FAITH

CH.7: The Sky Is Not Empty

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"O Ibadee (My. slaves) who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah, verily Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving. Most Merciful."
-Al Qura'n
No matter how long you have travelled in the wrong direction, you can always turn around.

After the haldi ceremony was over. Efah went to her room took a shower, made wudhu and prayed Isha. Amna had already gone because she was feeling very sleepy.
Efah laid down in her bed, she kept on twisting and turning but it seemed that sleep was far away from her. She was missing her father a lot.
She got up from her bed, and decided to go in the garden. Amber was asleep so Efah did not felt good wake up her mother, so she informed Eshal and went in the garden.

The garden was Efah's favourite place because it reminded her the garden of their house back in London. Though this garden was far more bigger than the garden of their house in London but there was something which she missed here, and that was her father.
She was missing her father a lot. She was thinking why her father left her.
But she remembered what her father used to tell her. "Truly, to Allah we belong, and truly to Him we shall return" Kashif used to tell her whenever he would talk about his death and Efah would become upset.

She prayed for her father in her heart that may Allah grant her father a place in Jannah. 

Here there were people who loved her. Her mother, her elder sister and Amna tried to be there for her everytime. But no one could replace her father. Obviously no one in life can take any one's place. Each person has a different position in our life which cannot be replaced by others.

*Flashback*

"baba please let's go to the garden, I'm telling you this, like for the tenth time" Efah said pulling Kashif's arm and closing the file which Kashif was reading.
"okay my princess, c'mon let's go" Kashif raised his hand in surrender and walked with Efah to the garden. Efah was sitting with Kashif and suddenly looking at sky she came up with an idea.
"baba let's count the stars, the one who counts all the stars first wins. Let's see who wins" Efah said excitedly.
"how can one count the stars dear,from where does this weird ideas come to your mind?" Kashif asked laughing at her daughter's childish behaviour.
"why can't we count?" Efah asked making a sad face.
"I understand u are afraid to lose from me, right?" Efah asked stretching the world 'understand' and smiled widely.
Kashif was smiling whole heartedly looking at Efah.
"I would lose happily even hundred times for my princess" Kashif said.
"I love it baba" Efah hugged Kashif.
"okay let's start counting" Efah said coming back to her position.
"one...two...three..................................................................................... thirty one" Efah counted in a low voice.
"Yaaayy there are thirty one stars. I won. I won" saying Efah started jumping.
Kashif laughed at her.

*End of Flashback*

Efah's heart craved for those moments spent with her father. She loved gardening, and she had planted almost all types of roses in her garden in London. Kashif used to praise her time and again for her gardening.
But she had stopped doing gardening after Kashif died.

Today also Efah was staring in the sky trying to find out stars but there were none. She felt the moon to be alone in the dark sky just like her.

"hey" came Ahyan's voice. She was brought back from her thoughts.
Efah looked up at him. He handed a coffee mug to her . She took the mug from Ahyan and returned her gaze towards the sky once again.

Ahyan sat beside her. Taking a sip from his coffee he said, "Are you counting the stars?"
Efah was startled by his question, she looked at him. 'how come he knows it' she thought.
"ummm..the way you are gazing at the sky, I thought you are counting the stars. So I asked" Ahyan said answering the question she was thinking about.
"yeah, but I can't find any. the sky is empty" replied Efah.

"thank you for the shirt, you really have a good choice" Ahyan said.
"Hmmm, I used to choose shirts for baba, he used to wear shirts of my choice." Efah said staring at her coffee mug.
"I brought the coffee for you to drink not to stare." Ahyan smiled.
Efah took a sip of coffee.
They both stayed quiet for sometime.
"so you like sitting here?" Ahyan spoke up after a while.
"yeah" came Efah's reply.

There was quietness again.

This time Efah spoke up

"Back in London I spent hours in our garden, sometimes gardening and sometimes sitting with baba. This place reminds me of him"

Ahyan was about to ask something when Efah spoke up again "He died in an accident six months ago. I was alone there so mom called me to stay here."
She tried to act all brave in front of others but she knew how weak she felt inside.

Ahyan could feel Efah's sadness in her voice.

Atleast he knew this much that loosing a father is a great loss.

"it's good that you came here, you will not feel lonely here" Ahyan said assuring Efah.
Efah nodded her head.

Once again there was quietness. 

Ahyan felt the quietness to be awkward. He knew that Efah was upset. So he wanted to change the topic so that Efah could feel better.

"so you like gardening?" Ahyan asked looking at her.
Efah nodded a yes.

"why don't you do gardening here, it would be a nice thing" Ahyan advised.

"I don't feel like doing it, I used to do it because baba liked it. Now he is not there." Her heart ached saying and realising the fact that her father was not there anymore.

The moonlight made Efah's face visible in the dark. Ahyan could see the tears which had flown from her eyes to her cheeks. Ahyan wanted to raise his hands up to her cheeks and wipe away the tears from there. But he could not, he had to control himself.

 Ahyan kept on looking at Efah's face. Efah sensed Ahyan's gaze at her. She turned towards him, but Ahyan looked away.

Ahyan felt awkward so he said "it's too late now. I think you should sleep."
"you go I'll stay here for some more time" Efah replied.

"Noooo.... Not unless you get up, c'mon let's go" Ahyan said getting up and taking the coffee mug from her hand.

When Efah did not move from her place.
"Efaaah, I said get up" Ahyan said again, thistime a bit sternly.

Still no reply 

"ok I'll also sit here then, though I'm feeling very sleepy but until and unless you go I'm not going anywhere" saying Ahyan again sat down.

Efah looked at him and a smile formed in her lips unknowingly at Ahyan's childish behaviour.
Her smile went unnoticed by Ahyan.

"ok I'm going"saying Efah stood up and started walking towards her house.

"Efah" Ahyan called her.

Efah stopped. Ahyan went and stood behind her "you know, the sky is not empty. There is a star in the sky." Ahyan said pointing his finger towards the sky where there was a star shining brightly in the dark sky. 

Efah looked up at the sky. The sky looked more beautiful now. The moon was not alone.
"isn't it beautiful?"Ahyan asked.
"yeah" Efah replied turning around. She gave him a smile and then went.

Efah did not understand ahyan's intention when he said about the star.

Ahyan stood there smiling. If only Efah could understand what he meant by showing her the star.
Ahyan stood there watching Efah enter the house. After she went inside the house, he stood there for a while gazing at the sky with a smile on his face.

Saima was seeing everything from her bedroom window. She was standing and watching them all the time. When Ahyan went inside, she pulled the curtains of the window with full force as if she was taking out her anger.
A heat of jealousy erupted inside her.
She came and sat down in her bed.
"so something is going on between them" Saima said to herself.

She made a promise to herself that she would not let this happen.