Love is Faith (An Islamic love story) *completed*

Far away...

Assalam o alaikum :)
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"Hareem we are going to Masjid (mosque) to offer prayer, you wanna come?" Zainab asked Hareem after the class, it was zuhr (one of the five prayers) time. Hareem looked at her, thoughtfully, not answering for a while, then she hesitatingly replied in a low voice.
"Yeah...sure." she went with them. Khadija and Zainab went inside after the ablution.
Hareem slowly came to sit in front of the tap. She stared at it, not motioning to open it, then took a deep breath and turned it open. After wudu (ablution) she got up to wrap her head with her scarf. Her heart was already racing against her chest. She walked slowly towards inside and stopped at the threshold. Her breaths became irregular as she gulped and lifted her head to look at the people offering their prayers. Her head was spinning. She felt nauseated, It was suffocating. She blinked her eyes several times to keep herself conscious. All of a sudden she closed her eyes and sighed, and backed out from where she was standing. The very next moment she was gone...

    ******

The vacations drew nearer and finally the day arrived when all the three of them were in Yorkshire. They stayed in a hotel and went out to numerous places. It was a beautiful city, with captivating views of landscapes. They visited parks, beaches, restaurants and many places. Hareem tried to participate in every conversation that was carried out. They really enjoyed the trip. It was a memorable vacation.
They went to a beautiful beach once, water splashed their bare feet as the three of them walked near the shore. After a long stroll they sat under a shade as the sun was bright. They started praising and talking about the beauties of the city, when Hareem suddenly quietened. The rest of the two were so much absorbed into each other, that they did not notice Hareem.
She was staring at a man whose back was facing her. He was busy talking to someone beside him. He was wearing a hat. A hat..... her mind continued pinching her. Her fists tightened unconsciously and her eyes filled up with unexplainable expressions. She was gritting her teeth but did not know it.

"Hareem....you okay?" Both the girls were noticing her for...she did not know since when. She immediately relaxed her facial muscles and looked sheepishly smiling at them.

"Yeah I'm fine." she tried to put on a smile...

    ******

The vacations had ended quite a long a time ago. She visited her aunt regularly at weekends. Her exams were on their way to her. She stayed all day either in hostel or in libraries behind the pile of books. It was her final year of the degree and she wanted to achieve all the goals she had longed for. Her friends too spent most of their time studying and preparing for the exams. They were studying really hard.
At last the exams came and went. They remained extremely busy, not even contacting each other for long periods. It was stressful. Now they were finally free.
Hareem went to her aunt's place. Now as she was free, she spent most of her time in helping her in her charities. She went to seminars with her and organized them too.
The result was out and she as usual had won distinctions in many subjects. Zainab and Khadija too got good grades. They came to her aunt's place to congratulate her.
Hareem's parents came to visit her in london during the days she was free.

"Hareem beta, now as you're done with your degree, we want you to come back."
Ibad asked her after praising her for her achievements. Amna looked at her daughter delightfully. Hareem's smile faded.

"No baba..." she abruptly replied, than sheepishly shook her head as soon she realized how straight forward her answer was. Ibad and Amna were too surprised at her.

"...I...I mean I want to study further, I want to do some other courses here and I am being offered scholarship for that in Liverpool. She avoided meeting her eyes with them. Ibad and Amna suddenly became worried.

"...Bu..But my child isn't this much study enough for you? You must start new phases of life now."

At this hareem looked straight at his face that was getting darker and he could not meet his eyes with her.

"...I mean I thought it might be enough to study this further, but it's okay if you.....if you want to continue." His eyes wandered.

"Are you sure my dear, you want to do this?" This time Amna spoke up looking hopelessly at her.

Hareem felt it just enough to nod.

The conversation later turned its course towards her settlement in Liverpool. She was going to stay in another city on her own.

     ******
The lights were turned off. Windows were closed so that the howling wind could not haunt the air of the room. Black darkness prevailed the room. The big clock on the wall struck 2 a.m. She continuously changed her course restlessly lying on the comforting bed. Her eyes lacked the urge for sleep. It was quiet all around, she was still at her aunt's place and had been sleeping in that room for almost three years but now she could not sleep even after trying really hard continuously for two hours.
Once she changed her side and lied straight, like a dead person. She stared at the roof. The patterns of the beautiful ceiling could be guessed a bit in the dim moonlight that was being filtered by the closed windows. Those patterns seemed to her like a puzzle. They were like threads. Numerous thread-like patterns were jumbled together. She started from a thread in each of the four corners and traced them all the way unconsciously trying to make them meet somewhere. It might sound stupid but this was the only activity she found interesting at that time but the threads never met. That was a strange kind of puzzle, just like her life...She shuddered instantly as she once again changed her side and closed her eyes to make another useless attempt to sleep.

       ******

She was in the kitchen preparing the breakfast with her aunt, when the door bell rang. Her aunt went out to see the door. After a while a woman entered the house. Aunt called for her and she left what she was busy with and went to her. She was a woman of age just about aunt Rubina. She was wearing hijab and had her body fully covered with a shawl. Her eyes were beautiful having hazel tint in them. She had a personality, which Hareem could not understand why, attracted her. Aunt rubina embraced that woman warmly, showing she knew her well.

"Hareem, this is Nabiha, my college friend." aunt Rubina addressed Hareem, smiling ear to ear. She seemed very happy after meeting her. Hareem stepped ahead lowering her head for her to pat, which she did and enveloped Hareem in a big warm hug.

"Such a decent girl you are." She said in her sweet-as-honey voice.

Hareem stared at her for an instant with blank face then tried to smile. The lady was taken to aunt's room where the three of them sat and chatted. Actually Hareem just listened them talking, while they talked about the good old days.

"You can call me aunt." She addressed Hareem once with a pretty smile, while discussing something. She lived in another city with her husband who died three years ago. Now she had shifted to london. She kept in touch with aunt Rubina the whole time and now they finally met. She too like her aunt worked in charities and was working in an NGO too.
She looked at Hareem after small intervals while talking to Rubina.

"You don't talk much, I guess." Her eyes glittered as she smiled.

Hareem looked at her startled from her own thoughts and merely smiled sheepishly.

"My son Hammad is just like you." She continued, "he too doesn't talk much."
His son worked with her, that was all Hareem had listened to consciously, after that she continued to wander in her thoughts...