Under That Niqab

4. The Encounter

She was adjusting to the new place better than she anticipated. Acquiring a job there and keeping herself occupied with it most of the time was what kept her going.

In sooth, she abhorred moving to Tottenham, it wasn't consensual, and she would never leave Canning Town if it was in her hands. But unfortunately, the strings of her life were in the hands of her beloved father, who loved doing whatever he desired, all the time. She was just a puppet.

It's been four months since she last visited her old home, where she lived with her mother. Now that she was gone all the dawns from her life flickered and died along with her.

But fate plays its own game.. one had to go, the other had to stay.

Towing out her phone she checked her bank balance, after receiving the salary she was expected to give it to her father's wife. Her say didn't matter, seeing that she had received it, placed her phone back on the table.

"Hey Haya, you done with the work?" Sarah, her deskmate at work, asked wrapping up her belongings.

"Not yet, five more minutes and I'll join you all", she gave a heads-up to go ahead without her.

"Alright don't be late, we'll be downstairs" she notified her swinging her bag on her shoulders.

Sarah was a very sweet girl, she always made sure Haya was included whenever there was any kind of event in their company, or a gathering of some sort, since Haya wasn't much of a talker having Sarah by her side helped her a lot.

And they were headed to another such gathering, the colleagues agreed to have a troll at the mall since they have received their salaries. She couldn't deny and say that the money she gets was not to be used on herself, she had to capitulate with them regardless.

"Let's get divided into groups, so that everyone gets their desired items quickly", Ramsha one of the colleagues suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement and scattered along with the ones they were close with leaving Haya with Sarah.

"I'm going to buy this stole, look isn't it pretty", Sarah took hold of a saffron cloth and handed it to Haya to show her the softness of the material.

"It looks lovely" she commented while the other was busy wrapping it around her head.

"I'm treating myself with this" she announced and went for billing.

Haya stood there examining the variety of modest clothes hung on the racks, she didn't proceed to look into any of them, because if she did, she might get heartbroken for not being able to buy herself, plus she had to save money for their dinner.

If you can't have it, don't see it. She huffed out.

"I booked a taxi, it'll be here in about seven minutes" Sarah informed her after being done with their dinner in Burger King on the first floor of the mall. It was quite dark so they decided to take the same taxi. "Let's go?" She asked whilst grabbing her phone to get up.

Haya nodded, turning back to take her bag from the chair rest, a laughter echoed through the room which had her lifting her head to see the most unexpected.

Mr. Shavez? In Tottenham? She recognized him right away and was stunned to see him there, her eyes going expansive, what is he doing here? She thought whilst clasping her bag and placing it in her lap.

"Sarah" she addressed her friend who was waiting for her, the rest of them already heading towards the door. "I have to make a call, you can go with them," she told her a white lie.

Her friend nodded and joined the group of girls. She didn't think much about why she stayed, she changed her seat now facing the group in which Shavez was seated along with his friends, they were three of them as she took note.

The girl who accidentally shoved her and the one who was late in delivering her file, and there was Shavez, the only one whose name she knew.

She couldn't help but stare and wonder what might have brought them here, a meeting of some sort maybe? Or just for fun? Rich people don't need a reason to travel, they just do if they feel like it.

She was absorbed in her thoughts and what she didn't realize was that she was straight up staring into the eyes of someone. Shavez frowned while wiping his hands with tissue paper which tugged her back into her senses. Oh crap!

I need to get out of here. She immediately moved her gaze away feeling the heat of mortification crawling up from her neck towards her ears. She was looking outside of the glass, from where she was seated she could see her friends taking departure and others waiting for their means of travel.

She was about to get up when the voice of dragging chairs was heard, she peeked a glance at the table in front and found all three of them standing up from their chairs. She chose to wait and leave the place after them to make it less awkward for herself.

She wondered what impression she might have posed on him by looking at him that way, did he identify her, that wasn't possible, right? Since she met him months ago and he didn't even see her face, he couldn't possibly have a hunch about who she was.

From her peripheral vision, she could see that his friends left and he stayed for the payment and then gave his card to the guy and waited for him to come back, after a while, according to her senses, he wasn't leaving.

Gathering some gutsiness she peeked to the side to find him bent down to search for something. He got up and continued to scrutinize the table and chairs, might have lost something.

"Where's my phone?" she heard him muttering to himself.

She stood up from the table, feeling a bit awkward for sitting there without any rationale for about four minutes. As she was passing by his table, she heard him address her.

"Excuse me?"

At first, she didn't think the words were directed at her, but when she noticed his shoes pointing in her direction, she realized that he was indeed talking to her. She lifted her head and replied, "Yes?"

"I seem to have lost my phone. Would you mind if I ring it up quickly?" he asked.

Her mind was a bit skeptical about his request, as it seemed like a cheap trick for a guy to get a girl's number. She glanced around and noticed that there were very few people around, and the area was almost empty.

However, she also thought that he wasn't just some local guy trying to play a trick. He appeared well-mannered and composed, and it seemed unlikely that he would resort to such tactics to get a girl's number. Without overthinking it further, she handed over her phone to him.

"Jazakallah" he uttered and dialed his number, his eyes momentarily going wide for a second before he put his phone to his ear.

"Hello, oh it's with you..fine fine okay I'm coming" It was indeed a quick call.

"It was with a friend of mine" he informed her and gave her phone back. "Thank you," he said again and she just nodded and took the phone from his hand, and proceeded to leave the restaurant before him.

    °°°°

She offered her prayers and then laid down on her bed. It was already 1 am, but sleep seemed elusive as the train of her thoughts began its usual journey. Ever since she lost her mother, her mind was constantly filled with these thoughts, and it was a lonely journey she had to take.

Losing her mother was a devastating blow, leaving her with only herself for company. There was no one by her side, even for a few fleeting moments. She had learned to live in this solitude, becoming strong not by choice but because she had no other option. The weight of longing to be embraced in her mother's lap often weighed heavily on her heart.

She had no hope of her father showing any kind of affection towards her, and even at one point if he did, she would not accept it. Moreover he considered her more of a responsibility than a loved one. She had grown accustomed to this lack of warmth and affection, and it was something she had learned to accept.