Shadow

Chapter nine

Hey lovelies, this chapter is a bit longer than usual but I hope you enjoy it. Support me by voting and commenting. I also realised shadow had reached 200+ reads. thank you ❤️
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Who is she;

Ahmad's POV

Yakike? Ya jikinki? (how are you and your body?) A man with Ummi's dad asked Ummi, while she responded with "Alhamdulillah,"...

We were at the car park lot outside the hospital, but the question the unknown man asked Ummi kept on running through my mind... I seriously wanted to ask her what was wrong with her. She never told me anything was wrong, and considering my intention towards her, don't I at least deserve to know everything about her? From how she became reticent after that question from the man, I knew, without a doubt, something dire was going on. Awkward silence engulfed us, and because I didn't like it, I broke it by saying, "I didn't know that was your dad out there?" she sighed and said, "yes, he is my dad! Hope you weren't taken by surprise?" she further asked "Aahh, not at all, I mean... I was planning to see him soon, but Allah wanted us to meet this way. It's fine, I guess! Besides, he was soft just the way you described him to be." I replied.

"Dad has always been that way, soft and easygoing. Alhamdulillah!" she said with a faint smile on her face. "Who was that man with him? Perhaps, is he your uncle?" I managed to ask, hoping to get something from there, but... "He is Daddy's friend, uncle Shuaib and also Saddam's paternal uncle. Since Saddam lost his father, he has been nothing but a father figure to them all," she said, fiddling with her fingers.

"Ohh, I didn't know Saddam's dad was late, may Allah have mercy upon him" I prayed while she responded with "Ameen." Carrying on the conversation I asked, "did Saddam and Samira know each other through uncle Shuaib?" "Yes, their relationship was a match made, that was after Samira's first fiance called off the wedding with the excuse that he fell out of love! Can you imagine?" Before I could say a thing she huffed and continued "how can he fall out of love when it was just a month to the wedding? It was a rough and tough time for Samira, he was her first love. I could still remember how much pain she went through'' she said, scrunching up her face then continued after a little pause " Good thing it was because I doubt that he wouldn't have been a dutiful husband to Samira. After some months, Uncle Shuaib brought a marriage proposal between Saddam and Samira, Dad discussed it with Samira but she insisted on only going through with it after they liked each other, and yes, a few months after they got to know each other, they fell in love and got engaged some months back, their wedding will be by the end of the year in shaa Allah" Ummi finished.

"Wow, Masha Allah, that's good for them. May Allah bless their union. From the look of things, they are one love bird. Allah blessed her with something even better, Alhamdulillah!" I said just as we arrived at my car. The uncertain mood lifted as we stared at each other for a while before I added, "You should go in. I will get going now," I added. She nodded her response, "jazakallah khairan for coming, I appreciate it," she said while I smiled and responded with "wa iyyaki, thanks for letting me know more about your family. Bye for now, Assalamu Alaikum." "Walaykumu salam,'' she replied and slowly walked back into the ward. I got into the car after I lost sight of her and I drove home quietly.

***********At Home**************

"Assalamu Alaikum," I greeted before entering the house. I got a response from Dad, "walaykumu Salam, welcome back home," after exchanging greetings with my dad... I went into my room and had a shower. I lay on my bed and was thinking about Ummi; as much as I wanted her to tell me what the problem was with her, I also trusted her, and I knew she would certainly tell me when she felt it was the right time. Everything about her is beautiful, her manners, the way she talks, and even walks. I can't wait to make it official with her. A call from my friend, Umar, disrupted my beautiful thoughts. "Assalamu Alaikum bro," he screamed over the phone. "Walaykum salam, wassup?" I asked, knowing something must be up with him from how he screamed. "
خَمِنْ مَاذَا (guess what? In Arabic)" he said. "ماذا (what?) I asked. "Naija sef, I asked you a question you dey ask me back!!" He screamed again "انت تعلم انني لا اجيد التخمين؟ (you know I'm not good with guessing?) I replied to him. "Bro, the grocery man from Italy just paid us for the catfish productions,'' he all but blurted out as I screamed my gratitude, "Alhamdulillah, إخبارية جيدة( a good news), Masha Allah, full payments?" I asked. "سداد كامل (full payment)" he replied.