Chapter 7

Saad's pov :

The mobile rang once again, making me groan as I sat up while rubbing my eyes. Picking up my mobile, I realised it was mama's call. Accepting the call, I leaned back on the headboard of my bed and glanced at Alayna once. She was still sleeping peacefully, tempting me to sleep once again.

"Assalamualikum Saad. Where were you? Why weren't you picking up my calls? How are you both? Are you guys alright?" She shot her questions one after the other, worry evident in her voice.

"Walikumussalam mama. Alhamdulillah we are fine. We were sleeping. Alayna is still sleeping." I replied in a sleepy voice, stifling a yawn.

"Oh! I got worried for a while." She replied, relieved. "Anyways! I actually got a proposal for you. The girl is beautiful, she is-" She started enthusiastically, making me internally groan. What a way to start my day!

"Mamaaa!" I finally groaned, interrupting her. "Bhai got married just last year, give me a break!" I told her, annoyed.

"Well yeah, he got married last year but you are remaining. And let me at least find a girl for you, you can get married later on." She argued.

"Later on? How much time does this later on of yours is going to give me?" I inquired, already knowing her answer.

"Six months. Isn't that enough for you to get used to the idea of living with a girl?" Here came her expected reply.

"Mama, no. It isn't enough. I'm not ready for marriage yet. And I'm not getting married anytime soon. So no more arguments on this topic." I squeezed my eyes shut before replying sternly in a finalised tone. My sleep was long gone.

"Yeah, go on. Start disobeying your mama. The one who brought you in this world and who raised you up." Once again she started saying, trying to emotionally blackmail me. I already knew this was coming. This had become her tactic to try and make me agree to her decisions.

"Mama." I warned her sternly. "You already know this won't work on me. You have already tried this several times. You remember that, don't you?" I asked, amused at her antics.

I could hear her huffing from the other side, making me suppress my chuckle. I didn't want to become a victim of one of her lectures once again today. One lecture a day is enough for the whole day. "Alright, fine! But this isn't over yet. Come back home and we will see." I could hear the eagerness in her voice, which made me suspicious.

"This is over mama. Anyways, how are you and baba?" Not wanting to argue with her more, I tried to change the topic while getting off the bed and walking towards the window. Slits of sunlight entered the room through the blinds.

"We are fine alhamdulillah. This house really feels quiet and lonely without you both. Come back soon, we miss you."

"Don't worry mama, we will be back soon. Just pray for my work to be completed quickly and for our safety." I replied while playing with the border of the blind and looking down, thinking about what mama just said.

The stirring on the bed caught my attention from the corner of my eyes. Coming out of my thoughts, I turned around to see Alayna waking up, rubbing her eyes. I realised mama was saying something but I wasn't sure what. Alayna sat up on the bed and squinted her eyes at me, giving me the perfect opportunity to hand over the call to her.

Smiling slightly, I made my way to her, "Mama, talk to Alayna. She just woke up." I handed the phone to Alayna. "It's mama." I whispered, making her smile sleepily as she grabbed the phone and took it to her ears.

"Assalamualikum mama." She exclaimed sleepily while laying down once again with a grin. Shaking my head, I made my way to the washroom to freshen up, a small smile playing on my lips.

._._._.

I was roaming around the streets with Alayna aimlessly. We had free time so I was taking her to the park. But the thing was, I didn't know where the park was here. This was a new city for us since we didn't live here, in Suva. I came here for a business trip for a week. I wasn't about to bring Alayna with me but she insisted that she would join me. She even had her holidays. Since I wasn't having much work, and the work which I had here was supposed to be completed in three days, I decided to take her with me. And also, who could say no to their mama and baba?

So long story short, here we were, in a totally different city, trying to find a park. My work was supposed to be completed today but the meeting was called off. The meeting was supposed to be held tomorrow or as scheduled by the director of the company. My assistant would inform me about it.

"Bhai can we please have some ice-cream?" Alayna requested while pointing towards an ice-cream shop or more precisely, a cafe. She started tugging at my hand to take her to the shop.

I shook my head and smiled. "We just had breakfast and what about your cavity? The dentist has asked you to consume less sweet, hasn't he?" I asked while playfully glaring at her.

"Bhai I won't ask for Ice-cream again today. But please let's go and have some now. Please?" She begged, making an innocent puppy eyed face. A smile threatened to escape my lips but I managed to control it.

"No, not now." I replied, looking away.

"Bhaiii! Don't be a meanie now." She whined with a pout, making me internally melt at her cuteness.

"Oh, so I'm a meanie now?" I asked, sounding hurt as I kept my hand on my heart.

She looked at me for a while before replying. "No you aren't a meanie but you are becoming one." Huffing, she folded her arms while looking away.

I finally let my lips tug upwards slightly before composing myself again. "Accha, I was finally thinking of buying an ice-cream for you, but if you don't want it anymore then it's okay." I responded seriously, looking away.

(Okay)

"Really? Aap sach me dila rahe hai?" She inquired expectantly, turning to look at me hopefully.

(Were you really going to buy it?)

Glancing at her, I nodded my head. "Yes, but you don't want it anymore, right?" I teased her while making a sad face.

"Who told you I don't want it?" She asked me with knitted eyebrows. "I want it, let's go!" She added while holding my hand once again and tugging me towards the shop.

"Okay, but only one ice-cream. No more than that. Understood?" I said sternly, looking at her intently.

"Jee bhai." She beamed, making me smile.

(Ok bhai)

._._._.

After we had the ice-cream, we headed outside to find the park once again. Roaming around for a while, we finally found a park. It was around noon now and it was going to be Zuhr time soon. We went there and Alayna, after asking me to sit under a tree, ran towards the playground and started playing with other kids.

I shook my head, sat under the tree and took out my mobile to listen to some Quran recitation. It was my habit to listen to the Quran whenever I had time. This way, it got easier for me to memorise a Surah.

I was halfway through a Surah when I got a call. Realising it was my assistant, I received it.

"Assalamualikum sir." Something was different about the way he greeted, making me confused.

"Walikumussalam, what happened about the meeting? Is it fixed yet?" I inquired.

"Yeah sir, it is... Umm... It is fixed for today only." He replied hesitantly.

"Oh I see, when is it?" I asked him, confused as to why he was hesitating.

"It is scheduled at one pm. You only have half an hour."

"WHAT? And you are telling me this now? How am I even going to attend it? I'm with my sister at a park right now. I can't just leave her alone here." Sitting up straight while listening to him, I replied angrily.

"Yes, I know that. But sir said that you have to go now." He replied meekly, most probably afraid of my anger.

"Can't the meeting be rescheduled or postponed?" I asked him, now worried and helpless.

"No sir, the only time they have is today. And there is no other appointment available until the next two weeks or so." I heard his faint reply, as he checked the appointments available.

"Alright, can I take Alayna with me?" I inquired, taking a few deep breaths to calm myself down.

"No sir... She won't be allowed inside the building..." Hearing this my blood boiled. What was I supposed to do now?

._._._.