Freeing or Fleeing

Chapter Nineteen - Proven Innocence

Chapter Nineteen

"So, are you going to join us?" Aaliyah prompted, after ignoring her on the matter three weeks in a row.

"I don't know," I admitted, linking my arm with hers as we exited our usual café.

"Look, I think it would be so good for you! It's not like you have to be committed. It's just a bunch of girls who meet in the masjid and talk about Islamic related stuff or just stuff in general. It really helped me when I first reverted," she encouraged.

Recently, I found out a little more about Aaliyah's life; she was brought up catholic and only a few weeks before I first met her, she had become Muslim and changed her name. Her family weren't aware until they found out by accident the day she was kicked out of her house. She hadn't gone into too much detail about her family dynamics or anything else for that matter and I wasn't pushing her much on it but let her tell me in her own time. Although, most of the things I know about her came from Khadra. The two seem to have gotten rather close.

"I'll think about it."

"Just one session and if you don't like it, then you don't have to come again. Come this afternoon's one," she pleaded.

"I'm really not in the mood," I countered.

"You're never in the mood. You can't mope around the house all day. Trying to get you out today was hard enough," she moaned as we entered the park.

"Well, once Khadra gets back with my laptop I'm just going back to my parents," I informed her, shrugging my shoulders.

Aaliyah sighed. "When are you going back home?"

"I don't know."

"He's trying, isn't he? He's been coming to see you every day to take you home since last week. You should really give it a chance. Oh, what I would do to get a chance like this to sort things out with my family."

"Yeah, but I gave him my condition and if he fulfils that, I told him I'll go home. Besides, I don't want to go home to that..." I trailed off, not wanting to give Mum the importance of a name. And there was my chance to change the topic and ask about her family, after all this time. "So, what's the deal with your family?"

Aaliyah raised an eyebrow as we passed the bench she was sitting on the day I dropped my phone. "What do you mean?"

I gulped, wishing I hadn't asked. "Oh, you totally don't have to answer it but, you know, how did you end up in the, erm, situation you are in. I remember a while back you said your family are like that of Prophet Yusuf's (AS). In what way? Again, don't answer if you don't want to," I rambled on.

Without uttering a word, the both of us gravitated towards the next bench that came up in our route.

"Hafeezah," she began, turning towards me once we sat side by side. She placed one have on my thigh. "I don't think I ever thanked you, for everything you have done for me. From that day you checked up on me 'til today. I thank Allah (SWT) every day for your kindness that day. I was really struggling that day and felt so alone, I know Allah (SWT) is always there but you know what I mean."

I just nodded. I knew exactly how she felt.

"Everything with my family was completely fine until just over a year ago when I started looking into Islam and genuinely considered reverting back then. My family were not too happy about that; one being devout Catholics and two being their hatred towards Islam because of their ignorance. Please don't get me wrong. My family are lovely! Just, you know, being devout Catholics, they didn't want me going to the wrong path as they truly believe that's the right path and with the media portrayal of Islam, that wasn't helpful either," she continued.