Cinderella? NO

ABDALLAH

I heard Mahmood made trouble again and dad almost locked him up but mum saved him. I don't know what he did and don't want to know but Mahmood is very brave. He crosses the line and always gets away with it.  As for me, I'm trying to be brave for the 1st time in my life but I already think I have no hope. There's no wrong in loving Maryam. She's a woman (extraordinary and amazing one). I have met so many women in my life, rich and spoilt, pretty and foolish, very beautiful (can't differentiate between real beauty and plastic surgery though). Some I liked but never trusted, some that loved me and want to marry me, some that just want to be with me and spend my money. In her case, she is nothing compared to any woman I have met or seen. Her beauty won't catch your eyes, you won't even see her body shape, so you won't look back. Her laughter won't make you dance and her words won't drive you crazy. But her eyes, would make you abandon your mansions and Lamborghinis. Her eyes are not the type you read about in books or the ones in see in movies. Her eyes are not blue or green, her eyes are brown I thought at first. The shade of brown you can never get even by mixing colours. Hers are not very big but they are big. Her eye lashes are not too long but they are thick. The colour(s) of her eyes is...they change colours; I cannot give them a colour but the 1st time I saw her they were purple (contact lenses are awful I thought). After sunset, they turned brown, in the night, they glow. That was when I knew she wasn't wearing any contact lenses. Her eyes were very white and clean. In those eyes I saw innocence, purity and modesty. She immediately lowered them when they caught mine. For the 1st time I felt I want to own something a girl possesses. I want to dominate those eyes, but 1st, I want to see more, more of her eyes, more of innocence and purity. I want to see those eyes every day, I want to see my face in them. I want to see them want me, I want to see them love me.  My aunt told me if I want to know a how sincere a person is; I should look at their eyes. She believes the eyes reflect what's in the heart and eyes speak (too much Bollywood movies). Haya(modesty) has never been portrayed by anyone or book like Maryam does.
Today is Juma'ah(Friday) and it is already 1 hour after asr but I know my mum would still be on her praying mat sending salawat(greetings) to our holy prophet(saw) and asking Allah to give me a wife and have mercy on Mahmood (I need Allah's mercy too). She doesn't want to miss the hour on Friday where the Prophet(saw) said "On Friday there is an hour when, if a Muslim happens to pray at that time and asks Allah for something good, He will give him". So she prays till Maghrib. After Maghrib, since it's just one hour to Isha, she won't get up till she performs the last Salah. So technically, I have to wait till 9pm to sit with her. Mum is religious and doesn't talk too much, she is intelligent and a very straightforward person. She hates drama and fake people. Talking to my mum about Maryam is like solving a maths problem in 2 minutes (I just need a calculator and write down the answer). I write poetry and people including literary scholars praise my works but today I am struggling to present my point in a  few lines. I don't want to go in front of mum and stammer or look down, or start counting the diamonds on her ottoman. She would think I am not sure and say 'you are not even confident in front of your 'mother', how would you tell your dad? How would you face the world? How would you give her confidence to love you? With this, your love is not even going to triumph over this room talk more of this palace!'. Just the thought gives me goose bumps. Ya Allah make it easy for me. Why did I even fall in love? honestly I hate spotlight and palace fitnas(challenges). I just want to settle somewhere far away from all this (dad would be glad). But the crown chose me. I would be the 2nd to the last person (Mahmood would be last) dad would crown but his brother; our uncle believed I am capable and I am popular, so I would bring a rich, beautiful princess into the palace. And I also believed there was no one left. Being low key and avoiding girls gain me popularity (what an irony!). "Salam alaikum mahmah" I said before going through her thick blue heavy curtains. As soon as she saw me she smiled revealing the gap between her molars. She turned her full body to me and beat couch, signalling me to sit next to her. I guess she's in a good mood and I need to go straight to the point. She held my hands and her eyes smiled. Although she is behaving weird but I have to use the opportunity to tell her. I was curious to ask what was so amusing but I don't want to bring up anything but what took me to her. So I decided to attack. I took her hands in mine and turned my entire body towards her, we were so close that I could see the hairs in her nose. "Mahmah, I want to talk to you about something. I don't want you to ask me what dad thinks or what people WILL say. Just tell me what you think and I need you for the 1st time to support me till your last breath." I paused to read her expression. Her eyes were supporting and her mouth wants to speak but I ignored and continued. "Mahmah I met a girl, she is ordinary and the most amazing woman I have met. She's beautiful in my eyes and modest and religious. I believe she would take me to Jannah and support me throughout my life. She is straightforward, transparent, clean and pure. And her eyes are the most beautiful I have seen..." mum's pinch brought me back to the 'session'. I didn't realise my gaze left her and I was looking upwards. I smiled and continued, this time looking seriously at my mum's black eyes. "Mahmah, I didn't go to aunt Maryam to tell her this, because I want this to be our war! A mother and a son. I want you to support me as a mother, and create something that has never happened in real life." she looked serious too and opened her mouth to speak "After your 1st paragraph I wanted to ask which kingdom the girl belongs to. Or who her father was. When you mentioned 'war!', I realised she's no princess and maybe she's not even Emirati, and when you when you mentioned 'something that has never happened in real life', I believe she is poor and maybe not even Arab. So tell me son, who is she?" see, I told you she's intelligent and I forgot to mention my mum is racist. She chooses her maids based on their skin colour and nationality. I smiled and started, "Mahmah yes, she's not a princess" I wanted to pause but something was telling me to continue and I did. "she is not Emirati and she is not poor but she is also not rich especially when compared to us. But mum, how does it matter?" I didn't want her to answer so I continued "She is not Arab Mahmah and she is black." That was when I demanded an answer and I looked curiously into her face. Her expression didn't change from the last time I looked but she released my hands and she asked "Black American son? Are they even religious? She knows who you her that's why she wore a hijab for you. Does she even wear hijab? Wait, does she even pray?" I took her hands into mine and answered "Mum she's not American or British, she..." she cut me off "You mean African? So this is the whole point in Africa adventure. You went there, in bushes, and got a girl that covers with leaves and eats dead animals! They are witches, son. Definitely they did some witchcraft on you and now you can't live without their daughter. I have always hated those adventures. I am going to do ruqya (spiritual healing) on you." she said with so much force and anger that I almost wished I didn't tell her about it. She looked at me waiting for me to answer, I just licked my lower lip so she continued "Or do you mean South African?" her face this time looked a bit calm and I was so disappointed in her. Does she prefer South Africans to other Africans? Or does wish Maryam is fair in complexion and not dark complexioned? This made me say it all "Mahmah, she is black in colour and she is not South African. She is Nigerian and her name is Maryam. I didn't meet her in Africa during my adventures, I met her in Dubai. She's schooling here and she doesn't eat dead meat and uses materials to cover not leaves" I said, believing it could add to Maryam's points (points she doesn't have yet). My mum's expression didn't change but I could see calmness in her eyes (Maryam got points, for not being from the bush and not covering with leaves). The people I met in the woods and bushes of Africa don't even eat dead meat, they hunt and eat them fresh. I need to educate my mother more on Africa (point of correction, my mum needs real education on Africa, I don't think she knows a thing about civilisation) "and this is 21st century Mum" I cried in the air "So this is what you learned by growing up in the West. And what did you learn in Saudi? Equality? A servant and a master are both servants of Allah right? Wrong! It doesn't work like that. We Arabs don't do that, we don't marry blacks and we love our fortune more than we love anything else. And you can't change it. You don't have my approval son." The end.