With Love

Chapter 30: flowers and falls

Since they'd slept quite late, Israh was saddened when she awoke around 7am to realize that she'd missed Fajr. She shouldn't have slept at all, seeing that they only went to bed around four, and Fajr would be in an hour anyway. But no matter how hard her thoughts troubled her, or how much Asad's closeness on the bed teased her, or how hard she tried to stay awake, she couldn't. Sleep gathered her in its tempting, warm embrace and pulled her into the coziest darkness she'd ever experienced in her life. But at what cost?

Nevertheless, still yawning and stiff from exhaustion of the day before, she got up from the bed, tamed her hair and re-tied it into a low ponytail, before heading to the bathroom to do her wudhu. The cold water splashing on her face was fresh and plucked at her sleep-driven eyes gently, turning her drowsiness into renewed strength.

As she came out of the bathroom, she went on a mission to find a prayer mat. Surely, it must be somewhere around here. In her hurry, she slammed her toe into the foot of the bed and let out a yelp. "Dammit!"

She crouched down and rubbed her foot, trying to soothe the pulsating pain that reddened her skin. "Gravity's not on my side. Ever." She murmured, annoyed at her own inability to walk straight or dodge obstructions.

Then, realizing she wasn't alone, she glanced up at Asad to make sure she hadn't disturbed him. He was in the same exact position he'd been in when he first laid down. Was he a robot? Didn't he move at all?

If it wasn't for the little movement of his chest rhyming with his breathing, Israh would have probably panicked that he'd died.

As the pain on her foot subsided a bit, Israh got up again and continued her mission, opening drawers and the closet but to no avail. Sighing, she marched over to her suitcase that had yet to be unpacked and rummaged through her clothes. She was sure she'd brought her own prayer mat, the one that Tamannah had given her as a gift at the engagement.

"I'm sure I put it here somewhere." She spoke to herself, clawing through her stuff. But there was nothing. From where she was kneeling against her suitcase, she nearly groaned and sat down on the floor, defeated. "Why's this my life?"

Since there was no other way, Israh just grabbed a large enough dupatta from the suitcase and laid it down on the floor. This would have to do.

Once she was done, she raised her hands to pray and asked Allah to make matters easy for her. Israh always struggled to put into words what she really wanted or needed, so her duas were always short. Her mother used to tell her that she didn't have to be eloquent in front of Allah, but still words just weren't enough; they didn't carry the desperation that she felt. Always, she was soothed by the fact that Allah knew what was hidden in the heart, that He'd understand even if she didn't speak.

She sat there for a while longer, until she noticed the streak of light pushing in from between the heavy curtains draped over the window, The sun was rising. Israh got up, picked the dupatta from the floor and folded it before putting it aside on the chair. Moving toward the left side of the desk, Israh caught the curtain between her fingers and moved them away just enough so she could see outside without waking Asad.

Through the window, the small garden appeared like a peaceful oasis bathed in the soft, golden light of early morning. A gentle mist still lingered in the air, lightly kissing the dew-covered leaves and petals, making everything shimmer as though dusted with diamonds. Pale pink roses climbed along a trellis while clusters of daisies swayed gently in the faint breeze.

At the garden's center stood two dark, metal-like chairs and a round table, so inviting under this beautiful morning. Israh missed Pakistan's rooftops and Portugal's balconies. England didn't have those, considering the weather, and the backyard at her parent's house wasn't this nice, but this garden was everything to her. She just knew it was going to be her favorite place in this house, and the approaching winter would really dampen her mood whenever she couldn't go out and enjoy a nice cup of chai.