Scented Roads

(9) The meeting

Dedicated to oblivionbybirth for loving Ala as much as you do and supporting me throughout! You make me want to write more often :D And I wish I complete the story before farewell!! ^^

Ala

.

"But, are you really living well?
In all honesty, are you satisfied?
Don't you feel that void in your heart?
Does that craving not come to you at all?"

.

Ala notices Furqan taking three deep breathes and looking everywhere but at her or at the table.

"Twenty-" questions, she wanted to repeat but he didn't let her complete.

"-No" Furqan says

Ala looked at him with confusion. All playfulness lost. She may have expected him to not answer her questions heartily but to decline the idea? That was downright rude.

"I do not entertain the idea of this meeting being extended to more than ten minutes. Let's ask three questions instead."

Ala felt the negativity Furqan intended to bring about and in her mind she took a step back from this person. She hadn't expected this modification. She shrugged his rudeness off and decided to agree.

"Okay." She said a little sternly "I'll shoot."

Unfortunately, not literally.

She squinted her eyes at him, clearly annoyed "How much do you study about Islam, and how regular are you at offering your prayers?" She asks. If she were to judge him, nothing would be better than to judge by his dedication in the religion.

The answer decided whether her one step back shall remain one or move back to another hundred.

Furqan's face softens as he hears the question. She could feel his features becoming warmer.

"I believe in continuously striving for knowledge, more Islamic than worldly. I have fix-ed" he coughs takes a deep breathe and continues "I have fixed hours every morning to study Islam and every evening to study about my field of work. I love offering prayers so I definitely try not to miss any. I ask the same question to you."

"I'm currently pursuing a BAIS degree on islamiconlineuniversity.com and I try my best when it comes to my prayers" she says "Do you sport long walks and just wandering around kind of stuff?"

"No" He says dryly. "You?"

"You can't always ask the same question!"

"Sure-" Furqan says, not understanding why he is so confident around her all of a sudden. "Do you wake up early?"

"I wake up for fajr, but I sometimes sleep after offering." She says. She does wake up early but staying awake after offering her prayers has always been a challenge for her.

Ala pauses for a little while. It is now her turn to ask a question, the last question. She thinks about what she would like to know more, even though she does not carry a good opinion of Furqan.

"How do you define love?" She finally asked. Maybe if their definitions matched, she would consider him.

"I don't"

Ala stares at him blankly.

'I don't' her mind repeats.

He's so annoying.

"But yes, I know it's respecting, trusting and honoring a person"

Ala's heart skips a beat. But not in a good way.