Hanifa's issue was long forgotten and life goes on, today is Friday which means visitation to the orphanage , we always squeeze time to go there every end of the month and we supply them with provisions weekly&monthly.

" Noory, don't be too lazy, get up it's already past four let's get going " I said coming out of my room with a brooch to pin my hijab .

" Can't we just skip today habibty? I'm too tired can't even lift a finger and my head hurts " I opened and closed my mouth several times gaping at him " who are you and where have you taken my husband to ?" I asked and Taseer laugh giving me his hands and I helped him get up from the couch.I was surprised that he's telling me we should postpone the visit, if there is anything that Taseer hates is to miss a visit to the orphanage. Something must be wrong .

" Just pulling your legs habibty, I never miss the chance to go and visit those sweet souls besides with you by my side, I can walk round the earth a thousand times without complaining " He said while I was locking the door .I turned to face him " My habiby is the sweetest, you don't misuse any chance you get to make me feel special and I love you more for this , now let's go spread love to those beautiful souls " I said giving him a Peck on the cheeks ,we walked to the car side by side hand in hand, being the gentleman that he always is , Taseer opened the door for me before moving to his side .I am blessed and I never cease to say Alhamdulillah for Allah has blessed me abundantly and I can't ask for more .

The kids were so happy to see us and we spent a lot of time with lots of them, remember the little girl that once asked Taseer whether am his wife ? She fell seriously sick and in a critical condition, we went to see her and the state she was in broke my heart, I wish I can take away her pain and make that little lively amazing girl up and about again, she doesn't deserve such pain at such a tender age, she was diagnosed with cancer and all we can do is pray that Allah will make it easy for her and grant her shifaaa. She looked so frail you won't recognise her at once .We couldn't visit the rest of the orphanages because we were touched by Ilham's condition so we headed back home in silence .

" Can't we do something about it hun ?" I asked Taseer the moment we went inside .

" I was thinking about her too manalie , I think we should take her to Saudi since I was planning on taking you there, we haven't had a proper honeymoon and its almost getting to our second anniversary. What kind of a husband does... " he didn't finish his sentence before I squealed and hugged him making him loose his balance because it was totally unexpected and we both end up on the floor , I kissed every exposed skin I could lay my mouth on and kept thanking him " you have no idea how happy this makes me Noory , I will love to go to the holy land with you more than anything. Imagine us together circumbulating the ka'abah , worshipping Allah, pouring out our hearts to Him, asking Him for forgiveness and to strengthen our love. This is the best honeymoon destination and you have made a right decision , in shaa Allah we will start processing for her visa on Monday jazakallah bi jannah zawjee you're the best " I rambled while he fold his arms on his chest still in the position he was when we fell down with his beautiful smile that melts my heart and makes me fall in love with him a gazillion times over .

" You're welcome babe ,now get up let's pray since you succeeded in making me miss the Congregational prayer again " he gave me a playful glare and I winked at him " It's not my fault that I love to listen to your recitation and I don't wanna keep missing the happiness I feel whenever you lead me in salah. You can punish me but I will keep doing that every Friday, the rest of the days are for you to go out but Friday ? Nah that's for me except if you're not in this house Mr CEO" he threw a pillow at my retreating figure mumbling troublesome woman and I laughed before going into the washroom, the thought of Ilham's face which portrays the kind of pain she's going through still making my heart ache .We prayed maghrib, I recited suratul kahf for us while Taseer's head was on my lap, we did the azkhars and didn't get off the praying mat till after we performed ishaa the final obligatory prayer for the day before finally having dinner .

" let's watch the new video of mufti menk I told you about " Taseer suggested and I nodded made myself comfortable beside him and he played the video, we watched it in silence not saying a word till it ended. It is about the mercies of Allah, the bounties of jannah and the torments of hell fire.

" May Allah make us among the dwellers of jannah " Taseer prayed .

" Amin thumma amin, and may He grant Ilham shifaa " I retorted .

" Ameen , do we have zobo manal mai zobo?" That made me chuckled. He has a way of lightening my mood, knowing me too well, he understands that am sad about Ilham's condition and without asking me he's trying to change the topic.I pinched his cheeks before getting up to bring a chilled bottle of zobo with one tumbler .We finished the bottle in a few minutes and I smiled to myself reminiscing that Taseer didn't like zobo that much but I tactfully forced him into making it his favorite drink ,he has no choice than to oblige. I make a lot of natural drinks but zobo is a K constant in my freezer .

🌸

The weekend passed like any other weekend without anything out of the ordinary, we decided to go to the orphanage first to discuss the issue with the matron before going to the hospital to check up on Ilham, she kept popping up in my thoughts I even dreamt about her yesternight .What we were told shocked me to the core, death is certain and every soul shall taste it, we are all waiting for our time to leave this world , Taseer had to ask again for confirmation, " You mean she died on Saturday ? That little girl with cancer? " his voice betrayed his feelings .

" Yeah, she is the one we lost and she kept calling your names before she died " the matron said with red rimmed eyes, the girl was lovable and everyone who has a soft spot for children will surely like her .

" Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun , but why didn't you tell us about it, you have our contact don't you? " I wailed with tears in my eyes while Taseer held me close comforting me or at least trying to .

" Am sorry madam ,I saw how sad you looked the other day when you came to visit her,I don't wanna aggravate your situation let's just pray for her and in shaa Allah she's in a better place " The matron explained and we sat there for a long time before finally leaving the orphanage with a heavy heart, maybe it's better for her there, may Allah forgive her and make jannah her final abode .We couldn't say a word ,from the corner of my eyes I saw Taseer wiping away a lone tear cascading down his cheeks, he's used to her too much more than I am ,since he knew her before me .

" In shaa Allah she is in a better place and we can't prevent it from happening, we should just pray for her and keep her memories alive ,she was a good child and lively " I consoled trying to let him know that I am there for him .

" It's just so sad ,she grew up not knowing who her parents were and then the cancer and now she's gone, I can vividly remember the first time I saw her looking so innocent with an air of liveliness around her, I took an instant liking to her and asked about her history. I was told that she was found in a gutter with a letter that she is not a bastard child and whoever finds her should please take a very good Care of her and that her name is Ilham, we live in a very cruel world manal , she ain't no bastard than why dispose her off like a piece of trash ? And now she's gone ,I was even thinking of becoming her guardian but Allah has other plans for her. Allah gafarta wa Ilham" now I was crying after knowing about her story , we went to work with sombre looks and the moment Simran saw me she knows that something was amiss so she followed me to my office .

" I hope it is not what I am thinking "she asked , making herself comfortable on the couch .

" And what is that ? " I retorted

" Trouble in paradise of course " I glared at her trying to control my rapidly beating heart.

" Remember Ilham that little girl I told you about?? She died day before yesterday " I released the bomb and Simran couldn't even bat her lashes for few seconds before she finally burst into tears.

" Yahsalam manal , that sweet angel? Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun. May Allah forgive her and make jannah her final and eternal abode ameen " Simran was touched too since we all know her and I went on to tell her about our plans to take her with us.

" She doesn't need our tears habibty but our prayers , only that will show that we truly care about her ,Allahu akbar. Indeed from Allah we are and to Him we shall return, who could've thought she will have cancer and it'll claim her life ? May we all die with kalimatul shahadah as our final words and may we die pleasing Allah and obeying his commands Ameen " I nodded at her unable to stop the tears .She stayed long in my office till I composed myself. Allah knows best and He loves her more than us .After work we went back to the orphanage to collect her picture and thankfully we got a lot of them right from when she was just a toddler. Yah Allah bless me with a female child and I will name her Ilham. I prayed in my heart .

The death was a big blow but we got over it as faithful Muslims should and Finally its time for us to go for umrah , Aminah and Muhammad will be there too and after the umrah we will come back to Nigeria with them, finally Aminah will see Hajia and meet Ammy and Muhammad and Ameer will reunite , she will also get to see how far Taseer's company is prospering, I am so excited even though it's not my first umrah but Fourth the reason why ?TASEER.

Alhamdulillah, we performed the umrah successfully without any problem and we visited a lot of places, we went to a big mall to buy some clothes for Hajia ,Abby and Ammy when my stomach churned and I felt like puking my intestines out , Taseer held unto me looking panicked and hailed a cab which took us straight to the hospital despite my protests that I will be okay I just need to go back home and vomit but Taseer won't hear any of it .I was taken straight to the emergency ward and after some tests were carried out we were called into the Doctor's office ,Taseer holding me like a delicate glass.

" Congratulations Mr and Mrs Muntaseer Muhammad you'll soon become parents in shaa Allah ,She's three weeks in " the Dr said with a smile , I thought I died right there because I couldn't even breath , Yah Allah thank you for the best gift , it meant that I am pregnant right before we come for umrah. Taseer thanked the Dr who was telling me the do's and don't's I don't know whether I heard her or not, not minding the people in the waiting area and those outside Taseer carried me bridal style and gently placed me in the back seat of the cab, he didn't say a word but I faintly heard him saying Alhamdulillah over and over again till we reached our hotel room. He placed me on the bed, went into the bathroom and made wudu he gestured for me to do the same and we went out to the masjid Al mahram .I went to the women section and offered my nafl thanking Allah for His mercies upon us and the best gift , praying that the baby will stay .I recited my favorite surah of the Qur'an and then met Taseer and we circumbulated the ka'abah together before going back to our room.

" Alhamdulillah manalie, am so happy and overwhelmed I didn't know what to say, Kinga ikon Allah koh ? Please be careful this time around no jumping up and down pumpkin, am not saying it was your fault but you should be careful " he said kissing my forehead .

' Yeah I know, I can't believe I'm carrying our child again. I thought I will never conceive ever again " I whispered giving Taseer a bear hug .

" Shh don't ever say that Hayatee, Allah has blessed us with another child and in shaa Allah you'll bring it into this world now let me say hi to my baby " he rested his head on my bare stomach ,muttering things I can't decipher, warm happy tears of gratitude cascade down my cheeks .Thanking Allah countless times in my mind over and over again, that night our happiness knew no bounds and we can't wait to tell our loved ones the good news .

The next morning I woke up to a sizzling aroma of mouth watering food my sweet husband hovering above me with an affectionate smile .

" Good morning Ummu unborn baby, rise and shine , breakfast in bed " he said happily and I gave him a sloppy kiss before going into the bathroom to freshen up. I came out to find an abayah laid down for me and I shot him a greatful smile ." Good morning Abu unborn baby hope you had a wonderful night? And thanks for the breakfast in bed I love you hunny " I said giving him yet another kiss on his forehead while he held me closer to him ,inhaling my cologne " How's our baby doing ?" He whispered huskily which made me shiver a little.

" Lemme fill my tummy then you can ask the baby yourself" I said drawing a coffee table close to the edge of the bed .

" Come let me feed you big baby" I offered and Taseer obliged ,we fed each other in silence till we scrapped the plates clean ." I want ice cream " I whined like a five year old ." Ai fa na shiga uku , ba ciki ma ya aka kare balle kuma ?" The way Taseer put his hands on his hips exclaiming like an old woman made me laugh out loud .He brought the ice cream from the freezer and gave it to me , I happily devoured it while he watched me with admiration in his eyes .

" I thank Allah for giving me you " he finally breath out after a while.

" I am more thankful to have you dear"

" let's go out ,Aminah invited us for lunch " just then Simran's video call came in ,I picked the call and saw her squealing with a radiant happy face. Something big must have come up .

" Manalie we are two months preggers and I'm stupidier than you're ,I didn't know until yesterday can you imagine? "The happiness zinging through my veins can't be explained.

" Mashaa Allah la haula wala quwwata illah billah , congrats big girl. Now you'll be more responsible ,more handful and now that I think about it all those mood swings is coz of the little angel growing in you " I said excitement dripping from my voice .

" I know right ? And you should see the tears I wasted yesterday , I have never feel this happy manal , its surreal, a dream come true, Alhamdulillah kawai zamu ce " we talked for almost 30minutes I didn't tell her that am pregnant also, it was meant to be a surprise package for them all .

" I pity Ameer , the battle just begin " Taseer said with a rueful smile .

" Hahaha, start pitying yourself Malam , it's not everyday I will let you go to work ya know, when am having pains and cramps you must be there, we are pregnant not am pregnant sooooo the responsibility fall upon us two " I said while he looked at me with horror .

" I concur Hayatee, anything for my big baby and the small one ,when the baby comes into the world ,I will have every right to tell him or her that their momma is a meanie and she made my life a living hell " he gave me his cute pout, I laughed and shook my head, getting my hijab and pinning it before we walked out.I was just imagining Simran with a baby bump and then her in labour, I burst out laughing clutching my stomach , conjuring funny scenarios in my head, Taseer gave me another look saying are you sane?

" I hope it is not the hormones? you are freaking me out "

" Allahu yahdika , am just being the evil best friend ,picturing Simran in labour "

"Allahu yahdiki for thinking of such " he smirked and I pinch his cheek smiling.

Lunch with the smith's was lit. We reminisce on our time in Amsterdam ,the things we've missed and how they've been faring with Islam .They've gone far mashaa Allah and it makes me happy to know that we played a vital role in their conversion .

❤❤