Cinderella? NO

MARYAM

Everyone keeps asking why I dropped my niqab (face veil) after coming back from Nigeria. I told them my mum doesn't like me wearing it and since it is not compulsory to wear niqab I should obey my mum. Displeasing her is displeasing Allah and Alhamdulillah my hijab is good enough. After coming back, I felt like nothing has change. Dubai feels the same, my days started getting boring. Dissertation is not enough to keep me busy because not matter how hard it is, since it is difficult it makes me feel bored. I started doing things that make me happy; 'early mornings and late nights'. I love going places early in the morning or late at night. Like going to the beach 6am or the Mall 11pm or a convenience store 3am. I love strolling 2am, or breakfast date (with Fatima of course). I just love stuff like that, and visiting grandma. So I stick to them and escape my boredom.
I started getting fed up with my roommate and her weird behaviours. She made me dislike the whole villa so I started going to the garden across the street early in the morning because in the afternoons cars pass and other distractions and in the night some weird bugs follow my computer light. Mornings were only the convenient hours. I love being productive in the mornings. After subh prayer, I do my adhkar(supplications), read Qur'an and study it, wash, listen to a podcast while cooking, and leave for the garden. Sometimes I leave 7 and sometimes 8. I don't comeback till noon. I love my new schedule until I started bumping into this weird guy. There is this guy I meet every day in the garden, at times I see him at the beach early in the morning and once at Starbucks and in his eyes I see questions I would never be able to answer and sometimes he looks at me like I am in his place. He gives me a look of 'what are you doing here?' sometimes he's lonely, sometimes he's curious, but he never says anything. And I am sure I have seen him somewhere but couldn't recall. He looks very familiar. Makes me scared and curious. I want to talk to him, ask him what his problem is. I always make a silent prayer for him; that Allah removes whatever that is disturbing him and make things easy for him. I find it beautiful when someone you have never spoken to, mention you in their du'as(prayers). I told Zahra about him and she said what I am doing for him(prayer) is a very good thing and I shouldn't worry about him, I should just continue to pray for him.
Mum called and told me about dad's improvement. She said he's acting normal now; shows love to everybody and comes home frequently. I feel so happy with the information but asked myself till when? till when would he act normal? Would he continue to be a normal husband and dad or would he go back to being a bad person to his family? I cried silently. My home has been destroyed. So many fitnahs(trials) and little patience. My mum doesn't have patience so she suffers a lot. Her health is bad and her mood swings. I feel sorry for her and wish I was there to see her happy moments. It's been long since she talks about dad and smiles. Whenever she talks about him, she makes faces and almost cry. The best part is she never cursed him or question Allah, she just prays very hard. Mum taught us not to ever give our everything to people especially men. She said if we want to give our everything for the sake of Allah, we should go and give beggars and the less privileged. We shouldn't give our friends or spouses. She said they are going to abuse our love, time and wealth and leave us bankrupt. We grew up like that, no friends or boyfriends/girlfriends. Mum gave dad her everything but he remarried and destroyed her home. What men don't understand is that if your 1st wife is not Hitler you shouldn't marry another one because whatever you get from your 1st wife, that's what your second wife will give you. Since the men cannot even do justice. But men think marrying another wife is fun until they realise it is destruction to their homes. I have never seen a man that would call his 1st wife 5 times and call the second wife the same. Nigerian men the moment they become rich or enter politics, they remarry, some marry 2 and some 4. After the money has finished or the tenure has ended you hear them say "don't marry a second one! Or don't even marry." Because they don't get married for the sake of Allah. I have seen a house with 4 wives and they are happy, because they do everything for the sake of Allah. The man married the other 3 to help them financially and raise children on the grounds of Islam. They are very religious, I envy that house so much. That's what happens when we do things for the sake of Allah. Allah make things easy and successful, creates love between the co-wives, their children and the husband. What happens in the houses of the former is hatred, useless competitions, enmity and envy. We once had these neighbours wallahi the competition they do is giving birth (funny right?). The moment the first wife is pregnant, the second weans her baby and get pregnant. When mum asked the 1st wife why they do that, she says because of the husband's wealth(inheritance). She doesn't want her co-wife and her kids to get more inheritance than her. My mum asked her what if God forbid, you die first or she dies first before your husband? The woman just laughed.