"the world has a king's seat for cheaters and disobeyers and rusted ground for the true believers - afra."

Gabriel had been patting his feet nervously , glancing at the backyard door every second or so .

The last night , Hafsa had texted him . She wanted to have a chat with him at the earliest and while that sounded more than normal , he had a weird feeling in his chest that something did not seem right .

The other day , he had gifted her an exotically curved bracelet that he happened to cast a glance on while shopping for Valerie . Sure it was a diamond piece and he had found it quite pricey , but that did not stop him .

She would be his final stop .

He had been working for a while now and was planning on settling in life himself . Albeit he had been having a difficult time trying to date girls and find one he'd be happy with . He wouldn't have thought back then that a trip to his cousin's place could hold an answer to his question .

Sure , fate had a strange way of playing with people .

The bracelet was meant to be a gift for all that Hafsa had done for him in the last couple of weeks . The change that she had initiated in him had him pull his hair out with frustration . Yet it was done effortlessly by her .

The best part was he felt his heart change . He could make out the major change his head had undergone . With the Qur'an , he felt like he was complete .

Almost complete .

For the first time , in several years , he had unmistakanly felt the presence of someone ignite a new flower of Life in him . Someone had , very innocently , pulled his heart and left a hole to be filled by herself . Unknowingly , she had fastened to his growing pains and had provided him relief in ways unimaginable .

Which is precisely what he wanted to do today . Let his feelings get known . It was burdensome enough that she was so attractive as a beautiful woman that anybody could see through her falter and fall in love with the heart hidden underneath . If he delayed any longer — especially when it wasn't sure when he'd be able to return to ask for her hand — he didn't think a place would be reserved for him .

Presently he felt the door creak open , with Hafsa peeking through . He shot his chair back and scurried to his feet , as his heart bet wildly in his chest .

He had to let her know that he liked , no , loved her . She was too good for him — she was just exceptionally extraordinary — nonetheless he wanted her for himself .

She walked in , looking at him briefly before moving over to the other side to get settled . He watched her move along , but only because he felt she looked stiff and almost unrealistic . Not to mention , he did not miss out on how she kept peeking at his side .

He noticed , she had a packet in her hands , something that she placed on the table beisde her before sitting down on the chair . Her hands wriggled on her lap and she seemed to have trouble speaking .

"Assalaamualaikum ." She spoke  softly , unlike how he had been used to hearing her . She was very bold and had a confident voice .

He smiled a moment later . "Walaikumusslaaam ." He caught her shift uneasily in her seat . Something about her body language told him that she was extremely anxious .

"Before you say anything ," he started , watching her eyes look into his with innocence ."I have to confess something ."

He knew that if he stayed quiet any longer , he would probably end up running away than face her .

Her eyes widened for a minute , before she diverted her gaze . It gave off her restlessness , making him smile a little . He had thought she would not be affected by him , but it came off as news to him . He had not yet started , but by her reaction already , he was looking forward .

He replaced his silly smile with a confident serious look . And looked up to find her staring at her hands , hardly looking at him .

"Look , please don't feel too uncomfortable . I'm just trying to be very honest and get straight to the point . Also because I will be departing a few weeks , I don't want to further delay the matter ." He tried sounding calm and soft , just because she was too uncomfortable . "Additionally , I do know that it's haraam for us to stay together anymore ."

"It may have come off as a shock to you , but yes , I do like you ." He watched her inhale sharply , and hardly meet his eyes even though she was looking at him . "A lot ." He added , and to his astonishment , her eyes pierced into his for a few moments .

When she broke the contact , he sighed . Running a hand through his hair , he watched her play with her fingers .

"I have always liked you Hafsa . You're an incredible person ." He smiled , watching her hear him out ."And you know this more than anybody that I'm trying my best at learning Islam so I could revert as soon as I can . I don't want to delay this reversion process any longer . Other than that , if you have any problem with who or how I am , then please specify so I could adjust accordingly ." He sucked in air , slumping a little in his seat .

It took Hafsa a couple of seconds before she looked up at him . This time , there lingered a soft smile in her eyes . "Gabriel , you're a very soft hearted and kind person . I don't have any such complaints ." She noticed him hear her earnestly , with his eyes full of hope . "I wish to leave this matter in the hands of my elders . Inaya , Afra , mom and my brother in law , Faaris . If at all , they find any faults in you , I'd be sure to cross check them giving you a fair chance . In shaa Allah , I do have the hope that they would love you though . So if they end up giving you their answer as a yes , then I won't have any objection as such . Also , I wish to pursue some professional course and learn up to the level of being capable enough of supporting myself ." She ceased , the slight disappointment in his expression making her panic .

"I'm very sorry Gabriel . I don't intend to hurt you as such . But I can't disobey my elders . Surely , you understand me . My family is very important to me and they are my only priority . I don't have anything against you ." She looked at him with pleading eyes , as he gazed at her deeply . His eyes burning with sudden strong determination .

"I'm not going to stop you from fulfilling your desires . Infact , if at all we do get married , I would be honoured to let you continue on studying or work ." He smiled widely , exposing his teeth . "But you should not stop me from accomplishing my dreams either ."

"And if your family doesn't agree with me , I'd be sure to not give up ."

Sarah had been seated at her desk , reading the letters she and Derek had exchanged . The evident smile on her face widening with every compliment he gave her .

Once upon a time , her world only circled around her insecurities and anxiety . She only pondered and took into notice the innumerable things wrong with her . Not once did she have the thought of focusing on her positive aspects and trying to come out as a stronger individual .

She concluded that perhaps it was all meant for the good anyway . The idea of exchanging letters sort of trained her into gradually changing herself . It made her feel at ease while at the same time , she could make out the several fears that she housed vanish into thin air. 

Derek had been her light of guidance . True that Gabriel and Samantha had always been very supportive along with her parents . But she hated to accept that they could not manage do anything that could help her . Nobody probably ever understood how pressurising and arduous it was to not be able to fit into society and being constantly looked down upon .

While she did admit to Derek being a person who prompted the change in her , she could still not miss out on how it was her decision to change in the first place that brought her to where she was today .

She wanted to change . She was her own saviour .

If she had not made her mind on breaking the shell embedded deep into her roots , nobody would have ever been able to aid her . Even then , she grinned , all the credit went to Derek for giving her the encouragement and support that she could do it . Without him , she would never have been able to develop the massive amount of strength needed to destroy her enclosure .

Her phone vibrated presently . She pushed the letters away to a corner and unlocked her phone . Her cheeks flushed when she saw Derek's name pop up .

She went on to read what he had stated .

Hi Sarah ! Wassup ? Me and Gabriel decided that us cousins should head out to some amusement park . It'd be a lot of fun . Hope you'll be fine with this . Message me soon . Let's meet and decide where to go . Love you !

Sarah choked . Did he just write  "Love you" ? Her eyes widened with shock . Without a doubt , it was surely written down there . She was of course not seeing things because even after reading the message for the fourteenth time , the letters remained intact and unchanged .

She found her cheeks hurt with the intense heat that was crawling along her neck . The words had made her feel weird and maybe happy to a degree .

Her mind kept telling her that it was a mistake . Very truly it was . But her conscience did everything in it's power to argue back . He was indeed smart enough to not have sent a message as strong as that . There was some reason behind it for certain .

She shook her head and clasped the ends of the scarf around her neck tightly .

"What if he actually means it ?" She jumped excitedly , her hands shaking with fear of being actually loved by him . Not that she would not like it . What troubled her was she was not prepared for it . What if he thought she was too stupid ?

"Oh well , let's see that later on ." She shrugged , trying to act cool but deep inside her heart was bubbling with joy .

« Assalaamualaikum . Hope you're all doing good . Because I'm not . *Shakes head* Winter has hardly started here and I'm already freezing . Help me . *Wails* »