Short Story: Where is My Khadija The Final Chapter Part 2

By Alawiya Abdalla 

Previous Chapter

Bismillah

The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

“The whole world is pleasure, and the best pleasure of the world is the righteous woman.”

Mohamed

I am standing here at a house, where Habiba’s Nikah is being done, all breathless from running and I have no clue what to say

I have never ran that fast before! My chest is burning

When they opened the door, the person on the other side had a right freight when he saw my state

I just pushed him aside (nicely of course) and I went inside where everyone was gathered in the living room. I saw a Sheikh holding hands with an older looking man, like when they are reading the Nikah and everything.

Habiba is not marrying that man is she

Ya Illahi!! She is

Why is Habiba marrying him?? I would have understood if it was Ali; that is what I was thinking about all the way through.

I was thinking that she was going to marry Mr Muscle man but I was so wrong!!

This is so bizarre and weird

Talking about the questionable groom, he is looking at me in anger because I kind of disrupted his Nikah and all that

“What do you want?” asks a huge man,with fury seeping from every inch of his body

“I just wanna talk to Habiba, I’m a good friend of her. I mean she’s a good friend of my sister and I__” I do not get to finish my verbal diarrhea as the huge man cuts me off by saying,

“I know who you are! You are one of her lovers right? You have some nerve coming here!!” He looks around the room to emphasize his accusation

“Habiba is one of THE purest girls I have ever met in my whole life, and I would be honored to have her as my wife. Not because we did something together, because I couldn’t have asked for a better wife for myself,” I reply confidently, defending Habiba’s honor as no one seems to care about that

I finally clocked that this MUST be the horrid Saydi, seeing how angry he is proves it__

And I am loving the fact that I am ruffling his feathers at this moment

“Leave now, you are disrupting the Nikah of this very honorable man who is prepared to rectify your mistakes,” He points towards the not so honorable man, who looks old enough to be Habiba’s dad

“If you and the whole world think that me and Habiba were “involved” then I’d like to rectify my own mistake thank you very much. You can be excused uncle,” I sit and try to push the not so honorable_ready to explode man with my bottom

He starts wrestling with me and pushing me to the floor, holding me from my collar___

His hands forming a fist, ready to give me a good punch

I am trying to save my face from the inevitable pain, but the man is HEAVY so I close my eyes instead.

Ready to receive my punch

However, all of a sudden I feel like I could breath again so I half open one eye to see what happened.

I see Ali lifting Habiba’s groom so easily

Ermm I was sooo gonna do that mate, you do not have to show off your skills_ do you know what I mean like

Hold on! Why am I feeling bitter and ungrateful?? The guy just saved my life__

He helped me and all I can do is feel bitter? I could give him a grateful hug, but lets be honest that is just gay

Plus I was soooo gonna defend myself ANYWAY

“Jazakallah Ali,” I tell him, when his stepdad Khaled takes my hands to lift me off the floor.

“I think we should talk to Habiba, and hear her approval to this Nikah from her personally,” suggests Ali’s mum Iman

“Habibo, tell your cousin to keep her mouth shut!” glowers Saydi, looking at her from top to bottom like she was some kind of dirt

“Watch it!” Khaled (Iman’s husband and Ali’s step dad) warns Saydi, forming a shield to protect his wife with his huge frame.

Saydi backs off immediately, and looks at Habibo for back up__

Sadly for him, Habibo is pretending to pick something off his shoes

“Go and speak to Habiba, Mohamed” says a woman, breaking the silence that filled the air after the altercation.

“Manafisa, stay out of it,” whispers Saydi venemously at her

“ENOUGH! Let. Her. Talk. To him and she’ll decide,” she replies defiantly, daring him to contradict her!

He says nothing, looking mortified at what just occurred

Iman (Ali’s mum) immediately goes where Habiba is, to bring her out so we can talk__

I have never spoken to Habiba before__

My heart was always clobbered with Khadija’s love, and I did not want to give anyone else a chance__

I am finally ready to open up, and tell her exactly how I feel about her hoping she accepts my proposal

Khadija

MAME HOYI MI (Oh my god) Mohamed was on the floor, with Habibo about to punch him but he did not get to do that thanks to Ali

And MAME HOYI MI (Oh my god) Ali’s mum suggested we talk

And MAME HOYI MI (Oh my god), why is this happening?? This was not the plan All this was supposed to have saved Mohamed from exactly what JUST happened

These men are capable of anything! And what is with Manafisa’s sudden “Morals”

I am one confused bride.com

But on the other hand, I can actually feel my heart beating through my fingertips from the excitement

I have never had a one to one conversation with Mohamed, and now that the moment is finally here___I feel like I am about to faint

Someone knocks on the door, probably thinking, “Poor them, they must have NO idea what just happened”

Of course, we have witnessed EVERYTHING and now they wanna talk to me

I just know this will complicate things even more__

Do you know what though? I am just gonna be honest and maybe try to put him off a little bit__

Maybe I could make it sound like I am a gold digger or something Habibo has money right?

Oh, who are we kidding, he has nothing the idiot so, Habiba the gold digger is out of the question

Oh, maybe I could be all arrogant when I talk to him or something__Maybe talk in a posh English accent

YES! that is a great idea

Alawiya opens the door, and I put my Hijab on even though it looks really ridiculous with the style that I have

I look like I have a big bump on my head

“Asalamu Alykum, can I come in please?” asks Iman, peeking through the door.

“Wa Alykum salam ukhti, of course you can come in,” replies Alawiya politely, and excited at the same time

“Habiba, Mohamed wants to speak to you before your Nikah to Habibo and I think you should listen to what he has to say before you make any decision.” She takes my hand and looks at me kindly, with voice full of concern

“I have nothing to say, please tell him I’m gonna go ahead with the Nikah Inshallah,” I tell her, looking at the floor so she won’t see my face crumbling into million pieces

“Girls can you leave us alone for a moment please,” she asks Zahra and Alawiya politely, and they obey straightway.

After making sure the door was closed, she turns to me and says,

“Look Habiba, I was forced into a marriage. Well, not really but I was emotionally forced to marry my cousin and he showed me nothing but hell. I divorced him, and then married Khaled who has been nothing short of amazing to me and my son Ali Alhamdulilah.”

“Habibo is my cousin, and I know what sort of person he is. I just can’t stand and watch you go into this marriage willingly, knowing the awful things he might subject you to Habiba.”

“You have someone fighting for you out there, and I thought to myself I wish I had that back then. Habiba, the scars never leaves you trust me. Please, at least listen to what he has to say before you commit yourself to that kind of torture.” She finishes what she has to say, and I feel like I cannot breathe anymore.

I know what kind of person Habibo is, but hearing it first hand makes this whole thing feel so real all of a sudden

All this time I felt like I was in a bad dream or something, but hearing Iman’s words confirms my worst nightmare

Maybe I SHOULD hear what Mohamed has to say__

Maybe I should listen to his words and cherish it forever, before I embark on my journey to eternal misery with Habibo.

I will always wonder what he wanted to tell me otherwise, and that might drive me crazy

“I can’t go outside with all those people staring, can you stay here while he talks to me please?” I ask her, imaging all those privy eyes watching us.

“Of course,” she replies, and then she goes to fetch Mohamed.

He comes in straightaway, and I spot the look of worry plastered all over his face

“Asalamu Alykum Habiba, how are you?” he asks, looking all shy as we both realize that we truly have not spoken to each other.

NEVER.

“Wa Alykum Salam Mohamed, I’m fine Alhamdulilah,” I reply to his greeting and then go all quiet

I spot Iman cleaning the surfaces, obviously to avoid this awkward position

“Look I’m just gonna be direct, and tell you that I wanna marry you. I should have said it long time ago, but I was confused and still hoping that I would find Khadija,” he says fast, almost stuttering.

“And then you came along, and I started to see what an amazing person you really are. I don’t even know when or how it happened, but I fell in love with you. And it all happened so gradually that I didn’t even notice it”

“You see Habiba, because it happened so slowly and gradually I can totally picture you as not only my wife but my best friend at the same time. That is what I was looking for my whole life, I’m just sorry it took this long for me to realize it.” He says all these words so passionately and like he truly means it from the bottom of his heart__

Of that I have no doubt

So I say what anyone in my position would have said__

I say what any girl who has ever been in love with the right person would say___

What any girl who fears for the life of the one she loves would say__

“I’m sorry Mohamed, but I have to marry Habibo. It is too late for us, I’m so sorry,” I answer him insistingly

“Why? The guy is a jerk and he would make your life miserable. Why would you do that?” He asks, with voice full of confusion and desperation. Almost pleading, which makes this ten times harder

“Mohamed please, you have caused enough scene for one day. I think you should go now,” I utter my final bullet towards him.

It’s just better for everyone this way__

No one will get hurt anymore

“I will leave, and I’m sorry for causing any scene for you,” he tells me in anger, and he leaves the room quickly.

Iman comes over and gives me a hug, and then she says,

“I have no idea what just happened, but I hope you won’t regret this moment for the rest of your life.”




Mohamed

I cannot believe what just happened

I have humiliated myself in front of everyone, and Habiba still turned me down flat__

I felt like someone has punched me repeatedly on my stomach

The way Saydi and Habibo looked at me was mortifying they were gloating so much, I could actually see their Qat stained teeth smiling at me vividly as I left

And to make matters worse, Ali is giving me a lift home since I stupidly ran all the way here

He did not say anything to me, and I actually appreciated that very much. I just do not wanna talk about it, EVER.

I just wanna go home, and throw myself at my mum’s embrace Plus I am really really hungry right now.

We arrive home in about 15 minutes, as the traffic that was there before cleared.

As soon as I open the door, Asha grabs me inside

“You will not BELIEVE what I just found in my room RIGHT NOW as I was cleaning,” she informs me, with her hands shaking

“Asha I’m not in the mood for your stupid games,” I push her aside gently to allow Ali to come in.

“LISTEN TO ME!! I FOUND___” I cut her off before she gets to finish the sentence, as she is totally forgetting that we have a MALE guest

“ASHA, Go to your room now! Where is my mum?” I ask her feeling my agitation growing by the second

First Habiba rejects me infront of everyone, and now I have to deal with an over excited sister who STILL does not care that we have a MALE guest

“COME AND SEE PLEASSSEEE, IT’S IMPORTANT,” She urges me to reconsider my rudeness towards her.

I just ignore her, and go straight to the living room, where my mum and Ahmed were joined by Ibrahim.

I say my greetings and introduce Ali to everyone, and we sit. Hoping that Asha is in her room

NOPE, she comes out holding a Sainsbury’s bag

“Mohamed look what Habiba left behind,” She tries to take something from the bag, but I instantly get agitated as I hear Habiba’s name

“I don’t wanna know,” I reply, looking away avoiding what she has to show me

“Just LOOK, you are the only one who will remember this beside me.” She keeps shoving something at me, and I try to avoid it to the point where she starts chasing me as I get up to run away from her

Ahmed and Ibrahim start yelling at us to stop, they get embarrassed because Ali is in the room (Who is totally holding a giggle at the sight of Tom and Jerry chasing each other in number 10 Oakley Street, Burnt Oak)

She finally trips me, and then she holds my face still with one hand.

“Look at this doll. Who does it belong to?” she asks firmly.

I look at the doll and I remember___

That is the doll I gave Khadija on the day she was kidnapped

It takes me a second to put two and two together to realize that___

HABIBA IS KHADIJA

Ya Illahi!!!! It all makes sense__

Her amnesia, and the fact that she does not know of any family member that might help her remember her past__

The way I was drawn to her, and how I always found some traits in her that only Khadija would have

Habiba is Khadija!!

“Habiba is Khadija!” I say out loud, and I see Asha’s eyes well up already

“What?? How did you know that?” asks my mum standing up suddenly to digest this information.

“I gave this doll to Khadija before she was kidnapped Ma, this doll was Asha’s and I stole it to give it to her because Asha wouldn’t share it with her. Look Ma, do you not remember it?” I show the doll to my mum.

“That’s Claudia the doll!! Ya Illahi!! Let’s go get the poor girl NOW.” She orders us all to go and get her.

Then I remember

“It might be too late Ma! Habiba is getting married as we speak!” I tell her the grim news

“Even if she is, it’s invalid! She is using a different name, and I really really wanna give that Manafisa and her husband a good beating” She says it, wearing her coat at the same time.

“I’ll see what I can do to delay the Nikah Inshallah,” offers Ali, when he starts typing on his blackberry phone.

After a minute he announces,

“Done, we have to leave now. I don’t know how long my mum and dad can delay the Nikah, but they said that they just started now after the disruption you did earlier.”

“Disruption?” asks Ahmed

“Long story,” I tell him on the way to Ali’s car

Alhamdulilah Rab Al3alameeeeeen


Khadija

Why is my ever ending torture taking forever to happen talk about a slow death here!!!

I hear commotion and apparently water dropping on Habibo’s bald head that must have been like a cold shower dude!!

Zahra informs me that a scuffle broke out between Khalid and Habibo, because he thinks he did it deliberately

What in the world??

And now the Sheikh wants to leave, because the Nikah should have happened ages ago and he is quite angry.

You know, with all the stopping and the starting again and then stopping and starting again

Quite frankly I was surprised he did not leave when Mohamed barged in and wanted him to perform OUR Nikah instead

My heart tugs at the memory of Mohamed’s heart breaking face

I cover my hands on my face, and let the tears flow as I recall the awful conversation

I was crying, when I hear yet ANOTHER scuffle

Honestly, this has GOT to be one of THE worst wedding anyone has been to.

IN THE HISTORY OF ALL BARAWANI WEDDINGS

And then I hear him__

Mohamed here AGAIN???

This time I run outside the room, and I see ALL the Abdalla family present

“You cannot perform this Nikah,” says Mohamed to the Sheikh.

“Go away fool, she doesn’t want you. How desperate can you get?” Saydi squares up to Mohamed, standing face to face with Mohamed.

“You won’t shove me to the side like you did in Barawa, when you kidnapped Khadija from us,” Mohamed says it, pushing Saydi forcefully

I see Manafisa put her hand on her mouth in shock and I also see Saydi’s white stained face, as if he’d seen a ghost from the past__

The same face I saw back in Tanzania

Halima (Mohamed’s mother) comes over to me, takes my hand with tears running down her kind face and says

“Welcome back to the family Khadija.”

I do not know what they are talking about?? Khadija??

As if reading my mind, Mohamed comes next to his mum and tells me,

“This doll was the one I gave you before these monsters kidnapped you.” He shows me the doll I left in their house

“I ran as fast as I could then, and I fell. You were taken in a car by these people_By your mother and we never found you ever since.” He points to Manafisa

My mother? Oh god I am feeling sick and dizzy

It all starts rushing back

Saydi and Manafisa taking me forcefully to the car__

The airport__

Tanzania___

Bumping my head as he beat me his usual beatings___

I feel sick

My whole life has been a complete lie

My mother watching her husband abuse me in the worst possible way and saying NOTHING__

I sit down to catch my breath, and TRY to understand these sick people.

I knew they were sadistic, but this is a whole new low

“Mum? is this true?” asks Zahra in shock.

She does not say anything, she looks at the ground in shame

“YA ALLAH!! SHE IS OUR SISTER MA?? HOW COULD YOU?” yells Alawiya furiously, tears running down her face in shock.

“It was all his fault you see. He forced me to do this, I didn’t want her in the first place. That’s why I left her with her dad.” She says in that creepy calm manner she always possesses.

My dad

My mum Fatima

The accident__

DADA

Ya Rabbi this is too much for me to comprehend

“Why?” I ask, when I feel my heartbeat steady.

They say nothing__

“WHY??” I scream at them, who at this point look so scared that you can feel their heart jumping out of their chests

“We just wanted the inheritance money that’s all. We didn’t mean any harm,” replies this crazy woman, somehow expecting “oooooh we understand” from everyone around her

I just feel speechless at their cowardly behaviour There just is not any point in arguing with two deluded souls.

“You are both sick in the head, and I am DONE with you. I may never know why you are the way you are, but you were NEVER my mother in the first place. So I will leave you to your guilt to eat you alive because that’s what you deserve.” I look at them disgustingly

“You will NEVER get your hands on my inheritance you sick man, and you were NEVER gonna hurt Mohamed were you? Because you are a coward.” I look straight into his eyes, with no fear whatsoever.

“Take me home guys, I wanna go see my Dada.” I turn to face my REAL family, and all I see is love and tears of happiness.

I go home to Dada that night, and I throw myself at her feet telling her that her grand daughter is FINALLY back

She cried so much, and didn’t even question how or why I think that

She just said,

“I wanted you to be my grand daughter so much sweety. I can’t believe Allah has given me this amazing gift after so long” She takes me in an easy embrace__

The way a grandma is supposed to hug her grand daughter

The room was busting with laughter and happiness all around Dada Fawziyah that night, but there were only two people whose hearts were truly bursting with happiness__

Mohamed and Khadija

They waited so many years for this moment, and have finally found and married each other

And within 5 years Allah has blessed them with twin girls and two boys__

They decided 11 kids is just too much for the time being



Meanwhile in a house not faraway a girl opens her laptop__

Stretches her arms for a couple of minutes and then she opens her Facebook fan page that she created 5 years ago__

The fan page dedicated to the Abdalla brothers___

Everytime she tries to talk about how happy Mohamed is with Khadija, or how miserable Ibrahim is with his wife, she stops and___

Starts writing about Ahmed__

Her one and only love

Don’t forget to tune in next time for Ibrahim’s story INSHALLAH

Posted in: Alawiya Abdalla,Chapter 12 (Final),Fiction,Learning,Life,Reflections,short stories,where is my khadija,Women