The Halal Way

chapter 3

"maa ,I'll be sleeping upstairs today",said saeed as he took a bottle of water from the fridge.

"why beta ,You can sleep here",replied his mom pointing towards the corner bedroom where he usually slept.

"I just feel like sleeping on top today",he assured .

"fine but why are you going on top already? It's just 9:30 .Come and spend some time with me .I want to listen to your stories back in London . I couldn't sit and talk to you from the time you came down ." ,said his mom and he had to give in to her pleas keeping in mind the time he stayed away from his mom and rest of the family.

He pulled out a chair for his mom and himself in the garden . He wore a leather jacket to keep him warm as he slid his phone in the front pocket his jeans and lit the fire as it was very cold out there.

Meanwhile his mom got 2 cups of ginger tea and they had their conversation .

"when was the last time we sat like this ?",asked his mom as she took a sip of tea and admired her son ,for the way he is evolving for the good.

"very long I must say!did you miss me?",he asked not meeting her eyes .

"missed you?it felt horrible to sleep without seeing your face"

"why did you let me go?"

"would you stay if I'd stop you ?"

"why not? I'd definitely stay .What makes you think I would go against you ?"

"no sweetheart, that is not what I meant . I know you would stay if I had asked you to . But what good would it make to you?You always dreamt of studying in that university ,you studied worked hard and got a scholarship without any parental aid. When you finally get your wings to fly ,I am not greedy to cut it for my selfish needs. I can always feel you around even if you are not here. As much as I want you near me, I want you to achieve all that you want . ",she replied as a tear slipped the corner of her eyes ,she still managed to smile radiant as ever .

"Ahem Ahem !it was better off when you weren't here ,at least maa won't be this senti all the time ",said rasmiya ,his younger sister as she stood behind her mom ,adjusting and wrapping the pashmina shawl around to keep her from freezing.

Saeed looked at the two women in his life and smiled back . Just then he randomly checked his phone to find a quiz up notification from hayah. The last message faltered his smile.

"Saeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeddddddd!!!!!!"

His heart beat sped up and hands turned cold. He had beads of sweat dropping on his forehead.

"maa I'll go sleep ",he said and collected his meds and water bottle on the table .

"Is everything okay bhai ",asked rasmiya to which he reassured and said salam to both leaving them baffled about what just happened.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
He took his tablets and gulped down a glass of water . He sat on on the bed ,switched in the lights and read that message over and over again.

what is happening to me ?why did I  react that way on reading her message . I haven't spoken to her ,get I could hear her calling my name ,and it still echoing in my ear . How can she have that effect on me?why am I smiling for no reason,?Am I going mad?I was sure that this girl is mad ,is that effect passing on to me?

Saeed was untangling his thoughts and sorting his mind as his eyes fell on her dp which she changed . He clicked on it as it opened.

She wore thick glasses and it was a collage of 4 picks with 4 poses alongside her younger cousin .