6 Chapter 6 Secret admirer?

AHLAM.

"Maybe it's a gift from a secret admirer of yours Hania?" I asked spontaneously but then felt silly because my name was clearly written on it.  Feeling flustered, I looked around noticing mother and daughter smiling and staring at me suspiciously; trying their best to retain their laughter.  While uncle Firoz openly expressed his amusement with a hearty laugh before waving his hand up in the air voicing "Allah Hafiz" (May God be your protector) before heading out for his morning jog.

"Allah Hafiz!" we all called out in sync.

W

here was Aahil? Ya Allah! What's wrong with me? Hasn't he done enough damage?

"By the way Ahlam, I don't have a secret admirer and even if I did, I wouldn't be keeping it from you and my parents" she said with morality.

"and besides…" she added jokily "Aahil would be wringing his neck if I had; out of love and protection for his little sis" she giggled sheepishly.

"But I don't have a secret admirer either!" I said baffled

"Well then, this is all very weird because we've never received a gift from an unknown person in this household before and it's only began since you've been living here with us.  Someone obviously likes you and is making it publicly known" she said innocently.

Something suspicious is going on here I thought to myself "okay… okay, I will open it but I want both of you to be here with me" I said nervously.  Why would someone send me a gift?  I don't fully remember the incident, what if this is a threat?

"You don't need the three of us here to open a package Ahlam, why don't you two continue while I start preparing lunch eh? Wouldn't want those two men of mine to start kicking up a fuss when there's nothing on the table now would I?" she said in a motherly kind of way and then rushed towards the pantry.

"Turning my gaze away from auntie Faiza's retreating back to Hania's reaction of anticipation, I said "I'm going to need some help in opening the package I'm afraid Hania, my left hand has really been aching severely since yesterday."

"Ahlam! Why did you not tell someone?" she said looking swiftly at my hand with concern written all over her face.

"I didn't want to disturb anyone" I told her honestly "and as you know, I suffered a very distressing day yesterday" I said staring at my toes "I guess I just wanted to be left alone"

With sadness in her eyes over my sorrow and throbbing pain, she shook her head while gazing at me caringly and said "Oh Ahlam, what am I going to do with you?"

Feeling over emotional, I just shrugged my shoulders helplessly and said in a whisper that was too quiet to be heard "I'm sorry for being a burden to"

"Don't you dare! Don't you dare say it Ahlam!  We're glad you're here with us and we wouldn't want it any other way.  I'd like to think you'd do the same if the tables were turned" Hania said annoyingly.

"I'm sorry, I just…."

"You're not a burden Ahlam - to any of us.  So please don't ever think like that again, promise me."

I attempted a half-hearted smile and nodded whilst embracing her into a warm hug "I promise…  I'm sorry"

Returning the embrace, she declared.

"Just remember one thing Ahlam, you definitely not a burden to us and I think I speak on behalf of everyone in my family when I say this but within a short space of time, we have grown to love you like family and we wouldn't want it any other way" and then pushing me away at arm's length, she pleadingly asked "Now... can we pleeeease open your gift? the suspense is killing me" she giggled excitedly "and afterwards, I'll massage some of your treatment oil into your hands to help relax it.  How does that sound?"

I nodded in agreement.

"Wow! An iPhone 7!" Hania exclaimed excitedly.

Who would want to purchase me a gift - an expensive one too? I wondered

"I don't need such costly gift.  Please keep it inside the box and wrap it again Hania" I said and she stared at me gobsmacked; confused.

"But why?"

"I am happy being without a phone"

All my belongings were buried deep down the day I lost my family.  The day all those harassments started.  The day we started living our life in fear; waiting for the unexpected to happen.

"Well, what shall we do with it then?" she asked. 

"Maybe whoever sent it will appear in person tomorrow.  We'll just hand it back" I said with hope and she surprisingly agreed.

"It's so extremely rare to find someone like you, do you know that? No wonder my brother is crazy about you" she smiled, while my eyes widened in bewilderment.

"Please stop teasing me?" I asked embarrassingly and then couldn't help but beam when I caught her sulking like a child; crossing her arms across her chest and pouting her bottom lip forward childlike "spoil-sport… but okay" she moaned innocently.

Few moments of silence then… "Come on, let's go upstairs to your room and massage your hand, I hate seeing you in so much pain Ahlam…. unless you want to have some breakfast first?"

Leaving behind the repackaged iPhone 7 on top of the kitchen counter, we headed upstairs.

*****

A while later…

"Thank you so much for nursing me Hania, I pray that Allah awards you and your family for all your good deeds Insha'Allah" and gave her a warm hug.  "Come on, let's go and see if auntie needs our help in the kitchen" and without even waiting for an answer, Ahlam pulled her towards the kitchen.

Cooking was not one of Hania's fortes but she loved to bake, I witnessed it one day when Aahil begged her to bake him a cake for his Birthday.  Just the mere thought of him made me question his whereabouts and however much I tried to push him away from my mind, he kept returning.

Shaking my head in anticipation that it would diminish stirring thoughts of him, I concentrated on my mission at hand, "What are you cooking auntie?  Can I help?" but she just seized a nearby stool and gestured me to sit.  "I saw you in pain earlier" she said while putting aside a freshly made chapatti "You think a mother of two would not notice?" then almost as an afterthought, added "in fact, a mother of three" she completed with a smile and a wink of an eye.

What an amazing woman; she wore a smile that lit the table as she kneaded another section of wheat dough to place on the tava, (flat skillet) a skill my mother taught me at an early age.  I turned to look at Hania who was half sitting on the kitchen island stool staring at us both with admiration.  Ya Allah! Thank you for placing me in a family who are treating me so well, I owe them my life. 

"Your mother-in-law already adores you" she said excitedly and I just pleaded her with my eyes to lower her voice.  This girl will just be the death of me.

"Hania? It's nearly 12 o'clock, you should be helping me with lunch, not stressing Ahlam with your teasing," she laughed.

"No problem mother, where would you like me to start?"

"There's some washed vegetables over there" nodding her head in that direction "could you please start chopping them up into small cubes for the fried rice?"

Hania walked over to the kitchen island and picked up an onion to dice "yeh! Fried rice!" then looking over her shoulder at me, added knowingly "One of Aahil's favourite dishes by the way Ahlam" she said cheerfully.  This girl, she has no shame I thought soundlessly.

Thinking she couldn't humiliate me any further, she actually did the unthinkable; adding salt to a wound, she started to slowly sing "Secret Admirers" by Lisa Punch.

"My knees go weak as I approach you, I'm lost for words. As I approach you, I wanna see you smile.  My baby, I'm your secret admirer, your secret, your secret admirer (oh baby)"

Auntie Faiza walked over to me with a huge smile spread across her face and patted me on my head with agreement "thanks to you Ahlam, this daughter of mine is making our home very blissful because of your secret admirer Masha'Allah" I stared up at auntie Faiza embarrassingly.

After finally being allowed to help with the preparation of lunch, I volunteered to set the table with Aahil static on my mind.  Just the mere thought of seeing him again crushed me in a way I couldn't explicate.  Our last meeting wasn't amiable; in fact, it was torturous for me.  How was I going to face him again?

With Hania's never-ending singing, I laid the dining table with five lunch plates, napkins and cutlery and swiftly spun round to collect the glasses from the cabinet but fortuitously collided into a recognisable warm and solid frame.  Squeezing my eyes shut, I breathed in the cologne of the one person I've been trying so hard to push away to the corner of my mind.  Clutching onto my trembling hands, I slowly opened one eye at a time to see Aahil staring back at me with his dark eyes and unreadable expression. 

For what seemed like two or three minutes, his eyes never left mine until he realised his mother and sister were quietly watching them with interest; speculating our relationship.

"Why don't you watch where you're going?" Aahil spoke harshly, making me flinch and bite into my lower lip nervously.  I was speechless.  What was wrong with him? why was he so moody?

"AssalamuAlaikum" he greeted everyone, turning away from me with a brooding face and they just stared at him with utter confusion written over their faces; why was he being so rude?  He didn't even bother glancing at me again, maybe he finally realised I wasn't worth it.

"You know my dear brother? a secret admirer sent our Ahlam a gift earlier today" Halim mentioned mischievously

What was she even doing? I thought to myself.  Even auntie Faiza looked at her daughter surprisingly. Was she trying to make him angrier?

Trying to lighten the mood, auntie Faiza served him a plate of fried rice and asked him worryingly "you've come home for lunch early today my love, is everything okay?"

He looked up at her and simply nodded.

"Did you like the gift?" he finally said to me.  Wow! So, after speaking to me harshly, he finally remembered me still being in the room? Unbelievable I thought, while mother and daughter did a double-take staring at each other shocked.

"Don't worry, I will walk carefully next time" I replied to his previous encounter and he just clenched his fists tightly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it.  I've just been having a miserable and rotten day" he apologised with empathy.

Taking a moment, I silently gaped at him and then respectfully smiled up at him; accepting his apology

"Whipped!" Hania teased him and he gave her a warning look with his eyes, Their bond has been so strong as may it stay that way only.

"Who knows, maybe tomorrow she might receive another gift" she mumbled trying to slice through the uncomfortable atmosphere to nobody in particular; not to mention taking on the challenge of her brother's threat. 

Aunty Faiza couldn't retain her burst of laughter from escaping and only stopped when she saw her husband Firoz enter the kitchen.  She rushed over to greet him and kissed his forehead affectionally; Subhan'Allah!

Noticing the unopened gift on the kitchen counter, uncle Firoz stared at Ahlam curiously "Your gift is still untouched, did you not like it?" he asked her enquiringly.

"Yeah! People just don't appreciate gifts nowadays" Aahil said in a stern tone whilst staring down at his plate.  I looked at him with raised eyebrows, what did he mean by that? why would I appreciate a gift from a stranger?

****

Any idea who sent the gift?

*****

Train your mind to let in beautiful and positive thoughts in and keep the negative thoughts out.

There will be a lot of progress with faith, patience and positive thoughts.

***

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