Chapter 16

Saad's pov :

I was woken up by aunty Safiya for Asr prayer. After praying, I was just sitting there, contemplating whether I should call my parents or not when aunty came back again.

"Can you go and wake up Amira and Alayna? They will miss their prayers and even I have to go and pray now, or else I would have woken them up myself." She requested apologetically.

"It's okay aunty, where are they sleeping?" Nodding my head, I stood up.

"Ah, they are upstairs, second room. You will get to know, don't worry." Replying, she left. Second room? What if I entered the wrong room?

Confused, I cautiously went upstairs and saw only three doors. It must be the middle one which she referred to as the second one. The door to this room was already ajar. Going towards it, I saw her standing there, trying to wake them up.

'Who will even wake up by listening to this soft voice?' I thought and a chuckle threatened to escape my lips. Quickly clearing my throat, I said. "They won't wake up like this, let me wake them up."

Hearing my voice she turned around and moved aside without looking up, and when I came inside, she rushed out of the room. I shook my head while my lips twitched into a smile unknowingly.

My trick of, 'not-playing-with-them-tomorrow-if-they-don't-wake-up-now' worked and they woke up. I smiled in victory. After they prayed -which was cute to watch - I gently reprimanded Alayna for leaving her bag behind.

"Sorry bhai, I got hurt and... And I didn't know what to do. I was crying and Amira asked me to come with her. And... I- I forgot my bag there..." She stammered while looking down sadly, her eyes brimming with unshed tears.

I couldn't see anyone cry, let alone because of me. Sighing, I hugged her. "It's okay, I forgive you. Just don't leave anything behind recklessly next time. I was so worried about you. I thought..." I stopped midway. I thought I lost you, and I couldn't bear the thought of losing someone else too.

After a while, I stood up and left the room, heading downstairs. I almost reached the end when I saw her coming from the kitchen. Before our gazes could meet, I quickly walked into the drawing room. Just as I sat down, Magrib azan went off and Aunty Safiya returned.

"You can go to the Masjid as long as you promise to come back after praying." She said, smiling warmly at me.

'Where could I even go when you literally have my sister with you? I couldn't leave her behind, even you know that.' My mind stated in irritation while I just nodded my head.

"Ok then, you are free to go." She replied enthusiastically before heading out.

._._._.

I was sitting in the guest room which Aunty had cleaned up especially for me. 'How sweet, right?' I thought sarcastically.

Before I could think much, a knock on the door brought me out of my thoughts. "Come in." I replied, wondering who it could be.

Aunty peeked in from the door before coming inside. She had some clothes in her hand. And she seemed awkward? It was a surprise for me since she had only come off as bold and authoritative in front of me.

"Since you can't go back to bring your clothes, I thought I should help you out. Here are some clothes which were my husband's. But I don't think we will ever need them... And don't worry, they are new. He didn't use them." Keeping the clothes on my bed, she spoke, going back to her firm and bold self. That woman confused me.

Sighing, I nodded at her. "Jazak Allahu Khairan. I think I will manage. You don't have to do this." I replied, gesturing towards the clothes. I hadn't even thought about it since my mind was elsewhere.

"Waiyyakum. No, I want to do this. And I'm not asking you, I'm telling you baby boy." She replied, winking at me at the last word. I internally groaned, not this again! I looked at her and she laughed. I didn't even know what my expression was.

"I'm sorry but it feels good to tease you." She said, heading back to the door. "Take care and good night, Allah hafiz." She added before leaving the room, closing the door behind her.

Sighing, I stood up and kept the clothes in the cupboard, just taking a t-shirt and tracks with me to change. Sitting back down, I started thinking again.

I was irritated because of aunty's question earlier and her expecting me to say yes. I hated to break people's expectations. And I hadn't even talked to my parents yet. I didn't even know if they would approve of it if I agreed. I didn't know if I should tell them about it yet in the first place. They would definitely be angry and would want to come here. It would create a scene and I didn't know... I didn't want to deal with any drama. I was already tired and exhausted. I didn't have any energy to answer their questions or to deal with it now.

This was supposed to be a short vacation for me but here I was. As they say, stuck in the middle of a well and a cliff. I was a man of my words. There was also a hadith that a Muslim always tells the truth. And I didn't want to back out from my words when I already gave them.

But I also didn't want to marry her because I didn't really know her or what she wanted. I didn't know if she was willing to marry me, and I didn't want to force her into anything because of me. I didn't know if she had any dreams which she would like to follow. But most of all, I didn't know if she was like her mother or not. I mean, what if she turned out to be crazy just like her mom? Uh... I think I thought too much.

Shaking my head, I got up, made wudu and went to pray Salatul Istikhara and clear up my mind. I decided to just leave my thoughts to Allah. Whatever he wills, I would accept it.

._._._.

After fajr, in the morning, I was woken up by Alayna and Amira giggling in my room. I squinted my eyes, confused as to what the matter could be. I wanted to sleep some more. I was having such a good dream and they interrupted it, now I didn't even remember what the dream was. I just knew that it was something bright and happy.

Groaning, I covered my face with the pillow. "Let me sleep little devils. I'm not in the mood now. Later girls!" Muttering, I went back to sleep again. I smiled when I didn't hear their giggles anymore, thinking that maybe they left.

I was almost asleep when I was woken startled by someone tickling my feets. Groaning, I moved my feet aside. Why wouldn't they leave me alone? When they continued to tickle my feet even after a while and couldn't stop giggling, I finally sat up and peered at them with a yawn. Running my hands through my hair, I sighed.

"What time is it?" I inquired but picked up my phone anyway to check the time. It was 9:50 a.m. I looked at them accusingly with narrowed eyes. "Why so early? Huh? Couldn't you little devil's let me sleep for a while more?" They giggled at my state.

"Bhai you will be late for breakfast if you don't freshen up now. It's almost 10 and api is waiting for us all." Alayna informed while pointing to the door and looking at me with her big eyes.

"Alright you guys go, I'm coming." Rubbing my face, I replied while stretching my arms. When they left, I stood up, folded the blanket and freshened up. I still had to take a bath. Leaving it for later, I left for breakfast.

The smell of Aloo paratha made me realise how hungry I was. And without wasting much time, I sat down to eat.

._._._.

It was past two and Alayna and Amira were with me in my room since morning. I took a shower, wore one of the shirts aunty gave me and then prayed. Now they were playing, trying to involve me in their games too. I kind of regretted telling them that yesterday. Because now, I was stuck with them for the whole day.

"Bhai can you please refill this jug and come? Our restaurant needs water." Alayna requested as they both looked at me hopefully.

Blinking, I looked up at them, breaking off from my trance. "Huh?" I was lost for a moment, before I caught on to what she was telling me. "Yeah sure. I will be back." I told them while getting up and grabbing the jug, eager to get out of here and take fresh breath for a while.

As I was heading to the kitchen, I heard voices coming from there. A frown adorned my face, as far as I remembered, only Atifa was here. Who else could be here? Shaking my head, I proceeded to the kitchen.

"What? No ya Allah, I don't have a blush on my face." I heard her mumble.

"Accha ji, and I believe you." Someone replied in a teasing tone. I knitted my eyebrows, I didn't remember hearing this voice. Did they have another sister? "Accha at least tell me his name. You didn't even tell me about it." The other voice whined like a child.

"God! Not again." I whispered to myself. No more kids please!

"Ya Allah! I just realised I don't even know his name yet!" Just as I reached the door, I heard her exclaim and looking up, I saw horror on her face. My lips twitched up into a smile and I looked away. She looked cute while cooking and talking. More specifically, tossing and talking. Astagfirullah I muttered in my head. What was I even thinking?

"My name is Saad. Saad Ibrahim." Before I could process what was happening, I heard myself answer her. Looking up, I saw her rooted at her place, her eyes squeezed shut and a blush creeping up her face. My gaze travelled to the person standing beside her. She had jumped from the counter on hearing my voice and was looking at me, stunned. I looked down, embarrassed.

"Uh, Jazak Allahu Khairan for letting me know." Came her awkward reply. I could make out a bit of nervousness in her voice.

"Waiyyakum." I mumbled, which I was sure she didn't hear, because my voice had suddenly decided to take a break. More like it had decided to calm down. "I came here to refill this jug." I added after a while of awkwardness.

"The filter is there and the ice-cubes in the fridge, if you want them." She replied and my gaze flickered over to where she was pointing. Towards her left side. The other girl was unfortunately, still staring at me. Nodding my head, I moved ahead to fill the jug.

"He is hot." I heard the other girl whisper loudly as I was filling the jug and the jug almost slipped from my hand in astonishment. She started coughing, I hoped she was alright.

"Are you alright?" The girl asked her, concerned. When she didn't reply, I got a bit worried and took a glass of water for her. "Oww, what did I do? I just said whatever was true." The girl added while frowning and I could feel my face getting hot. Ya Allah, this wasn't seriously happening! This was so embarrassing. Why did I even come here in the first place? Taking a deep breath, I went towards her.

"Here." I handed her the glass and she accepted it carefully. After taking a few sips she cleared her throat, most probably to say something.

"And caring too." But before she could say anything, the other girl whispered. I shifted uncomfortably in my place, my face heating up again. I needed to get out of here and away from them.

"Jazak Allahu Khairan." She mumbled while looking down, her cheeks burning, if that was even possible.

"Wa Antum Fa Jazak Allahu Khairan." I replied uncertainly as my gaze flickered between them. Quickly grabbing the jug, I hurried out of the kitchen.

Ya Allah, this place was filled with crazy people! Please keep me sane. First aunty, who decided to kidnap me and now this new girl, who was trying to... I didn't even know what she was trying to do!

Shaking my head, I hurried to the guest room. That place was at least better than roaming here knowing that crazy ladies were roaming around too. I just hoped that she wouldn't turn out to be like them.

._._._.