My heart says that it loves you!

“You can come inside now. I still have to wear my abaya. Just sit and wait,” Haleema took Salah’s hand and lead him inside.

“I am always on time and you always make me wait,” he said sitting down on the edge of the bed.

“Every husband waits while his wife gets ready. Don’t you know? It’s custom. You should be thankful that your wife has to just slip an abaya and she’s ready,” she said in a teasing tone.

“Well then, I am a lucky man,” he said getting up.

Haleema stood in front of the mirror and wrapped a black hijab around her head. Salah stood behind her. After she was done, she turned around to face him. “I am ready.”

He smiled at her and bent down to kiss her on the cheek. “Wasn’t able to do that before. Now I am ready too.”

Haleema looked down and smiled. He took her hand in his.

“By the way you look beautiful.”

“Hey, I am wearing an abaya to not look beautiful.”

“I can’t help it. I am your husband. I have to say you look pretty. It’s custom.”

“Salaaaaaah,” she said and looked at him.

Salah laughed lightly, “I am just kidding! You do look pretty. And the way you made me wait outside the door to apply lip balm was just adorable.”

“Hey, how did you know that?” She looked down embarrassed.

“Well, the lip balm lid is on the floor and also you opened the door late.” Salah bent down to pick up the lid and closed the lip balm bottle.

“Strawberry sorbet,” he read from the lid. “It has too much color.”

“Yeah, I forgot to lighten it a little. You make me forget things,” she said and turned around to face the mirror.

Salah came and stood in front of her. “Here,” he rubbed his thumb lightly on her lips, “Done.”

Haleema felt really shy at the moment. Her heart was beating really fast and she wanted to hide her face away as it was heating up. She looked down. Salah laughed lightly at this.

“Come on. We can’t be late. I have made reservations.” He took her hand and lead her out the door.

“So how are your studies?” He asked her once they had ordered their food at the restaurant.

“Hey don’t spoil my mood asking me about studies? How was your job interview?”

“It wasn’t really a job. It was an internship kind of thing but they do offer a salary. They offer jobs only to those who have completed their engineering.”

“So how did it go?”

“It went good I think. In shaa Allah I might get selected.”

“Ameen. My heart says you will.”

“Really? What else does your heart say?”

“My heart says that it wants food right now.”

“I think you’ve mistaken your stomach as your heart.”

Haleema laughed heartily at this.

“I love to see you laugh Haleema,” Salah said and smiled at her.

“I know you have seen a lot of hardships in life and you are only sixteen. I can only imagine how hard it must have been for you to face all that. I will be by your side as long as I am alive, and In shaa Allah I will never let you down. This life is just a test from Allah and whatever trials there are ahead of us, I will support you through them all. We will help each other to pass this test and I would love to be your husband in Jannah too In shaa Allah.”

Haleema’s throat tightened and her eyes watered. She looked in the eyes of the man sitting in front of her, who was her husband. She saw sincerity in his eyes. She knew then and there that she loved him. All the confusion was gone. She had no doubts about it now. She knew that she loved him truly and completely. His words had pierced her heart and she got overwhelmed with emotions. Her heart fluttered with a joy that was new to her. It was a great feeling but she felt like crying. She just wanted to keep crying and thank Allah for giving her this happiness. She couldn’t find any other way at the moment to express the feelings that were overflowing in her heart. She wanted to hug him and cry hard to her heart’s content.

Her vision blurred and even though she tried to control it, a single tear escaped her eye.

She wiped away the tear with the back of her hand.

“Hey I didn’t mean to make my wife cry,” Salah said with a small smile.

She wanted to say it to him right then. She didn’t want to wait. What she was feeling right now, she wanted to say it out loud to him.

“Salah,” she began. The waiter approached them and started placing their food on the table.

“What your heart wanted is here,” Salah said laughing lightly.

“Salah,” she said again.

“Yes,” he said pushing the dish slightly towards her.

“Salah, look at me,” she said getting impatient.

“Yes,” he said looking at her.

“My heart says that it loves you.”

Salah stared at her long and hard. He wanted this moment to freeze and time to stop. He wanted to hold her close and never let go.

“Haleema I love you too. I loved you the day you became mine.”

Haleema giggled, “really?” Her eyes were still watery. She realized now that a person can actually laugh and cry at the same time.

She felt like the happiest girl on Earth. She thanked Allah a million times for giving her such a loving husband. She believed they were few in the world and she felt really lucky.

“Yes really. Now just eat. Your stomach is making weird noises.”

“No it is not,” she said feeling embarrassed.

“I am just kidding. It’s mine actually.” Haleema laughed hard at this.

Life couldn’t get better than this, she thought.