Something Sleeping Beauty-ish

Chapter 6

Roza

The movie marathon is great. Ali and I finished the first two Harry Potter movies and are on our third one.

"I love this movie but it's ending is just so avoidable it makes me a kind of angry!" I huff out in annoyance.

"I know, if only they killed that annoying rat, everything else that happened after could have been avoided!" Ali exclaims.

We glance at each other and burst into laughter. I laugh so hard that I start crying.

Ali panics. "Oh no, why are you crying now?"

"You--you do realize--that we sound like te-ter-terrorists right now, right?" I wheeze, ignoring his question.

"Oh you're laughing," he says, relieved.

I immediately sober up. What the hell is going on with me, why do I keep on displaying so much emotion in front of Ali? Mama would kill me right now if she was alive. I have to be more stoic from now on, I can't grow too close to Ali. He's my guardian, but he's still a non-Muhram.

I glance at my phone and notice the time: 1:02. "Salaat," I announce.

Ali checks his watch and raises his eyebrows. "Wow, already? That was fast," he remarks.

We get up and go to different bathrooms to do wudhu. After I do wudhu, I go to my room and try to pray; as usual, however, it's hard to concentrate. "Allahu akbar," I declare as I raise my hands to my ears. I begin to recite surah al-Fatiha. I wish chocolate was real medicine, I think. I finish surah al-Fatiha and begin reciting surah Ikhlas. Emma Watson is so pretty, I wish I could be like her. I bow down into ruku. Stop thinking brain, focus. I prostrate into sajda. Praise be to my lord, the purest, the highest. Oh Allah, send your blessings down on Muhammad and his family. Yaaas gurl, that's what I'm talking about. I sit up. Allah is the greatest. I ask for his forgiveness and turn to him. I prostrate again. Maybe I can finish my salaat while concentrating completely. I sit up and then stand up to start the next rakaat. Yaaas, go me. Imma go to heaven and laugh at all my haters. The same cycle repeats throughout the salaat, and when I finish, I'm left with a feeling of dissatisfaction. Why can't I ever focus on my prayers. When I study I'm the model student. But when I pray I need to take meds or something. Ugh, I need chocolate!

I quickly pray Asr and then qadha for Fajr. I'm able to concentrate more for those prayers, so I feel slightly better. When I go back to the living room, Ali's on the phone ordering pizza.

"...olives and spinach...yes, with a crunchy thin crust...no cut please...thank you," he says before ending the call. He looks over at me. "Pizza will be here in twenty minutes."

give him a small smile. "Sounds great," I tell him, remembering to maintain a mild attitude.

Ali clears his throat. "Listen, there's something I want to talk about," he announces.

"Go ahead," I say.

Ali clasps his hands behind his back and looks down. There's a momentary silence. He sighs and looks up at me. "I've been thinking about what you said, about how you want to do something about the man who murdered your parents. Well, I want to help. I have a plan, if you're willing to hear me out."

I still at his words. He wants to help with catching my parents' murderer? "Why do you want to help?" I ask him.

Ali leans against the couch and curls his fingers on its edge. He looks down, closes his eyes, and clenches his jaw. "That bastard killed my aunt and uncle and many innocent people. He hurt you in more ways than one," he growls. He raises his head and looks me in the eye. "I can't just sit back and do nothing. I'm going to help you," he declares.