The Nearest Heaven

Part 21 - The Surprise

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Part 21 – The Surprise

"And with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except Him. And He knows what is on the land and in the sea. Not a leaf falls but that He knows it. And no grain is there within the darknesses of the earth and no moist or dry [thing] but that it is [written] in a clear record."

Surah An-'Am, verse 59

Faraaz stayed awake all night as Fadiyah slept peacefully beside him. As much as Faraaz wanted to look at her and feel the peace she radiated as she slept, he forced himself to focus on the matter at hand. He had neglected his wife. Not entirely, and not intentionally, but he had. Sure, her basic necessities were seen to, sure, he had also ascertained that she see the therapist as well, but had he done his duty as a husband?

Since supper, he could not shake the feeling of unease that began to swirl and rise like the tide of an ocean. Faraaz knew without a shadow of a doubt in his heart that Fadiyah deserved more, but they were married because their fates were interlinked. He knew that it was time for him to accept that they got married because it was only through the will and might of Allah. Nothing will happen without His Permission. Faraaz was well-aware that if Fadiyah had heard him speak like that, hear his doubts, she would be very angry and scold him until he promised to not think like that. "But she is asleep," he murmured to himself. "Now, what can I do to show her that I actually do care and that I am just a horrible excuse of a human who did not make the effort earlier and that I appreciate her?"

Sunday morning, Faraaz had woken up early, fed Aaban and Armaan (with the help of Jacob and Waqqaar) and then sent them home before Fadiyah could wake up. He loved Aaban almost as much as he loved Fadiyah, but he wanted to make the day entirely about Fadiyah and Fadiyah alone. Unfortunately for him, Jacob and Waqqaar had both picked up on his excitement and weird behaviour.

"Alright," they said as he sat in the wheelchair in the kitchen.

"What is going on with you today? Why are you behaving so weirdly?" Jacob asked.

Faraaz rolled his eyes at his caretakers. "I am not being weird," he said defensively. "I ... I ... uh," he trailed off embarrassed and slightly uncertain how to word his emotions. Then, he realised that both of them had seen him and been with him in his worst state imaginable and still they hadn't left him. "I realised that I was a terrible husband to Fadiyah. I realised that she and I got married in such a short span of time that there was never a chance for us to get to know one another. So, I want to ... uh, maybe, set up a date..."

His cheeks flamed, but he forced himself to look at Jacob square in the eyes. He was not embarrassed to say that he wanted to take Fadiyah on a date, just embarrassed that he had realised it so late. Faraaz let out an exasperated sigh, irritated and agitated for reasons he could not yet comprehend. "I know, okay," he groaned. "I'm terrible!"

Both men began laughing at Faraaz. They looked at one another as Waqqaar took the two steps separating him and Jacob and leaned on him as he laughed. Jacob had one hand wrapped around his tummy as he guffawed. His head was thrown back in jubilation while Faraaz looked mildly irritated.

"Oh, Faraaz," Waqqaar said as he sobered. "You are not terrible. Not wooing your wife before marriage does not make you a terrible person. It merely means that you and her had had far too many things on both of your plates to even contemplate minor things like dates and getting to know one another in the trivial sense.

"You and Fadiyah had gotten to know one another on a deeper and a more intimate level. The both of you had skipped on the more inconsequential things and went to things that were more important. The two of you had bonded over Aaban, over your condition, over her loss. It was the deeper side of things that would take most couples many months to open up to and expose themselves on such an intimate level. However, this is what had made you both so accepting of the marriage. You were on the same page with what was important."