Precious Gift - A Love Story

“Ammi… I am getting late for college. Where is my Hijab (headscarf)?” Amirah shouted from her study room.

“It must be in your closet, beta…” mom replied back from the kitchen.

Amirah rushed towards the closet to open it. Hajib was laying right there in front of her eyes. She rolled her big eyes and tapped her head for her forgetfulness behavior.

“Beta… Zoya is waiting for you…” mom reminded her to get hurry.

“I’m coming Zoya… just one second…” She quickly wore her hijab and got ready with her college bag. Hurriedly she moved her legs and rushed out from the room.

“Found your hijab…? You always forget things in hurry…” Ammi rebuked her in a sweet voice.

“Not always Ammi…!” she pouted.

“Okay okay… Zoya is waiting, go now…” said Ammi.

Amirah hugged and kissed her cheek. Her little brother was studying. He looked up with cute puppy eyes and smiled at her. Amirah kissed his chubby face, and hurriedly said, “I’m going Ammi… khuda Hafiz…” – and both rushed out like a tornado.

Ammi stood there at doorstep and waved her hand until she disappeared from her sight.

*

Amirah’s family was lower-middle classed. Her father, Farooq uncle, had a garment shop in the bazaar. He was an honest and religious person by nature. His garment shop was making an adequate profit to fulfill the basic need of family. Compared to others garment shops; his shop had a small spot with less variety of clothes. Young orphan boy, Akram, was the only staff member of his shop. He would go wherever Farooq uncle would order him to get clothes. He used to speak very less, but a faint smile always flickered on his lips to welcome customers. Farooq uncle couldn’t have afforded more money to hire an experienced worker, so that is why Akram was working for him in low salary.

*

Since a couple of months, Ammi was a little anxious inside. Her worried thoughts used to swirl all day and night in her head. Amirah’s marriage wasn’t a reason for her anxiousness, but orthodox of dowry was the big reason for them. Amirah was their only daughter. Allah had blessed her with all beauty, and Ammi-Abu had nourished her with all the sacrament and virtues. She was sincere and very brilliant in her study. Everybody in class was so sure that, this year also she will do the top. She was popular in the college, but she didn’t care or obsess about it.

*

Amirah’s and Zoya reached at the college in time. Many boys were stood on campus ground, staring at her gorgeousness. But Amirah’s attention never turned at the clusters of loafer beetles. As Amirah was heading towards her class, her pupils furtively turned at the corner of eyes. As always, she glanced at him for a few seconds, He was also glancing back at her. Both lips smiled and so many unsaid things of heart transferred to each other. She captured his smile in her mind to ruminate in memories.

His name was Waseem. He was her childhood friend. If I’d say her best friend then it wouldn’t be wrong. They both had studied together since kindergarten. Waseem was from very well-heeled family. He was a nice and humble person. As they grew older, they used to talk less to each other because of their religion. When she entered in her age of adolescence, her feeling for him unknowingly flowed towards him. Their feeling for each other was pure and ingenuous, but they’d never got a chance to express it, or perhaps, Amirah’s shy nature didn’t allow him to have a talk or write a letter to her. Only smiles and few words had been exchanged till now. Both were very well acquainted with each other’s status. But love didn’t see that wall while falling into each other’s love.

*

Amirah tends to avoid gossips with her friends. She would go in the library to dive inside the world of stories. To meet Amirah, Waseem also reluctantly went into the library to have a talk with her. Amirah grabbed a book from huge bookshelf and started to read a prologue of it. Waseem spotted her and gradually went near to her. He grabbed whichever random book from the bookshelf to show up that he is also reading. He was flipping pages of the book, but his eyes were glancing at her. Amirah looked beside her and smiled at him.

Waseem formally asked to start up the conversation, “What are you reading?”

Amirah lift up her book and showed the book cover and said with a faint smile, “Romeo and Juliet”

Both silently smiled.

“I like to read love stories…” she said.

“Me too,” without thinking he just said it out.

Amirah smiled and asked, “What are you reading?”

Waseem was holding his book upside down. He fumbled with it to hold it upright and made himself embarrassed in front of her. Amirah clamped her hand over mouth and giggled silently. Waseem also smiled seeing her giggling. Both looked at each other. Amirah lowered her gaze and set her eyes on the book, but her mind was still ruminating his presence. In the pin drop silence both love bird’s heart beating faster. While Amirah was reading her book, Waseem couldn’t let out his feeling for her. So he slipped a letter in her book. She looked at him expressionlessly. Her heart was racing faster inside the cage of ribs. She asked, “What is it??”

“It’s for you. Just read it…”, he replied with a throbbing heart.

When he said “it’s for you” her eyelid felt loads of shyness. She understood very well that what the letter was for. Both hearts knows what they want, but tongue could gather guts to express their feeling face to face. Waseem had squeezed his all feelings in the letter. Amirah took the letter and started to read.

Assalamu alaikum!

Amirah, I am writing this letter to you to express my feelings I’ve been holding in my heart for a long time. We both know each other since we were toothless. We played and studied together. I know you are less talker when you are outside. You tend to avert me to talk and to come near to me. I can understand you. But whenever I lay my eyes on you, my heart started to beat faster. The voice from the depth of my heart saying to you: I love you Amirah. I’m not saying this because you’re gorgeous and intelligent, but you are the only one that I’ve ever want to be in my life. I don’t want you to be just like a silent girl right in front of my eyes and I can’t even make conversation with her. I want you as a wife, as a lover, and as a mother of our children. I want you to be the one whom with I can spend the rest of my life. I want to stay with you in every shade of my life. I want to fill my life and memories with your love. I will do anything to see you happy. If you are feeling the same as I do, then put this letter on your heart and look at my eyes. I’ll understand it as a YES.

–– Waseem

to be continued... in Part - 2