Jul 8, 2012

Story: A Midnight Prayer Chapter 3

By Alawiya Abdalla

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Bismillah

Asha

It’s been two days since that phone call, and the suspense is killing me. I have no clue what she meant when she said “Are you able to deal with public disorderly events?”

Maybe it’s not what I think it is.

Maybe she was joking.

Maybe she meant “Would you be able to deal with small children who might cause public disorderly stuff”

Judging from Khadija’s twins, kids DO tend to have a disorderly behaviour sometimes.

Oh yipee, maybe they want me to be a teacher?

A nurse?

A nanny?

THAT’S IT! I’VE TOTALLY FIGURED IT OUT! I’m gonna be working with children!

Now that I’ve convinced myself the job is all about children, I can start to enjoy my bus ride to the interview InshaAllah.

The interview is in Regents Park Masjid at Central London, so taking the bus is the best solution.

Of course I had to inform my current employers that I might be leaving sooner than expected, and they were quite understanding actually.

I am truly going to miss them, but the time has come for us to depart my dear colleagues.

I have also decided that I am DEFINITELY, going to stay AWAY from my bedroom window. I mean, what was I thinking putting myself in a situation like that.

Good thing that I was SUCH a good spy, and my neighbour never noticed anything up until that unfortunate day.

It was the distraction of the twins. And Khadija. AND Jawahir. They were just too loud and disruptive to be honest with you.

However, that day made me realize what I was doing wrong.

I should have never spied on my neighbour like that, ESPECIALLY a man!! Jawahir was right when she asked “What was I thinking?” or something along the way.

This is a new day. A new Asha InshaAllah. I will be too busy with my new job anyway, so I won’t have that nonsense streak Ahmed always accuses me of having.

I have always maintained my innocence, but he was spot on this time even though he never got the chance to savour his victory.

AND I INTEND TO KEEP IT THAT WAY, CAPISH?

I am a nice person REALLY. However, sometimes I do become a nonsense person, who does slightly nonsense stuff….When I’m slightly panicked.

Not anymore Alhamdulilah.

No more crazy/weird/intriguing neighbour_

No more why is my neighbour crying__

No more__

Okay, why DOES he cry though?

SUBHANALLAH, enough already Asha!

The bus comes to a stop right outside the Masjid. Perfect timing I must say, my imagining was running away from me for a minute there.

I come out and I take in the beautiful vision of the Masjid, and all of a sudden I’m in awe.

I come to this Masjid every Eid and the Taraweeh prayers in Ramadan, but I’ve never actually taken in the surroundings.

In Eid my whole family would come in to catch the first Eid prayer, under strict orders from my brother Ahmed.

Me and Ibrahim try our best to go to the prayers that begin at 8 O’clock, but Ahmed would not take no for an answer.

He would actually bring a jug of water, and pour it onto us!!!

So I’ve never really noticed the beauty of the Masjid, because people start cramming and pushing each other to find a space.

Seeing it now is a different way of looking at it. SubhanAllah, some kind of calmness falls onto my heart the moment my eyes lays on it.

I stand there with the sun beaming down my face and I take it all in.

That’s when I decide that whatever my job titles, I shall accept it InshaAllah.

I mean who wouldn’t want to work in such a wonderful place? It is totally breathtaking.

I take a deep breath, look at my watch and I make my way towards the reception. Alhamdulilah it is only 11:55 and the appointment is at 12 O’clock, so I have got plenty of time.

I make my way to the reception desk, and I notice that there is no one at the desk.

I am suddenly aware that I am the only female standing here, and I am also aware that there are a lot of men around the entrance of the men’s area.

I am also suddenly very aware of my sweaty palms.

And I am aware that they are looking directly at me.

I am also very aware that none of them is asking “Are you looking for someone sister?”

They are just staring__

Or ogling, whatever you wanna call it.

And I am standing here, waiting for someone to turn up or offer help basically.

And yes, you guessed it. I am still very much in an awareness kinda mood today.

I am basically aware of EVERYTHING and EVERYONE around me at this moment.

When the awkwardness between me standing infront of the empty reception desk, and the men’s continuous presence reaches fever pitch I decide to retreat.

I’m in a predicament though!

I do not want to walk with my back turned to them, I am SURE they will check me out. I am SURE.

SubhanAllah, I have never been in a situation like this before.

LOWER YOUR GAZE SO I CAN WALK PEOPLE! LOWER.YOUR.GAZE

I do not see any lowered gaze yet! So I am left with one choice.

I shall have to take a backwards step, with my gaze lowered. I know it sounds like a disastrous idea, but what other choice do I have really?

I take a deep breath and I put my plan into motion. I just hope that there is no one behind me!

Okay, now I’m teeny tiny worried. Walking backwards is not as easy as it sounds, I mean how do I know where the main door’s handle is without looking?

Maybe I need to take a slow backwards step. Yep, slow it is then.

Aaaand slide….phew that was an easy one.

Aaaaaand slide….WHOOPS, almost tripped there! Not to worry though, I recovered like a true ninja.

I won’t even put my head up to see what the men must be thinking, while I’m doing this whole sliding shenanigans. I shall soldier on InshaAllah.

Aaaaaaand soldiering on…..

Aaaaaaaaand I’m out…….FREEDOM! OH SWEET FREEDOM HERE I COME.

Honestly feels good to be out of there…..Phew

Nice fresh air and everything, and no hint of men following me (Doing a mini celebration wave in my head)

Perfect.

I look around and I spot a white building infront of the Masjid. I decide that the best thing to do right now, is to make my way towards it.

I notice the intercom on the wall, and I see the “Secretary” button and I press it.

No one answers it, so I go to a booth that looks like it’s where the security guards works and I see no one there either!

I go back to press the button where it says secretary again, and no one answers.

Suddenly I feel like I’m in a horror movie, when I notice the men that were standing outside the prayer room heading towards me looking inhuman…..OH NO!! Looking closer at them……They look like…………..

ZOMBIES!!!!!!

And they mean business!

JUST KIDDING! It is my mind, running wild again with imagination. It tends to do that from time to time when I’m nervous you see.

No one followed me. Infact, they are staying put inside the Masjid actually. And they are certainly looking human.

In fact, Zombies don’t exist. It just a myth that some guy probably made up when….

Yeeeah, I think I will go and check on that secretary again!

I go back and press the button, and while I was waiting for an answer I start talking to the buzzer.

“Why are you not answering me? Let’s talk about this. There must be a way to salvage this” As you can see, I have officially lost my mind out of boredom.

“Who you want?” Comes the voice of a lady, with a very thick Arabic/English accent.

“OH! OH!” As you can aslo see, this how NOT to react when you’ve been caught doing something ridiculous.

“Yeeeees?” The lady’s voice seems impatient now, and why wouldn’t she when my reply was merely an “OH”

“Right. Erm, I’m here to see Nahla? I spoke to her on the phone and she told me to come for an interview today. My name is Asha and I’m__” I don’t get to finish my sentence, as the lady buzzes me in immediately.

Here we go, my journey begins now InshaAllah.

I am suddenly very nervous……….

A good nervous.


Hamid

I’m in a rush because my appointment with Burhan is at 1 O’clock, and it is now 12:15. I’m in the 113 bus, and it is taking ages to get to the Masjid due to traffic.

It looks like I will be late for an hour at least, or worst case scenario…Two hours! That is not good for first impressions!

If the bus doesn’t move soon, I will just ring the bell and ask the driver to let me off the bus.

I also wanted to pray Zuhur at the Masjid, but it looks like that won’t happen either.

One thing I hate in this world is not praying on time. I also hate forgetting to say the morning and night prayers makes me have a heart burn! My day just goes wrong without them.

I plan my day very carefully, and if it doesn’t go smoothly and the way I planned it I feel restless.

For example, I like my toothbrush facing east because I’m from the middle east. I also like to eat the middle bit of the bread because it’s soft, and I don’t like to eat the outside because it’s crunchy.

I always used to break them into pieces, and leave it to the pigeons to eat it outside my house in Tarim.

I’ve taken that habit here with me, but I’ve been warned by my flatmates that this action is against the law.

If the neighbours report me to the council, I will be fined.

Alhamdulilah my neighbours are Somalis, so I’m pretty certain that they won’t report me InshaAllah.

I am not so sure though, after the whole “BOOOOOOO” Incident. They might not be so fond of me right now.

But it brought excellent results! No more nosey neighbour ANYWHERE. I knew it would work, because people tend to ignore crazy neighbours.

However, now I’ve become intrigued about the family.

It was always HER spying on me, but the last time there were quite a few people there and that made me wonder.

I began to wonder how many brothers and sisters has she got? So I’VE started observing the family.

I’ve noticed a very tall guy, with a neat beard. He is not old enough to be the dad, so I assumed he was her brother or worse__

HER HUSBAND!!

But then I’ve noticed how much they resemble each other, and I instantly clocked it. They are brother and sister, because the resemblance is uncanny.

Obviously she is the feminine version of him, or the other way round! I have no idea how to put it into words how they look alike.

It is not just them though, there are two more guys who came the last two days who look exactly like them.

They are not twins that’s for sure, but anyone can tell that they are brothers and sister just be looking at them. That’s when I figured that she is the only sister, even though there were two more ladies who came with the other brothers.

I’ve noticed that one of the ladies had 4 kids with her, while the other one is pregnant. They must be the other brothers’ wives.

As you can see my life is quite empty, so I’ve taken into spying on my neighbours!

It is all HER fault! I’ve turned into her!!! Alhamdulilah I’ve got this job to look forward to.

With every passing minute, I realize that I might not make the necessary impression to bag myself this job.

This traffic is insane!

Just when I decide that I will get off this bus, it starts moving again in a steady pace Alhamdulilah.

I look at my watch, and it is 12:45

The bus doesn’t take long before it comes to a halt outside the Masjid. I quickly jump from the bus, and I look at my watch once again and it is 12:55

I’ve still got 5 minutes, and I decide to make a dash to the prayer room.

As I was running towards the prayer room, I spot a lady walking backwards towards the exit!!

There is something crazy and familiar about her, but I have no time to ponder who it is because I have to pray.

I make a small Duaa to Allah___

I pray that Allah bless this job for me___

And bestow His Mercy on my parents Ya Rab.


Asha
Just finished with the interview and I can finally reveal what my job title will be InshaAllah.

My job is…….OH NO! THERE’S A MAN RUNNING TOWARDS THE PRAYER PLACE!

Aaaaaaaand slide……SubhanAllah, I am kinda liking this whole walking backwards thing WAY too much.

Aaaaaaand…….Okay, he is gone now.

I’m sorry, where was I? Oh yes, the job. Well it turns out they don’t want me to work for children, they want me to be a…..

Aaaaaaaaaand slide. What? there was another man!

Yeah they want me to be a……

Aaaaaaaaand…….

JUST KIDDING!

They want me to be a Security guard!!!!!!!!! At first I was exasperated, and I don’t even know what exasperated means.

I’m guessing it involves a degree of shock and bewilderment, and I don’t even know what bewilderment means!

It just never crossed my mind that I would someday be a security guard! Me? A security guard??

NO WAYYYY

What makes it worse is they want me to stay at the reception desk as well! Yep, the place right NEXT to the men’s prayer room.

I don’t know how I agreed to this, but as soon as Nahla took me to see the director of the Masjid I immediately agreed.

Now, I’m not so sure.

I shall go home and pray the Istikhara prayer InshaAllah.

If Allah wants me to work here, then who am I to disagree. A part of me is excited at the prospect of being a security guard though.

Me in a security hat…..Bringing peace and stability to the Masjid

“OI WATCH IT!” I can totally picture myself giving orders, and restoring peace on earth and all that.

“Hey Asha, what do you do for a living?” One might ask me.

“I am a security guard” That sounds kind of alright you know.

My name is Asha….

Asha Abdalla…..

A security guard in command.

Ibrahim is sooo gonna be jealous, I cannot wait to rub in his face.

“You’re just a teacher na na na na na, I am a security guard na na na na na” Okay that doesn’t rhyme, and security guard is a long syllable…….Kind of kills the whole na na na na na, it just doesn’t go together.

BUT, I like the sound of it so far.

*** I'd love to hear your views on my short story. Please post in the comments section below! :)

22 comments:

finished the chapter with a smile.....na na na na na na na....:D

masha allah!!! amazing chapter...:)

loved the comment " I cannot wait to rub in his face"... i would have done the same..:D

i still wonder what zombies are...

asha couldnt wait 2 days...so its not our fault that we cannot  wait another 7 days?????;))

I love it lol im a secruity guard naa naa lol

is that all for now?? waiting for the next one is kinda torture u know.. :(

and they are yet to meet.., r they meeting on the bus back home?? would be interesting too.., :D thumbs up for this one :)

Looooooooooooooooooooool a security guard!!!???! That should be funny. Can't wait till the nxt chapter, well done aloosh!

so they did not see each other to notice, they are neighbours :(...anyways all in all it was awesome....trust me i can imagine how asha felt with all guys there..am also that type hehe weirdo right?! :DDD

Amazing... hmm security guard, interesting lol n Loved it...

LOOOL Alawiya! SLIDEEEEEEEEEEEEEE...............hahahaha I like my brushing facing east because im from the middle east, LOOOOOOOL good one! ^_^ Funny/cute chapter. Loved every moment...Next sun here we comeeeeee!!!

I'm so glad you liked it sweety <3

Asha as a security guard?? oh dear I say!! lol x

The next one will be the ultimate meeting of all time InshaAllah___Trust me it'll be worth the wait InshaAllah xxxx

Anira__Next week will be the ultimate meeting of all time InshaAllah ;) 

Ashuni, you have no idea how much I was laughing when I wrote that!! looooool Love Asha and her quirky sides man <3

loooveeee it! well done, excited to read more and I like your sense of humour =) I can learn a thing or two from a writer like you. 

Another beautiful chapter! As soon as u were describing the masjid I got goosebumps!
N that's so true about the ogling I mean out of all places not the masjid!

Thannnnkkk youuuu sister Nur <3 I cannot say much but Jazakallah for taking the time to leave such beautiful comment hunni <3

When is the next chapter coming? I am so excited but don't make to long. Lol

Masha Allah what a great chapter :). Cant wait to read the next one

Masha Allah what another great chapter ! I love it ..Can't wait to read the next one :)

Jazakallah as always sweetheart <3

LOL...! Funny ! Really enjoy reading ur storyy!!! MashaAllah :D

loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool

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