Doubts

Chapter 3

Two weeks had passed since Aaliyah started going to Fatima's house. What she couldn't comprehend was how her spirits were lifted for every visit she took to the village. She was custom with some of the neighbors up the cliff, they owned huge lands and even farm animals of all kinds. Sometimes she'd get some fresh herbs and some eggs from there to Elena. Elena would get delighted every time since she missed having fresh food, she'd always look up dreamily and say that it reminded her of her own village which was six hours away. She'd say it smelt of earth and the taste was way different than the refrigerated once, which Aaliyah had agreed on.

Nonna Fatima as she'd wanted to be called, was the most humble person Aaliyah had encountered. For a woman her age she was quite fun to talk to, old lady's were from her experience either sour or extremely adorable. She told her stories of her childhood and how her husband had converted to islam once she came to Italy. "We met at the most unpredictable place" she had said chuckling, "Apparently we had a common relative, which had died that year. The funeral took place a week after and that's where we met. He had told me that I looked troubled, angry and sad and that he felt the need to talk to me for the sole reason." Nonna

Fatima shook her head laughing at the memory, " Men have weird ways of handling love matters I tell you. But I knew he was sincere and honest, because at that time I was devastated. We had seen each other several times after that, and he fell in love with Islam. A year after he had converted and changed his name from Mario to Omar."

A lot of times Aaliyah used to be so engulfed in her stories that she hadn't paid attention to the time. Often times she'd come home later than usual. Raniero her grandson wouldn't let her go alone, for every day those past two weeks she was escorted back by him.
The young man and her got along quite fine, but Aaliyah thought of him as an insufferable egoistic man. Not to forget the most stubborn human being, if he was told one thing and it didn't work for him, or wasn't his taste of action he would not agree with it and instead do as he pleases.

Despite those characteristics Raniero was a man of his words, a man who respected woman and elders. He showered his grandmother with affection. He helped his grandfather with the farm. He was excellent when it came to animals, tender and sometimes she asked herself if he was the same Raniero she knew. He was so different from Ali and she would see herself wishing her husband to be at least a man deserving of respect.

For Aaliyah Ali wasn't worth of imagination nor hope, for each day he got more suspicious. Her husband's latee meetings and late arrivals didn't go unnoticed, sometimes he would not even come home. She didn't wait for him, and never asked him of where he was. Usually a woman's first suspicion would be that he was cheating. She would be lying if she hadn't considered that possibility, she put her faith in Allah and knew that if he did actually do that filth. Allah would expose him.

Only time would tell, she told herself.

It was duhr time and Aaliyah was on her way to Fatima and today she made something special for her, she had been such a good student and to reward her she had baked a cake. With the help of Elena of course, since Aaliyah was helpless when it came to baking. Cooking was more of her thing, but the good stuff was not on her good side. She knocked on the door and moments later was opened by Raniero. He stood there like the giant he was and leaned against the door.

Aaliyah frowned, "Is your nonna home?"

He raised one brow at her and looked at her cake, "of course you'd ask that first. You don't come nor ask for anyone else."

She huffed lightly and moved forward, "well I come for her mainly because I teach her quran, can I come in now?"

"If you say the magic word"