"Congratulations!" My manager told me over the phone. I continued to run on the treadmill as I put in my headphones. "For what?" I asked curiously. "Your interview on ESPN skyrocketed! Many people were touched by your story." He exclaimed, I could practically see him grinning from ear to ear at this point. I'm not gonna lie, it does feel good to hear that. All of the practices, tournaments have all payed off. I still can't believe it's actually happening you know?

I stopped running and looked at myself in mirror up above. "That's great." I said as I wiped off the beads of sweat that were making their way down my forehead. "I also called to tell you that your next match is in three months so don't forget to practice and stay fit. I'll be checking up on you every now and then." He then hung up the phone.

I quickly opened Instagram and saw that I had over 400k people follow me overnight. This is insane, I didn't even know that this many people even knew I existed.

I quickly opened some of the dms people sent me and couldn't stop the huge smile that over came my face as I read the sweet messages they sent me.

'Mashallah brother, I'm so proud of everything you've accomplished. You've shown that anything is possible and that the obstacles that Allah puts in our ways are meant to make us stronger, not tear us apart. I really needed to hear that so thank you for everything.'

'Thank you for showing us your story and letting us in your life. May Allah shower you with many more blessings ❤️'

'Modern day Muhammad Ali🙌🏽'

'My new inspiration, thank you for everything you've done. P.s you're so going to win your next match, I can feel it.'

'Mashallah it's amazing that even through all of your success, you've never stopped being humble. That's a great quality to have and I hope that you will always stay this way.❤️'

There were also some silly ones that made me laugh but I don't think were meant to.

'Are you single by any chance?'

'Mashallah where can I find someone like you?'

'Where have you been all my life?'

'I need me some Isa Amin'

"Hey future Hubby'

Just two years ago I never thought that I'd ever become a professional boxer and now here I am. I always feel like I'm in a dream and I'm about to wake up any second now. Alhamdulilah for everything, it's crazy how life can be so unpredictable. I still remember the day the doctor came in to my room and told me one of worst news I've ever heard. The first was when I heard my mom past away and after that day, I knew I would never be the same again. And just after I finally started to pick up the broken pieces and feel like myself again, my world came to a halt. Knowing that I couldn't do the one thing that got me through the hardest time of my life, felt like I was about to fall apart all over again.

"Can I be alone?" I said as I stared at the hospital floor. The doctor and Zamzam left the room, leaving me in my own thoughts. I didn't know what to think at this point. Looking up to the ceiling, I prayed to Allah. I don't understand why he would do this to me. For as long as I could remember I've been dreaming of becoming a boxer but now that dream has been ripped away from me.

"Ya Allah please, this can't be happening." I cried. I rarely ever cry but at this moment, I couldn't hold back my tears. I promised her, I promised that I would make it big as a boxer and that I would win all my tournaments for her. Whenever I boxed, it felt like she was still with me, cheering in the stands. I swear, sometimes it's like I could hear her yelling my name the loudest.

This can't be over, it just can't.

At that time I had to remind myself that everything Allah does is for a reason, that he had a bigger plan for me. Suddenly my phone started ringing and I noticed it was my sister-in-law. "Salam, Isa." Ihsan said on the other line. "Salam sis, what's up?" I replied as I grabbed a towel and wiped my face. "Nothing much, I was just wondering if you could babysit Samira for today? I'm sorry to bother you but I just got called into work and Abdi isn't here." She explained. "Yeah, what time do you want me to swing by and pick her up?" I questioned.

"Around now."

"Okay I'll be there in twenty minutes."

After she hung up I quickly took a shower, put my clothes back on and left the gym. I feel bad that I never really spend time with my niece, I left a couple of weeks after she was born and didn't visit until she was 1 year old. I'm a really bad uncle and I want to fix that. That's one of the reasons why I asked to take a break from the boxing world for a while.

I've missed my family, friends, I've missed New York City. Los Angeles is great and everything but no place compares to NYC. A couple of minutes later I made my way to my brother's house and parked my car outside. After a couple of seconds Ihsan came out with Samira running to my car. "Thanks again, before you go let me get her baby seat from my car." My sister-in-law said as she opened her car.

"I mad you!" Samira pouted at me as she got into the backseat. I turned to her, pouting my lips as well. I pretended to cry which made her laugh. "You funny when you cwy uncle Isa." She laughed and wiped my fake tears away. "Don't cwy!" She then planted a kiss on my cheek.

"Are you still mad at me?"

"Yes."

"Do you want McDonald's?" I know that she loves happy meals a lot. "Yes!" She started hopping up and down happily. Ihsan opened the door to my car and put Samira in her baby seat. "Daddy will come to pick you up later okay baby?" She said as she kissed her daughter goodbye. I turned on the engine to the car and drove out of the drive way after she closed the door.

* * *

"Where are we Uncle?" Samira asked as her grip on my hand tightened. "We're at a friends house, Mira." I then knocked on the door and waited for Amir to hurry up and open it. What kind of person calls someone over and then makes them wait over five minutes for them to open the door? "Sorry for taking so long, I had to help Aliyah put Deenah down." Amir explained as he let Samira and I in. "Hey Mira!" He ruffled her hair.

"Hi Uncle Amir!" Mira exclaimed as she hugged him.

We then walked into his living room and sat down on the couch. From the kitchen, I heard two female voices. "Is someone else here?" I questioned curiously. "Yeah Samiyah is in there with Aliyah." He replied as he sat across from us. Pretty soon they both walked into the living room where we were. "Aunties!" Samira leaped up from the couch and ran to the both of them. Just then Samiyah looked up and our eyes locked for a split second before I looked away. "Hey cutie." Samiyah cooed as she planted a kiss on Samira's cheek. When I first came back I was pleasantly surprised to see Samiyah wearing a hijab. She's changed a lot since I've last visited New York.

I never felt nervous around Sam before but now I am and I'm freaking out in the inside about it. I mean I always saw her as a family friend and that's it, no more, no less. But ever since I came back things have been different. I've changed and like I said before, she's most definitely changed. I don't know what's happening to me or why I'm having these thoughts but ever since Zamzam's wedding...they just kept on coming. I saw Sam in a new light that day and I want to know more about her.

"Hello? Isa?" Amir snapped his fingers in front of my face making me snap out of my trance like thoughts.

"Yeah?" I finally looked up and noticed that they were all looking at me.

"I asked how the interview went. I couldn't watch it on TV but I heard a lot of good stuff about it." Sam looked genuinely interested as she sent a small smile my way. I don't know why but after seeing her smile, I found my self doing the same. "I was really nervous during the whole thing but Alhamdulilah it went well." I responded.

"That's great, did you see the new article that ESPN posted about you?" She asked with a proud look on her face. "No, what did it say?" I asked genuinely curious. I didn't know that they wrote an article about me let alone read it. "Well basically they said that you have one of the most promising futures in boxing, Mashallah. I'm really proud of you, you knew what you wanted and you went for it, fighting all odds. That isn't something many people can say." Samiyah stated as a blush crept upon her cheeks.

"Thanks, I really appreciate that." I responded. Hearing her say that she was proud of me was the highlight of my day. Don't get me wrong, I loved the messages that were sent to me today, well most of them, not so much the ones where people were hitting on me. But hearing it from someone I've known almost all of my life and care about, made it all the more special.

"Anytime. Well, I have to get going."

"Let me walk you out." Aliyah followed her to the door. After both of them were gone Amir snapped my way with a mischievous smirk on his face. "What was that?" He asked as he grinned from ear to ear. Shrugging my shoulders, I tried to act cool. "What was what?" I nervously scratched the back of my head. "Uncle Isa and Aunty Samiyah sitting in a twee K-I-" I quickly covered Samira's mouth before she could finish saying what I knew she was about to say. "So you and Sam? I always knew that you guys would make a cute couple." Amir stated with a smirk.

I threw one of the throw pillows that were beside me at him out of embarrassment. "Shut up bro." I groaned, feeling annoyed. I don't like Samiyah like that. I can't like her like that...Even if I did I can't do anything about it because I'm leaving in a couple of months. I only have three months to stay here with my family before I go back to California. I can't have these feelings especially at a time like this.

I just can't.

😘