When The Fate Strikes In

- Chapter 3 -

Our Beloved Nabi صلى الله عليه وسلم is reported to have declared:
"Sleeping in the morning hinders sustenance."
(Majma'uz Zawaid-Vol.4, Pg.111)

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It was a beautiful, cold morning with a slight breeze blowing. All leaves in the trees outside the Imran household had dew drops on them. The sun hadn't risen yet, but all members in the house were awake. They had woken up an hour ago for Fajr along with the guests who stayed in the house.

While the men went to the masjid to pray Fajr, the women prayed at home. Yusra was in the kitchen, helping her mother make tea for the guests while Khaleesah had fallen asleep after she had prayed Fajr. Yusra had wanted to speak to Khaleesah since she had been asleep when they had arrived the previous night. But now, Khaleesah was asleep instead. Yusra understood that Khaleesah was tired due to the travelling, so she made up her mind that she would speak to her dear friend after she woke up.

Yusra took a cup of tea for her grandma and another for herself and went to her room to have her morning tea with her. It was only then that she saw Khaleesah wrapped up in the blankets, her whole form covered except for a small part of her face so that she could breathe and cuddling a pillow close to her chest.

" (1)Umamma, here drink this. " Yusra said giving the cup of tea to her grandma. Her grandma's tea was especially made, without a grain of sugar in it, since her grandma had diabetes and many other medical issues. Her legs were paralyzed after she got a stroke a few years ago, so she couldn't do anything without the assistance of someone, since she couldn't walk or move on her own. But, Alhamdulillah she could sit up and interact with others which was a blessing in itself.

After all there were so many people out there who were more weaker than her. People who were completely paralyzed or those who lost their ability to speak due to a stroke like Khaleesah's mother's aunt. Which hurt those who cared for her every time they looked at her. But Khaleesah's great grandma was fine. Alhamdulillah. All the illnesses she had were common due to her old age.

This woman had four other daughters apart from Yusra's mother, along with one son who was Khaleesah's paternal grandfather. Her other daughters weren't very comfortable in taking care of their dependant mother and it was Yusra's mother who took the responsibility most of the time. She did it to please her Rabb alone. After all that is all that will get her to Jannah. This task wasn't a simple one and required a lot of patience and tolerance. But, with the support of her loving family and the love she had for her mother she hardly felt the burden of it and did it most happily. She was always thankful to Allah for the never-ending support of her husband and children who also loved their grandma immensely.

Great grandma's husband had passed away almost a decade ago. She had been very close to him and they were never apart. They hardly went anywhere without each other. Khaleesah's mother used to tell her that her great grandma only ate from the plate her husband served for her and he would always make her a cup of coffee every morning when they woke up for Tahajjud together. Such was their love. But Khaleesah hardly saw anyone so loving in her life except for Yusra's parents who were quite a similar couple and she hoped that she would have a relationship like that with her future spouse.

The frail old woman held her cup firmly in her hands which were covered with wrinkles. Her hair was completely white and she had a permanent smile etched on her face which was filled with (2)Noor; despite all the hardships she was going through. This Noor made the wrinkles on her face invisible. She smiled at her granddaughter and took a small sip from her cup of tea to check if the temperature of it was fine. Her hands shook a bit as she carried the cup to her lips and Yusra quickly placed her warm fair hands on her grandma's cold ones to make sure she didn't drop any of it on her body which would burn her sensitive skin.

After Yusra had finished drinking her tea, she took her grandma's empty cup and gracefully stood up. The part of her day which she enjoyed the most was this; having tea with her grandma every morning while having a light chat with her which she knew was very important to her grandma. Since most people feel lonely as they grow older and especially when their partner had already passed away, they felt even more lonely. But Yusra's family never let her feel any loneliness and spent as much as time possible with her. On other days, Yusra's parents and brother would join them too, but today they didn't as Khaleesah was asleep in that room and she was a (3)Niqabi. The men in Yusra's family respected her much more because of this and didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable or evade her privacy while she was at their house.

"The child must be very tired. Even when she was speaking to me after she was done with her Fajr, she looked so sleepy that I asked her to get some rest." The kind old woman said softly, looking at her great granddaughter with such tenderness in her features that made her face even more appealing to look at.

"Yeah, that's very thoughtful of you Umamma." Yusra smiled glancing at the girl fast asleep who was soon going to be a very important person in her life.

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Meanwhile, the men had returned from the Masjid, they were sitting in the hall having their tea with the butter cookies they were served. Khaleesah's father, Ahmed along with Yusra's father Imran were speaking about some political stuff while Yaasir, now in his early twenties, looked back and forth between them enjoying the conversation. He put a few words here and there or most of the time just listened. He was oblivious to the fact that Ahmed was noticing his every move with care. Yaasir was quite in awe of his older cousin brother since he was about fifteen years older to him and was tall and broad in size. Yaasir was a care-free person to every one who knew him. He didn't let anything affect him even if he was in awe of a certain person. But, only his family knew how sensitive he was deep inside.

Imran was a quiet man by nature, his heart filled with so much humility and love. He held a lot of trust in his heart towards anyone. He was innocent and kind to whoever crossed paths with him, that he was loved by almost anyone. His family, friends and people of his village alike. But there were people around him who took these good qualities of his for granted and took advantage of him by cheating him so many times in different ways.

His wife was a pearl herself. She was the youngest sister of Khaleesah's paternal grandpa, and she was also his most beloved sister among his four other sisters. She was so loved because of the way she treated those around her. She was a woman with so much compassion in her heart. She loved everyone around her and she was loved too. Even though she went through many hardships in life, she still remained patient and always was there for her husband when he was in any form of distress.

Their oldest son was working in a Middle Eastern country in a big company and they were proud of him. He had been given the opportunity to perform Hajj that particular year by his kind boss. This made his family very happy for him as this opportunity was something so precious, and not always are people so kind and generous. His character was similar to his father's, he was a quiet and gentle person with a silent way of making people like him. He spoke less and smiled more which was one thing that attracted people towards his character.

His brother Yaasir was the total opposite of him. He wasn't a loud person but he was friendly and outgoing. But he had changed since the last time Khaleesah saw him. He was quite different now. Different in a good way.

Different in a way which made him more attractive.

In a way which made Khaleesah Ahmed fall for him quite quickly without even her knowledge.

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GLOSSARY :

(1) Umamma - Maternal grandma

(2) Noor - light

(3) Niqabi - a woman who wears the niqab

A/N - I hope it's better than the others. Anyone notice a difference? Like it this way or is Khaleesah's POV better?

I hope my bestie isn't still annoyed with me cuz I took so long to update! *wink* You know I love you, mujahida4evr ❤ This chapter is dedicated to her because it was her words which made me actually sit, type and update.

Loads of Love & Du'aas,
Saa Naleem ❤