8 Chapter 8

Two weeks later...

A small crowd of neighbours and friends had gathered to help Ahsan and Noora to furnish their new home. "This table fits this room perfectly well, Masha Allah!" Hisham said as he helped Ahsan to place the table near the window. "You can have the best view of those hills from this side of the window."

"Yes, I know," Ahsan said with a smile. "That's why I decided to place this dark wooden table near this window. So that I'd be able to look at those beautiful hills and refresh my mind whenever I get tired of my works. We've completely furnished this bedroom room now. But it looks like something is missing though. Hmm... What is it?"

"Darling, please don't break your head by thinking too hard." Noora teased him with a bright smile. "It's the decorations which are missing in the room. We'll think about the decorating part when we've fully furnished the house, okay?"

"Okay, Smarty!" Ahsan said, winking at his wife. "You are always right, except for the time when you thought, I wouldn't come here to live with my family."

"I thought you loved your work there!" Noora said with wide eyes.

"Yes, but I love you more!" Ahsan declared, and Noora felt her cheeks burning with heat. She knew that her face had turned into a tomato. And she felt all the neighbours in the room staring at both of them which made her feel even more awkward.

"Ahm.." Afra cleared her voice to turn everyone's attention from them. "This room needs a clock. Also, I think we can place a bookshelf here, next to the bed. This room is done otherwise, Masha Allah."

"Yes, it is done for now," Ahsan said with a smile. "Thanks a lot, everyone for giving us assistance!"

"Anytime, son!" an old man with greying hair said in a gruff voice and smiled at him. "My name is Kasim. I worked as a Maths teacher in a nearby school before I got my pension. Feel free to call me if you need any help."

"Yes, you can always knock at our door if you needed something." His wife, a kind-looking woman added. "Our house is right in front of your gate. You just have to cross the road to get there."

"I'll remember that," Ahsan said to them kindly. A tall, dark-skinned woman from their neighbourhood made her way to Noora. "My name is Kavitha." She introduced herself to her. "You've come from a foreign country, aren't you?"

"Yes, we've come from Dubai," Noora said to her.

"I can teach you to cook Sri Lankan foods if you like." She said. "My house is the third house in this lane."

"Oh, that's nice of you!" Noora said. "I'll pay you a visit when I get time, in shaa Allah."

"Alright, everyone!" Ahsan called for their attention. "I've arranged tea for all of you in our living room. Please stay and have tea with us."

"Okay, son," Kasim said, pleased. "Come, let's go to the living room then." Everyone followed him to the living room where Afra and Noora served them hot milk tea.

"Where are the kids?" Hisham asked Afra. "I didn't see them for a while"

"I saw them playing in the front hall," Afra told him as she handed him a cup of tea. He placed it in the living room table and went to have a look at the children, and saw them playing Ludo, sitting on the sofa.

"Hello, Little ones!" He called them and they looked at him with pretty smiles on their faces. "I see... You guys are busy here. But, can you do us a favour and help your Mums with serving Mu'az's neighbours?"

"Sure, Dada!" Thasneem said and went running to him first. Maryam and Mu'az raced to Hisham after her, leaving their game behind.

"First of all, you'll have to slow down your pace when you enter the living room," Hisham instructed them. "It won't be polite if you knocked out the teacups from people's hands. Secondly, take the plates of cupcakes and cookies carefully from the living room table and serve everyone, okay?"

"Okay!!" They said together, and dashed into the living room, forgetting the rule number one immediately, and Hisham kept his hands over his head, blaming himself for asking them to do this. They took the platters of cupcakes and cookies in their small hands. All the neighbours adored them when they started to serve them with bright smiles on their faces, and they were generous enough to forgive them immediately when they dropped a few cupcakes and cookies on the floor while serving them.

Hisham and Ahsan cleaned the messy living room later, while Afra helped Noora with the dishes in the kitchen. They had decided to have dinner at their favourite restaurant that night.

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Dinemore restaurant, Kandy

At 8 pm

"Woah... I missed having dinner at this wonderful place for years!" Ahsan said, standing at the Dinemore restaurant balcony and looking out at the distant lights which were shining on the hills. "I missed this place too!" Noora said, watching the lights of a car which was moving on a hill far away. Within a moment it took a turn and disappeared in the darkness.

"Can you give me the orders, sir?" They heard a waiter taking orders from the guests who were sitting on a table near them. "Come, let's join Hisham and the children at the table," Ahsan said to Noora. "It looks like they are coming to get orders from our table."

"Okay," Noora said and followed him to the dining table where others had been sitting.

"Mama, look!" Mu'az called out to her with a cheerful grin when they had neared him, and Noora noticed that he had something small in his hand. It gleamed brightly when the rays of light touched its surface.

"What is it, dear?" She asked him curiously as she sat next to him. "It's a pink glass dolphin!" He said happily and placed it on her palm carefully. "It shines brilliantly in the light, see!"

"Yes, it's so small and very beautiful!" Noora said with admiration. "Where did you get this?"

"Neem gave this to me." He said, nodding at Thasneem with a radiant smile. "She says, I can keep this."

"Wait, it looks familiar to me," Afra said, narrowing her brows at it doubtfully. "I've seen this somewhere before. Where did you get it, Neem?"

"It's from the broken chandelier!" Thasneem confessed, and Afra choked on the water which she had just started to drink. Hisham tapped on her back gently to help her to ease herself and took the glass out of her hand.

"Neem! How did you get this?" She asked Thasneem sternly. "Did you go through the garbage box? Is that how you got that cut in your hand?"

Thasneem looked speechless. She was just staring down at her feet without saying anything, and it made Afra even angrier.

"Mama, I'm the one who asked her to help me to get that beautiful butterfly I saw in that chandelier," Maryam said instead of her. "I knew that the butterfly didn't break even after the chandelier fell from my hand. I'm sorry, Mama. We won't do that again."

"Afra, we'll forgive them for one last time," Hisham said quickly to avoid the awkward situation. "Mu'az, dear! You can keep that glass dolphin. But you have to be careful while handling it. Because it can break easily if it falls, understood?"

"Yes, sir." He said with a smile and kept it inside his shirt pocket.

"Mu'az, if you don't mind, I'll keep your little dolphin in my handbag and give it back to you when we get back home," Noora suggested, and he took it out of his pocket and handed it to her.

"Alright, I'm gonna check this menu book now," Ahsan said, taking the menu book in his hands. "Tell me what you like to have for dinner, okay? There are Rice and curries, submarine, shawarma, burgers, pasta, pizza, sandwiches_"

"Pizza!" Maryam said in a loud voice before he could finish checking the menu book. "I want to have pizza for dinner!"

"Alright," He said to her with a smile. "Thasneem, how about you?" He asked her.

"Burgers," Thasneem said in a dull voice. The thought of her mother being angry with her had made her gloomy.

"Okay!" He said, giving her a nod. "Mu'az, dear! What do you want?"

"Sandwiches with chicken and cheese." He said. Grown-ups ordered for submarines and pasta for themselves. They planned to order for their drinks later.

"I and Noora talked to Mrs Miller about enrolling Mu'az into Silver Stars Nursery," Ahsan told them while having dinner. "We filled in the application forms and handed it to her yesterday. She said, he could join Miss. Olivia Woods' classroom from tomorrow."

"Hurray! Mu'az is joining our class!" Thasneem cheered, her face lighting up with joy. Maryam joined her immediately by clapping her hands.

"Mu'az, you'd sit with us in the nursery, won't you?" She asked him with a bright smile.

"Yes, I will, in shaa Allah." He said, beaming at both of them.

"Also, Mrs Miller told us about the annual trip they've arranged next week," Noora said, and the children looked up at her curiously.

"Are we going on a trip next week?" Thasneem asked Afra as if to confirm the good news.

"I think so." She told her with a smile. "They'll probably arrange a parent meeting about this soon. We'll have to wait till we hear about it from Miss. Woods. Let's order for our drinks now, okay?"

"Okay, I want to have a strawberry milkshake!" Thasneem said, giving her a bright smile which she returned to her with her own.

All of them ordered their favourite drinks and left the restaurant after a while.

"I'm not sure if I should send Mu'az on this trip though," Noora said to Afra in a low voice while they were leaving the restaurant. "He has never been away from us for a whole day before."

"That's why you should send him away on this annual trip, Noora," Afra told her in an assuring voice. "He'll learn to be confident on his own if he manages to stay away from you for a whole day."

"Yes, I think you are right." Noora agreed with a smile.