When The Fate Strikes In

- Prologue -

Our Beloved Nabi (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said :
إنما الأعمال بالخواتيم
" Verily actions are judged by their endings."
Abu Huraira (Radh.) - Bukhari

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Welimada

December 2009

It was a beautiful day in Welimada with the climate here being chilly and pleasant. I stood staring at the mountains in front of me, the melodic chirping of the birds filling my ears as the sun set. A deep content sigh left my lips as I took in the breath-taking view in front of me.

Oh! How much I loved nature and the beauty of it. Sometimes I wished I lived in a soothing environment like this. Villages were so different and calm compared to Colombo; the commercial capital of Sri Lanka, the city I lived in, which was always so busy and noisy. I looked at the towering mountains in front of me once again and turned to leave as it was becoming dark.

I have another whole day here, in which I would have plenty of time to gaze at these mountains again. (1)In shaa Allah. I thought sighing deeply once more because of how much I loved the environment of villages than the urban area I lived in.

Welimada also brought many bitter memories with its name. At that moment I just wanted to push away all the negative thoughts and focus on the awesome time I was going to have here.

My paternal family along with (2)Abi's aunts, uncles and cousins came here this weekend to attend his cousin sister's Nikah. She was Abi's cousin from (3)Appa's side. Welimada is the town in which her to-be-husband lives. The Nikah was held in the masjid here and the Nikah ceremony was held in the bride groom's place.

None of my cousins had come and I had to hang around with Abi's cousin sisters, they were awesome. Although they were all older than me, we got along well. The youngest among them being a year and a half older and she was also the closest to me, even though she was Abi's cousin she was more like mine. Yusra's sweet, quiet nature made her the most loved one out of the rest and I enjoyed hanging around with her. The twelve year old me never expected her to be an important person in my years to come.

"Khaleesah!" I heard Yusra call me.

"Yeah?" I looked at her with a smile.

"We will be leaving to Zahra auntie's house for dinner. Will you come with us?" She smiled back.

"Sure. You go, get in the van. I'll inform (3)Ummi and come."

We stayed in a cottage which we booked before we came here. This cottage was below the groom's house. But it was a few kilometers away from Zahra auntie's place. Ummi was staying in the cottage with the bride while we (i.e. all the cousins and great aunts) were going to have dinner in Zahra auntie's place.

I went in to inform Ummi that I would be going with Yusra and the others for dinner. When I came back outside, there was no sign of the girls. I suddenly felt scared as it had become dark. I looked around for them but didn't see the van anywhere. As I was about to go back into the cottage, a voice stopped me.

"Khaleesah! Who are you searching for?"

I knew that voice anywhere. It could only belong to one person. The person I avoided being anywhere close to. Reluctantly I looked up at him. His smile made me nervous, his voice made me nervous. HE made me so nervous. It was like I had lost my voice for a while. I quickly looked at the ground.

"err.. Where are the others?" I asked him in a timid voice. I was feeling extremely nervous by now, and the fact that he was with a few other cousins of his didn't help at all.

"There. " he pointed at the van. I hadn't seen it in the dark. Now, I felt very embarrassed as the van was not completely invisible.

"Oh! Jazaakallahukhaira Yaasir (4)naana! " I said quickly and hurried towards the van; not before seeing that beautiful smile once more, which made my heart beat rapidly.

This handsome young boy was none other than Yusra's second older brother. He was nineteen years old; thin, tall and fair with that mischievously cute smile which made me get nervous all over again.

At that time I didn't understand why I got all bothered when he was around. It was something I figured out very later on in my life. The few days I was there, I longed to see him. He was always so cheery and fun, getting along well with everyone. At times when he laughed and spoke with his cousin sisters I wondered how he could so simply speak to them all. But I didn't dare go anywhere near him or speak to him.

The most amazing thing is that until this day in Welimada I had never noticed him. He was an invisible person in their family to me. I knew his existence but never bothered to know anything about him. I knew his older brother since he used to work in Appa's office in Colombo. His brother was silent like Yusra but Yaasir was the fun one.

The one who made me smile unknowingly.

The one who had stolen my heart without my knowledge!

But I didn't know it. I had no idea that HE stole my heart until three years later.

Also, I hadn't stolen his. I was just a child to him at that time.

 But not for long.

MEANINGS OF CERTAIN WORDS:

(1) In shaa Allah - If Allah Wills

(2) Abi - my father

(3) Appa - grandfather

(4) Ummi - my mother

(5) Naana - a term used to call a male older to you (e.g older brother, cousin who is older, etc.)

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A/N - Assalaamu Alaikum everyone! so finally here is the prologue... I hope you all liked it.

Please do comment, vote & share...

loads of love & duaas,
Saa Naleem ❤