Rekindled Love

Chapter 11

They say down at the dinner table to have lunch and the air was filled with Umma's amazing food. The scent was wafting in the air and he ate till he was full. They conversed a little while they had lunch in silence. "How are your friends? Salim and AbdulMajeed?" Abba asked.

"They are fine, they all send their regards"

"I hope you are not thinking of going back so soon?" Umma said and he looked down because he knows his words will make Umma sad.

"I only came back for the Weekend, I'm going back on Monday morning." He said and he couldn't look into her eyes.

"Why so soon? At least spend the whole week with us." she said and before he could speak, Abba spoke and saved him.

"If he stays here much, who will take care of his Company in Bauchi? Allow him to go, and Mubarak, don't forget to take care of yourself over there. If you need advices or anything, just let me know. And don't overwork yourself. Okay?"

"Okay Abba, in Shaa Allah I will. Thank you so much." With that, Abba washed his hands and stood up, he recited the supplication done after eating food and washed his hand. "Your food was tasty, as usual." He praised and he could see the way Umma blushed. Abba chucked and made his way back to his room where he worked. He has taken after his father, he's very serious and strict regarding his work and makes no room for mistakes.

He also finished eating and their housemaids came and took the used plates and cleared the dining table and he sat in the living room on the floor beside his mother's legs, resting his head on her knee. She gently massaged his hair, her touch comforting and familiar.

"How are you Mubarak?" Umma asked, her voice, smooth, gentle and comforting.

"I'm fine." He said flatly.

Her hands paused in their gentle motion. "How are you really, Mubarak?" she pressed, her tone gentle but insistent.

Mubarak sighed, his shoulders sagging. "I don't know, Umma. I just feel... stuck. Things are weighing heavy on me."

Her hands resumed their gentle massage, her touch filled with empathy. "Is it about Safina? Have you still not found closure?"

Mubarak nodded, his eyes closing. "Yes, Umma, It's still hard for me. But it's not just that. There's someone else too... someone I care about, but I don't know how to process my feelings."

Umma's hands continued stroked his hair, her voice filled with understanding. "Tell me more, Mubarak, What's going on?"

Mubarak opened his eyes, looking up at his mother with a mixture of sadness and longing. "I don't know, Umma. I just feel lost. I don't know, I'm unsure about my feelings for her. I met her a while ago, and... everything about her just drew me in. Her smile, her laughter, her kindness... I felt a connection I couldn't ignore. We have never had a normal conversation. I am just trying to know her and get close to her, but she is hard to understand at times."

He told her everything about Haniyyah, from where they first met to coincidentally meeting at her restaurant to him seeing her struggling for breath at the side of the road. Imma listened attentively. He just couldn't hide anything away from her. "I don't know what I feel about her anymore."

"Mubarak, one thing I will tell you is that, follow your heart, if she is the one your heart inclines to, just don't leave her side. Don't let her slip away from your hand."

"I don't know if I love her yet, she's just there in my heart and she's all I think of. But it's hard for me to accept when all I want to do is protect her, care for her, be there for her. She told me to stay away from her."