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•••

M A R I N A

She lit the last of the orange-scented candles and made her way upstairs to make sure she looked presentable. She wore a brown kurta paired with khakis and a beige-coloured hijab wrapped around her head loosely.

As she was tucking the last strand of hair in her hijab, the bell rang and she could feel her heart fasten its pace. She ran down the stairs to open for door but her mother beat her to it.

"Assalamu Alaiykum." She greeted Zaid's parents one after the other, receiving a pat on her head by his father and a hug from his mother. Marina and Zaid exchanged their salams and gave each other brief nods, gazes lowered, before Saad lead them to their living room.

Zaid's family were seated opposite to Marina's, him between his parents and she between hers. Saad was forced to sit on the beanbag in the corner.

Small phrases were exchanged between the families when his mother brought up the main topic at hand.

"So beta", she smiled softly, her wrinkles prominent on her skin, "what kind of doctor are you planning to become?"

She gave a shy smile back, "A cardiologist, auntie." She caught Zaid giving her an impressive look, and that's when she looked at him a little closely.

She had to give it to him though, he was handsome. His black hair was cut short and a rough stubble was surfacing on his skin. His eyes were a deep shade of green too, just like hers.

"When did you start working my son?" Her dad questioned skeptically. After all, she was their only daughter and giving away his precious little jewel meant the world to him. He didn't want to rush through things and wanted to choose the right man for her.

"I graduated from The University of Manchester two years ago and started my job right away uncle." He spoke formally.

Her father nodded, sending an indiscreet glare towards Saad who was scrolling through his phone, his face representing boredom. When guests came over for the first time, her father always made sure they felt comfortable and welcomed normally, but it always went down the drain due to Saad.

The athan (prayer call) was heard and all chit-chat paused for a minute or two due to respect. Marina kept tugging at her sleeve. She always did this when she was nervous or in an awkward situation.

'He could be my future husband.' She thought as a pink colour stained her cheeks due to shyness. She looked up and caught Zaid smiling at her softly and quickly looked down again.

When the athan finished they were all getting up to pray, she saw Zaid unlock his phone and swipe through.

But what caught her eyes was the wallppaper of the screen.

It was a wedding picture of her suitor, and there was a woman all dolled up as well. It looked like a Nikah ceremony.

Marina gasped. "You're already married?"

Zaid's face drained of all colour.

She heard his mother's voice. "Uhm.. actually n-no-"

"Yes," he said nonchalantly. "and there's nothing wrong as a man can have up to four wives all at once-"

"True," Marina spat. "but he has to be honest to the girl about what he's getting her into-"

"Marina beta-"

"Ammi," her voice held a tone of whining, the moment being interrupted by her brother's laugh.

He fell from the beanbag and rolled on the floor with his hand on his stomach and the other holding the phone, tears making their way to his eyes as he laughed and laughed loudly, unable to control it.

Her father's glare was deathly now.

Saad got up by pushing himself up by the sofa's hand rest, that teasing smile still on his face as he made his way out to do his own prayer.

Though the family wanted to cut ties immediately, the man's father was the colleague of her father, so they still had to play it out nicely.

Let's just say dinner after that was a bit awkward.

Scratch that.

Very awkward.

•••

She was standing on the balcony of her room, her thick hair was let loose and swayed with the wind. Her room was in a place where nobody could see her by her balcony but she could see the whole city - literally eveything.

She was mesmerised by the beauty Allah's creation had as she stared at the starry sky, her lips mumbling a SubhanAllah (praise be to God). The stars that illuminated the darkness and her heart were spread out like little specks of shimmering dust, but what caught her eye was the moon. It was a crescent just appearing from its peak behind the clouds, waiting to be shown to the city of London.

She heard the glass door of her balcony slide and felt a presence behind her. She turned around and saw her brother smiling at her softly. Marina did the same and saw him hold his phone in his left hand as he made his way towards her, standing on her right.

"What's on your mind lately?" He asked curiously.

"Nothing much. Just thinking.. "

"About the proposal?"

"Hmm not really.."

"Speaking of that proposal", he sighed, running a hand through his hair before his eyes got that usual mischievous glint, "I took a video."

"You what? "

"Hey chill, it was funny okay. Why else would I be rolling on the floor laughing?" He showed her the video.

"Delete it." She said with no hint of humour in her tone.

"What? No!" Saad protested.

"Bhai delete it. How would you feel if someone took a video of you without your consent?"

"But it's funny - hey !" She snatched the phone from his hand and pressed the delete option.

"Killjoy." he muttered, and in return she smiled sweetly at him.

A few minutes passed with no words being exchanged between them, just the tranquil winds making the faintest of sounds - sounds which calmed both of their hearts.

Saad decided to speak up after a while, "I know I don't have any say in who you should marry, and I shouldn't, but if any man, even your future husband, lays a finger on you in an attempt to hurt you, I will cut his balls off and use them for my cricket matches."

She laughed - one that caused him to smile, "Bhai that cannot even happen. Cricket balls need to bounce and testicles cannot do that due to the glands in-"

"Okay okay, you need to shut you and your doctor mouth up." That earned him a light shove on his shoulder from his younger sister and they both shared a hearty laugh.

Their laughter soon died and Saad made his way out, his head shaking in amusement. He would never take his family moments for granted - ever.

Marina was still on the balcony, now thinking about her future. She disliked people who lied - that too for something as serious as marriage. She wondered if she'd ever be good enough for a guy.

Little did she know Allah had different plans for her.

•••

Sana