Muslimah in love

24. Surprise drive

It was as if the incident of the weekend hadn't happened at all; dismissed without another thought. Ramadan had come and gone. I loved it. The thought of fasting for like 19 hours seemed difficult but actually doing it was a breeze. The entire Muslim ummah, well most, coming together and feeling what others less unfortunate, felt every day.

 Zaid and I were fine in our little world, hushed away from our families and friends who were alll back in our old town, busy with our work and each other. Nonetheless, Zaid's tenseness hadn't gone away. He was fine with me but i could just tell there was something bothering him. After asking him, and his blank answers, I  just left it.

As I read another murdered child on the newspaper, i couldn't help but feel my heart break that bit more. I shook my head, what had the world come to? How could people justify the slaughter of innocents? I put the paper down. What could I a powerless human, who struggled with simple issues do?. There was nothing but pray and give charity.  This bloodshed of the ummah had been prophesied  in the ahadith (statements of the Prophet P.B.U.H) after all and the future was unstoppable.

I cleaned up my dishes, the worktops and grabbed my bag and the folders, ready to leave for work. Zaid hurried in, in the midst of fixing his sky blue coloured tie.

'I want you to meet me straight after school.'

'Ok, when and where?' I asked, feeling caught off guard with his sudden suggestion.

'4.15ish. I'm not sure yet, but i'll text you the details.' So it wasn't a surprise lunch, so what could it be?

'Ok,' I nodded and left. I still wasn't used to his out of the blue surprises. I liked it and it was delightful. But was it always going to be like this? I hoped so. We, females, have this idea that relationships consist of being showered with numerous gifts. But it was better not to be flooded with gifts; a little one just here and there. it makes it all the more special. But the most important thing was to have no expectations. Not all men were the same and hence not all had the same ideas when it came to relationships. I was just lucky to have someone who liked giving me surprises from time to time.

As soon as the bell rang and i dismissed the class, i checked my phone, eager for the details, and there it was: a traditional text message. I frowned at the address written. I had never heard of it before. Where was it? It was in London but clearly in the outskirts somewhere. Why?I called a cab. There was no way i wouldv'e known how to get there with public transport and even if i did it would take years. Did i mention how much i hated public transport; the stuffiness, non-exotic smell and mostly getting squished by gigantic people and most horribly sometimes by the opposite gender. I sat quietly in the cab, watching the green fields go by and the business of the streets lessening. It was funny how the further we moved away from central London, the larger the houses got. Right now i didn't know what to expect at all. And like always, my mind went into a frenzy thinking about the possibilities. But nothing.

The Black cab started entering a short sandy colured graveleld driveway, which had mid length brick walls with green bushes on top of them surrounding the detached double fronted red brick house with a black door. Zaid's car was already parked.

Having paid the driver, i got out and stood at the door. On the door it had a wooden 'welcome' plate. As i lifted my finger to ring the doorbell, i noticed the door was a little open. Okay, what was going on? Should i ring the bell, or just go in? I decided to open the door a little more enough to see inside. It was bare, freshly painted yes but completely empty.

'Hello? Zaid? Anybody in?' I shouted, my voice echoing.

'Yes, i am in the kitchen?' I walked inside, feeling reassured that I wasn't breaking and entering. My heels echoed on the polished wooden floor. Everything felt so new. But what was i doing in an a loveley house which was completely emtpy?