Our Circumstances

Chapter 2

A few days later, Saliha found herself daydreaming again as she helped her mother prepare dinner. 

When will my next proposal be? I hope it comes soon.

Saliha finished slicing onions and was ready to chop the tomatoes. Whoever it is, I wonder if he'll find me attractive the moment he sees me - love at first sight.

She grabbed the cutting board and headed towards the stove, sliding the onions to a pot with her knife. Forget about looks! Oof! It's more important that we both care about our connection with Allah, that we both try to get closer to Him.

She set the cutting board and knife down and mindlessly began stirring the onions together. Is that not what I want from a potential spouse? Get it together Sal-

"Ow!" Saliha removed herself from the stove and began waving her hand frantically. 

"What happened, my dear?" Maria turned her attention from what she was cooking to her daughter. 

"I..." Saliha's cheeks turned red in embarrassment, "...accidentally touched the pot."

Maria sighed as she shook her head. "You must be daydreaming again. Khair", she shrugged her shoulders. "I suppose that's only normal for a girl your age."

Saliha grinned. "Trust me, Mom, it isn't."

Maria raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's hard to believe. If not your age, then exactly when is it considered normal?"

"Beats me. You're asking the wrong person." Saliha tended back to mixing the onions, this time careful not to burn herself.

"Clearly", Maria's mouth curled up. "Speaking of which, I got another proposal for you."

Saliha stared at her mother, excitement already building up. "Really? Who is it?"

"I'll let you know the details after we have dinner. I know your excitement will keep you from eating anything otherwise." When she saw Saliha open her mouth, she quickly said, "Do not protest. Now finish making tarkari."

Saliha obliged to her request and finished preparing dinner as quickly as possible. As soon as she was done, she called out Zaki and sat down at the table. She tapped her pointer fingernail on the table repeatedly, impatient for everyone to gather and eat.

Once everyone had come, she began eating quickly. The faster she was done with her plate, the faster she was to fulfilling her curiosity with the mystery proposal.

"Saliha, mind your manners!" her mother reprimanded her.

Before Saliha could respond with an apology, Zaki whispered, "Yeah, baji."

Saliha kicked her brother under the table and pulled her legs up before he had the chance to kick her back.   

The family continued their meal peacefully until eventually, for what seemed like a lifetime to Saliha, they felt satisfied enough and licked their plates clean. Saliha went up to her mother directly afterwards and requested for details about the proposal.

Maria was in the middle of picking up everyone's plates when she responded with a sigh. "Alright, since you're being so antsy about it. Let's sit down in the living room to discuss this." She left the plates on the table and went to sit on the couch together with Saliha.

She pulled out her phone and showed Saliha a photo.

Immediately, Saliha's face flushed as she glanced at the man's features. He had wavy black hair, his chin was covered with a clean-cut beard, and his dark eyes lit up as he gave a toothy grin. In the photo, he had a pair of sunglasses resting on his head and a black leather jacket surrounding his muscled upper body. To Saliha, the photo looked as if it had been cropped out from a fashion magazine.