Along The Lines of Love

Chapter 10. The Goodbye.

Dil bharta nahi, aankhein rajti nahi.

Chahe kitna bhi dekhti jaun.

Waqt jaaye mai rok na paaun.

Tu thodi der aur teher jaa soneya.

Tu thodi der aur theher jaa.

~~~~~~~~~

"Breakfast after fajr?"

I stare at Aliyan's message for pretty long. It's almost 1 am right now and as I was heading to sleep my phone rang with Aliyan's message. He wants to meet after fajr tomorrow. I don't know what I should say. I don't want to break down in front of him again. After a lot of thinking I reply.

"Sure. Send the location."

"Okay. Allah hafiz. Sleep well." I smile at his message and read my book for a while before sleep engulfs me.

I sat on my prayer mat in prostration for a while. Fajr time was over by the time I got done with my duas. I bowed my head down on the ground and prayed and prayed.

"Ya Allah, you have made my heart and you have written my destiny. You are the best of planners and surely any decision you have made for me will have good in it. Ya Allah, I have fallen in love with one of your servants. Please put in him the best for me. Please ya Allah, make him the best decision for me. I don't know how and when I have fallen this deeply in love with him but I have Ya Allah. Please grant me peace with him."

I put my head on the ground and let all my tears flow. Baba always used to say "When you don't have a shoulder to cry on, always remember you have the ground to put your head on and cry to Allah."

I silently folded my prayer mat and kept it aside before putting a dupatta on my head and heading outside to get some water. Everyone was going back to their rooms after praying. I went back to my room and checked my phone. Aliyans message. As I had expected.

"Lets leave in 10?"

"Sure."

This is the last time I will meet him personally. I don't even know how things are going to go after this. Are we just going to live with the fact that we like each other and then eventually get married to someone else? Am I ever going to have the courage to talk to baba and mama about this? I grab my abaya, quickly iron it and wrap a hijab around my head before putting in all my essentials in my purse and slowly heading out so that no one notices. Aliyan was waiting near the car by the time I reached downstairs. He was dressed in a simple white shalwar kameez as it was a Friday. We sat down and headed to the Cafe.

To my surprise, it was a book Cafe. It was the prettiest place I had ever seen. It was a Cafe, a bookstore inside it and a floral shop outside. It was the most perfect place I had ever seen.

"Flowers?" Aliyan asks me as I stand near the flowers with happiness shining on my face. I smile at him in approval.

"Aight, you go inside and order something I will get a good bunch." I nod at him and head inside. The Cafe is beautiful. Bookshelves cover all angles of the Cafe and there are barely 2 or 3 more people apart from us. It smells like freshly brewed coffee and freshly baked croissants. I take a seat near a bookshelf and window, perfect combination. Putting my purse on the bench I can't help but explore all the bookshelves containing the most breathtaking amount of books. I had visited very few cafes like this in Riyadh and, to say they were my comfort place would be more than just right.

"Did you order something?" I hear Aliyan from behind me. I turn around and a loud gasp leaves my mouth. He is standing in front of me with a bouquet. A damn large bouquet. It's filled with mixed flowers of red, light pink, creme and yellow flowers. To say I was in awe of how beautiful the bouquet looked would be an understatement. It was just downright perfect. So perfect that I can't help but wonder if he has ever gotten a bouquet for someone else. He slowly hands the bouquet to me and I take it from him trying to fit it in my small dainty hands.