The Arabian Prince (On Hold)

The Arabian Prince

♣SHAZIA♣

I got out of the airport and breathed in the fresh and humid Arabian air. That flight was terrifying!! The plane kept shaking and bouncing so much that I nearly threw up. But that could have something to do with my fear of heights and flying. I look around me,  searching for my best friend, Mariam. Finally I spot her pink and blue hijab and see her looking around ,unsure about what to do.  I shake my head  and smile. Typical Mariam. She always acts like a really confident girl who doesn't take any nonsense and who is always so tough, but she's actually really soft and unsure of herself. I know the real her.

My name is Shazia Hoosen and I am 23 years old. I'm Egyptian and so is Mariam. We both decided to come to Arabia together for our holiday since we have just graduated from university, Alhamdulilah. We had just graduated and now it was time for us to try and find suitable jobs, but that was proving to be harder than I thought it would be. I have a degree in finance and Mariam has a degree in architecture. We had barely taken our graduation gowns off before the stress of finding a job hit us and it's been non stop searching online ever since. So we decided that after a whole month of stressing it was time for us to take some time off and do nothing but travel. And surprisingly our parents let us go by ourselves! Well not exactly by ourselves. Thats just wishful thinking to be honest, so we came along with Mariams brother Yaseen. I know it is against the teachings of Islam to look at a man who is not your family, but I can't help saying that Yaseen is so handsome. I have to remind myself to lower my gaze whenever he is around. And as much as I try to stop it I can't help myself, I am in love with my best friend in the whole worlds brother.

I always hoped that one day he would tell me that he loves me and ask my parents for my hand in marriage. Then they'd say yes and Mariam and I would really be like sisters. I quickly stop myself from thinking these childish thoughts. My parents have decided that I should have an arranged marriage one day, which I agree with but I still wish that I could be with Yaseen.

I make a quick and silent dua asking Allah for guidance and thanking him for getting us here safely. After that I ran with my bags and hit Mariam on the shoulder from behind. She jumped and let out a small squeak before turning around and hitting my arm."Don't scare me like that Shaz, " she said while putting her hand on her chest and trying to catch her breath. "I couldn't help myself," I laughed. "So where's Yaseen gone to? Don't tell me we left him in Egypt?"

"I wish. Unfortunately, he made it here. He just went to go and get our bags," she said with a laugh.

Oh, did I forget to mention that I've known Yaseen and Mariam since I was 8. Yip, and I've loved them both ever since then. But I've only started to love Yaseen in a different way which was both surprising and wonderful, recently. But before that he was the kind of person I loved to hate. He was always bugging us while we were busy or making jokes and pulling pranks on us. In a word- annoying.

Just then I saw him come out hauling 2 suitcases. One tiny one and the other a huge Burberry London suitcase. I think it's obvious which one is his. Me and Mariam decided to put all our clothes in one bag so that we can buy us a whole lot of things and put it in another bag. I also need to buy alot of souvenirs for my parents too. I made a mental note to make sure that I got them something they would both love.

"Wow Shazia, I didn't think you could ever look worse than usual. I see I was mistaken," said Yaseen grinning like a bafoon. An utterly adorable bafoon. "Oh shut up, I bet I still look ten times better than you," I said as we walked to a big pink taxi and loaded our bags inside.
"Oh no, please shut up guys we just got here, " Mariam covered her ears with her hands.

Yaseen just laughed, leaned over and gave his sister a quick kiss on her forehead before he got into the passenger seat of the taxi. Mariam and I got into the back and gave the driver the address to our hotel. We drove off and the whole way I sat with my face glued to the window, somehow managing to get even more excited than I already was. I can't wait to get to the hotel, put my bag down and go exploring with my best friend. This is going to be an amazing experience.

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