لا حب La Huba

Broken Dreams

Amal Ghusan's pov

Today was my day, after spending five years in Uniben studying Mechatronics i was finally free. Ummi will be so proud of me not to mention Abu. i know how much of a burden raising my tuition had been for them,talk more of that of my four siblings Jaharah, Lakia, Taheerah and Talhah. Ummi sold bean cakes and pap to make sure i made it through school since Abu was retired and depended solely on his pension. 

i was graduating but none of my family members showed up. Ummi said Abu was ill and my siblings couldn't make a three hours journey from Lagos to Benin because Ummi thought they were still too young. Nevertheless, i couldn't let sorrow ruin my day after all i had Salim Othman and like the name implies, i did feel safe with him.

Salim had been my bestfriend in the last two years. we met in school- at the Masjid to be precise. my friend, Afra had been possessed by Jinn at the time and he was the school's best bet for Ruqya cases. when i saw Salim, i realized Allah indeed created us in pairs. we got along so well and since he was from Benin, it didn't take time for me to get familiar with his family. his friends and family loved me, He loved me and i loved him as well but i wanted to complete my studies before our Nikkah and he was patient, extremely patient.

I'm a Muslim hence, dating isn't permissible especially prolonged dating that would lead to immoral acts. like Abu would say, "When two people of opposite genders are alone behind closed doors, that's when Shaitan begins to whisper." True, that's what leads youths to haram stuffs so we vowed to keep it halal by avoiding private places,and  creating some restrictions though i'll not deny holding his hands even though i really didn't shake guys.

"Amal, i'm really proud of you. you've achieved your dreams. Alhamdulillah, everything went as planned." Salim congratulated me. he held my hands trying his best not to hug me due to his excitement.

"Yes. and i now look forward to taking the huge step." i beamed.

"Remind me." Salim said flatly.

"Our Nikkah silly." i playfully punched him and we laughed about it.

"Look at the love birds of the early '20s." Afra teased as she walked up to us. she had three cans of coke in her hand and tossed two at us.

we sat on a wooden bench as we looked at our course-mates giggling, taking pictures, drinking beers and what have you? i sat in the middle and let out a deep sigh.

i was returning home tomorrow. i would definitely miss this place. my first year started badly because i was the only Muslim girl in my class. people would tease me about my scarf, about the way i dress and about not holding hands with the opposite gender. sometimes, i felt alienated but i got used to it and within eight months i was able to shake it all off. now i was returning home to my family. this wasn't the usual semester holidays but a full time/ permanent holiday. I'd definitely miss Salim, I wouldn't be able to see him as often as I'd like until he comes around and I'd be married off to him. The thought almost made me cry. 'Sabr' I told myself. All I needed was patience.