If somebody asked Zahra - "do we ever reach a point in time when we just cannot love a person any longer?" - she wouldn't know.
Zahra Yusuf is the most sensible girl in her family. She listens to her mind more than her heart, maybe that's why her Na...
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chapter 18: things i don't know z a h r a ' s p o v
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For the first time in my life, I was truly, genuinely scared. When Amirah found out that I rejected Junaid Bhai and wasted no time in doing so, as I expected, our relationship turned a little sour.
I wasn't scared for myself, I was more scared for my relationship with Zurri khala. I was her favourite child, it was evident across the family tree. If she found out that I had rejected her son, she would be so hurt. For the sake of it, I prayed and hoped she never found out.
Junaid Bhai avoided me like the plague. Any time I entered a room, he found an excuse to leave. At dinner that night, when I was washing something at the sink, he came into the kitchen with the spare utensils and turned right back around. He waited for me to finish, then called Amirah to put them inside.
Usually, he would keep a distance but say something normal and civil like 'excuse me' or 'hey, I got more but you don't have to wash these' or 'let me do this'. But this time, he would not say a single word. He would pass by me like I did not exist. Not that I minded much, it was a change I knew I'd have to endure.
What I couldn't stand was that Amirah did the same thing. She brushed past, she would only speak to Ammi or Zurri khala, she would glare at me when she thought I wasn't looking.
Though I knew that I had no fault, I felt guilty anyway.
And I missed her, but as much as it hurt, I did not give in either. I decided to let her seethe in anger and planned to talk to her when she cooled down. After the cookies were made, we set them to dry and cool until the morning. Ammi decided we'd better get back as Safwana and Ali were alone at home and Abba had left for Abu Dhabi soon after the wedding.
Amirah did not say anything as I left their home.
That night, I spread the prayer mat on the ground to pray for harmony, calmness and love between the two families. My mother and her sister were too close to go cold over their kids' fights - but this one was different. I knew for a fact that if someone put this absurd idea of me and Junaid Bhai into Zurri khala's mind, she would not stop until it came true.
My feelings for anyone else would mean nothing.
And I could no longer imagine a life without Shafaq. As cheesy as it sounded, being with anyone else felt wrong. And so, I strengthened my du'a. There was no one but Allah (swt) that I could share this with, no one who would understand what it meant.
Days turned into weeks and news finally came from the Sultan family that they were interested. Ammi was ecstatic, the first person she called was Zurri khala, then it was my father. I put a message in our group chat and it sounded like Falak was the only one who bothered replying.
