The Trust She Broke

42. Everything is Fine.

Thick sliceable silence hung above Ilyas and Ruqqoyah in the car. He had one hand on the steering wheel while the other rested idly on the car window. Ruqqoyah sat as still as a statue, afraid of making any movement that might anger him.

They were on their way to Ruqqoyah's parent house, to honour the invitation from her dad. Two days ago, Ruqqoyah's dad had called them, telling them to come for a visit as he had something of importance to discuss with them.

This happened to be the first time the duo will be going out together ever since Ilyas pronounced divorce. And the thirty minutes plus time they spent together in the car was the most awkward moment in the history of their life.

Ruqqoyah sighed inaudibly, missing their normal banter when they used to be a normal couple who have normal lives. But nothing seems normal to her anymore not even her life or the suffocating silence she just wished could vanish into thin air. As if reading her mind, Ilyas reached his right hand for the car stereo replacing it with his left hand on the steering.

The sweet voice of As Sudais, replaced the silence as the Quran chapter which he had been listening to thousands of times for the past month played on.

At-Talaq(Surah about Divorce), Ruqqoyah said inwardly and almost immediately felt her eyes moist over. And all of a sudden, her windpipe refused to function properly. A while ago, she was about to suffocate from the silence, but right now she want it back more than anything, as she felt all the air in her lung leaking away, as the current Quran recitation did nothing but remind her of her current plight.

"Can...can you change the Surah to another one?" She asked almost inaudibly.

Ilyas cast a quick glance at her, understanding why she was asking him to change the Surah and without saying anything, he switched off the car stereo.

Ruqqoyah didn't bother to say anything, She just closed her eyes turning her face towards the window to discreetly let out a sigh of relief, appreciating the silence that prevailed afterward.

***

"So you guys are the matchmakers" Sekinah, Ruqqoyah's mother stated questioningly.

"Mum you have started again, matchmaker as how? They saw and liked each other." Ruqqoyah explained.

"There's nothing wrong in being a matchmaker, it is a good thing in itself." Bashir said.

"But we are not..." Ruqqoyah wanted to explain further but was cut off by Ilyas who spoke next.

"We are actually glad about the to-be union." He said.

"We are too. As a matter of fact, I am more than happy about it." Sekinah said.

"When do you think we should go meet your parent?" Bashir asked, directing the question to Ilyas.

"I think that should be whenever the couple to be are ready." Ilyas said.

"Of course, Khalid is very much ready in three months, right son?" Bashir asked Khalid who hadn't said a word since the commencement of the informal meeting.

"Hmm" Khalid grunted in response to his father's question but the death glare he received from Bashir made him change his tune. "Right sir."

"They don't want to waste time on anything." Sekinah said backing her husband.

"I think it will be really good if they should take time to learn more about each other, and get to everything there is to know about themselves." Ilyas said.

Only Ruqqoyah and Ilyas knew the exact meaning behind those words. To their family and to the world, they look like a perfect couple, but only they know that they are far from perfect. Imperfect is even an understatement to describe their not so existence union.

"What more is there to know about each other, he knows everything about her, is that not so?" Bashir asked Khalid again, who nodded reluctantly in return.

"He even knows what her favourite food is." Sekinah said.

"If that's how you want it, I will tell my parent, so they could choose a date for the formal visit." Ilyas said, giving up on the argument.

Bashir grinned widely at this, pleased at how the meeting had turned out. "Sure, sure, please do that as soon as possible." He said to Ilyas who only nodded in return.

"Ruqqoyah, let's prepare something for lunch." Sekinah said to her daughter but got no reaction in return.

"Ruqqoyah!" She jolted as she felt a tap on her shoulder. "Yes." She answered her mother who had a worried expression on her face.

"I said let's go and prepare lunch." Sekinah repeated and Ruqqoyah followed her to the kitchen.

***

"I think something is wrong with her." Sekinah said to her husband, Bashir, later that evening after Ilyas and Ruqqoyah left for their home.

They were both sitting in the gazebo, enjoying the evening breeze. "Something is wrong with who?"

"Your child." Sekinah said.

"Which of them?" Bashir asked, taking a sip from his cup of apple juice.

"Ruqqoyah of course." Sekinah said.

"What is wrong with her?" He asked.

"I don't know, I really can't say but something seems to be bothering her." She explained.

"You don't know?" Sekinah nodded to her husband's question. "But you think something is wrong with her?" Sekinah sighed, getting frustrated by her husband's nonchalant attitude.

"Of course, don't you observe, she seems a bit off. She's not her normal talkative self." Sekinah explained worriedly.

"You can't expect her to still be the same as she was as a spinster." He paused to take a sip again, making his wife wonder how he could still drink during that kind of discussion. "She's a married woman and she's just behaving like one." He concluded.

"Maybe that's the case, but she lost weight too, and she looked lost, she barely participate in the discussion." She explained.

"You worry too much woman, she's just getting used to married life, and she will soon adjust, besides if there's anything we should know, she will tell us about it, so stop stressing yourself over nothing." He said.

"Okay, I just pray everything is fine with them." She said.

"And that's what you should be doing, praying for them." Bashir said.

Deep down inside him, he also felt something is not right with his daughter. She looked lean and her eyes, even though she was trying to hide it, held a hint of sadness. But he can't show his wife that he was worried for his daughter too, otherwise, the woman might go overboard with everything. Hence, the only thing he could do is convinced his wife and himself too, that everything is fine.