the whole time. I thought she knew what was going on and decided to not interrupt us.

"Thank you, Khadijah. I actually have one last question for you." "Anything."

"Will you be the one to take my shahada with me?"

Did I hear this right? He wants me to take his shahada with him? I didn't know how to answer but I had to say something.. "Are you sure that you want me to do that?", I asked. "Extremely sure." "But why me? Hamza took you to the mosque, why not him?"

"Because, Khadijah, you are the reason I first got interested in Islam. Without you I wouldn't have read the Quran. After you told me that boys and girls can't touch, I was so confused and made me want to know more about your religion. So yes, I want you to take my shahada with me. Right now, right here."

I felt a tear rolling down my face as I nodded. "Okay, repeat after me. Ashhadu.." "Ashhadu.."
"an la.." "an la.."
"ilaha.." "ilaha.."
"illa-lah.." "illa-lah.."
"wa ashadu.." "wa ashadu.."
"anna.." "anna.."
"muhammadan.." "muhammadan.."
"rasulu-lah." "rasulu-lah."

"Welcome to Islam, Tae."

Now we both sat there crying. I felt goosebumps everywhere, my heart was beating fast and my whole body was shaking. I looked around me and realized that literally everyone was staring at us. But that didn't bother me. Tae was muslim and that was all that mattered now. The atmosphere was so calm and I somehow never felt happier. I wish we could sit there like that forever, but I had to go, my mother texted me.

I told them both goodbye and went to my bike to drive home. On the drive home I thought a lot about Tae. It's funny how Tae and I met and where that led us now. I thought about what he said.

You are the reason I got interested in Islam.

Did I really influence someone so much with my behavior, that they reverted to Islam? I wanted to cry again, but if anyone at home saw me crying they would think something bad happened even though it's the opposite.

I arrived at home, greeted everyone and prayed Maghreb. While I waited for Ishaa his words couldn't get out of my head.

You are the reason I got interested in Islam.
You are the reason I got interested in Islam.
You are the reason I got interested in Islam.
You are the reason I got interested in Islam.
You are the reason I got interested in Islam.

I was going insane.