Holding Hands

Chapter 54

"This day, we are coming together to unite the Rasul family in the ties of sacred marriage." The Imam read a chapter of the Quran in a beautiful, melodious recitation. I was sitting on a fluffy white cushion with a second cushion beside me where a man was seated. I stole a glance from beneath my lashes, but I couldn't see the man's face. Of course it was Hakeem. I had only seen him once. Maybe that's why his face wasn't coming in clearly. He's the only man I could be marrying anyway. So I settled into what I knew was a dream, letting it play out in my mind. Behind me, Abu sat on his own cushion consenting to the marriage. He winked at me in confidence and I winked back, smiling bashfully. A crowd of witnesses sat behind us, wide eyed and solemn on this festive occasion. Suddenly a noise erupted from the back of the room. A door crashed open and a figure burst through.

"No!" A voice yelled out. "Stop!"

My guests began gasping in shock and I turned around to see what all of the fuss was about. A man was barging in on the ceremony from the rear entrance of the event hall. As he got closer to the where I sat, waiting to be joined in marriage to my husband, I suddenly recognized the man's face.

Hakeem?

He was wearing an immaculate white ceremonial robe embroidered on the shoulders with same gold brocade as my dress. He strode up to the Imam with a fearsome look on his face, pointing at the man on the cushion beside me.

"That man is an imposter!" Hakeem yelled. "Imposter! Imposter! Imposter!"

He kept yelling and pointing as I turned to get a closer look at the man next to me. Who was I marrying if not Hakeem? My brows knitted in confusion. Who was sitting next to me on this cushion? Instantly my fiancé's face became clear.

Seated on the cushion next to me waiting to take me as his wife was none other than Brandon. I scrambled back in surprise and fell off my cushion which had somehow transformed into a tall chair. Now I was falling down, down, down...

My eyes flew open. I sat up so quickly that I nearly toppled myself out of the hammock. As my breath came in spurts, I put my hand on my chest to slow my breathing. Ya Allah! What did that dream mean? Why was Brandon sitting beside me? I looked up into the sky and the sun was just beginning to set. Some force was pushing Brandon and me together. But I didn't know why. I couldn't go a day at school without running into him and my best efforts to avoid him completely were hardly working.

I picked up my discarded shoes and began to walk towards the house. I couldn't run forever. My heart stopped beating so rapidly and a feeling of calm took over. Maybe it was time to confront my fears.