Short Story: Where is My Khadija Chapter 2

By Alawiya Abdalla

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

 Bismillah

وَلَن يُؤَخِّرَ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِذَا جَاءَ أَجَلُهَا ۚ وَاللَّهُ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ

(Allaah will not give anyone more time, once their time has come. Allah is aware of what you do) Munaafiqoon {63:11}

Halima

Tears cannot explain the hurt we are all feeling right now telling Fawziyah that Omar and Fatma died in a road accident was the hardest thing I had to do in my whole life

I hope I never have to endure the pain of losing any of my children Ya Rab! I would give my whole life to them, if or when the time comes should they need it

You can tell Fawziyah lost her son from her eyes, you can see the pain and devastation in them :sad: She is trying to keep it together because of the funeral, but I know that her heart is breaking into a million pieces

And Khadija! Poor sweety is very confused and recluse at the moment. She has not cried, screamed or anything! She just went all quiet and scared, which is how she normally deals with things when they’re bad

Khadija is what you call a classic beauty. Her eyes are wide in a beautiful cartoonish kind of way Mashallah, her skin tone is caramel and when she smiles with those full lips the whole world seems to shine with her

My kids are gorgeous too Mashallah even if I say so myself! their skin tone is brown, and they all have the famous long lashes and black wavy hair (The signature look for the Abdalla kids according to people).

Everyone comments on how all my kids look like twins, not just Mohamed and Asha

Right now, they lost that innocent sparkle that always shone around them. We are all scared of what might happen to us! and the ladies’ whispers aren’t helping matters at all

“Oooh look at her acting like the lady of the house” One would say when I pass by.

“Do you think she’ll just stay put or have some pride and leave?” Another would ask!

I am NOT leaving this poor lady alone, dealing with all this by herself! ESPECIALLY after how nice this whole family have been to me and my kids.

Plus I really do not have anywhere to go and to make matters worse, Yusuf has renewed his proposal to me!!!!

I have two choices:

Either accept Yusuf’s marriage proposal, or go to Kenya and beg my brother to let me stay with him

I am not going to think about anything right now, except helping Fawziyah get through the hardest thing a mother has to face.

Mohamed

The funeral is finished, and I am feeling sooo scared and sad right now scared of what might happen to us and sad for the loss of two great people

The world has lost a great man Walahi. I have never met my father, and I always pictured him to be like uncle Omar Sheikh.

He truly was an amazing person, always bringing us sweets and letting us run around the garden freely.

The garden.

The garden that holds such a dear place in my heart, I know I am too young to talk about “hearts” and stuff.

But I cannot help it, I cannot help hearing birds singing and feel a soft breathe pass by whenever Khadija is around!

Surely the birds assemble everytime Khadija comes to the garden, I really think so you know

Of course I also hear an annoying little mouse next to her__

My sister Asha

I love my sister I really do, but she is ALWAYS teasing me and annoying me and teasing me and annoying me__

And teasing me...OK you get the picture right

But, Asha is not the only one who teases me when it comes to Khadija. My brothers are forever telling me, it is not gonna happen bro!

You see Khadija walks like a true princess, talks like one and acts like one. Not in an arrogant sort of way, but in a graceful manner

Even the way she laughs is so cute She actually covers her mouth when she laughs, unlike Asha who from time to time, scratch that__she FREQUENTLY rolls off the floor laughing

And right now, seeing her sitting at a bench in the garden with Asha’s hand on her shoulders is breaking my heart

Khadija never cries in public, she thinks it is improper to do that. She thinks a lady must never display such intense emotions for the world to see.

She likes to go back to her room and cry, away from everyone.

I gotta do something to make her smile__

So I pick up a red rose, and I go to find her. On my way there, I spot Ibrahim climbing a tree with a letter in his hand!

NOT AGAIN!! He is ALWAYS sending love letters to the girl next door, and getting my mum in trouble with the neighbour.

And I really hope Ahmed does not catch him either Ahmed is religious and he is always fighting with Ibrahim because of his wandering eyes

Normally I would go and try to get Ibrahim to stop what he is doing, before Ahmed spots him but I could not be bothered today

As I was making my way to Khadija and Asha, I hear Ahmed shouting and I see that he is making his way furiously towards Ibrahim

“Oh shoot! Mohamed distract him while I try to get down fast!” Ibrahim tells me frantically, which leads to his near fall and dangling situation from the tree (Here we go again!)

“I have to do something important than help you with your nonsense Ibrahim, and learn how to get down from a tree next time! You can’t just climb and expect me to be here helping you down EVERYTIME” I answer him while walking away.

“Pleeeeeease” He says it with a sad pout, and he seems to be losing the grip rapidly

Oh NOT the pout AND the dangling from the tree at the same time!!

“Fine! Hurry up, he’s coming closer and closer” I set the rose on the floor and put my hands together so he can climb down.

Oops too late! Ahmed caught up when he saw me helping Ibrahim

Really, this has nothing to do with me but obviously Ibrahim does not share my views on the matter as he hides behind me!

“WARYA! COME OUT AND FACE ME LIKE A MAN IBRAHIM” Shouts Ahmed

“Will you stop shouting like a bull?” He asks peering from behind me! Really this has nothing to do with me

“Uff, don’t you have any shame? The neighbour’s daughter should be treated as if she’s your sister you shameless human being! Have you no shame?” Ahmed starts SPITTING the words towards me now Come on it’s not even my fault!

REALLY this has nothing to do with me

“I wanted to say goodbye to her” Says Ibrahim, stepping out from behind me getting serious all of a sudden.

“Saying goodbye? Where are you going Inshallah??” Asks Ahmed confused, making ME confused as well

“Let’s not kids ourselves guys! We have to leave, there’s no use for us to stay here anymore” He says it sadly, and it instantly sends me into a panic mode

We cannot leave! This has been our home for the last 9 years, I haven’t known anywhere else to be home!!

We cannot leave Khadija by herself, now that she lost her dad! We cannot__

I cannot

“Excuse me guys, I need to do something” I go and pick the rose up, and march towards Khadija.

“Mohamed, you need to stop this. It’s never gonna happen little brother” Ibrahim tells me holding me by the shoulders, and I look at Ahmed so he can contradict him but he turns away instead

“I don’t love Khadija alright! Relax! I just wanna give her this flower and make her smile” I say it knowing fully that it’s not true

“You’re right she needs a good laugh, I know a couple of jokes that’ll cheer her up” Says Ibrahim walking towards her, followed by Ahmed who is STILL furious about the love letter

At the tender age of 9, I knew that I loved Khadija with all my heart and soul__

I know I am not old enough to realize the nature of my feelings, but I cannot help it if I am hopelessly romantic!

I just cannot 

Khadija

My heart is literately bleeding from pain and sorrow! I lost my dad and mum a few months ago, and the shock has not left my heart yet

How am I going to survive without them? Who will be waiting for me with arms open wide to catch me, when I see him back from work?

I have to believe that Allah (SWT) is near, I have to believe that...otherwise I am going to be ruined from the inside

My dad and mum Fatma insisted that I learn Quran from the age of 4, so I was blessed to have been able to memorize the whole of the Quran by heart at the age of 8 years.

It was not just me who was taught the Quran, but aunty Halima’s kids were included too and that made it more fun and enjoyable

Me, Ahmed, Asha and Mohamed did not struggle that much with it, but Ibrahim struggled quite a bit and he would always come up with excuses when the teacher came to test us

The funniest one had to be

“I got mugged on the way to the lesson” he used a Kohl to color around his eyes, so it looks like he was beaten

The teacher actually believed him, until halfway through the lesson he made himself laugh so much he started tearing bringing down the Kohl with it

I am cherishing these memories, because words are being spread that aunty Halima will take her kids and get married to someone called Yusuf

I cannot imagine my life without them! without my funny friend Asha, without my big brother Ahmed, without Ibrahim’s pranks and wit

and without Mohamed’s kindness

He is always kind to me, even though Asha is my best friend. It is Mohamed who really gets me, he can instantly tell when I am upset or happy or sad.

I can talk freely with all of them, except with Mohamed! I stammer and feel shy and sometimes I just become quiet

Right now though, I feel so miserable and my best friend Asha is sitting next to me in a bench in our garden consoling me.

“Khadija I’m so sorry about uncle Omar, but you have another dad now” She says it so innocently

“I have a new dad?? who??” I ask her puzzled

“Ahmed of course! He’s like our dad. So he can be your dad too” She replies confidently, clutching her doll “Claudia”

Claudia is her favorite doll in the whole world, she goes everywhere with it. We had similar dolls, but I washed my one’s hair and then it got all tangled and I threw it away

Asha has kept hers exactly the same, and she rarely shares it with me!

Mohamed always brings it to me when she’s not around, then he would return it back

As Asha was telling me how Ahmed can be my new “dad” I see them all standing behind us

“What is THAT one saying now?” Asks Ahmed, obviously he heard that he needs to be my new dad now

“SHE SAID YOU CAN BE KHADIJA’S DADDY NOW” Replies Ibrahim loudly, making us all laugh.

“I’m telling mum” Says Asha, storming away and leaving her doll Claudia.

“OH COME ON ASHA! I WAS ONLY TEASING” Yells Ibrahim and running after her.

“Actually I need to tell my mum about Ibrahim too” Says Ahmed before running after them.

Only Mohamed is left, sitting waaay over at the end of the bench. He seems to be holding something in his hand

He clears his throat before saying

“I picked this rose to cheer you up”

I take it from his hand and I sit there quietly as usual

Neither of us say anything for a good 5 minutes, before Mohamed breaks the silence

“Look what Asha left behind again” He holds Claudia, before passing it on to me.

I smile and hold Claudia. I really ought to say something__

Anything__

“Thank you Mohamed” OK maybe I should have just kept quiet

He was about to reply before we spot two people walking towards us their steps getting closer and closer to us!!

They reach where we are. Standing before us are a lady and a man who do not know!

“Are you Khadija?” Asks the woman.

“Yes” I reply, getting worried about the way they were looking at me

“Oh honey, I’m your mother Manafisa” She tells me before embracing me in an awkward hug.

Mohamed looks at them suspiciously

“I’m here to take you to live with me sweetheart” She takes my hand and starts walking!! And that is when panic rose in my chest.

“Leave me alone, I’m not going anywhere!” I take my hand off of hers, and I go to stand behind Mohamed.

“OH FOR GOD SAKE! GRAB HER WILL YOU” Orders the man who came with her.

She tries to grab me from behind Mohamed’s, but Mohamed pushes her. That makes the guy very agitated, so he pushes Mohamed to the floor

He grabs me and puts me on his shoulders, and I start screaming and kicking but to no avail

I see aunty Halima, Ahmed, Ibrahim and Asha running towards me but their figures seem to be getting smaller and smaller as we leave towards the gate__

I clutch onto Claudia, as she seems to be the only thing left for me


Mohamed

Someone just came and kidnapped Khadija, and I could not do anything about it! The guy was too big for me__

They are dragging her away, so I summon any strength that I have and make a run for it__

I run and run and run, until my lungs feel like they were on fire__

My legs feel wobbly, but I still push my limit to keep running. I see them getting into a car, and I try to catch up_

I try to push myself to keep running__

Must_Keep_Running

I feel my vision slipping slowly__

My legs give way_

And I fall__

And she slips away__

Far away

__
I'd love to hear your views on this topic. Please post in the comments section below! :)

Posted in: Alawiya Abdalla,Fiction,Learning,Life,Reflections,short stories,where is my khadija,Women