Chapter 3: Fortuitous Union

Ayat got prepared early in the morning, picked her car keys and was moving close to her car when her phone rang, it was AY.

"Assalamu Alaykum," she said putting the phone close to her ears and resting on her car.

"Amin..., we had been discharged, I'm about to leave the hospital now," he said.

"But I told you I would be coming."

"Yah, you did but I...."

"You what?" She interrupted.

"Just give me a few minutes, I will be there," she added.

"Ok, I will be waiting." The call ended, she put the phone into her black Gucci bag with a silver branding on it. She entered into the car and turn on the ignition. She sped out of the compound with a speed you will think she was been chased by kidnappers.

Reaching the hospital, she went straight to AY without check on her sister. She met AY's 'always away' sister, Sophie.

"Brother, who is this one," Sophie said to her brother referring to Ayat.

"She is the Babe I told...," AY was interrupted by Sophie.

"Hmm... brother, nooo," Sophie interrupted.

Ayat moved closer to them, she greeted them and AY introduced her to Sophie as a friend and introduce Sophie as his kid sister. Sophie giggled.

Ayat extended her hand for a sake but Sophie rejected the offer and turned as if she was looking at something close to the HIV poster on the wall. Ayat felt sad and AY saw it on her face.

"Ayat, can you excuse us," AY said holding his sister hand and dragging her out, she reluctantly followed him. Ayat stood there embaraced.

They later came back after he had spoken to his sister and she had agreed to apologise to Ayat. Sophie was about going on her kneels in front of Ayat when Ayat stopped her and held her. They hugged each other.

Ayat told her she understood the reasons for her action. Sophie told her she never knew she was soft-hearted until her brother spoke to her about her. Ayat smile and said;

"It ok, if not for the bad eggs amongst the long hijab wearing ladies, the good ones wouldn't be seen in this way."

They later exchanged number and started chatting before AY interrupted telling Sophie to get all the items out into the car. He and Ayat went to the doctors office to sign a document before leaving.

Getting to the hospital parking lot, AY thanked Ayat and they agreed on a date. Sophie and Ayat later hugged each other. Ayat went back into the hospital to check her sister while AY and Sophie went home.

"Just go back to where you are coming from, I know you are not here for my sake," Rahinat said pointing at Ayat.

"Maami good morning," Ayat greeted her mum. The mum refuse answering her.

"What do you think you are doing," asked the mum looking at Ayat straight in the eye.

"I am disappointed at you, so you could come to this place without seeing your sister first? Anyway, your dad just left here and he knew you were with that boy, he will deal with you today," her mum said, looking disappointed. Ayat started shedding tears.

"Dry those crocodile tears and go pick Abubsy from the airport," the mum added.

Abubsy is Ayat's elder brother, he studied international relation in the United Kingdom. Their father regards him as the bad boy of the house and also a deviant because he doesn’t buy the idea of extremism by his dad. He is just returning after his master’s degree.

Ayat went and picked him and brought him to the hospital. After seeing their sister, she drove him home. On getting to the house, the dad and Abubsy exchanged greetings. Ayat greeted the dad but he snubbed her telling her he doesn't have her time yet.

An hour later, Abubsy asked her why their father was cold to her and she told him all that happened. Abubsy backed her up saying their father’s behaviour is becoming something else and that he is back for her.

Hearing all this from Abubsy, Ayat became a bit happy, knowing she now have a comforter in the house. She thanked him and gave him a peck before going out to pick the family telephone ringing.

Later in the day at night, the dad summoned a meeting with all the family members to discuss Ayat new lifestyle. They all poured hurting words on her while Abubsy was quiet looking at them.

Immediately they finished, he told them it high time they do away with this way of life and make the happiness of every member their own priority. These words came as a knock on the father's head, he started telling Abubsy he is not surprised that he had always been a deviant. The meeting ended badly with Abubsy and Ayat angry.

They later went to Ayat room while Abubsy consoled her before going to his own room to sleep.

AY lives on an island in senosa, an area reserved for GIS consultants of Evergreen international Inc. He is the branch manager of GIS consultancy in senosa. He lives alone with his younger sister Sophie who studies human psychology in the people’s university of senosa.

AY sitting on the three sitter sofa in his living room with his hands resting of the left hand rest and his legs on the sofa watching a home video was interrupted by the ringing tone of his phone, it was Ni’imah; she was his former girlfriend that called for reconciliation.

He looks at the screen of the phone and dropped it after seeing she was the one. After calling for seven times without him picking it, Ni'imah sent him a text.

After reading the text he smiled and said loudly

"I see, now you have my time but for this time. I careless now."

She later called and he picked reluctantly. She told him she knows he no longer care about her and she don't blame him for that. but herself to have follow the advice of her friends. She pleaded for another chance to prove her love for him.

AY just kept mute and immediately she finished, he asked if that all she had to say that he was busy. This got Ni’imah angry, he told her 'bye'. She promised him that if she can't have him, nobody can. He dared her to do her worse that this not the first time and he is tired of empty threats. She repeated;

" If I can't have you, no one can." She ended the call.

AY dropped the phone and sat in a rather confused manner.

The phone rang again and this time, it wasn't Ni'imah but Ayat. He picked it, she told him she tried his line but he was on another call and he lied to her that it was just a friend and she said in a voice that buttress disagreement "hmm, just a friend."

He said yes and she said she never knew people spend long time speaking on the phone with people they regard as just friend. She added immediately before he could say a word that she called to say hi.

He later asked her if they still agreed on the date and she said yes. They chose joe chicken republic for the meeting at 5 o'clock since the rule of her house is that every member should be home before 7'o clock. He ended the call telling her how he missed her how he can't wait to see her the next day while she smiled and ended the call.

Ayat call diverted his attention from Ni'imah to hers making him forget the threat but kept fantasising how the date will look like when his phone screen light beamed, it was a message from Ni'imah telling him how sorry she was for sounding the way she did the other time.

After reading it, he dropped the phone without replying the message and slept off.