September 28, 2017

Can't believe I'm actually updating alhamdulilah! I've just been so busy that this feels like an accomplishment alhamdulilah. Thank you so much for tolerating the wait, being patient with me and supporting my works. You guys are the best Subhan Allah and I honestly miss you, Wattpad fam, HopesPrayersNSmiles squad <3 

These are the top 3 covers you guys selected, but honestly I love ALL of them. If you sent them after I posted these, sorry I haven't checked my mail and couldn't add them on here cuz the voting already started :(

Since I can't keep changing 40+ covers, I'll alternate between these top 3 beauties. Congratulations @Aillurophilee @Fida Mohammed and @Aisha :) 

"And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. And whosoever puts his trust in Allah, then He will suffice him. Verily, Allah will accomplish his purpose. Indeed Allah has set a measure for all things."

(Surah At-Talaq, Verse 3)  

Chapter 32:

Moments money can't buy

Anabya looked out of the window, not accustomed to the scene she was met with. She was standing at a height of twelve floors above the ground in a place she now called home.

She may have had her head in the clouds but she never really meant it literally, for she always enjoyed having her feet touch the sand and stay grounded. Shamaaz didn't think so, though.

"The view from here is something else altogether," he had reasoned. "And twelve floors is nothing, you're forgetting that this is a building of twenty floors, Bya."

She'd rather not think about just how tall it really was, though. She wasn't particularly afraid of heights and while she liked the view from here, close to the ground, closer to the sky yet so far away, it was just a different feeling. It was new, like everything else in her life these days.

"Hey, Bya," Shamaaz greeted, having woken up from his brief nap while he joined Anabya by the window.

"What are you thinking?"

"About life, about us, about everything and nothing," she shrugged.

"Can we discuss this over tea, please?" He asked, stiffing a yawn. Anabya smiled, certain that he'd never match her depth, she was sure he thought psychology and philosophy were boring.

"Tea for you, but coffee for me," Anabay mused, walking towards the kitchen. "Come, help me find my way to the pantry, don't tell me you're going to be lazy now that you've got a wife."

"Don't worry, I'm not the typical desi boy, ya know. I'll help you in the kitchen."

Anabya stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him, slightly strunned. "Shamaaz, I was kidding."

"I don't know if you're going to hold this against me, but I can cook, Bya. Being a bachelor away from family, those are some survival tricks you pick up."

"And what can you make?"

"Nothing fancy, but a decent omlette, toasted bread and pasta."

"You categorize toasting bread under cooking?" Anabya laughed.

"Well, it takes effort," he shrugged while grinning. 

She was still smiling as she heated two different pots, one for his tea and the other for her coffee.

"We'll have to go grocery shopping," Anabya spoke out loud as she rummaged around the non existent pantry. 

"Make a list, there are a lot more things we'll need, we can probably go tomorrow," he offered.

"In sha Allah," she nodded.

"Shamaaz, what do you think about psychology?" She asked as they sipped on their beverages.

"I think psychology thinks more about me than it being the other way round," he joked.

"No, give me an honest answer."

"Honestly, I had it as an allied course in one of my semesters and I found it terribly boring."

"You can't be serious," she shook her head, highly offended. 

"I think it reads too much into things, and I suppose most of the psychologists are over-thinkers. You guys take a simple word, a simple action to a whole new level. I know you love the subject, but I do not share your interests."

"I can see that very well. You dislike psychology but claim to like someone who loves psychology. You're messed up."

"You're so rude!" He exclaimed.

"Live with it," she smiled sweetly.

"I only signed up to live with you," he said instead, lightly pinching her cheek while she colored at his touch, hiding her face behind a long sip of her coffee.

"If you're done blushing, could you go get dressed, I'm taking you out for dinner."

"I'm not blushing," she denied.

"Psychologists shouldn't lie, and I can also snap a picture of you right now to prove my point," he replied smugly, tucking a curl behind her ear as he whispered, "Do you want me to?"

"No, thank you," she stuttered, lightly pushing him away as she stood up to keep her mug in the kitchen.

"Do we have to go? We could always order food home."

He shook his head and answered, "Yes, we have to go. Besides, aren't you excited to explore the new city?

"Do you really want to know my answer?"

"Never mind," he sighed exaggeratedly, "You look like the kind who'd rather stay indoors."

"You got that right," she smiled to herself.

"Anyways, come on, get dressed, you're going to love the place."

What she really wanted was to stay in tonight but seeing his excitement, she thought it'd be rude to convince him for the same, so instead, she decided to give in.

They took the lift to the basement and since his chivalrous side was on a high this evening, he even opened the car door for Anabya before occupying the driver's seat himself.

"Do you know driving?" He asked and Anabya nodded.

"Bhai taught me, but I don't have a license."

"You don't even need one to drive here." He said, and as he eased the car out of the basement, he turned on music.

She sat in an uncomfortable silence for two minutes before she couldn't take it anymore and thus said, "Can you please turn it off?"

"Why? What happened?" Shamaaz asked, "You don't like this song?"

"It's not that, I avoid listening to music since it isn't allowed."

"I can't drive without music, Bya," he said instead.

"You can Shamaaz, you just don't want to."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing," she replied irritably, turning her head to the side to gaze out of the window.

After five minutes of neither of them exchanging a word, Shamaaz said, "Why are you so quiet?"

"Does it matter? You have your music to keep you company."

"Please don't make this such a big thing, Anabya," he said but she chose to remain silent, knowing full well that if she spoke another word, this would turn into a huge fight.

He sighed in annoyance and let her be her stubborn self, raising the volume a little higher as he sped through the roads.

Gazing out, as the world blurred around her, she wanted to laugh at people who said a man in love will change for the woman he loves. Here was a man who claimed to love her, but refused to change for her. It was pure madness to think changing people was as easy as the world portrayed it. And she didn't even want to change him, all she asked him was to put off that music because she didn't want their first date to start on a haraam note, but he didn't want to. They hardly ever were on the same page, making her wonder if things would always be this way.

When they reached the restaurant, Shamaaz hurriedly got out of his seat to open the door for Anabya but she didn't let him, as she stepped out with him.

"I'm really excited for this, you're going to love this place," he said but she didn't reply, as she wondered if he was always this oblivious or he pretended to be this way.

The manager met them when they entered, greeting them politely as he inquired, "Sir, have you booked a table?"

"I have, a table for two booked in the name of Shamaaz Abdulla."

"Give me a minute, Sir," the manager nodded, before heading to check the registration.

As Anabya looked around, a little surprised and mostly glad, Shamaaz said, "It's a cat cafe, I thought you'd like it since I know how much you pamper Snowy."

At such an adorable gesture, she decided to sweep their problems under the rug and keep them for another day, for she honestly didn't want to spoil this moment.

"That is very thoughtful of you," she said, bending down to stroke the fur of a cat that looked exactly like Snowy, her eyes prickling with a myriad of emotions as it yet again reminded her of home.

Another cat joined them and Shamaaz picked her up, stroking its ear as it purred in glee. "What a beautiful concept."

"It's not a new concept though, there are a lot of cat cafes coming up," he said.

"Yeah? I didn't know about them."

"Don't tell me now you'll pick a country for our honeymoon that has one of these cafes," he teased.

Anabya stilled in her action and looked up to him, she hadn't thought about their honeymoon as such, she felt it was too soon and she didn't want to go to a foreign land with Shamaaz just yet. There was no logic behind it, but she wanted to travel the world with him when she was sort of comfortable in his presence, when the two had reached some point in their married lives where they knew a little more than what they currently did. She knew a honeymoon was meant to fulfill all of that, but right now, it just seemed completely weird and she didn't want to.

"Have you been planning for it?"

"I thought we could plan together, I have a few ideas."

"Can we hold it off for a bit though?"

"Why?"

"I'm still getting used to life in this city, I just want to settle a bit before we go on a honeymoon."

"Fair enough," he agreed and she was glad he did. "We'll plan one sometime in the coming months."

"Thank you," she acknowledged and he smiled in response.

"Sir, I'm sorry but we don't seem to have any registration in your name," the manager said, interrupting their conversation.

"How is that possible, I even received a confirmatory message," Shamaaz said, fishing his phone before showing him the official text.

"Sir, you've booked the table in the other branch of our cafe which is in Delhi."

"What?" Shamaaz looked at the screen, rereading the message and wondering how he'd done such a blunder.

"You're sure you can't get us a table?"

"I'm sorry, Sir, we're booked for the night."

"But-"

"Nevermind," Anabya pitched in, grabbing Shamaaz's arm. "Thank you," she smiled at the manager before heading out with him.

Sensing his embarrassment, Anabya turned to look at him but he couldn't find the right ways to speak. "It's alright, Shamaaz, relax."

"I ruined the mood completely," he muttered, utterly embarrassed. "It wasn't supposed to go this way, I had planned every intricate detail."

"But such is life, you know. Things don't always go as planned, we just need to trust Allah to take us to our destination even if it's not through the roads we imagined."

"It's your first day in this city, our first date together and I messed it all up."

"This isn't the only restaurant here."

"But it's the only one with such a theme. This also has a sea view."

"But it's fine, we'll go to another one tonight."

"I guess we have no choice," he sulked.

On the way to their car, she spotted a famous fast food place and Anabya's face broke into a grin.

"Shamaaz, guess what?"

"Yeah?"

"I have a superb idea."

"I'm not going back home, Bya, if that's what you're implying."

"What I'm implying is that," she said pointing out to the the mascot sitting out on the bench, smiling at them.

"You can't be serious."

"I most definitely am. Come, let's get fat."

He was still opposing the idea as Anabya dragged him to the burger joint.

Hand in hand, they walked down Marine drive, Shamaaz carrying their take away in one hand while holding Bya's hand in the other. She didn't know if she loved the city yet, but she was in love with the place they currently were in.

"This is Marine Drive, one of Bombay's most famous points. That's the Chowpaty beach that it overlooks, and these lights you see is actually called the Queen's necklace cuz they string together along the entire stretch of the road and give the look of a necklace. And these rocks over here, each of it weighs 2 tons, can you believe it? This is a place you have no choice, but to fall in love with."

Shamaaz was right, for she was already in love. The calm sea that waved at the distance, the palm trees that swayed in the wind, the light's that shone on them or the tetra pod rocks that added an aesthetic touch to this place, if she was an artist, she'd paint this view for as a writer, she fell short of words to express its beauty.

"It's beautiful."

"And I'm hungry," he replied, sitting down on the walkway while Anabya joined him, their backs to the world as they faced the sea.

Shamaaz offered her one of the burgers and opened the fries, and as Anabya bit into it, she turned to look at Shamaaz.

"Tell me something about yourself," he said, biting into his burger.

"Tell you what?" Anabya asked, suddenly feeling self conscious. Moments like this she went blank, like what was she supposed to say. She's a human? A catlady? Or a zombie?

"Anything," he shrugged. "Something I don't know about you. Other facts apart from you being a total savage."

"You think so?" She laughed.

"What's there to think? You totally are! So tell me something apart form the obvious."

"This is awkward, ask me something specific."

"I am being specific," he grinned, enjoying her awkwardness. "I am asking about you!"

"I'm horrible at instincts," she said the first thing that came to her mind. "You know how people follow their instincts and do something? I'm horrible at it cuz it turns out to be wrong every single time."

"Give me an example."

"There's no example as such but say I think oh I don't need to study this question for I feel it's not important, and the exact same question will appear in the exam paper. Or the days I have this strong instinct that an action I do can't go wrong, it goes wrong. I'm horrible at those things."

"Did you marry me based on your instinct?"

She smiled and shook her head, "I didn't."

"I do stuff based on instincts and 99% of the time, I'm not wrong," he made known.

"I hope your choice of marrying me does not come in that 1%."

"Never will," he assured her.

"In sha Allah," she replied.

"Tell me something else, what are your hobbies apart from writing?"

She rolled her eyes, "Trust you to bring up that time you snooped."

He groaned, "I wasn't bringing that up, please. God you were so pissed with me, I was actually scared."

"I still am," she rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you did that."

"What can I say, I couldn't resist."

"Do that again and you'll be dead," she threatened.

"Oooh so much anger over a journal?"

"Actually, I don't write personal things anymore, so it wouldn't be a problem if you even read. I think only Allah deserves to know our secrets, cuz humans find out anyway and worldly things cannot be trusted."

"I hurt you that bad?" He asked softly.

"You taught me a lesson, I guess. I was so angry that I deleted all of it."

"You did not," he said, wide eyed.

"I did," she smiled.

"God, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be sorry, it was like erasing the past and starting a new chapter. It was liberating, in a way it helped me get over the past I was so hung over. I learnt a huge lesson too, you can't move forward until you cut off the strings that pull you back."

"You're actually so wise," he complimented.

"What do you mean? You expected me to be dumb?"

"No, but just saying," he smiled and she returned his smile, munching on the fries.

"I'm sorry our date came down to this," he apologized a little while later.

"I am living the moment no currency can buy. I'm a simple girl, and I don't want you to take me to posh restaurants that charge you in five digits, to woo me. Peace, nature, tranquility, good company, love - all of this is more valuable to me, something money can't buy. Take this moment for example, it's perfect in every way. So thank you, Shamaaz, for this beautiful moment."

There weren't many things that made him speechless, but this girl before him was proving it all wrong. He loved her, he loved her for her simplicity, he loved her for her kindness, he loved her for being her.

Taking her hand in his, he squeezed it affectionately and replied, "Thank you, Bya."

He was a man in love and nothing could ever change that.

***

"What, Bya?"

Anabya took her eyes off the dress she had been staring at and turned around.

"What happened?" She asked Shamaaz, who was sprawled on the bed.

"Where did you space out?"

"This dress made me nostalgic, Bhai had got it for me when he had gone to Dubai."

"You miss him?"

"Terribly. I miss all of them."

"You literally saw them a few days back," he reasoned.

"It's been a week, Shamaaz. Besides, time is not a good enough reason to not miss someone. The fact that they're so far just makes me sad. I've never been away from them, not even for a day. And I'm pretty sure they're worried for me just like I am for them."

It had been a week of their stay in Mumbai and although it would take them time to fall in routine, things were getting to it. Shamaaz would leave for his trainings and matches but most of the time he came home early, and the two would go out together, shopping for necessities or just exploring new eateries. It was fun so far, and Anabya was quite stunned by just how many contacts her husband had. Girls were involved in the picture too, but they were a story she was in no mood to think about particularly at a time when she was missing her family. 

"You know what, you can unpack your stuff later, this is going to take you forever and you're going to depress yourself while doing it."

"What do you want to do now then?" She asked, taking some more articles from the bag nonetheless and arranging them in the wardrobe.

"I can think of a few distractions," he grinned, swinging his legs to the ground and walked up to her. Since Anabya had her back to him, she wasstartled when he caught her hand as she tried to reach for the hanger. 

"What are you doing, Shamaaz?"

"Shhh," he silenced her, turning her around in his arms. "Breathe, calm down, they just want you to be happy, Bya. So smile, and that would be the best gift you can give to the ones whom you're missing now," he advised. 

They had been married for two weeks, but neither of them had actually hugged each other. That had seemed like crossing a marked territory, reaching the peak although they had climbed the mountain, enjoying the rainbow after being melted by the sun, and no moment had led to this. But now as Shamaaz stroked her hair soothingly, Anabya felt her heart jolt to a height she never thought it was capable of. For the first time, she was not completely repulsed by his touch, she did not want to hide in a corner or run away. She was reaching another level of acceptance of sharing her life with him and this was something she could definitely get used to.

She hadn't thought in depth about her world with him, but right now, she was content with spending one day at a time, a part of her beginning to wonder if all her earlier theories about him were pointless. She didn't know and right now, she didn't even want to.

Looking into his eyes as they shone with something akin to love for her as he took her to a separate universe reserved only for them, what she did know was that, she was going to be alright with Shamaaz.

In sha Allah.

The next morning, Anabya's peaceful slumber was disturbed by someone's repeated tapping on her shoulder.

"Go away, Shamaaz," she mumbled sleepily, "Why can't people mind their own business," she sleep talked. "This world is envious, some envy other's money, some fame and others like you are jealous of my sleep. Of course you will be, since now you are my husband and you'd be offended with just how much time I dedicate to sleep. But hey, come to think of it you don't actually let me sleep, do you?"

By now Shamaaz was laughing uncontrollably at the gibberish she spouted in the name of sleep, and once he had calmed down, he tapped on her shoulder once again.

"Babe, trust me I'm not offended with your love for sleep, but you're going to miss Fajr, so get up."

"I'm not praying."

"What do you mean you're not praying? You don't have a choice."

Anabya sighed and opened one eye, "Do I have to spell it out for you? I CAN'T PRAY!"

"But you were fine..." he trailed off, wondering if she even knew what she was saying.

"So? You think my cycles follow a timeline? I had to get up at 4 in the morning and it's been just two hours of proper sleep, you woke me up again," she accused, raising the covers over her head while Shamaaz grinned in amusement.

"Fine, but I thought you'd join me for my morning jog."

All he received was an unbelievable scoff from his lovely wife at the suggestion, to which he couldn't help but chuckle and head out himself.

She was something else altogether.