That Means that.... JUSTIFIES the End

Kimono heads... uhmp! Annoying bunch.. right?

It was scorching hot, the sun was high in the sky in its full force of light and heat, she was drenched in sweat and exhausted, but she could not stop running, she could not risk staying still and having the thoughts coming back at her with a vengeance, so, she kept running. She did not know that her eyes were shut until she bumped a frigid body which brought her falling flat on her back. Her eyes flew open and she saw the refuse bin, still in place, unaffected by the collision that had done more than make her lose her balance, her breathing was ragged and uneven, coming as sharp snagged gasps, with her chest moving forcefully with every breath. She closed her eyes again, waiting to regain enough strength and air to get on her feet and walk -or run, depending on the situation- back home, so, she laid still, the mass of her hair sweeping the sand; which she was past caring about, she focused on her breathing.
'Assalamualaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh'. That voice had been so incredibly close she had jumped and opened her eyes simultaneously, she was upset someone was disrupting such a peaceful moment for her and she definitely had to let that person -whoever the hell she was- know that they were not welcome. The lady had said tasleem again, and this time, Zaynab wondered what made her so sure she was a Muslim anyway; dressed in her pink armless tank top and shorts, no one who was 'just passing by' would assume she was one, so, she peered closely at the lady, even though she was a Kimono head too -like that annoying somebody from the morning- but, this one was smiling so genuinely at her she almost returned the smile, but, she stopped as she asked herself, 'what does she want?'. As if on cue, the Kimono head had extended a hand and said her name was 'Fateemah', and that it was nice to meet her. Cautiously, sweats and all, Zaynab accepted the hand and said her name too, leaving the nice meeting you part; she was not giving to lie to people out of courtesy -well, if you would forget those few times the lies had just come to her naturally, yes, naturally- she was not too pleased that this Kimono head was disrupting her self-reflection inner sphere, and she had to let her know that; people should always mind their business, but Kimono heads are always acting like they are not taught that little manners, and someone -she- was going to put one in her rightful place soon enough.
'We met in the Masjid this morning' Fateemah said still smiling, reminding Zaynab of Jessica, though she hated the comparison of her lively friend with an uptight always-up-to-save-the-stray Kimono head people.
'Oh' Zaynab wanted to yell at her to leave her the hell alone, but, she  could not find it in her to speak harshly to someone who was being so civil and cordial, so, she held her tongue -for now, she told herself, she knew Kimono people would always pass their boundaries with people like her, they never held their piece and keep quiet on things that don't concern them, she knew for certain- and listened to her explain how she was returning from a friend's place she had gone to for tutorials -hey, heady, like she was the least bit interested; but still, she listened to her- and had seen this pretty body lying on the floor there and had been afraid something was wrong and had come over to confirm if she needed help and had been more than happy to find out it was her -yeah yeah, she wondered if the Kimono people were all that jobless. After confirming that she was okay, shouldn't she have just moved on? Oh yeah, she's a Kimono, always caring and saving, itch! Why... God, she just had to fake pleasantness till she took the hint and used her legs, which, Zaynab, hoped would be soon enough, her patience was already thinning. 'So, I see it's just knocked out of air after exercise, ma'am?' Zaynab had nodded, these people sure were weird, with the respect tag and everything, even that one from the morning... She stopped herself from remembering that and focused on this smile-is-my-birthright Kimono head -as she has decided to call  her. 'I'd love to be your friend, sister Zaynab' Zaynab had coughed when she heard that, she knew she must have heard wrong, what sort of Kimono head befriends people like her? 'Oh' she realized, it was probably one of their save-the-lost strategies, whichever way, she was not buying it. 'Oh, I'm so sorry...' Zaynab was saying but had to stop when she saw how hurt this Kimono head looked, 'oh, I mean, I'm so honoured you'd wanna befriend someone like me' she found herself saying, which was true, only that she was not interested in befriending her at all. The Kimono head had been so happy Zaynab thought it was the end, but no, she asked if she could have her number, 'oh, sure' Zaynab would agree to virtually anything, just to get rid of her. 'May I know your house,ma?' She had asked Zaynab, after she told her she was ready to return to her house, thinking that would bring the meeting to an end. There was no reason she could think of to refuse her, so, she had accepted, knowing she was probably making the greatest mistake of her life.
All through the way, the Kimono head would just not stop talking, and Zaynab wondered if all of them  were that comfortable with them non-Kimono type, or this lady -she had said Fateemah, right?- was just different. She even apologized about sister Baseerah's -she had said that was the annoying Kimono head's name- words of the morning and explained to her what the poor sister had meant, which was almost identical with Zayd's  earlier explanations too, and somewhere along the line, she had slipped in shape with this Kimono head, explaining why and how that Baseerah's alleging questions had hurt and offended her. By the time they got to her door, they were chatting more like pretty good friends, Zaynab could admit now that there were Kimono heads who were humans -and normal- and she was starting to like this Fateemah.
Zaynab unlocked the door and got in and she heard Fateemah mutter some words before stepping in, she remembered Zayd did same earlier, but, she had not been particularly attentive, and now, she would ask what it was they say -but, later.
'So, what do I offer you, ma?' Zaynab asked, imitating her respectful tone.
'Oh, no, I'm okay, ma' Fateemah had replied with a mild wave of the hand. Zaynab had stood undecided for a while, then sat on a stool facing Fateemah, who occupied a single seater chair, and said, 'so, here we are, friend'.
'Ma shaa Allah, you have such a nice place, sister Zaynab' Fateemah said and Zaynab appreciated the compliment with a smile. 'And you have such a charming smile, barakallahu fiik' and Zaynab had blushed faintly, at a loss for words at the compliments from a Kimono head.
'But, seriously, who would have thought such a damsel was in the same class with me? Guess I should start paying more attention to people around me, would you believe it if I told you I've never seen you before?' Fateemah had said, increasing her fears as her insides churned with worries: 'why in the world did I have to mention that I'm studying counsellor Education anyway?', but she smiled at Fateemah's light joke anyway, there was no escaping anything with her.
'Seems we'd be going for Dr Bello's extra class together then, I'm so happy to have you for a friend, sister Zaynab, ma shaa Allah' It took Zaynab more than a few seconds to register what Fateemah meant, but when she did, she gasped, aside the fact that this Fateemah lady expected her to come spend some freaking good hour in an annoying lecture room, she had an outing with the girls in less than one hour!
'Are you okay, sister?' Fateemah had asked, and she had nodded, she knew she could not have been any farther from okay. 'Lemme go freshen up and dress so we can start going' Zaynab had said and left immediately, as if in a daze, and Fateemah had nodded cheerfully, oblivious to Zaynab's true feelings and predicament.
Everything seemed to be coming crashing down since the time she went to that mosque, she could have easily told anybody that she was the Zee of the famous Lizfreedeezee group if they did not recognize her and they would get the message, but, she just could not explain that feeling that would not have her let Fateemah know that: Then, it came to the moment when she has to pick what to wear; there has never been a time she remembered in her entire life when she was that confused as regards what to wear. She quickly put a call through to Liz to inform her she would be missing the outing for some unavoidable unforeseen personal circumstances, and Liz had told her it was fine and wished her good luck, then, she sighed, 'thank God it's a compulsory tutorial or class'  she sighed again as she setlted for a slim-fitted multicolored mini-gown, taking solace in the hope that the class will be relatively filled up and she wouldn't be too obvious: yeah, that new face in 300L class??? Ugh, she dared not imagine the scenario.
As she stepped out to the sitting room, she held her breath as she awaited Fateemah's judgment at her crude manner of dressing, but, none came, instead, she got a compliment on how well her turban looked over that dress. Her lips had curved in a brilliant smile of appreciation automatically, she could not have ever dreamt of hearing that from a Kimono wearer, her heart was indeed grateful. She went for flats instead of her accustomed heels, for she was already necks over Fateemah, she would not want to appear so tall beside her, and her small black side bag had completed the dressing wonderfully. And so, they headed for the park. Till the moment they were sitting in the class, Zaynab had felt so strange, everyone seemed to be staring at them and she could almost hear the question each of them was asking without speaking the words, especially those who recognized her as Zee. Fateemah did not seem to mind -or notice at all- and for that, she was a bit grateful.
The last time Zaynab had been in a class listening to a teacher -or lecturer- was in her senior secondary school days, so, she found it extremely difficult to even concentrate on what the lecturer was saying, even for a minute, but, with Fateemah beside her, she knew she had better just pretended to be listening -which she eventually really did, though towards the tail end of the lecture- it will soon be over, she consoled herself.
After the lecture, Zaynab took the same bus home with Fateemah, and they separated at a junction after bading each other goodbye with a hug. The events of that day would not stop replaying in her mind, oddly, she admitted she liked Fateemah, and very much so, she almost could not wait to be with her again, God help her!
'Oh my good grief!' She exclaimed in ecstasy as she saw her boyfriend standing by the side of her door, obviously waiting for her -since when? She wondered- and she had rushed to hug him; the mighty rich Zleezy had not only fallen in love with her, but, was so head over heels, this singular act proved it beyond any reasonable doubt, and she felt so fly, drinking in the mere sight of him and already drunk in the sweet confines of his warm embrace, putting right all of the wrongs of her life in that one moment she wished would last forever, but, no, he had released her... 'So sorry to have kept you waiting, baby' Zaynab managed to say, still holding his powerfully intoxicating gaze.
He had smiled and everything fell right in place, 'anything for you, damsel' 'oh' Zaynab blushed furiously, she had been getting that damsel title so often lately.
'So, I had rushed down here as soon as Liz told me you called to excuse yourself, cos I've missed you like crazy and had to know what's keeping my love too, so, here I am', the grin on Zaynab's face coupled with the blush was all he  needed to assure him he had made the right choice to have come. 'Princess, could we go in, please, my legs hurt a tingly bit' he had said when he realized Zaynab seemed to have forgotten they were outside, and he -without exaggeration, had been standing for over an hour, because he had arrived almost as soon as she left the house. 'Oh, so sorry about that, love' Zaynab managed to say as she moved the step separating her from the door and got it unlocked, wondering why he had chosen to stand instead of sit and wait for her in his car. Zleezy on his part had chosen to wait on his feet -that's how a man waits for his woman, standing- until a few minutes ago when the pain in his legs was almost killing him, but in the end, he was really proud he had endured it and remained standing in wait -as if that meant more than it seemed... Lol.