"Nusaiba, Mum's name, Nusaiba is the name I've decided for her, we'll be by Nusaiba's side all through." He replied,his eyes determined, and his hand protectively holding Nusaiba's tiny hands.
Seeing that made me happy, we were going to do this together and with that thought I rested the baby on my lap,freeing one of my hands, then I protectively hugged their hands with mine, My family."
Nur paused, making Humairah look up to her. The story had gotten so emotional that Humairah was forced to hide her tears from her sister. So when she noticed her sister had stopped talking, she raised her head thinking maybe, it was too painful for her to continue, maybe she was already crying her heart out as she was also on the verge of doing that, but instead, she saw Nur looking at her palm on the crook of her arm which she had folded against her chest as if there was a baby In it, a heartbreaking smile on her face, she didn't even seem to notice that she had stopped telling the tale or that Humairah was looking at her, a lone tear managed to escape from the pool in her eyes, rolling down her cheeks and dropping on her open palm, that was what snapped her out of her reverie.
She glanced up quickly as if looking for the source of tears , when she saw her sister staring at her with tear filled eyes and sympathy shooting from her orbs, she realised the tears were from her own eyes.
Slowly, she reached her hand to her cheek and felt the wetness, she then suddenly and violently cleaned it then smiled at her sister.
"We sometimes get lost in the moment,should I keep going or are you tired?" She asked, that smile that irked Humairah still on her face,she had every urge to wipe that fake smile off her face.
Why did she feel the need to hide her feelings from her own sister
She can't be strong all the time and she shouldn't bottle her pain in her.She should share it, let it out and reduce the burden in her heart, determined to make her sister cry her sorrows out, Humairah also forced a smile on her face then replied.
"I'm wide awake,please go on."
                     **********
Hamza kept tossing and turning in his bed. Sleep wasn't even making any attempt to take over him today.
What was on his mind, he didn't even want to give himself the chance to think about it.
Since after he returned from C.F.O, he had busied himself in a bid to stop himself from thinking about her, she wasn't the first modest woman he had seen, so what about her kept her in his mind? A question he couldn't answer. Dee had given him every detail of the conversation she had with the children and that made him respect her more, a chuckle reverberated in his chest when he remembered a part of the conversation he had with Dee.
"Ya Hamza, Thank God you didn't come in today without asking for permission, Nur would have felt bad." Dee said immediately they entered the car to go home.
"Why do you say that." He asked her.
"Nur told us she wore her niqab to obey Allah, treasure herself and avoid disrespect.
If you had seen her face, she would have seen it as disrespect,she didn't allow even muby to see her face, she said only her relatives that she can't marry, her husband, and little children like me could see her awrah." Dee answered. Obviously happy she was part of the people allowed to see Nur's face.
Seeing that expression on her face tempted him more to see that which was behind the covers.
What is it about seeing her face made Dee so delightful?
For a split second, he wished he had allowed himself a peek but immediately banished the unhealthy thought as well as berating himself for even thinking that way but as if he had no control over his tongue, he heard himself asking,
"Are her eyes really as dark as they look in her Niqab." He couldn't forget those eyes even though he had only properly seen them twice.
"Is that all you want to know ya Hamza." Dee asked mockingly but due to how immersed in his thoughts He was, he didn't notice the mockery and nodded his head.
" I won't tell you, if you are not allowed to see her face,then I'm not allowed to describe her looks to you. I'm not going to break my Nur's trust." Dee concluded, folding her hands against her chest.
Hamza looked at his sister, embarrassment and happiness enveloping him, embarrassed of his own behavior and amazed at his sister's behaviour, she knew what upholding trust meant and what respecting others was.
Nur is truly a good influence on her.
"I'm sorry I won't ask anything again." He even made sure to raise one hand in surrender while his other one was on the wheel, this made Dee laugh and thump her fist against his.
Now alone in the quiet night, his mind took over and involuntarily he began reminiscing the day's events, how he had first seen her, almost on the floor with the children on top of her.
The delight on the children's face when they saw her.
The way her voice sounded so happy when she talked to them.
The way she looked at ease with the children.
The humble way she talked to the directors but still maintained her authority.
The way her eyes crinkled when he mouthed a sorry to her indicating that she was smiling, smiling at him, that managed to increase the pace of his heartbeat,making him more alert and awake, allowing him to keep reminiscing the day's events and making him notice things he had failed to notice before.
Then the reason for his current tossing and turning struck him.
Dee had mentioned a husband.
Was Nur married?
Was he, in the Middle of the night thinking about a married woman?"