2 Chapter 1

Brring brring brrring!!

The sound of my alarm reverberates round the room signaling the time for Fagr prayer.

Pushing the covers aside, I hurriedly got out of bed knowing it wouldn't be wise to lay there any longer.

I had this strange gnawing feeling in my chest like I was about to lose something close to me.

I pushed that thought aside and headed for the bathroom.

I took care of my morning business and made wudu after which I got the prayer mat from the foot of my bed where I always keep it.

Putting on my hijab, I proceed to venture into total peace and tranquillity in the presence of my Lord.

* * * * * *

I trodded down the stairs and went into the kitchen and almost immediately, the aroma of my mom's pancakes hit me with full force.

"Asalam alaykum mom" I greeted, while still inhaling deeply.

My mom always makes the best pancakes.

Looking up from the pan, she answered, "Wa alaykum salam dear, how was your night?"

"Alhamdullillah, it was peaceful"

I said, and helped her to set the table for breakfast. Just then, dad walked in.

"Asalam alaykum dad, good morning"

"Wa alaykum salam Zara" he said, as he went straight to the dining table and sat down, waiting to be served.

I served his breakfast and then my mom's as she joins us at the dining table. I sat down to eat and just as I was about to dig into my food, she plops down two more pancakes in addition to the three on my plate. Surprised, I looked at her with a questioning expression which she replied with a shrug of her shoulders. Something was up. She never stacked my plate to the brim unless she was trying to coax me into something.

I pushed the thought aside as I said my bismillah and proceeded to devoir my food.

"Dear, have you received a call or a letter from the school you applied to?" Dad asked looking up from his phone screen.

"No, not yet" I answered after swallowing the food in my mouth.

We said nothing more throughout the breakfast. We ate in a comfortable silence but every so often I would catch a glimpse of my mom's face sharing a knowing smile with my dad, then she'll catch me staring and turn her attention to her food like nothing happened. This happened two more times and I got tired of it.

"OK, spill. What's going on between the two of you?" I enquired, shooting them both a warning glance, daring them to lie.

"It's nothing sweety" my mom tried to pursuade but I shot her a disbelieving look.

"It's not nothing, why do u keep staring at each other like that?"

Dad cleared his throat and looked from mom to me before replying, " your mother just looks so ravishing today, that's why I can't stop staring at her"

"Aww, thanks darling" she cooed, supporting his lame attempt at an excuse.

I raised my brows at them but let it go.

" That was a very lame excuse dad" I said smiling to myself and looked down.

My parents can be so funny at times. I knew I'll get my answer later on. They never lied to me and always told me their plans whether they were important or not.

I love my parents and will do everything to make them happy.

If you hadn't noticed, I'm an only child which means they showered me with so much love and care and always gave me whatever I wanted, but no, I wasn't spoilt, they also taught me how to be kind, generous and most of all God fearing.

I wouldn't trade them for anything in this world. They were my rock.

He smiled and continued eating and then we fell back to a comfortable silence once again.

After eating, I thanked mom for the yummy breakfast and stood up to clear the dishes after which, i took them to the sink and started washing, then I arranged them on the rack to dry.

I headed back to the dining table only to catch them whispering to each other. They saw me and stopped immediately.

I opened my mouth to question their behavior once more but quickly thought better of it. They'd tell me if they were hiding something. Right?

"Mom, Dad, I'll be meeting up with Raina and I won't be back till evening, hope that's okay?" I asked knowing they'll let me anyway.

Raina was my very best friend. We've known each other for as long as I can remember. We did almost everything together, we shared things with one another and did things that best friends do. She was like the sister I never had.

My parents were also very fond of her and treated her like part of the family.

"Of course, its fine. You can stay even later than that." Mom said grinning from ear to ear.

I eyed her suspiciously as I bid them good bye with a kiss on each cheek.

Something told me I would soon find out what they were hiding from me by the end of this evening.

I just hope it was good...

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Hello my lovely readers.

First chapter up. What do you guys think about it?

Does it need more work?

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Also, what do you think Zara's parents are hiding from her?

Till we meet again in the next chapter....