Loving a Princess

7. All that He does is for the best.

I was a girl who always stuck to her plans. I did what I aspired to do. I had an organised and planned life. And one of my plans was to attend GVU. So when I had to change that entire plan, and decide not to pursue engineering at GVU because of a guy, to say that was unexpected would be an understatement.

But so what if I had planned GVU? After all, Allah does say: But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you, and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah knows while you know not [Qur'an, Surah 2, Ayah 216]. I realised that it was probably in my best interest that I didn't end up at GVU. It would be for my own benefit, and although I may not understand it now, Allah knows best and only does what is best.

It had been two months since I had started USC. Since I had been accepted to both the universities, which were equally good, because one door, which I preferred for certain reasons, ended up closing for me, there was another door waiting wide open for me. And it didn't have any obstacles. I got into USC without any issues, without any distraction.

As I sat in the library, trying to study for my mid-semester exams, my mind drifted off from the books before me and wandered off to the events of the past two months.

After the moments I had spent weeping at the park, I pulled myself together. I had gotten up from that bench, hailed a cab, and headed back to the hostel, wanting to tell everything to Umniyah. I had just known her for a day, but I had grown pretty close to her.

Once I had entered our room, Umniyah was sitting on her bed with her laptop, typing away furiously.

"Assalamualaykum," I had greeted, causing her to look up.

"Wa'alaykumsalaam! What brings you back so early?" Umniyah had asked, surprise etched on her pretty features. That was all I needed to break down. I had started crying, before I could even say anything, and Umniyah's surprised look was replaced with one of horror. "Oh! Aliyah! What happened? What went wrong, honey?" Umniyah asked, worried, as she had wiped the tears on my face.

"Umniyah!" I had sobbed. "I can't go to GVU! Everything's ruined! I left the orientation! I wouldn't be able to attend GVU, the university of my dreams, the university my brother attended before he passed away!"

Umniyah's face was filled with a mixture of shock and confusion. "Wait. Aliyah, calm down first! Breathe! Stop crying and calm down!" She had gotten up to get me a glass of water, which I sipped slowly, as I calmed down.

Once I had visibly calmed down, Umniyah spoke up. "Now, start from the beginning. Tell me everything!"

"Alright," I began. "As soon as I entered the premises, someone stepped on my foot by accident," I paused and Umniyah looked at me incredulously. "Yes, that person stepped on my foot!"

"Who on earth steps on someone's foot when walking?" Umniyah had questioned. "And what has that got to do with you choosing not to go to GVU?"

"I'll get to that later, but before I get to that, let me tell you everything else. Instinctively, I raised my eyes to look at this clumsy person, but as soon as my eyes landed on his face, I lowered my gaze immediately. But his features didn't go unnoticed by me! He was so handsome!" As soon as I said that, Farshad's face had flashed in my memory, making me feel upset all over again.

"Go on," Umniyah had said.

"I chose to ignore all that, and just go for the orientation. But GVU's system is such that apparently, a second year student was selected to give the freshmen an orientation. And it was none other than this guy! Right then and there, I knew I had never felt this way towards any guy. Umniyah, I'd spent my whole teenage life lowering my gaze. Without any trouble. And even after catching a first glance of any guy's face, I'd not remember what he would look like. But with this guy, it was different. His face was imprinted on my memory! I realised I was attracted to him, because even though I continued to lower my gaze, I actually had to force myself to do so!" I paused for a breath.