Year 2038

Mastoorah

All my eyes could see till the last sight was water. Only water. The clean, blue water glowed with the dazzling rays of the sun, giving it a view of gold. My heart picked a pace because of this alarming scenario. I was walking towards the water like a robot. I wanted to stop but my feet seemed not to be under my control. They had a brain of their own and regulated their steps towards my biggest phobia.

I hated water. Why was I moving in its direction? It would engulf me in its strong waves and then I would die. I would die just like her. These cruel tides would swallow me as they did with her.

Then suddenly I saw a bright light at the end of the sea. It was so astonishing that it impinged on my eyes, causing me to shut them tightly.

"Mastoorah." I hear a sweet, melodious, and soft voice.

"Mastoorah, my heart. My love. My precious girl, open your eyes." The same again called me.

When I glanced back, my jaw dropped finding a woman in place of that initial glow. She had a face filled with light. She looked like an angel. She was smiling at me and had her both arms wide open for me.

"Mama," I whispered on my own. It felt like now my tongue had a heart of its own and it immediately recognized this woman.

"Hold your necklace, my love. You will be fine. Mama always prays for you," she mumbled.

I did as she asked but after a few seconds, my hold on the pendant loosened and I was practically thrown by someone forward.

"Mama...Mama...Mama...I am going to die. Please help me," I screamed while crying.

"Don't cry, Mastoorah Jaan. Recite Ayat Al Kursi," she informed me.

I started reciting Ayat Al Kursi loudly but abruptly my body jerked and my limbs shivered.

When I opened my eyes once again, I found myself in my bed, drenched in sweat. The Ayat Ul Kursi was on my tongue. 

وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ ۖ

That was what I was reciting. I immediately completed the Ayat Ul Kursi and sat up, looking at a sleeping Aliha on my right side.

Today I saw my mother in my dream. That was for the first time but how distraught that meeting was. I was just about to die but got saved because of Ayat Ul Kursi.

My mother.

How beautiful she was. I wished I had had a chance to sit beside her and hug her in my dream.

I held my necklace in my hand and kissed it. It had a picture of Kaaba and Rauza e Rasul (Peace be upon him) engraved on it. It belonged to my Mama. I will always cherish it.

It was almost dusk when I woke up from my sleep. Soon the melodious sound of Azan reverberated in the surroundings. I quickly placed my scarf over my head and left the bed to perform the salah of Fajr.

When I came back into the room after performing ablution, I reached near Aliha. She was the daughter of Uncle Zaryab and Aunt Javaria. Uncle Zaryab was the brother of Aunt Hania, the woman who rescued me and took care of me for these sixteen years. But now as she became a widow, she was back at her parents' house. Aliha was three years younger than me but because of her gentle nature, we became good friends and even shared the same room too.

By living here for a year, I met Aliha's Aunt; Aunt Ajwa, and her family as well. In fact, due to Aliha, I got an introduction to her cousin Eizal as well. She was the complete opposite of me and Aliha. While I and Aliha shared a quiet and introverted demeanor, she was totally jolly, extroverted, and crazy. She was fearless, outspoken, and adventurous out of us three. Together, we made a group of three different personalities bound by a rope of friendship which I truly adore now.

At first, when I was clueless about this atmosphere and wanted to remain in my own bubble, these girls and their mothers brought the best out of me and made me feel at home.

I shook Aliha's shoulder. "Aliha, please wake up. We need to pray."

She twitched in her place and changed her side. "Aliha, time is running. Let's get up."

She pouted but arose anyway, by rubbing her eyes. Together we said our Fajar. After that, Aliha went back to sleep but I got hold of the Holy Quran and came into the garden. I gazed at the sky which was slowly turning yellow now a sun was peeking its head. Sitting in the lawn chair, I respectfully started recitation.

۞ قُلْ يَـٰعِبَادِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا۟ مِن رَّحْمَةِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ ٥٣

Say, ˹O Prophet, that Allah says,˺ “O My servants who have exceeded the limits against their souls! Do not lose hope in Allah’s mercy, for Allah certainly forgives all sins.1 He is indeed the All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

That was a verse from Surah Zumar which always gave me strength. I closed the Holy Book and kissed its cover as my eyes again lurked back to the sky.

My Mama.

I would always wait for you to come into my dreams as you did today.

                       __________________

When I got done with my daily routine of supplications, I came back into the room and started getting ready for my school. Just a few months and then I would join college. Becoming a doctor was my passion and I hoped I would become successful in this. Part of my fondness for this profession was the fact that my mother could have been saved if sent to hospital on time and the other part was Uncle Faris.

It wouldn't be wrong to say in such a short span of time, he became my inspiration. The way he was so devoted to his profession and how he dealt with his patients made me so envious of him. He was nice, gentle, and soft-spoken. Someone in whom I would consider to see the qualities of my father. Someone I would love to get groomed under. It wasn't wrong to say I considered him as a father because somehow he gave me those feelings.

The fatherly affection and love. He had such a warmth surrounding him that I loved spending time with him, hearing about his stories of all these years as a doctor whenever I visited Eizal's house.

The initial oddness I felt in him had now practically died. Instead, it was he who had become the reason my social anxiety was the bare minimum now.

As I and Aliha reached to the dining table for breakfast, we were welcomed by everyone.

"Mastoorah dear, there is a milad next week at Eizal's grandparents' house. Your Aunt Ajwa wants you to recite Naat there. Will you?" Aunt Javeria asked me.

I smiled. "Of course, Aunt. I would consider myself very lucky for that."

And truly I considered it like that.

(Milad: A religious gathering)

(Naat: It is recited in Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him)
's praise. )

                      _________________

Iyad

Another day and another scolding for Api. Poor her. She always got this reprimand more than us because indeed she was way more unhinged and unrestrained than me and my twin. She loved troublemaking, adventure, and wildness. She couldn't sit still without doing anything for a long time.

Imad wasn't anything less than her but he was a bit more concealed version of her. Together they made every mischief. It didn't even seem like we in fact he and Api had a difference of three and a half years. The way they molded perfectly, it sometimes felt like he wasn't mine but Api's twin.

While I had more of a reserved and quiet nature. I liked peace and I absolutely hated someone who would crack my fine layer of comfort. I adored looking at nature, brain storing, and reading books. Mama sometimes said I was exactly like Baba. Even my grandparents sometimes called me a resurrection of Baba. And I didn't think it was anything wrong. Even though I was very close to Mama, however, I always found my strength in Baba. He was one of a kind who would become your friend, father, teacher, well-wisher, and mentor at the same time.

Even Baba knew my silent personality hence he many times himself would push my wish out of me. I wasn't one of a kind to voice my thoughts out like Api or Imad. I didn't know why I had this problem. However, I gave to the fact that I never wanted people to worry about me. I liked everything in its place and everyone was happy. Sometimes Baba would take me on his morning walks with him alone as Imad would be sleeping at that time.

Yet Mama was someone I would always seek whenever I had a hard time. In short, Baba was my hero of strong times and Mama was my love in difficult times.

Amazing. Isn't it? 

And Api. She was my everything. From being a supportive big sister to an annoying elder sibling to letting me take her tantrums as the only sister, she managed to get me and Imad all on her fingers. But in a positive and cherishing way. I remembered when I couldn't make it a first in my race competition a year back, it was she who had consoled me by becoming so serious and completely opposite to who she was.

Her liveliness and cheerfulness were the highlights of our house and Api would always remain the second woman after Mama I ever fell in love with.

Well, Imad? Don't ever get me started on this rascal and brat. He was my diaper partner of mine. He was the milk sharer of mine. In fact, I didn't still get how we spent nine months calmly in Mama's womb. Because of the thought of it made me laugh now. We now couldn't pass a second without either of us making the other go on his back on the floor under him. But he was the jerk I absolutely loved at the same time.

In the school, he was my strength. He would stand up for me against any bully a few years ago. And I was his mentor in the academics. Intuition, school, and playground, we were a team and in the house, we would be the worst of the enemy. We were like one soul in two bodies and our motto was crazy made by our very own dear Api.

Dare to lay a hand on Imyad, you would face wrath from Eizal.

Well, that was our gang name that came straight from the twisted brain of Api.

So right now, Mama was at Api for again for misbehaving with our PA teacher who was annoying Imad after he won a tennis match a week ago.

"Why did you do that, Eizal?" Mama was seriously losing it at Api.

Api sighed. "He was acting out with Maadi. I just did what a big sister should do. And seriously I never misbehaved."

So the thing was that Imad and another guy from our class had a tennis match in the sports week. But when it was 2-1, Imad had scored another point just before the whistle sounded and time ended. Our teacher had overlooked it on the justification of the other participant and made him the winner. Api saw it all and actually tried to create a scene along with many other students who saw it with their eyes. The teacher got dumbfounded by it and ultimately gave it 2-2 and a tie between my brother and that guy. However, he couldn't refrain from calling Mama and telling her about the supposed misbehavior of Api.

"Oh God, Eizal. He had called me that you were very rude," Mama again said, putting a hand over her forehead.

Api rolled her grey eyes. "I never did that. He just couldn't digest the truth. Maadi is the real winner. Right, Maadi?"

Imad batted his eyelashes. "I am. Leave it, Mama. Api is our hero today. If it wasn't for her, that rascal opponent of mine would have made fun of me."

Mama just shook her head.

Baba entered the scene and looked at all of us in confusion. "What round table conference is occurring here?"

"Maadi just tied a match. And he would have won it too if the whistle hadn't have blown," Api chirped with excitement and Imad raised his collars.

Oh, so happy on tying a match?

Well, I could understand Imad. That other guy was a sucker for tennis and actually, a win-win situation with him was very big. Not to forget, Api was right. He might have defeated him too. Today Maadi had a different energy for sure.

"Not just that. Your doll has misbehaved with Imad's teacher and he actually called me," Mama told Baba, putting stress on doll.

"Not any misbehavior. I was right," Api exclaimed loudly.

Baba cracked a smile. "She reminds me of you, Sunshine."

Baba called Mama Sunshine. And it wasn't anything hidden from us siblings. He often used to say Api was a reflection of Mama in her age.  

Mama glared at him. "Faris."

"That's a good thing you stood for your brother, Eizal. But remember, if you give respect to your elders, you will also get the same when you will get older. Being assertive and standing with honesty is very good, but no compromise on giving someone respect should be made on this," Baba mumbled, narrowing his eyes at Api.

Baba never raised his voice at us. He was a very cool and calm person. I never remembered for once he yelled at even us, for Api, it was too far-fetched as she was a girl and his only daughter. Whenever he had to make a point, he did it with clear words yet with a soft tone which would even make someone wild like Api to understand everything.

"Yes, Baba. But I didn't misbehave. He was overreacting," Api replied, playing with her fingers.

"Again, Eizal? He is your elder. Right? Tomorrow you are going to say sorry to him. Whatever happened it must be a misunderstanding on his part. But you as a student, should always respect someone who teaches you. Admitting and actually apologizing doesn't make one lower than the other person but it makes one come across as honest and reliable. Okay?" He raised a brow for affirmation.

Api nodded. "Yes, Baba."

"Good girl." He patted her head lovingly.

And that was what I would call a happy and wholesome family. 

                   ___________________

AssalamoAlaikum/ Hi guys!

How are you?

I hope everyone is doing well.

So here's the 1st chapter of Forbidden in Mastoorah and Iyad's POVs.

I hope you like both of them alongside Eizal, Imad, and Aliha.

And well our very own FAJWA. ❤

If you like this chapter, please vote and comment. ❤

And plz comment a lot guys. Your comments will let me know of your feedback and it will also motivate me to write more.

Till next one, Allah Hafiz/ Bye. ❤❤