Our Circumstances

Chapter 1

"And you know what else? I have no idea why my luck is so poor." Saliha had her legs stretched out on the living room couch, facing the ceiling with her hands folded on her chest. "I guess there's no such thing as luck in Islam, right? After all, everything is Allah's planning." She let out a heavy sigh and shook her head. "But I still can't fathom how I've been rejected by five men so far. Can you believe it, Shadow? Five- ouch!"

Saliha lifted the cushion from her face and turned her head towards her brother. "What was that for, Zaki?" 

Saliha's younger brother had, for the past 30 minutes, been listening to his sister talking nonstop to their pet cat, Shadow. All he wanted to do in his Saturday morning was play Pokémon Shining Pearl on his Nintendo Switch peacefully. 

"Stop talking to yourself", he said simply.

"I'm talking to Shadow about my life's problems!"

"Shadow isn't your therapist, and quite frankly, doesn't care." At this point, the black tabby got up to stretch as she walked out of the room, her head held high along with her tail. Zaki pointed behind her with his palm facing the ceiling. "See?"

Saliha lifted her whole upper body and called out to her cat, "Wait, Shadow, you need to listen!" Feeling defeated, Saliha rubbed her temples with one hand. 

"The consequences of not having friends", muttered Zaki.

"Oh, shut up Zaki, as if you have any more than I do."

"Sure, but I don't go around talking to pets like a loner."

Saliha continued rubbing her temples in frustration. No use talking to her 15-year-old brother who only had a social life in front of the screen. 

Saliha did have friends, just not too many, and there were several reasons why she wouldn't talk to them about her personal life. For one, her friends lived far, and whenever there was an opportunity to meet up with them, they would be busy with their families. For another, Saliha was afraid of receiving unsolicited advice - not that her friends would often give her any, but it was something she did not want, especially from people who have no experience with her problems. 

The main reason she kept to herself with the matter at hand, however, was that her friends weren't ready or interested in things like marriage. Most had begun med school and although weren't off to their careers just yet, planned on completing their education before thinking about things like marriage.

But Saliha was a different kind of girl. She had dreamed about getting married ever since she had reached the age of 13. The thought of having an intimate relationship thrilled her, to the extent that her heart would race merely pondering about it: the handsome build of her soulmate as he looks at her affectionately, his eyes sparkling under the deep blue sky as he holds out his hand for hers to reach, his voice as he would pronounce her name, his touch as he would gently caress her hands, telling her that he would never let her go. Saliha dreamed of such a man living with her under the same roof, laughing together as they tell each other embarrassing stories and corny jokes, going out for romantic sightseeing, indulging in their favorite meals together that Saliha her herself would prepare, raising kids together and caring for them the same way they care for each other. 

Saliha could not see how her friends did not share the same excitement as her. She was simply too different from her crowd, and to her, finding a job or finishing her Master's could wait - marriage was priority.

Saliha got up and massaged her back. She was already 22 years old - a fresh graduate with a Bachelor's in Chemistry - and she kept thinking to herself that finding someone was really unlikely. It wasn't her appearance that made her feel this way; in fact, she was confident in how she looked: light hazel eyes, fair and smooth skin with barely any specks, rose pink lips, and dark, auburn hair (not that anyone outside her house would recognize due to her hijab covering her hair). Rather, it was the very reason she was rejected by five potentials, the very reason she stood out from other girls - she had no occupation and chose to delay her studies. Surely a man would overlook this flaw and give in to unworldly characteristics, such as her iman, her knowledge in Islam, her good-natured personality. One such man, though, was no easy find.