A Twist of Fate ✔

Ch. 26

She still missed him though.

Laila thought of Hamza every day. He became a bittersweet memory, bringing life to his own garden in the forest of her mind. She visited it quite often; stopped by to pay her respects, to water the roses, and to remind them that she didn't forget.

She never stopped loving him.

She never stopped loving him, even as the days turned to weeks. And the weeks gathered to form months. And then like that, half a year went by. Half a year since the last time she saw him. The last time she ever heard from him.

He was travelling. That was what his parents informed them. His phone was out of service, his house was deserted. No one knew exactly where he went, or when he was planning on returning. 

If he was planning on returning.

Laila accepted it. She took the opportunity to focus on herself, and her loved ones. Thankfully, it didn't take much to repair her relationship with her mother. They reconnected almost immediately after Laila's epiphany and grew closer than before. She never told anyone of what happened that night. She was content with leaving it where it belonged: in the past. A part of her, albeit a painful one. And she learned that a Muslim wasn't under any obligation to expose his/her dark moments or sins they sincerely repented from. It was between her and Allah at that point. 

Deena and Laila fell back into contact and grew to become close friends, much to everyone's surprise. Especially her mother. She was shocked when she opened the door and found the former model standing there, cloaked in loose modest clothing, and her hair safely veiled beneath her scarf. Sarah then took it upon herself to personally apologize to the young lady, for losing hope in her rather than giving hope to her. Deena always had a spark of goodness in her heart, and the potential to grow stronger with a push in the right direction.

It wasn't solely Laila's mother though; Deena had gotten a reputation in the Muslim community of being 'a lost cause' throughout the previous past years. No one anticipated her turning her life around and becoming an active member in the local Masjid along with Laila. If they had given her a chance, she could've returned to the path ages ago. 

So, the two girls became inseparable. On the other hand, neither of them ever heard from Zahra again.

"Laila? Earth to Laila!"

Laila snapped to attention, her vision blurring out of focus. When it cleared, she saw Deena crouching in front of her, a folder tucked under her arm. 

"We have a new parent coming to register her kids." Deena announced, peering into her files. "Her name is... Hamida! Hamida Farhan."

Laila nodded indifferently and stretched from where she sat on the Masjid's carpeted floor. Grasping Deena's hand for support, she propped herself up on her feet and quickly smoothed out the wrinkles on her abayah. "How many kids is she registering?" Laila took a file from Deena's hands as they made their way to the elevator.

"5 boys."

Laila whistled under her breath. "Yikes. Poor woman."

"I know, right?"

They made their way out of the prayer section and towards the back of the compound, where the offices and classrooms were located. It was after-hours, so majority of the rooms were empty. The two young women approached one of the many doors and were about to enter when it flung open. Two little bodies rolled out, so fast they looked like a blur. Laila couldn't help but gape in surprise as the two boys continued to wrestle with each other, a mere few feet away.

"ANAS AND ALI DO NOT MAKE ME COME OUT THERE!" A loud bellow sounded from inside the room. "IF I HAVE TO GET UP ON MY SWOLLEN FEET TO SEPARATE YOU TWO, THERE WILL BE SEVERE REPERCUSSIONS. Aisha, be a darling and bring your brothers back in here."

There was a loud popping sound, as if someone was obnoxiously chewing gum. "Thanks, I'll pass."

"Oh, by all means, don't let me interrupt you from texting." Laila heard a chair scrape against the floor as the woman inside seemed to struggle to stand. She and Deena were still frozen in place, watching the events unfurl. A few seconds later, a woman emerged from the room. She didn't notice them. She was waddling, one hand holding her protruded belly and the other holding a shoe. "Have more kids, Samir said." She mumbled as she made her way towards the two boys that were still entangled on the floor. "It'll be fun, he said. Fun. I ought to castrate him..."

"Assalamu Alaikum!" Deena quickly stepped forward as the woman was raising her weaponized arm. The boys finally noticed their mom and squealed, jumping to their feet and dashing back inside the room, relieved to have avoided their punishment. 

"Walaikum Alsalam. I'm Hamida," She sheepishly dropped her sandal, slipping her foot back in. "Sorry you had to see that. I'm usually patient, but this pregnancy is just wearing me out." She took a deep breath and seemed only then to notice Laila. Her eyes briefly did a double-take, but she hid it with a smile. "Assalamu Alaikum, sister."

Laila returned the greeting, introducing herself as well. "Let's go and sit inside the office," she offered.

Once they were all seated, Laila addressed Hamida. "So, what classes are you interested in?"

"The summer Arabic program. They all do know some basic Arabic, but their father and I didn't formally teach it to them. It's just the second language we use at home sometimes. So, I'd rather they focus on that before moving to Qur'aan classes."

"Okay." Deena chirped in. "How many of your kids will you be signing up?"

"All of them, except for my daughter. So that'll be the twins, Anas and Ali," she pointed to the two boys that were fighting moments before. "They're 6. And then there's Syed. He's 5, and his younger brother, Luqman. 4." Laila noticed the two younger boys huddled together, sharing an iPad screen. "And finally, Omar. The eldest boy. He's 8. Omar, say salaam."

The spectacled boy looked up from the thick book he had propped up, and regarded Deena solemnly. "Good evening, ma'am."

"I'm not a ma'a- never mind." Deena turned to Laila and whispered under her breath, "Do I look old?"

Laila elbowed her, trying to hold back her giggle. "Okay, I'm glad you came early. The seats usually fill up quite quickly, but we have enough room for your sons. We're glad to have them!"

"I'm glad you're taking them." Hamida vividly sagged in relief. "You have no idea how much that helps. Especially with this new baby coming soon..."

"No one told you to get pregnant again." The teenager smacked her gum.

"Do you want to get the shoe?" Hamida fired back. "Because it seems like you're asking for it. And get off your phone, Aisha."

Rolling her eyes, Aisha continued texting, unbothered. 

After Hamida completed filling out the paperwork, they all exited the building as a group. They had barely made it out the door when the boys started to scream and run towards someone. All except for Omar, who still had his nose in his book. Laila was momentarily confused at their reaction, but then a figure came into view. A bearded man in faded jeans was scooping up the little bodies, his deep hearty laughs echoing across the parking lot. Hamida thanked the girls and bid her farewell, holding onto Aisha as she limped towards who Laila could only assume was her husband. 

"Let's go back inside?" Deena asked. 

Laila waved her off. "I'll be in shortly. You go ahead." She wanted to watch them, just for a little while longer. 

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A/N: I hope you're enjoying the story! Please drop a vote/comment. I love seeing your notifications! ❤