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M A R I N A

Shahroz had texted her at the end of the day if they can meet up at the library for another tutoring session, and she had agreed.

She took turns and passed by the halls, finally reaching the door of the library and entering the threshold, the aroma of books soothing her heart.

"Hey." She greeted once she sat down to which he looked up and did the same but with a smile.

They had started immediately, with Shahroz cracking a joke or two here and there and Marina constantly smacking his head to be more serious.

After about a good half an hour, Marina closed the books and laptop. Shahroz looked at her, his expression perplexed.

"Are we done?" He asked as he pointed at the books. She nodded.

"But why?" He was so confused. They used to have the session for about two hours, and they still had an hour and a half to go.

She looked up at him and smirked to which he gulped. What is going on in that pretty little head of hers?

She wasted no time in grabbing his wrist - which was covered by his sleeve to her relief - and dragged him outside the library, him being surprised by her strength and determination while screaming out protests at the same time.

"Where the fuck are you taking me woman?!" His voice was too loud but the hallways were empty so that wasn't a problem for her. He knew calling her 'woman' would get her on the edge but to his surprise, she didn't say anything.

"You'll see." Was all she said before dragging him towards the exit of the university and shoving him in the passenger seat of her car. She walked around the car and sat in the driver's seat.

"You drive a car?" He asked with sarcasm, sided with a hint of mischievousness.

"No shit," she fumbled with the car keys before roaring the engine to life, "I've been using a rickshaw till now."

He snorted before asking the real question at hand, "Where are you taking me?" He genuinely looked scared now. She was acting a bit out of place for a while and it was giving him the creeps.

"Do you still drink?"

"Huh?"

"Just answer the question," she took a turn before voicing again, "do you still drink?"

He hesitated before answering, "I haven't done it for a long time.. but I still would if something happens.. " He trailed off and she nodded understandingly.

"And do you still do.. the drugs?" She stopped at a red light and turned to him.

He looked vulnerable while answering her questions but she needed to know. The reason was a mystery to him.

"That was only a one time thing." He averted his gaze once he said that and she turned towards the road once the lights were green.

"Well, I'll introduce you to halal drugs instead." She spoke and he turned around to her, wide-eyed.

"You do drugs?" He asked disbelievingly and she chuckled.

"No." She parked the car and pointed to the other side - their destination.

A mosque.

"Well.. ", she trailed off before looking up at him, "you can't eat it or drink it but it's still an addiction," she paused before continuing.

"A halal addiction."

He smiled at her, a smile which held his genuine and true feelings for her. He couldn't deny that his heart swelled with gratitude for her at the moment.

The fact that she went out of her way to bring him back to his religion after being in the dark for seventeen years gave him another reason to like her even more.

"You do know how to pray, right?" She asked, unsure of the answer.

Even if he didn't, she wouldn't mind teaching him. After all, she's pleasing Allah.

He nodded, "I haven't forgot a bit of it."

She checked her watch before speaking, "We still have time for Asr (noon prayer)", she looked up at him, "so I guess we should get going."

They both got out and walked the few steps towards the gates, Marina a few steps behind Shahroz. She stopped and called out his name to which he halted and turned around.

"Yeah?"

She walked up the few steps of the stairs to reach him and stood in front of him, his height still towering her despite her being on the higher step.

"We both know you're praying after a very long time," she paused to take a deep breath before continuing, "so I wanted to tell you that you can make duaa (supplication) for yourself, or for anyone around you. It could be for your family, your brother, or anyone else but that's up to you, " she looked up at him and their eyes locked, "I wanted to tell you that because Allah is always listening, He always listens." She gave a small smile and he did the same before they jogged up the steps to the gates and entered.

It was a mixed masjid, so the men and women prayed in the same room, with men at the front and women at the back. The place was almost empty because they arrived a long time after the athan (prayer call), so mostly everyone had left.

Marina had stood a good metre behind Shahroz and waited for him to start so she could too. He said an 'Allahu Akbar' (God is the greatest) loud enough to only reach her ears and smiled softly while starting her own prayer.

Her heart and soul had soothed to the limits of sheer tranquility, her words flowing with ease and her attention thoroughly on her prayer.

After a while she turned right and gave her salam and did the same on her left side before she cupped her palms and brought them in front of her for supplication, her state vulnerable in front of her Lord.

"O Allah," she whispered in her usual soft voice, "You are truly the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. You are the Most Perfect of perfections, and I know you've planned my future, my time of death and everything else. O Allah, I know you have the right man planned to be my other half, and I know you're making me wait because the best things don't always come easy, so I pray that you give me sabr (patience) till the right time comes, and I pray that when we meet and establish the sacred bond of marriage, our family is blessed with Your divine blessings."

She mumbled a soft 'Ameen' before blowing on her hands and wiping them down her face. She looked down and fixed her hijab, but the sound of someone sniffing made her look up and she gasped.

Shahroz was wiping his eyes again and again, his sobs were quiet but loud enough for her to hear. He sniffed repeatedly and she knew she had to give him some privacy, so she walked out through the gates and went back to her car.

She had waited for a good ten minutes before the door of the passenger's side opened and Shahroz slipped in and buckled himself up. He gave her a small smile, reassuring her that everything was okay.

She drove through the roads and stopped by the place she used to go very often in third year.

It was a lake she and Amira had found when they were strolling through London. It was the place where they had bonded and really got to know each other.

She killed the engine and stepped out, the cool air soothing her muscles as she came to his side and opened his door.

"And I thought chivalry was dead." He muttered once he got out and she shook her head. She was glad he was back to normal and not in his emotional state at the moment.

"Just shut up and come." She led him to one of the benches which overlooked the crystal blue lake.

They both sat down with a fair amount of distance between them and sighed, staring at the fading ripples in the water ahead of them as the silence calmed them.

This was one of the places where she came to clear her thoughts, and she thought Shahroz might need some of that too.

"Thank you." He said out of nowhere and she smiled, both of their eyes still on the lake.

"It's alright." She voiced, her happiness evident in her tone.

He turned to her, his body now completely facing her as he asked the question which had been nagging him at the back of his head ever since he met her.

"Have you always been this happy?" He asked and he could've sworn he saw something shift in her eyes before she gulped.

"What do you mean?" Her voice wavered. She knew exactly what he was talking about but asked anyway.

He saw her face him fully and continued, "You've always come out to me as a person who was always joyful throughout everything. Have you always been like this?"

Her heart panicked. It was like he was aiming straight for the time when that happened.

She gave a sad smile before shaking her head, her eyes casting down before looking up at Shahroz who suddenly looked guilty for bringing this up.

"I.. I-I'm sorry Maria," he started, "I shouldn't have asked you this.. I just-"

"No no Shahroz it's fine," she wanted to tell him that it's okay, "I don't want you to get the wrong idea of me," she paused to take a deep breath before continuing, "I'll tell you."

"Maria, it's okay I'm not asking-"

"Shahroz," She stopped him, "I want to get this off my chest in the right way. Please." She pleaded.

Amira was the only one other than her family who knew about this, but everyone around that girl knew she was horrible at comforting someone in pain when she even tried her best.

She had to tell Shahroz - a man who she'd grown close to for the past year. She knew that she could trust him as much as he trusted her.

She took a deep breath, her eyes closing for a moment before opening again, knowing there's no way to get out of this now.

"Thirteen years ago..."

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Hey there peeps! I absolutely loved writing this chapter, especially Marina's duaa. I just wanted to thank each and every one of you who gave this book a chance and enjoyed reading it till now. I hope Allah showers you all with His blessings!

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