Chapter Twenty-Three
"There she is." Abba peered over my shoulder as I was washing the last of the dishes. "I didn't think I'd find you here."
I sighed. I was up early, trying to get this done so I wouldn't have an encounter like this with him.
"Find me where?" I asked, humouring him even though I knew exactly what he was talking about.
"If you had just done all this over there, then you wouldn't be back at mine. Girls these days don't know how to keep their in-laws happy anymore," he tutted, referring to me cleaning.
"Oh stop it, Abba. I was doing all this." My mood quickly turned into annoyance.
Unlucky for me, he didn't leave the kitchen and instead took a seat at the table.
"Make me some tea," he demanded.
I placed the plate that was on my hand, back in the sink and went over to the kettle, soapy water dripping on the floor as I moved, and turned on the switch.
"Don't mess up the kitchen with that water. Clean it up."
"I will Abba." I rolled my eyes, making sure I was facing away from him otherwise I would be dead on the spot if he saw that.
As I got his mug ready while the water boiled, I wondered how I ended up back here. It was my anniversary, my first one at that. I should've been at home with my husband, being thankful for a year together and yet I was back here, making tea for Abba the same way I was the morning of my Nikkah. I wonder if Eijaz is thinking about our anniversary like I had been the last couple of days. I sighed, muttering an Alhamdulillah to myself despite the situation. Things could have been worse; I may have not had parents to go back to. I realised what I was doing to myself the last couple of months was so unhealthy and as far away from where I wanted to be as possible. My Imaan had weakened so much that I had lost the will to rely upon Allah (SWT) even in the bad moments in life. I was put to a test and I had been failing miserably. I didn't want to do that to myself anymore and as I slowly built up my reliance upon Allah (SWT), I found myself thankful no matter what had happened. I was back at my parents' since the incident with Mum and the bathroom.
"Ey, are you going to stand there all day or give me my tea?" His irritated voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
I jumped, rushing to get the sugar and teabag in the mug that it almost slipped out of my hand. Almost. I made his tea and gave him some biscuits, which he then took with him to the living room, leaving me to get back to the dishes.
The doorbell rang just then and I grunted. Who would be here this early? I washed the soap off my hand, drying them before heading over to the front door. I wasn't fast enough for my father though since he had to shout at me to go open the door. When I did, Khadra was beaming at me as if she couldn't contain herself. She squealed and pulled me into a hug before she even came into the house.
"Khadra, get in before someone sees me! I don't have my niqab on!" I moaned, struggling to get myself off her.
"Oops, sorry!" she giggled.
She let go of me and followed me into the kitchen, closing the front door behind her. I began wiping the counters clean.
"Are you ever not cleaning?" Khadra questioned, taking the seat Abba had vacated earlier.
"Tell that to my father," I mumbled.
"What?" She asked as she hadn't heard me.
"Nothing."
YOU ARE READING
Freeing or Fleeing
SpiritualCan you feel lonely surrounded by people? Hafeezah has always been that obedient child, even through to adulthood, obedience that extends to her in-laws. It's a trait of hers that seems to go unnoticed and the treatment towards her exhausts her soul...
