by Emma Easter
Leila nodded. “Yes, I plan to. A week from now.”
“That is true love if I have ever seen it,” Fatima said. “I will keep praying that the Lord will protect you, but you might just be tempting fate. You are not even sure Malik is God’s will for you as he isn’t a Christian.”
“He will soon become one,” Leila said, trying to brush away the worry that Fatima’s words caused.
But as she lay in bed that night, she couldn’t get Fatima’s words out of her mind. Maybe he was truly not God’s will for her life. Maybe she should cancel her plans to go back to Nira. But she pushed away her concerns. There was no way she would not go back. She couldn’t fathom a future without Malik. She would go back to Nira and he would propose to her. Before they got married, he would become a Christian… because of her. She was certain of that.
*****
Khadija awoke with a start as someone slapped her back. Her father was standing over her and two of his men were behind him. He looked down at her with disdain in his eyes. “Are you ready to tell me what I want to know?”
She did not say anything.
“Your silence simply means that you definitely had a man with you in my son’s house. For that, you will die.”
She trembled as she looked up at him and said in a shaky voice, her heart beating with fear, “I did not have a man with me. You have to believe me, Father.”
He smiled wickedly at her and narrowed his eyes. He asked again, “If you did not have a man in Malik’s house with you, then tell me right now who has been living there. Because I know for a fact that someone has been living there for some time now. You have been stealing the keys to the house from my room so you can visit that person. And don’t try to lie to me. I will know if you are lying.”
She shook her head. “No one apart from me has been there,” she said. “I promise you, Father.”
She gasped as he struck her. “I told you not to lie to me, you wicked girl! Tell me who has been there with you, or I will assume it was a man, and you know what the consequence is for that is, don’t you?”
She rubbed her cheek in pain and then stared into his eyes. From the way he was looking at her, she was certain he was not bluffing. He would mete out the ultimate punishment if she could not convince him she hadn’t been with a man in Malik’s house. She had to tell him the truth, but how could she just give up Leila like that? She said to him in a small voice, “Okay, I have not been there all by myself. My friend, Binta, has been living there…”
She cried out as he hit her again. “Stop lying to me! Binta has not been in Malik’s with you! I know she has been away in Bamako to see her cousins because her father told me. And she came to visit you at the house before I came here just to tell you she has returned. So I know you are not telling me the truth! Lie to me one more time, and I swear you will not live to see the end of this week.”
She trembled at the evil look in his eyes, and tears began to pour down her cheeks. He would know for sure if she lied to him again. She sighed sadly and whispered, “It was Leila, Zainah’s friend.”
“Speak louder!” he barked.
“It was Leila,” she said a little louder. Her heart drummed as her emotions roiled with a mixture of fear and guilt. She had given away her friend. Hopefully by now, Leila would be far away from Nira. But the only problem was that she was going to return in a week’s time.
“Leila? Zainah’s friend?”
“Yes.”
“And where is she now?”
“She has left Nira already,” Khadija answered.
He looked intently into her eyes and asked, “And will she be back here soon?”
Khadija looked down at the floor and did not answer.
“Tell me!” her father yelled.
She shook with fear but still did not answer him.
“Musa,” he said, looking at his bodyguard, “take her away.”
“No, please!”
“Then tell me if Leila will be back and when.”
Shame and guilt smothered her as she told him the truth—that Leila had said she would be back in a week, when Malik was back in Nira.
He stared at her, his eyes glittering with contempt. “So, you tried to hide all this from me. You will stay here for another day as punishment and then you will be released.” He snapped at his two bodyguards and walked out of the shack. The door was shut and then locked once again.
What have I done? Fear had led her actions, but she’d had no choice. Or maybe she’d had a choice. She could have found another lie. However, her father would still have known she was lying. If only she knew how to contact Leila and tell her not to come back to Nira. But she didn’t. She had betrayed her friend. Who knew what fate awaited Leila when she returned?
Khadija covered her face and wept.
Chapter Nine
Faizan wrapped his arms around Zainah and kissed her on the lips. He smiled down at her and said, “I wish I could stay with you but I have to go to church for the welfare meeting. I really miss it.”
Zainah groaned and then kissed him on the forehead. “Okay, I guess you have to go,” she said. She let go of him and smiled. “Okay, so, remember that we have to finalize the cake tasting and decide on what flavor we want.”
He smiled at her, “I’ll try to come back early so we can go this evening. If not, then we will have to go tomorrow.”
He left Trisha’s house, got into his car, and drove off to church. As he parked in the church parking lot, he thought about the time he had spent working undercover in the terrorist group and the torture he had suffered after Khalid, the leader of the group, found out he was working for the American government. When he’d been brought out to be shot and had thought he was going to die, his greatest sorrow had been that he would not get to marry Zainah. But now, within days, his dream would finally come true. He would marry the love of his life. He couldn’t help but smile.
He locked his car and walked into the church building. As he climbed the stairs to go to the vestry where the welfare meetings were usually held, he ran the future plans he had for the group through his mind. Everyone in the group and even in the church as a whole did not know the ordeal he had recently endured. They simply thought he had traveled out of the country and had just recently gotten back to town. In most ways, he preferred it that way, except for one thing: he wished he could talk to the senior pastor and get some spiritual comfort.
He woke up every night still thinking he was in that dank cell, about to be killed. The real torture he had endured had been waiting to die, away from his loved ones.
He received great comfort from Zainah and his sisters, but he would have liked to talk to the pastor and get some counseling for his mental state. He didn’t want to share specific details of his time at the terrorist camp or in the holding cell where he thought he had spent his final days with Zainah. He wanted to keep her from knowing all he had suffered there.
He entered the vestry and found that most of the welfare members were already here and were on their feet praying, led by one of the members.
He frowned and looked at his watch. He was almost half an hour late and he hadn’t even realized it. As the leader of the group, he was supposed to set a good example, and here he was coming in late. For the past few days since he’d come back, he had spent all of his waking moments with Zainah at Trisha’s house or a restaurant or at the park. Today, he hadn’t wanted to leave her and had stayed much longer with her than he’d intended, even though he knew he was supposed to come to church.
His assistant, Sarah, walked up to him and whispered, “You are late, Faizan. I asked Gerald to lead the prayers while I waited for you to arrive. Anyway, I am glad you are here now. We’ve missed you.”
He smiled apologetically at her. “I’m sorry. I was at… umm… an important meeting and time ran away from me.”
She smiled back. “I understand. Welcome back.”
“Do you have any specific activities planned for today?” he asked her, �
��or do you want me to take charge of the meeting?”
She said, “I think you should take charge today. I had some things planned, but since you are here, we…”
He cut in. “Don’t worry about it. We will do whatever you have planned. You take charge of the meeting today.”
She stood and went to pull one of the members, a girl who usually led praise and worship, aside. Faizan closed his eyes and joined in the prayers for a brief moment. When he opened his eyes again, the girl, Shirley, had taken over from the young man who had been leading the prayer session. She raised a well-known worship song and everyone joined in with their hands lifted.
Faizan worshipped, but only partly. His mind was on Zainah and their cake tasting and their wedding plans. There was still so much to do. He didn’t know or understand how they could do everything in just a few days, even with Trisha and Audrey’s help. But as much as he cared and wanted their wedding day to be special, he would not allow the wedding planning to stress him out. None of it really mattered in the end. All that mattered was that in a few days, he would marry Zainah.
After the praise and worship session ended, his assistant took over the meeting. She talked about the places and people they had visited while he wasn’t around and then she told the group that they would visit only two places today. One would be the youth center and the other, the old people’s home.
Like Faizan always did, she divided the group into two. Faizan once again fell into the group that would visit the old people’s home. The welfare meeting soon ended and the first group left together. It was only as he gathered his things that he noticed that Lauren was in church. He had not thought about her for a long time.
She walked up to him and smiled brightly. “You are back, Faizan,” she said. “I… umm… we missed you.”
Faizan gave her a small smile and said, “I have missed the group as well. I am glad I am back.” He turned away from her, picked up his Bible and notebook and then turned around again. She was still standing beside him. The other members of the welfare group had already left. She was the only one there with him. She said, “Can I ride along with you to The Fruitful Vines, as I don’t have a car yet?”
His mind immediately went to Zainah and how jealous she had been the first time she had seen Lauren and knew they were friendly. Warning bells sounded in his mind and he considered telling Lauren that it would not be a good idea to ride in the car with him. However, he thought better of it. It would be very petty to tell her she couldn’t come with him to visit old people in the town.
He nodded at her and said, “Sure, you can come with me.”
As he walked down the stairs with her, he couldn’t stop thinking about Zainah and how she’d felt when he told her he had gone on one date with Lauren because he had thought he had no chance of ever being with her. What would she think now if she found out that Lauren had driven with him to The Fruitful Vines?
As he entered his car and Lauren got into the passenger seat, he scolded himself for being so worried about what Zainah would think. Surely she knew he would never do anything that would cause her to doubt him or their relationship. And he knew she trusted him totally. She had told him so. He had no reason to worry.
He started the car and drove to The Fruitful Vines. When they got there, he and Lauren went into the first room they saw. Two members of their group were already there with an elderly man, praying with him. Faizan backed away and quietly shut the door. He turned to Lauren and said, “Let’s go to the next room.”
But when they opened the door to the next room, they found members of the group there as well. He backed out and smiled at Lauren. “Well, I guess we might not have anyone to visit today.”
She said, “Remember that old lady we visited the last time we came here together?”
He frowned. “The one who told us that story about her late husband?”
Lauren nodded. “Yes. That sweet old lady. You remember you promised her that we would be back?”
Faizan groaned inwardly and said nothing.
Lauren said to him, “We need to keep that promise we made and go and visit her now.”
Faizan said, “Other members of our welfare group will probably be there by now.”
Lauren shrugged and said, “Let’s just go and see. If there are other members there, we will leave. Or better yet, we will wait for them to leave and then go in to see her. Just to say hi to her.”
Faizan wanted to refuse because the old woman had thought they were a couple when they had visited her together. That had made him cringe, not because the thought of being in a relationship with Lauren repulsed him but because the idea of being with any other woman than Zainah did, even though at the time he thought he and Zainah could never be together.
Lauren kept looking at him and then said, “You shouldn’t back out of a promise, Faizan. Especially one made to such a sweet elderly woman. We should go see her now. She will be very happy to see us and we will be doing a good thing.”
Faizan sighed wearily and nodded. “Okay, let’s go then. Do you remember the way to her room?”
“Umm, I think I do,” Lauren answered.
He vaguely remembered the way to her room, but he didn’t want to put in the energy required to find it. Lauren was the one who wanted them to go see the woman. He would let her lead the way.
He followed her down a long hallway with rooms on both sides of it and stopped at a door. Lauren knocked and opened the door. She stepped into the room and Faizan went in after her. None of the members of the welfare group was in the room, but the old woman seemed to be asleep. Her eyes were shut and Faizan could hear her soft breathing.
He felt relieved that they didn’t have to talk to her today. Her continuous insistence that he and Lauren were a couple when they had visited her the last time had made him uncomfortable, especially knowing that Lauren liked him. He turned and said to Lauren, “She is asleep. Let’s not wake her up.”
He started to leave the room and then turned around when a groggy voice said, “Oh, my dears, you came back to see me! I’m so glad you both came.” She beckoned to them with her hand. “Come.”
Once again, Faizan groaned on the inside. He walked up to the old woman and stood by her bedside. Lauren walked up to the other side of the bed, but the woman waved her hand and told Lauren to come and stand beside Faizan.
She said to them, “So, you lovebirds, what have you been up to?”
Lauren giggled, but Faizan sighed in exasperation. He said firmly but kindly, “Ma’am, we are not a couple. We are just friends.”
But the old lady didn’t seem to hear him. She looked at Lauren and then at Faizan and said, “You both make such a lovely couple.” And then, without warning, she took Faizan’s hand and then Lauren’s wrist and joined them together. She put her own hand over their touching fingers and smiled up at them. “I hope you stay together forever like my Charlie and I did, before he passed on.”
Faizan sighed loudly. Why couldn’t this lady understand that he and Lauren were not a couple? He had said it several times, but she just didn’t get it. He looked at her eyes, how bright they were, how animated her smile was, and then he scolded himself. She was old and believed in love. Of course she would want to see couples in love the way her and her late husband had been. He needed to work on his patience, but at the same time, he had to find a gentle way of getting it through to her that he and Lauren were not together.
He smiled at her and gently removed his hand from Lauren’s. “I am sorry, ma’am. I…” he turned when he heard the door open. But he saw no one there. He turned back to the old lady while avoiding Lauren’s eyes. “We are not a couple,” he said to her. “In fact, I am getting married to the love of my life in a few days. Her name is Zainah and she is a great woman. I will bring her here to see you sometime. You will like her.”
The old lady seemed to finally get it as her eyes widened. “Oh, my dear, I am so sorry. Because I am old, I tend to imagine things that are not really the
re.”
Faizan smiled softly at her and said, “It’s okay. I understand.”
They stayed with her for some time, and she told them more stories about her married life with her husband and how much she missed him. After the visit, Faizan prayed for her, and then he and Lauren left the room.
“That was a nice visit,” Lauren said to him.
“Yeah, it was, except for the part where she kept mistaking us for sweethearts.”
“You have to admit, though, that it is kinda funny,” Lauren said, laughing.
Faizan said, “It’s really not,” and then laughed along with her. “Okay, it is slightly funny.”
“So, you are getting married in a few days,” Lauren said as they walked down the hallway. “I am happy for you… I guess.”
Faizan frowned and looked at her. Even though he had hoped she’d moved on, he’d had his suspicions that she hadn’t. She still liked him. He sighed and said softly, “You are beautiful and smart, Lauren. Soon, you will find someone who will love and cherish you. Any man would be lucky to have you.”
She said to him, “Any man but the man I really want. However, I like Zainah, so I wish you both nothing but the best.”
They both left the old people’s home after visiting with two other elderly women. Faizan offered to drive Lauren to her house, but she refused. “Just drop me at the church. I will find my way home.”
They drove to church in uncomfortable silence. He parked in front of the church, and immediately she got out of the car. She thanked him briefly and walked away.
He drove away quickly, relieved to finally be able to get away so he could see Zainah. He drove as fast as he could without breaking the traffic laws. He couldn’t wait to see Zainah again and continue their wedding planning. She had told him she had a surprise for him the next day. He couldn’t wait to see what the surprise was.
When he got to Trisha’s, he knocked on the door and then sucked in his breath sharply as Zainah walked out the door. She looked absolutely beautiful. She had changed from the simple gown she’d had on before he went to church into a knee-length floral dress. Her hair was tied back from her pretty face, showing off her exquisite features and high cheekbones that had fascinated him since the first day he saw her.