Only In Jannah

33: The Promise

"Mariyah" she heard her name being called and quickly scanned the area with her eyes to see who it was, it wasn't until she heard the voice a second time that its owner came into view.

She smiled "Yes yaya" she made a move to stand up from the reduced rock she was sitting on but he stopped her and instead joined her finding himself a spot several inches away.

"Enjoying the weather I see" he said leaning slightly forward "No school today?"

"Mm-hmm" she nodded and concentrated on the clouds that decorated the sky, Mariyah was always fascinated by natures finest artwork. When a moment of silence passed Musa had gathered enough courage to finally voice out his feelings, yes he had always liked that cousin of his but hearing his fathers proposal had given him time to nurture his feelings and now when he stole a glance at her he felt his heart squeeze with joy.

"Mariyah...Abba said" he ran his palm over his finely low cut hair "Mariyah do you want to marry me?" He blurted before he could stop himself and in his head he had face palmed himself a thousand times. Mariyah was close to burying herself beneath the ground she laid her feet on, why did he have to be so blunt? She made sure their eyes never met and when she looked at him through the corner of her eyes she was pleased to find him looking forward. Musa took a deep breath finally finding his own composure "I don't want to force you into anything you don't want, that is why I asked"

While Mariyah always admired her cousins personality she had never really thought of him as a partner, he was always Yaya who came visiting with goodies and had fun stories to tell, some gave her nightmares but she appreciated him as a relative. He always had a promising aura surrounding him, he was a peaceful human. While in thought, Mariyah had picked up a small branch from the ground and was now twisting it between her fingers.
"Yaya, I want to further my education. I don't want to be just another village girl who will get married and have children, I do not want to conform to the norm. I dream of something bigger, is that too much to ask?"

"Well" Musa now had his arms crossed in a bid to avoid looking weak when in actuality his intendeds words had weakened every muscle in his body "You're not just another village girl Mareeree, you've never been. I want you to think about this and give us a chance. I promise I'll make you feel even more special than the queen of emmm what is that your country again?" He asked continuously snapping his fingers with his eyes closed trying to remember, Mariyah laughed "Its not my country yaya" she said "England"

"Yauwa Ingilan" a smile crept onto his lips when he saw her clutch her stomach to laugh, that once little cousin of his was really beautiful. He admired the way the edges of her hair formed beautiful waves, her skin made her dark hair look even shinier.

"So Mariyah-"

***

"They're here, they're here!" Ladidi came running into hers and Mariyahs room, her cousin stopped her at the door with a poker face saying "Kai Ladidi, you play too much"
Mariyah pulled her cousin towards their new canopy bed which was her late mother's and made her sit.
"What if someone sees you galavanting around? What do you think your soon to be in-laws would say?"
Listening to Mariyah, Ladidi now had her arms crossed and lips pouted. She fell back on the soft mattress blowing out some air through her mouth.

"I hope I haven't killed your excitement?" Mariyah asked whilst setting her head scarf in the right style but when her cousin refused to reply she shook her head taking to her heels. She knew Ladidi too well and knew what she wanted. Mariyah opened the door slightly and peeped outside, she gasped dramatically which immediately got Ladidis attention.