Fire Meets Ice

14

   Hey loves ❤️

          His teeth clenched as he tried to calm himself. "Daddy! Daddy!" A small voice broke the trance making them look in the direction of the voice.
     Skyler could not stop thanking his lucky stars, he was so close to doing something he would surely regret. From his peripheral vision he could see Aaliyah take steps away from him and that didn't make him happy at all.
      "Hey buddy, what's up?" Skyler said smiling at his son.
     The boy looked from Skyler to Aaliyah and a frown settled on his face. "Who are you?" He asked.
    Aaliyah was about to open her mouth before Skyler spoke. "She works for me, her name is Aaliyah"
    "Oh, hello miss Liya. Can I call you Miss Liya?" He asked, his eyes lightening up.
    Ya Allah, this boy is so cute. MashaAllah. "Of course you can" Aaliyah replied with a smile.
     "Aaliyah this is my son Mason" Skyler said introducing the duo.
      "It's nice to meet you Mason" Aaliyah said politely, so he had a son. Aaliyah said to herself
      "Pleasure's mine" The boy said, stretching his small hand for a handshake.
      "Aren't you a gentleman?" Aaliyah almost laughed as she shook his small hand.
      "I am, Daddy taught me to respect women whether they are related to me or not" Mason said proudly.
    This caused Aaliyah to laugh, "That's wonderful Mason, you are good boy" She smiled.
      "Would you join us for lunch Miss Liya?" Mason asked politely.
     "I am sorry Mason, I just came to give your daddy something. I have to go back to work". Aaliyah said.
     "Daddy, tell her to stay for lunch please, you are her boss please" Mason asked pulling on his father's pants.
    "Aaliyah, please stay for lunch. You can go back to work later" Skyler said.
      "Alright sir, thank you" Aaliyah responded hesitantly as she flashed him a small smile.
       "Yes!" Mason shouted as he held on Aaliyah's hand and pulled her to the dinning room, with Skyler trailing behind them.
    "Martha, Miss Salman will be joining for lunch so please set the table" Skyler said to the nanny.
     Soon the table was set with different foods even though it was just the three of them.
    "Please" Mason said opening his hands wide to Aaliyah, she wondered what he meant by that but soon realized he wanted her to lift him on the chair as his short legs couldn't get him to sit on the chair.
   Aaliyah lifted him from the ground and helped him on the chair, a small amount of pasta was placed in his plate as he ate it slice by slice.
    She smiled watching the boy, the more she looked at him she could see the resemblance between Skyler and his son, they had the same color of hair and shape of face, but their eyes colors were different. Mason had green orbs and it suited him well.
     "Mason, how many times have I told you to stop playing with your food" Skyler said with a slight frown.
   "Sorry daddy" He immediately picked the slice of pasta from the table and placed it in his plate.
     By the time they were done eating, it was some minutes past five. Aaliyah sighed, she had missed Asr prayers. She really did not like compiling her prayers, it would be time for Magreb before she returned home.
     She didn't know how Skyler would react if she told him she wanted to pray in his house.
     "Are you good?" He asked sensing her lost in her thoughts as she toyed with a piece of her hijab.
     "I am good" she flashed him a small smile, she could see it in his face that he didn't believe her. "Well, can I pray here? I really don't want to compile my prayers and before I get home, it would be late"
She explained, hoping he understood.
     "It's no problem Aaliyah, you can pray in one of the rooms" He suggested.
     "Oh, that would be lovely. Thank you" She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.
     He led her to the bathroom for wudhu before leading her to one of the guest rooms which had a white rug on the ground. "I don't have a praying mat, I hope this can work too" He said.
     "It can, thank you" Aaliyah said placing her bag on the bed.
     "You can go ahead, I will leave you to pray" He said walking out of the room but not completely, he stood by the door watching her pray. He had so many questions running in his head. She looked at peace and relaxed praying. He finally closed the door and walked away.
     Few minutes later, Aaliyah walked out of the room to the living space. Her eyes fell on Skyler who was going through his phone.
    "I am done, thank you for letting me use your room for prayers" She thanked him genuinely.
     "It's no problem at all. And I want you to ask you something if that's okay with you I mean, please can you sit for a few minutes?" He asked.
     "Oh, alright." Aaliyah said sitting across him, she noticed he was wearing a black shirt now, he must have changed his stained shirt.
     "Yeah, I am not really a religious person but I want to know why you do all this, I mean you can move around without wearing your scarf or praying. Like I don't understand why you would want to go through all this?" Skyler was truly confused.
    Aaliyah stared at him for a while before a smile appeared on her face, "I am a Muslim women and in my religion covering my hair and body is a sign of modesty from God, and it is compulsory for a Muslim woman to cover her hair and body so is prayers" she explained.
     "But like what is the reason behind it? Doesn't it suffocate you? Aren't you hot?" He asked.
      "The heat is always bearable and it is a small price to pay because the reward is much greater. Women in Islam are very special like diamonds, just like diamonds you can't have easy access to it because they are precious and expensive." She explained, "Modesty also protects us from many things, from lusting men most of the times. We have the right over people who get to see our body, and it boosts confidence and pride"
     "Oh I see, but I thought Muslim women were like oppressed or confined"
     "Of course not, that's not true at all. Muslim woman have basic right such as a man, right to education , right to travel and explore, right to expression of opinions. In the eyes of our Creator  we are all human beings who play different roles in this world and yes the Hijab is compulsory as it is also a woman's choice, not wearing it doesn't make one less religious or a bad Muslim. We aren't perfect beings and everyone has their own journey and trials to their Lord" Aaliyah explained.
     "So you aren't forced to wear it?" He asked again for certainty.
     "Not at all, I love wearing the hijab I would feel vulnerable and naked without it" Aaliyah said with a smile.
    "That's amazing, it's good to know you chose to wear it" He said with a smile.

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   I am not a scholar or sheikha, this is the information I have gathered from my numerous research. So if I made any mistake please feel free to correct me. Thank you :)