Chapter Ten: Compromised (Part One)

There he stood, watching Nadiah looking at Maa'rof leave. Harun had seen the way they had passed each other wordlessly and Maa'rof's continued nonchalance. He saw how Nadiah'd stop walking a few feet later only to whirl around and unleash her thoughts; her expression creasing upon hearing Maa'rof's response.

Harun had seen it all and there was no mistaking: Maa'rof's attitude pained her.

Before he could be discovered, with one smooth glide, Harun shielded himself behind a tree trunk, his hands already balling into tight fists, his ears flaring a deep red and his mind already racing.

Only a fool would not be able to tell what it meant. Only a fool would be blind to something so blatant. Only a fool...

And now he was the fool. For thinking that she would accept his marriage proposal, that her heart belonged to him and that she was successfully his.

You're such a fool. A voice at the back of his head told him - wounding him and making a mockery of his manly pride. Never had he felt so humiliated and ashamed in all his life. He had money. He possessed wealth. He could easily buy plots of land if he wanted to, not just in this small island, but also in other neighbouring states. He could easily shower her with jewellery, a bungalow and whatever else her heart desired. Other girls would kill to marry a man like him.

So why was he the object of her affection when he's nothing more but a mere Ustaz (religious teacher) who would never be able to afford all the luxuries which he could easily offer her? In what aspect was he lacking?

Then he stopped. No! He definitely was not lacking. The problem didn't lie with him, it lied with her because she just had to refuse him. He rationalised, justifying his ego. How foolish was she? For not giving up her stupid crush after three years of absence? And how even more foolish was he, for not managing to capture her heart during that period of advantage? Harun had a hard time swallowing that fact. He was a man full of ego and pride and the one thing his ego and pride could not stand was to be taunted by a woman.

And he would not permit that.

***

With heavy steps and an even heavier heart did Nadiah tumble into the empty kitchen. As she stowed the groceries, her mind reeled at an incredible speed but not a single thought made sense to her. Not even the loud clucking of the chickens outside was audible to her hearing. All she could hear was Maa'rof's words repeating in her ears, the scene she left earlier replaying in her mind. Why? She questioned to no one in particular. Why was she that despicable to him? What exactly had she done wrong?

She left the kitchen with her mind still in a frenzy and entered her bed chamber. The moment she closed the door behind her, the world seemed to collapse around her - the room spinning and drawing close. Gripping onto the bedspread, she lowered herself onto the mattress and curled into a ball. All the pent up emotions collected over the course of three years already at its peak.

Her throat constricted and the dam broke. Her vision blurring as sobs racked through her body. For reasons she did not understand, she cried. For the most part, she did not know who to be disappointed in: herself or Maa'rof.

"Abang!" Nine-year-old Nadiah waved her hands in the air in a frantic manner to get Maa'rof's attention who was all the way across the field, emptying basket of coconuts into a wheelbarrow. She spotted a shirtless man mounted on a coconut tree near him, working to remove a coconut.

She had to catch Maa'rof before he goes away.

Cupping her hands over her mouth, she stood on tiptoes. "Abang Maa'rof! Wait!"

At the sound of his name, Maa'rof stopped and turned. Upon seeing her jogging up to him, a grin began spreading on his face. He pulled out a water bottle. "What is it, Nadiah?" He said, raising the bottle to his lips.

"Where are you going, bang?"

She waited as he took a swig of water, his Adam's apple bobbling as he swallowed. His face glistening in sweat from a morning of manual work. Though he had on a straw farmer's hat which made him look like an old man, it did not mask his handsomely good looks.

"Heads up!" announced the shirtless man from atop the tree as he released a coconut onto the ground. It rolled off a little before settling on the ground along with the other scattered coconuts.

"To the market as usual to ferry these," Maa'rof said, giving the coconuts a little pat before recapping the bottle and used the towel draped around his neck to wipe his sweat coated face. He called out to his worker. "Mail, I'm leaving!"

Nadiah blurted, "I want to follow!"

"You sure? It's going to be a long walk as we're heading to the market at the next village. So if you're okay with that..."

"I am! " She eagerly agreed. "Let's go!"

A few birds could be heard chirping overhead as they walked side by side with Maa'rof wheeling the wheelbarrow.

"Bang, I memorised a new sentence today!"

"Really?" He said, glancing at her.

She nodded eagerly. "Yes! I spent a week memorising it." Clearly her throat, she added, " How are yew? My name Nadiah binte Hassan. I am vine thank you."

Instead of hearing praises, laughter came out of Maa'rof's mouth. She stared incredulously at him while he continued chuckling in amusement. Did I say something wrong? I'm pretty sure I got it right. She thought to herself, her face already tomato red.

"What!" She demanded, her hands planted on her hips.

"You're cute, Nadiah. " His answer making her cheeks burn even more at this point. "It's 'you' not 'yew'. And you don't say 'I am fine. Thank you' unless you're asked about your well being."

"S-show off!" She said, in an attempt to suppress her embarrassment, his laughter still ringing in her ears. Further deep into the forest they travelled in order to reach to their destination, her noodle legs slowly growing tired from the walk and soon she fell slightly short behind him, finding it hard to keep up.

He stopped to look at her over his shoulder. "You okay there?"

"I-I am!" She managed through batted breath, closing the distance with one long stride. Breathing heavily next to him, she sheepishly tried to tone it down.

"We can stop--"

"No, it's fine, " she insisted and they resumed walking in silence. Between them, there would often be silences - comfortable ones - where there was no need for speech and Nadiah was used to silences like these. There was the occasional story, comment about the weather or the village's happenings and that was it.

"Be careful," Maa'rof said after a few minutes as they came to a rocky trek. Surveying the soil, he then looked at her footwear. She looked down on her own feet and then his. She had on a pair of worn slippers while he wore a pair of dried muddy boots. "Stay close to me. There's some uneven ground here. " He instructed. " And you might want to hold on to my shirt as it might be slippery."

She nodded quietly and followed him as they went downhill. She did not how close she should follow so she kept herself right behind him. Out of nowhere, a beetle came flying into her view, settling on Maa'rof's shirt. Alarmed, she held her screams whilst backing away, his instructions already being discarded from memory.

The ground suddenly caved in, swallowing her foot into its softness. Emitting a scream of surprise, she fought to keep her balance. Before Maa'rof could grab hold of her arm, she fell backwards, slamming onto the ground and twisting her ankle in the process. Her condition was the least of her concern for she worried more for her soiled dress. Her mother was the one who had sewn it and she could already imagine the earful she was going to get when she finds out.

In frantic dismay, Nadiah tried to brush off the stains but the damage was already done. The more she rubbed, the more her dress became brown. Tears filled her eyes as she persisted to save her dress.

"Are you alright, Nadiah? Did you hurt yourself?" Through her blurred vision she could make out Maa'rof's concerned face peering down at her. "Can you stand up?"

Using her two hands, she pushed herself up only to be met with a throbbing pain at her ankle. "A-a-abang...I think I twisted my ankle," she said, her voice breaking in sobs, stealing the breaths from her lungs. "I can't get up. M-my baju (dress) is dirty...Mak w-will scold me..."

Maa'rof's face softened. "Don't cry. I'm sure she won't. Your ankle seems to be a little swollen. Does it hurt?"

She nodded quietly.

"We need to get you home first then. Try standing up on the count of three, " He said. "One...two...three!"

Moving stung her even more.

"I-I can't! I don't think I can walk," Nadiah cried, wiping her tears with the back of her hands. "Every time I try to move, it hurts."

Maa'rof was quiet for a long moment.

"Get on my back," he finally said.

"What?"

"I said get on my back," he said, squatting down and turning his back on her.

Her eyes widened. "B-but..."

"You don't have a choice, do you?" He said over his shoulder. "We are a good five kilometres away from the village and hardly anyone passes here in the afternoons."

"But what about the coconuts? What if it gets stolen?"

"Forget about the coconuts. I will explain to Father later."

Meekly, she placed her small hands on his shoulder, cradling them around his neck. Her pain long forgotten as Maa'rof whizzed them to the direction of the village. All she could remember that day was the feeling of warmth and flutters in her gut as he carried her through the gaps of the dense forest.

***

Two days passed.

Though the aching in her chest remained, it had subsided.

"Where's Ayah, Mak?" Nadiah asked, lowering herself onto the chair.

"He's busy at the dock," Aminah replied as she piled rice onto a plate. "He won't be joining us for lunch or dinner but will be meeting us at the surau itself." She set the plate down in front of her daughter.

Nadiah frowned at the amount of rice. She was about to protest when Aminah's words sank in, reminding her that it was Thursday - the day where they go to the surau.

She was going to see Maa'rof.

Her stomach started churning, all former appetite depleted - not that she had much to begin with anyway. Aminah finished scooping her own plate of rice and sat down next to her.

The meal began shortly after.

Shoving food into her mouth, Nadiah forced herself to swallow though it tasted bitter. Having refused her stomach and eating lesser the last few days, she knew her mother would be suspicious if she were to refuse this lunch. Already she got nagged at for her usual intake - her mother deeming the portion to be too little - but to Nadiah, it was more than enough.

She finished every morsel of her food in silence, helped her mother wash up and took on more cleaning duties for the rest of the afternoon. It was nerve-racking when the time for them to depart came. Still, she put on a straight face and silently coached herself.

Hassan was at the gate of the surau when they arrived.

It was still pretty early; it being only six-forty and the spaces were not yet filled.

While Aminah passed her husband a set of clean clothing, Nadiah kept a lookout for Maa'rof and nearly jumped behind her mother upon seeing him appear at the entrance. She restrained herself; straightening up - determined to stick to her resolution and not let it affect her.

She tore her sight of him and followed her mother in with her head held up high.

It was harder when the time for Quran reading rolled in. Even though she avoided looking at him throughout, just by hearing him speak was enough to make her crumble - the stitched wounds threatening to split open. It served as a reminder of Tuesday's incident.

She was thankful when the recitation commenced.

In Allah's Words she found solace.

***

"Sorry it took so long!" Unlatching herself from the fence, Nadiah turned to the direction of the voice and made out Zainab's form in the darkness, tugging her little sister along. The surau was almost empty; the crowd having headed home in masses and they were among the few people left.

"Najwa has a terrible headache so I was rubbing axe oil all over her back," Zainab explained as she came closer to her friend.

Noticing the lack of spirit in the young girl and the frown etched on her tiny lips, Nadiah touched her arm lightly. "Are you alright?"

Najwa nodded weakly, her face void of colour.

"I think you should take her home, Nab. I can walk home on my own."

"No, it's okay. She's feeling better now," Zainab said, brushing her sister's head tenderly. "A twenty-minute difference won't hurt."

Reluctantly, Nadiah complied. Taking Najwa's free hand in hers, the three of them started on their journey together; cutting through the woods. Five minutes later, Najwa let go of her hand and tugged on Nadiah's skirt.

Looking down at Najwa's face, Nadiah noticed that she was even paler, cold sweat dancing on her forehead.

"K-Kakak Nadiah...Zai-"

Her tiny hands instantly flew to her mouth and she gagged once before beginning to regurgitate undigested food on the grass. Nadiah's panicked expression matched her friend's face. She held up Najwa's dangling headscarf as she vomited while Zainab rubbed her tiny back up and down.

"Are you okay? Do you want to drink water?" Zainab asked, offering her sister a water bottle.

Nodding limply, Najwa accepted it. When she was done drinking, she said, "I-it's cold... " She wrapped her arms around her frame, shivering involuntarily and repeated, "Kak Zainab it's c-c-cold.."

Instinctively, Nadiah placed a palm over Najwa's forehead. She was burning!

"Ya Allah, she's having a fever," Nadiah said, removing the girl's headscarf and using it to wrap her tiny body like a blanket instead. "Nab, it's best you take her home now. I will be fine."

Zainab's eyes widened at her friend's decision. No female would be out at night on her own. It was unheard of and she was reluctant to let her friend walk home alone. But upon meeting her friend's firm gaze, she nodded. "Alright, be careful when you're walking. Come adik. (little sibling)"

When she was about ten metres away, Zainab stopped, glancing over her shoulder at Nadiah who was still standing at the same spot, watching them. For some unexplainable reason, she felt hesitant to leave her friend alone. Seeing Nadiah waving them off and feeling her sister's restless tug on her dress once more; she resumed walking, never glancing back again.

***

Drawing the windows close, Maa'rof reached for the lock and slide it down. He moved to the next window and did the same while the surau caretaker, Omar, covered the ones at the other side.

Once he was done, he assisted Omar in rolling up the unused straw mats.

"Thank you so much for helping me out," Omar said when they walked out of the gates together. "If it weren't for you, I would probably be going home much later and I definitely want to return home quickly given my wife's condition."

"Don't mention it. Is your wife already due to give birth?"

" The midwife said it will be anytime soon. My mother-in-law is keeping her company but I'm just afraid of her going into labour at night. I wouldn't want to have my mother walking miles in the dark just to fetch the midwife."

"Hope everything goes well for you and May Allah bless you with a healthy child who will grow up to be soleh (pious). Ameen."

"Ameen. InsyaAllah..." Omar said. "How about you Maa'rof? Planning to get married anytime soon?"

Maa'rof laughed." InsyaAllah," He replied, a smile drawing to his lips. "When the time comes, it comes."

"Well don't wait too long if you've already found a suitable candidate! I definitely would love for the invitation to come soon so I can bring my family along to eat Biryani rice together."

The two men laughed.

"I'll be taking my leave now, Maa'rof. "

Releasing his hand, Maa'rof said, " If you ever need any help again, just ask."

"JazakAllah Khairan. (May Allah reward you with Goodness) I will, Assalamualaikum."

"Walaikumsalam wahrahmatullah."

***

Turning back to the rest of the thick overgrown woods and the pitch blackness standing before her, Nadiah gulped. Zainab and her sister were long gone. She didn't like the idea of having to walk home unaccompanied but she had no choice. Muttering a dua(prayer), she started on her journey home, shining her torch on the deserted path. It was her only source of light.

Creatures of the nights were buzzing noisily, hidden from her sight and she prayed to God that none would come crawling into her path. Normally she wasn't that frightful of the dark but this night was different. It didn't help that the darkness was starting to play tricks on her eyes. Somewhere in the woods, an owl hooted making her even more paranoid especially when she thought of the ghost tales she so often heard. She let out an involuntary shiver and quickly shove those thoughts away. Out of nowhere, a bat swooped down past her, making her shriek and huddle on the ground.

Breathing heavily with arms wrapped around herself, she said the istighfar a few times while a night bird could be heard cawing from atop a tree. The icy fingers of the cool night suddenly stroked her neck, making her shiver. Looking down, she realised that the two ends of her scarf dangled freely, the single pin used to hold the scarf together was missing. She felt for the pin on her scarf, dress and in her pockets and searched for it in the grass but came up with none.

Adjusting the scarf on her head, she threw the ends over her shoulders, hoping that it would stay that way till she made it home.

An ethereal fog misted at the front, making it harder for her to see. She pressed forward, straining her eyes.

Suddenly, she heard a twig snap in the distance. Gathering some courage, she inspected her surroundings, shining the torch around but could not see far due to the fog. She listened closely for footsteps.

Nothing.

Deciding it wise to dismiss it as nothing, she continued to propel forward while still wondering what it was in the back of her head. She was very sure at what she'd heard and that she wasn't just imagining things.

Her breathing caught in her throat when she heard another twig snap. This time round, followed by the sound of leaves being stepped on.

Someone was coming.

The fog began to thin and she could make out the outline of a man approaching.

Her body went rigid upon seeing who he is.

***

A/N: MUAHAHA >:) I would love to know your theories!

Please support me in the Watty Awards, guys! Vote if you think this story deserves it. :)