Shirk in Disguise

Chapter 17

The dawn of the next day opened a dark chapter in Fanna's life in which she remained immersed in for days to come. She'd woken up for Fajr prayer when she noticed that her father wasn't awake as he normally was at the hour. Even though he couldn't pray properly due to his condition, he still woke up and mouthed the prayers though his movements were restricted. Nevertheless, she prayed hers, resolving to wake him up as soon as she was through.

On leaning over the hospital bed he was sleeping in, she realized that he was awake...only that he wasn't making a sound. Also, his breathing came in short inaudible gasps. The sight of her beloved father in such a terrible condition drove her to tears. She believed her father's condition had taken a turn for the worse.

Realizing that staring at her father and crying wouldn't solve the problem, she quickly flew out of the room in search of a doctor. Luckily, she met one approaching from the opposite direction. She breathlessly narrated what she'd observed and the doctor immediately followed her to the room to examine the patient.

Hours later, when Yusuf was finally able to extricate himself from his mother and make his way to the hospital, Fanna was sitting at the foot of her father's bed, her head cradled in both hands. He took one look at her tear-stained face and knew that all was far from well.

"What's the matter?" he asked with concern.

Fanna barely looked up to meet his steady gaze before nodding in the direction of her father's bed. She hadn't even noticed his entrance.

"Subhanallah!" he gasped as the pitiful sight met his eyes. The old man was in a really critical condition and was surrounded by different clinical gadgets. His erratic breathing had necessitated the use of an oxygen mask; his lack of body fluids had necessitated a saline drip connected to his body and he even had a bag through which he passed urine and excreta. On closer inspection, he noticed that a tube was also connected through his nostrils, possibly for feeding.

One look at Fanna confirmed that now wasn't the time to broach the topic of his proposal. She obviously had heavier things on her mind. Instead, he decided to be a shoulder she could cry on to get over her ordeal. Literally.

After consoling her with soothing words, he made his way to meet the doctor in charge of the old man to receive clarification on such a sudden deterioration in the patient's health. To his dismay, he came back with a heavy heart. As he returned to the hospital room Fanna's father was lying, he realized that the future for the duo seemed quite bleak.

From his talk with the doctor, he learnt that the old man was suffering from a deadly disease common in aged people. The disease was called Sepsis, otherwise known as Septicemia and it's a toxic condition resulting from the spread of bacteria or their products from a focus of infection. The blood of the patients falling prey to the disease is being invaded by virulent microorganisms (especially bacteria) along with their toxins, resulting in various attacks on the patients' health at once. In fact, the situation was almost hopeless.

Nevertheless, he put on a bold face and plastered on a plastic smile as he tried to engage Fanna in small talk. He reassured her that he'd be there for her and that she shouldn't despair over the matter. Instead, she should put her utmost trust and belief in her Lord for he knew what was best for her. Life and death, he reminded her, were all in the hands of the Almighty.

Fanna took his words to heart. When her father passed away a week later, she didn't behave hysterically as most people do in the event of the death of a loved one. Instead, she dutifully resolved to fulfill all her father's obligations which included praying his few missed prayers, carrying out the instructions he left in his will, as well as collecting his debts from his many debtors and paying his few creditors. She felt hollow and empty as she was now virtually alone in the world. However, that didn't prevent her from putting her utmost trust in God.

She also looked upon Yusuf as an angelic human being, her Knight in shining armour. He'd helped them in settling the hospital bills and had always been there, at a respectful distance. When he finally popped the question again after things had settled, she couldn't imagine a better partner for herself. Perhaps he'd sensed that she had nowhere else to go – she and her father had long left their home in search of a cure for his ailment. Nevertheless, she played the part of the modest Hausa lady and kept quiet with her eyes lowered.

Yusuf, who was hanging on to her every movement, panicked a bit. He prayed to God that she wouldn't reject him. Somewhere at the back of his mind he feared that she might reject him on the grounds that she feared being a burden to him but he quickly dismissed the thought.

"...you've already done a lot for me..." she was saying, her head still bowed.

"Yes with God's help and I'm ever-ready to be an integral part of your life if only you'd let me."

"But my father..." she weakly protested. "He has just died."

"I'm sure he'd also want you to be with me."

At his utterance, she looked up quickly and smiled while reaching for her phone. She fiddled with it for a bit and then found what she was looking for – an audio recording. She pressed 'Play' and her father's voice filled the atmosphere between them.

The contents of the audio file brought untold joy to Yusuf's heart. The old man's voice clearly stated his blessings for the young couple and he took that as Fanna's acceptance of his proposal. He figured that his mother might not necessarily like the union as she was busy trying to hook him up with one friends' daughter or the other but he pushed the thought aside. Little did he know that his mother's disapproval would extend to his own future child. At that moment, he exhilarated in the bliss of the moment, picturing his life with Fanna as a wife.

Not long afterwards, after the official Islamic mourning period of her father, their simple and quiet marriage ceremony took place. So that was how Thirty-Four-year-old Yusuf Adam became Fanna's Yusuf and Twenty-Six-year-old Fanna Salim became Yusuf's Fanna.

End of Part One

Such a beautiful history, right?💑

Now we're through with Azeema's parents' story; the main narration revolves around Azeema herself. Keep reading to learn her story in the subsequent chapters!

There's a reason why I included Yusuf's and Fanna's love history in this book. Can anybody guess why???

Gimme some love and support, dear readers. Vote, comment and share!🌌