Imran's Story

Everyone has a story to tell but what if their story doesn't have an ending that everyone expected?

Imran always wanted to tell Shyra about his life before and after he had gotten custody of Ayra especially when he wanted her to feel that she wasn't alone anymore.

Imran even wanted to tell her about what happened that night of the event. But first, he needed his father's advice before talking to Shyra about anything that had to do with Samir's life.

Thankfully, it was the weekend so all of them were at home along with Shyra even though she didn't want to be a burden to them. But she also didn't want to hurt Ayra's feelings by leaving so she stayed.

Imran walked toward his father's office to wait for him there as it would provide privacy for their conversation. He knew that his father would always go to his office to check on his emails before starting his weekend spending with his mother.

Imran waited for him at the door and in about five minutes he heard footsteps approaching him.

"Asalam Aliekum, Imran. What are you doing here?" His father asks opening the door and letting him inside the office.

"Waleikum Salaam, Dad. I need your advice on a few things about Shyra. And no, it isn't what Ayra told you, it is about something that I found during the event," Imran explained to his father. "It is about Samir who is Shyra's childhood friend and one looking for her," he added surprising his father.

"Okay but what do you mean that this is about Samir? And how do you know about him?" He asked taking a sit on his chair.

Imran sat down and started explaining everything that he knew about Samir. He explained to him that Shyra told him who he was and how he was looking for her.

"I saw him, Dad. I saw him at the event. He is married and I met his wife..."

"How do you know that she is his wife? She might be just a friend or a colleague..."

"I bumped into her and apologized to them. I told him that I didnt see his wife butbeforee he could say anything else, she dragged him away from me before he could finish," Imran explained to his father.

"But did he say that she is his wife?..."

"Now you mentioned it, I didn't hear him say it, it was only her. But what does that mean, Dad?" Imran asks his father.

"Brcause, son. There are two sides of a story. The right one and the fabricated one. She might be lying and they arent married or he doesn't want anyone to know about their marriage," his father explained making Imran think of the situation that night.

Imran remembered Samir hugging her like she was more than his friend because in Islam it isn't allowed for a man and a woman to interact the way they did.

"But Dad, the way he hugged her, it was like they were more than friends..."

"I understand that Imran but I know you, my son. And I know that you would want to do the right thing and tell Shyra about it, is that right?" His father asks him.

"Yes, I do but I also don't want to hurt her, and if I don't tell her then she might get angry at me because it will seem like I am hiding this piece of information from her. I don't know what to do, Dad," Imran says to him.

Dr. Saalim knew about his feelings for Shyra and also that he didn't want to hurt her with the information about Samir.

"All I can tell you is that you should tell her because as you said if she knew that you knew before her, she would get angry at you. Tell her as someone who cares for her. And then let her decide what she wants in her life and future, okay?" He advised his son who nodded.

"Thank you, Dad. I knew that I could count on you for the right advice. But you need to go before Mamma comes here to scold you for spending time with your emails and not her," Imran says to him.

He then got up and walked out of the door, leaving his father to finish his work. Imran wanted to go and find Shyra but he had to wait because he didn't want to alarm her or his daughter.

Imran would also need his mother's permission to speak to Shyra alone as she was starting to be overprotective of her.

But first, he would need to tell her everything about his life and then about Samir and his wife.

"Imran, come here, and let's have breakfast," his mother calls out to him from the dining room.

He walked to the dining room to find Shyra, his daughter and his mother already seated in their respective chairs. The only two chairs remained were his and his father's. So he took a seat beside his daughter.

"Asalam Aleikum," he greeted them.

"Waleikum salaam..."

"Sorry, I am late," Dr. Saalim walked in looking at his wife. He took a seat beside her and started apologizing to her.

"It is okay, now, let's have breakfast and then I have planned a day for all four of us and no one can get out of it," Dania says to everyone leaving no room for arguments.

"Mamma, I need to talk to you after breakfast. Its about something that i need from you," Imran tells his mother who nodded.

He looked at Shyra who had her head down and didnt even look at him. But when Ayra started talking to her, the smile on her face was something that he always wanted to see from her.

After breakfast, Imran followed his mother to the garden and took a deep breath before explaining what he wanted from her.

Dania looked at her son with love in her eyes. She knew that Imran had feelings for Shyra but she would always advise him to let her decide what she wants for her future.

"Mamma, I am asking your permission to talk to her alone because I met Samir at the event and he was with his wife. I asked Dad for his advice and he told me to go ahead and explain it to Shyra. But I also want to tell her about my past Mamma. She knows about Ayra and she hasnt even say a bad thing about it..."

"I will grant you that permission but you will speak to her in your father's office. That will be safer for her and dont push her to make a hasty decision. She needs to make it when she is calm," Dania tells him. This made Imran smile at least he has her permission to talk to her.

"Thank you, Mamma".

Imran might be an adult but he would always ask for his parent's advice on things about his life and when his mother took on the responsibility to care for and love Shyra, he would need her permission to talk to her in private.

Dania walked inside and sat beside Shyra while looking at her granddaughter who was playing with the kitten.

"Shyra, Imran would like to speak to you and he came to me to ask for my permission to allow it. But it is up to you if you want to talk to him or not. All I can say is that it must be important because he came straight to me," Dania explained to Shyra. "You can say no or yes, that's your decision," she added smiling at her.

"I will listen to what he has to say because thats what my aunt Hayat would always tell me. Listen to what people tell you, and then decide if you wnat to hold on to the information of let it go," Shyra tells her.

"I would love to meet your Aunt Hayat, someday. In shaa Allah," Dania says to Shyra. "You can go to the study, he is probably waiting for you. And Shyra, you should keep your mind open when making decisions that would affect your l", she added.

Shyra got up from her seat and walked towards the study and took a deep breath before knocking on the door.

When she heard someone say to come in thats when she opened the door.

"You can leave the door or close, thats your choice," Imran tells her while he is already seated on the other side of the table.

Shyra closed the door, she knew that she could trust him. And she took a seat opposite to him.

"Your mom said you wanted to talk to me," Shyra says and waits for Imran to start talking.

"I am going to tell you about my past and why I studied two careers instead of one. It started when I was in high school, I met a few people that my parents warned me to stay away from but I was trying to be rebellious," he explained. "But now I realized that I should have listened to my parents, they knew why they didn't want me to hang out with the kids at my school," he added.

"Sometimes our minds wants us to rebel so that we get to learn the life lessons ourselves without any type of help," Shyra says surprising Imran.

"Yes, thats true. The group started doing drugs and cutting school and I was one of them. I wanted to be known as one of the cool kids who did whatever it was needed to be cool. Then one day, one of the kids overdosed and almost died but alhamdulillah my parents taught me a few things about CPR, and calling 9-1-1 was the most important one," he explained while Shyra listened without any emotions to see on her face. "Thats when I realized that my parents were right about the kids and thats when I turned my life around, i changed everything aboout myself," he added.

"Chnage is good when you wnat it and not someone else who wants it," Shyra says to him.

Imran nods and then proceeds to tell her about why he picked his father's career of being a therapist and also a businessman.

"I wanted to make him proud of me and now alhamdulilah he is. Now, I want to tell you about someone that I meet at the event... I met Samir and his wife. I didn't know who he was at first but then when the presenter annouced his full name..."

"So he got married and didn't even tell me," Shyra says with her voice cracking.

"I am telling you because I don't know if she is his wife or just a friend. Also, I don't want you to get angry when you find out from someone else that I already know about it," Imran explained to her. "I don't want to see you cry, Shyra. All I can tell you is wait until you talk to him to confirm what I told you. I can confirm that he is indeed married to that woman I saw him with," he added while Shyra was trying not to let tears fall from her eyes.

"It is okay, you can cry, Shyra. Don't hold it in," Imran says trying not to rush by her side and hug her but he knew that he couldn't disrespect their religion and her.

Everyone has a moment of weakness but Imran didn't want to cross any lines with Shyra because she deserves to be treated like a princess in a halal relationship by marriage.

"If it hurts you, I wish that I didn't..."

"You don't say that. You are a true friend to have told me about it. And you are right, I will ask him but not now maybe some other time and thank you for telling me. It saddens me because we are friends and he didn't even bother to tell me that he was getting married," Shyra says wiping the tears with her hijab. "But I am glad that you told me so that when I meet him, I won't look like a fool when he introduces me to her, " she added giving him a small smile.

Imran knew that whatever he told her might be true or false but the only one who could confirm that was Samir. The only person who deserves an explanation is Shyra.

The truth can be twisted to be fake and the only truth that people should believe is when someone confirms it and not when it comes from someone different. There are two sides to the truth, the right side, and the false side.