True Purpose

c h a p t e r 17

"Are you going to university today?" Hassan asked a coughing Zaynab.

After another coughing fit, Zaynab looked at him with red, watery eyes.

"I don't think I can go in this state," she replied, before sneezing.

"Do you want me to take a break from work? I can stay home for today, you know, so I can be with you," Hassan asked.

"No, no! Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Go to work," Zaynab replied.

"Zaynab, I'm worried about you. Do you have a fever?" Hassan asked.

Zaynab touched her forehead, but her hands were warm so she couldn't feel anything. She shook her head in response to his question.

Hassan looked at her doubtfully, before walking towards her. He placed the back of his hand against her forehead, making her heart speed up and causing butterflies to flutter in her stomach. He retracted his hand and looked at her sternly.

"Zaynab! You have a very high fever! I'm staying behind looking after you! And you know, it's your own fault that you are so sick right now!" Hassan said.

It was pouring with rain yesterday, but Zaynab nicely declined Ava's offer to drive her home because she didn't want to inconvenience Ava, whose house was far away from Hassan's. And Zaynab was way too shy to give Hassan a call to come pick her up. And when Hassan called her to ask her whether he should come to pick her up, she refused, saying that she'll manage. Nevertheless, Hassan still drove to the university to pick Zaynab up, but she had already left. Zaynab had walked home in the heavy rain, which was the reason she was suffering from a severe cold.

"I know, I'm sorry about yesterday, Hassan. I told you not to worry yet you still went all the way to the campus only to miss me!" Zaynab replied.

"Had you have waited there for me, none of this would have happened. Now don't refuse me to stay behind!" Hassan said.

"Okay," Zaynab replied bashfully, and then fell into another coughing fit.

Hassan nodded before grabbing his clothes from the closet and entered the ensuite to shower.

Zaynab lay back on the bed and closed her eyes. It felt so good to sleep during a cold, and that's exactly what she wanted to do.

Twenty minutes later, the sound of a door opening caused Zaynab to look up, and she saw it was just Hassan who had stepped out of the ensuite. She looked at him in awe, unable to take her eyes off him. His black hair was wet and messy, and he was dressed in jeans and a button down shirt with its sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He looked absolutely perfect and Zaynab wondered what a messy sight she would be looking next to him, with her runny nose, bloodshot eyes, and unkempt hair.

"You want to shower? The water is nice and warm. It will help you relax," Hassan said.

Zaynab nodded and got out of the bed. More than the water helping her to relax, she really wanted to shower so that she could look decent next to Hassan.

When she came out after showering, she saw Hassan sitting on the bed, reading a book.

She tried to peek at the book cover to see what it was that he was reading, but she couldn't make it out because his fingers were covering the title.

"Hassan, what are you reading?" Zaynab asked, shyly.

Hassan looked up from the book and at Zaynab.

"This? Oh, this book is called When the Moon Split. It's by Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri. It's a great book!" Hassan replied.

"What's it about?" Zaynab asked, intrigued by the name of the book.