Dear soul full of hope and fear, You are already victorious. 
You need only to be patient until you see the fruits of your good end.– Umm Zakiyyah. 

“Ah ah na, I’ve not taken any selfie o.” Bushra pouted, tilting her phone in front of the mirror. 

Shukra turned towards her and rolled her eyes, then turned back to her spying post by the door. 

“What’s up na, they’re not yet done?” Meena asked from the bed. 

“No, Abu is still talking.” 

Bushra scoffed. “You mean lecturing.”

Meena sighed. It’s been ten minutes since their arrival, but she felt it’s been longer than that. “Has Abu forgotten that they’re leaving this evening?” 

“It’s like he has o,” Shukra mumbled, then she let out a loud “Ehe!”, startling Meena. She walked towards her, “Ummi is coming.” She wiggled her brows and sat beside Meena as the door opened. 

“Oya, it’s time.” Fadilah announced. 
Meena could feel her insides quivering as she walked behind her mother, she tightened her hold on Shukra’s hand. From the half open kitchen door to her left, Kauthar gave her a thumbs up.

Traitor. Meena thought, attempting to glare at her. 

After that, she kept her head down and didn’t raise it up until she was settled beside her mother on the sofa facing their visitors. 

“Masha Allah.” She heard a female voice gush, but she dared not raise her head. Staring down at the center table, she listened to the hush conversations. Her heart thumping loudly as if to burst out any minute. Then she felt a light pinch on her left hand. 

Oh, I haven’t greeted! She mused and slid down to the ground. “My apologies, Assalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatu.” She said in a voice above a whisper. 
She heard them laugh before they replied, even Bushra— seated beside Shukra, snickered.

“What’s that, come over here and sit beside me mana.” The female voice said. 

Taking a deep breath, Meena raised her head: An elderly light skinned man sat at the right end of the three seater, his eyes warm and kind.

Beside him was Nur (she knew that already), dressed in a striking blue jumper with red embroidery on the front and a red cap to match. Their eyes met, long enough for them to capture each other’s smiles, before he turned towards his younger brother who was chattering excitedly, also in a matching blue attire. 

Then there was the lady, the only dark skinned among them, eyes twinkling behind wire rimmed glasses and lips wide showing a set of white teeth, including a golden tooth on the upper left row.

“Come come.” She beckoned, arms open wide. Her silver veil covering the upper part of her body and a black head scarf, which matched the floral gown she was wearing. 

Meena held the folds of her dress and went to her side. That was when she noticed that someone was missing, Nur’s mother, Doctor Amal. With furrowed brows, her eyes sought Nur’s, who seemed to be lost in the story his brother was telling him. But Meena knew better.

So he wasn’t just being bashful. She thought. 

“How are you dear?” The lady asked, placing her hands on Meena’s shoulder. 

“Alhamdulillah, very fine ma. “ She nodded. 

“I know we haven’t really met before. But my name is Intisar, Amal’s younger sister.” Her hand rested on her chest. “I apologize for her absence.” 

Maybe there was an emergency. Meena thought, but that didn’t stop her from blurting out: “Where is she?”

Stupid! She scolded immediately, hoping she had not sounded offensive. 

But on Intisar’s face was a confused look.

See yourself. Meena thought. 

“Didn’t she tell you?” Intisar asked, turning to Fadilah whose smile looked as if it was set on pause. Meena shook her head, turning to Nur, whose eyes were downcast. Silence came in uninvited, that it enveloped them and became the very air they breathed.
Even Bushra’s phone tapping sound had stopped. Meena could feel fear brewing from her chest, all the way down to the tip of her toes.

“Umm,” Nur cleared his throat, closing a hand around his mouth. “I apologize, there was an emergency earlier at the hospital, so she had to rush there.” He said, facing Abdulhameed. 

“Well, that’s not a problem, hope it’s not too serious?” He asked.  “Uh no,” Nur’s eyes fleeted from Meena to Fadilah. “Alhamdulillah.”

“But she did say she was going to inform you.” Intisar said.

“Maybe it slipped her mind.” Nur said, chuckling. Intisar nodded, but Meena caught the unsure look in her eyes, and so did Fadilah. 

“Okay, Gentlemen.” AbdulHameed rose, his white agbada shining against his dark skin. “Let us head to the dining room, Who’s hungry?” He rubbed his stomach. “I know I am.” 
They all laughed and followed him.

Shukra tugged at the sleeve of Bushra’s red and white kimono gown. She yanked her hand away, but on catching her mother’s glare, she trailed behind Shukra towards the kitchen. 

“Girls,” Intisar muttered with a chuckle as she stood beside Fadilah who just shook her head. “Reminds me of when we were young. Amal was ever the workaholic, and I...” She lifted her chin towards Bushra. 

Fadilah laughed. “My sister and I were like that too, she even had a whistle she used to blow whenever I was trying to avoid chores or catch extra minutes of sleep.”

“Can you imagine!” Intisar exclaimed, shaking her head. 

Fadilah shrugged. “But I miss the old days.” 

Intisar sighed. “You’d think the bond between blood gets stronger as we age.” 

Fadilah turned to her. “it only loosens faster, so much so that one forgets that a bond existed in the first place.”

…

Kauthar peeked into the room, “Hey,” she called. Meena raised her head and tried to smile, but her lips felt too stiff to stretch. 

“What’s up, aren’t you hungry?” she joined her on the bed. 

“Not really.” 

“Hey,” Kauthar nudged her. “I’m sure she just forgot. You did mention that she has a very tight schedule.” 

“That’s not even the most distressing part,” Meena shook her head. “it’s the fact that Nur didn’t inform me beforehand.” 

“Maybe it’s because he knew she would inform you.”

“My parents, not me. That’s his job.” she turned away. “but something tells me he knew she wasn’t going to inform us.” 

“But—” Kauthar started to say but a loud beeping from Meena’s phone interrupted her.

Meena glanced down at it, tempted not to check. But before she could act on it, she grabbed it: Hey, I need to talk to you. Meet me outside – Nur. 

A/N
Am I the only one feeling worried for Meena?

What do you think about her mother-in-law to-be's absence?

Vote, comment, and share.