Tantalizing Hopes

4. He Has His Reasons

Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and earth, and the alternation of the night and the day, and the [great] ships which sail through the sea with that which benefits people, and what Allah has sent down from the heavens of rain, giving life thereby to the earth after its lifelessness and dispersing therein every [kind of] moving creature, and [His] directing of the winds and the clouds controlled between the heaven and the earth are signs for a people who use reason.

[ Al Baqarah : 164 ]

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The milk on the stove boiled, steadily rising and over flowing from the boiling pan, dripping onto the flame and creating hissing noises in its wake. The end result was obvious - it forcefully dragged our lady out of her thoughts and she too hissed on her part.

Quickly putting off the flame, she lifted the pan off the stove, and placing it on the kitchen counter, furiously began wiping the drops that had spilt. She stopped only when she was sure that Farida, the aging cook at the staff quarters would not be biting her head off for 'spoiling' her lair, prepared two cups of coffee, placed them on a tray and robotically took them to Waseema's room.

The hallway was so quiet that her footsteps were heard loud and distinct, and she scrunched up her nose, not liking it one bit. It felt odd to stay in the campus without the little ones surrounding her. It was not normal to not find anyone running around the playground and causing trouble.

It was so not normal for Zahra to not expect little Nabeela approaching her any time of the day with big fat tears rolling down her chew worthy cheeks, complaining of kids having tugged at her pigtails. It was not normal for her to not expect Sarah running to her with barely concealed excitement, eyes gleaming as she stretched out a new poem she had tried her hand at. It was not normal for Zahra to go to sleep without checking on Rafah. The poor girl had nightmares if she didn't. It was also not normal for her to not find scrawny little Abrar gifting her the flowers he had picked from the campus.

It was not normal to not have them around. She was so used to their presence that the simplest of the simplest things lost their charm when they were not around.

It was so not okay.

Despite the fact that theirs was a huge campus with people coming and going all year round, their part of the establishment was vacant today except for Waseema and herself. The kids at school were on their winter break and the ones who had relatives and single mothers waiting for them back at home had gone back while the ones who had had to stay back at school for the lack of people in their lives had gone on a trip to the country side. Zahra had so badly wanted to tag along but Waseema had denied. Even though Zahra couldn't understand why she did so, out of respect for her, she had complied.

She found Waseema on her prayer mat when she walked in, so she quietly placed tray on the study table, took her cup and walked to the window.

The morning was still young and pleasant. There were cottony clouds spread across the vast sky and the tall indigenous trees swayed gently due to the breeze, their leaves dancing merrily to nature's tunes. Cuckoos, parrots and squirrels had spread out, majestically taking over the campus and doing their own jobs, cooing and chirping all the while. The lush green playground looked inviting from the window but for Zahra it only looked best with her students scattered around it.

"Lost in thoughts?"

Zahra smiled a feeble smile, not really wanting to admit the truth. Her eyes strayed back to the window and she lent against it.

Waseema let out an audible sigh, the kind which mothers let out when their kids don't do as they're told. She got up and carefully folding her prayer mat, placed it back on the shelf. She then picked up her cup and joined Zahra. "It is a beautiful morning, isn't it?"