MARJAAN- COMPLETE HALF OF MY DEEN (#YourStoryIndia) (#ProjectWomenUp)

Chapter 11- College

Assalamualaikumm

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I shall update next chapter only when I get 100 votes each per chapter so pls vote in all my chapters and pls go back and check if you did vote for all chapters. .

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The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "If anyone travels on a road in search of knowledge, God will cause him to travel on one of the roads of Paradise. The angels will lower their wings in their great pleasure with one who seeks knowledge. The inhabitants of the heavens and the Earth and (even) the fish in the deep waters will ask forgiveness for the learned man. The superiority of the learned over the devout is like that of the moon, on the night when it is full, over the rest of the stars. The learned are the heirs of the Prophets, and the Prophets leave (no monetary inheritance), they leave only knowledge, and he who takes it takes an abundant portion. - Sunan of Abu-Dawood, Hadith 1631

Marjaan P.O.V

I missed going to bus stop with Afreen, as our colleges were different. She opted for a college not far from home to do her degree while I went to an Arts College for women, which was an hour's bus ride from home. I never minded travelling alone, but having to stand half the way to college was a dreadful business. So I went earlier than usual, wearing my college abayya and expeditiously walking towards my bus stop.

Today will be the day my friends will hear about my big news. Engagement. I wonder how they will react. Would the take my word for it, or is it gonna be looked as an elaborate joke? I sat there pondering this while an empty bus stopped four feet from where I was standing.

"Chetta, one convent cross road" handling exact change to the conductor.
He glanced uninterestedly at the student ID card I was flashing, taking in the student concession fare before issuing me my ticket. Nobody in our city took punctuality the way I did.

I had to be at least half an hour early to before the time I was assigned to reach.
I slept through my ride, as I always did when I travelled, and Alhamdulillah I miraculously always woke up right before it stopped at my college.

It was sharp 7:55 and I had 35 minutes before my class started. I took off my abaya revealing my jeans and a slate colored poncho I chose to wear today. And then I waited for the rest to come.
Our gang meant four distinctly different characters that chose to stick together because they were totally jobless otherwise.

Batul, my tall nerd friend was the nicest of the lot who would never dream of hurting a fly even if it was eating her face. Diane, a natural singer who sang all her way through college, who can occasionally be spotted in TV shows. And then Hima, the most irresponsible genius who was my bestie, never exhibited any talents until she was inspired to. She would be the last to arrive to class, and if she ever made it on time, we joked, it rained.

I was the imaginary one. I saw colors everywhere. To introduce my friends better, I could use the unicorn story. If there ever was news of a unicorn spotted that went viral, I would be the one painting myself riding on it with ribbons flying around. This time with Brown eyes with me. Diane would be composing theme songs to praise the creature, adding tunes to it. Batul a dedicated information giver would patiently tell people what a unicorn actually is. And Hima, well, she would burst my bubble with a skeletal system of a hypothetical unicorn telling how it can't carry both of us and fly defying gravity.

I heard a familiar tune walking by the corridors that stopped when I turned to face it.

"EMJAY! I missed you so much." Diane came and hugged me. As we hugged, I could see her parting line of her hair very clearly, looking like a highway. She was the shortest of us all.
My friends called me MJ, short for Marjaan which they thought was rad.