Thunder crashed furiously through the sky. A heavy downpour began to fall. The droplets of rain could be heard from outside as they recoiled on the rooftop.
Shay quickly rose from the bed and grabbed the pink blanket on the floor and wrapped it around Abdul as he laid on the bed.
Abdul then got up and gently brushed the blanket off to the side.
"Thanks boo. I have to get ready to offer Dhuhr soon. The early afternoon prayer. This was the first prayer that the Angel Jibreel taught our Prophet Alayhi Salatu Wa Sallam." Abdul said.
"Are you gonna eat?" Shay asked.
"I will be eating after sunset." Abdul replied.
"Why are you gonna wait till after sunset?" Shay asked.
"That is when Maghrib comes in."
"Oh. Well why are you gonna wait till Maghrib to eat?" Shay asked.
Abdul did not respond. He looked into her eyes for a few seconds.
"Are you... fasting?" Asked Shay.
"Yes." Abdul responded. He then turned around to go to the bathroom to make Wudu.
After Abdul finished with his Ablution he went back in the bedroom and turned his chest towards the Qibla(direction of Makkah). He pulled out his phone from his pocket to look at the time. Zhuhr was going to come in about 17 minutes. So he decided to just sit on the floor and wait. He closed his eyes and began to supplicate.
"Ya Allah. I call upon You. Verily, You are One. I know that for sure. But... Are you All Powerful? I don't know. Keep it a bean Ya Rabb You haven't really shown me anything that denotes Your Power and Your Awesomeness. I mean... I'm not trying to say that You're weak. I just need to see something to strengthen my faith. I worship You day and night. I give You perfect worship because You are indeed deserving. There's something in my heart, I don't know what it is but You certainly do. This is my second encounter that I've had with Jason, he's trying to use me for... money! Dunya related matters. This really bothers me Ya Allah. And it's like, You Saw that shyt and you don't even give a shyt. My heart is broken Ya Allah, You are the One Who is able to mend my broken heart. I submit."
Thunder crashed through the sky again. The Adhan came on. Abdul hurriedly stood up and lifted his hands up to his ears.
"Allahu Akbar!" He said.
The Dhuhr prayer has to be said with a soft recitation, because the afternoon hours can be very hot, especially in the summer time. And Allah doesn't wish to make it hard for you. The same rule applies for Asr. But for Maghrib and Isha, as well as Fajr, they have to be said in a loud recitation.
After the prayer commenced and he said the closing Tasleem, "Sallamu Alaykum". Abdul rose up from Tashahhud (crouched position) and he laid back on the bed.
Since he was fasting today, he wasn't going to be doing much. Doing too much activities or anything strenuous can make the fast too hard. He thought maybe he should return back home but then he brushed off the idea. Ever since his father got remarried with his new wife 'Salamatu' it seems like his presence at the house is strange. Except for his baby brother 'Alusine' and his baby sister 'Assanatu' there wasn't really any valuable reason to go home. Both his elder brother and sister have completely forsakened him. His father has become distant from him. His new stepmom 'Salamatu' has ulterior motives and has been trying to approach him in a sexual way. There was a lot going on in his life that fatigued him at times, but he tried not to think about it. Because the "Muslim" should have a tunnel vision. Only one concern, God, or Allah.
Abdul wanted to pass time so he decided to give his brother Nouman a call. He delved his hand in his right pocket and foraged for his iPhone. He drew it out and dialed Nouman's number. He didn't have to go to his contact list, because he already knew the number by heart.
The phone rang once, no answer. Then it went straight to voicemail. He dialed again and the same thing happened. Abdul thought this was very strange. He wanted to make another attempt but then a thought quickly brushed across his mind. "SHAY"
He went to his call log and selected her name to call. He hadn't memorized her number yet.
After the second ring she picked up.
"Are you done praying?" Shay's soft voice said through the phone.
"Yes. Are you in the vicinity?" Asked Abdul.
"Uhh... I'm downstairs." Shay said.
"Would you please come up to the room. I would like to have a discussion with you."
"Okay. Be up in a sec." Shay said as she hung up.
About two minutes later Shay opened the door and walked in the room.
"What did you wanna talk about?" Shay asked.
Abdul sat upright. "Please sit down."
Shay gently sat down on the edge of the bed.
"What's the matter Abdul. You're scaring me."
"Nothing is the matter! Everything's okay. I just wanted to talk to you." Abdul quickly said.
"About what?"
Abdul shrugged his shoulders. "Anything and everything."
"Huh?"
Abdul thought for a moment. "I like pancakes."
There was a long pause. Both parties stared at each other.
"You like... pancakes?" Shay asked.
Abdul nodded his head quickly up and down.
"And waffles. Blueberry waffles are my favorite!" Abdul said.
"Umm... Okay." Shay said.
"Now your turn. Tell me something that you like." Abdul said.
"Oh... I like... Art." Shay said.
"Like paintings and stuff. Can you draw?" Abdul said.
"Yeah lots of modern art, mainly European. Yes, I absolutely can draw." Shay said with a thin smile.
"Is that why you have a painting of Edgar Allan Poe plastered on your wall?"
"Yes! I love Poe. His life was very mysterious but many of his work was amazing." Shay said.
"I like 'Black Cat' that jawn crazy! How did he die? Abdul asked.
Shay shrugged her shoulders.
"Nobody knows. Some spectators say it could have been a drug or alcohol overdose. Others say that it was self-inflicted."
"Well if it was a drug or alcohol overdose then it was self-inflicted." Abdul said.
"Why do you say that?" Asked Shay.
"If you consume any drug or alcohol, knowing that there's a possibility of it killing you, and you die. That's suicide. That's how the bul died, Juice WRLD and Lil Peep." Abdul said.
"Nu uh, somebody laced his Percocets with Ethanol and he died as a result." Shay said.
"Whatever, that ngga still killed himself." Abdul said.
"He never wanted to die." Shay said.
"Btch if you don't wanna die then why df would you take the Perks in the first place. Them shits wasn't even prescribed to you." Abdul said.
Shay shrugged her shoulders. Abdul looked at her and thought for a minute.
"You don't know?" Abdul asked.
"Nope. No idea." Shay replied.
"Okay boo. You don't know. But Who does?" Abdul asked.
Shay thought for a moment.
"Umm..."
Abdul slowly nodded his head and gestured her to go on.
"Uhh..." Shay continued to think.
"Yes... yes... go on."
"Uhh... God! Allah! ALLAH KNOWS BEST!" Shay said aloud.
"ALLAHU AKBAR!!!" Abdul bellowed.
He then leaned his head over and planted a wet one on Shay's cheek.
He then drew his head back.
"I wanted to kiss you on the lips, but just like I've previously mentioned, I am fasting today and I don't want to do anything to nullify my fast."
Shay had a huge smile on her face. She was staring blindly. Her eyes were wide open but her gaze wasn't fixed on Abdul. She was just staring and was showing her teeth. It looked as if she was almost about to burst out in laughter. Abdul looked at her and smiled as well.
"May Allah keep you smiling. Did my Du'a just do that for you?" Abdul asked.
Shay continued to smile and gave Abdul a warm embrace.
He hugged back tightly and gripped her close.
"May Allaah keep you smiling my love. You have really nice teeth." Abdul said.
"Thank you." Shay said as she let go and looked at her husband in the eyes.
Abdul smiled and placed his hands on his laps. Thunder crashed through the sky again.
"So what else do you like?" He asked.
"Oh. I just went, isn't it your turn?" Shay said.
"Idk, I think. But I don't really care though. This is all about you baby girl." Abdul said.
Shay blushed. "Awww"
"So what are your plans for the future. You going to college?" Abdul asked.
"Probably not. Udhuan left some..."
"Who's Udhuan?" Abdul asked.
"My late grandfather. Tabitha's husband. This was around the mid 19th century. He used to own a chain of clothing stores and he left some money behind for Tabitha and Theresa, which is how we're able to finance this house and any other expenses we may have." Said Shay.
"How did Udhuan die?" Asked Abdul.
"Natural causes." Replied Shay.
"Oh okay. Do you have any siblings?"
"Nope, only child. What about you? Oh yeah that's right you told me about Assanatu. When are you gonna see her again?" Shay asked.
"Idk probably never. Can I stay here with you please? Can you be my mommy?" Abdul asked.
Shay bursted out in laughter.
"You so stupid! Wait, why don't you wanna go back?" Shay asked in between laughter.
"My father is preventing me from eating and that btch Salamatu be trying fuck me." He said.
"Omg are you serious?" Shay asked.
"Dead up. They even accused me of molesting Assanatu." Abdul added.
Shay held both her hand up to her mouth and gasped.
"Omg! They're going to take you to jail! Don't go back!" Shay exclaimed.
"Yeah, or I'ma die. But I'm not really scared to die I just don't wanna go to jail." Abdul said.
Tears began to well at the corner of Shay's eyes.
"You're not gonna go to jail babe. Just don't return there."
There was a long pause as they both stared at each other. The tears were now falling freely from Shay's cheeks.
"Okay..." Abdul said.
Shay still continued to weep.
"There's no reason for you to cry though. I just said I'm not going to go back.
Shay started sobbing silently.
"Why are you crying?" Abdul asked.
"That's the worst thing to accuse somebody of!" Shay blurted out.
"I agree." Abdul said.
Shay wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
"Promise me that you will never go back there." Shay said.
"I already told you I won't shorty you don't have to keep..."
"Abdul! If you return back there you're gonna die or go to jail. Promise me!"
There was a short pause.
"You're right." Abdul said.
"And I want you to completely forget about Assanatu and Alusine. Right now they belong to Salamatu because they're still children. When they grow up if they wanna find you they will. How could they accuse you of something like that!" Shay said in between her sobs.
There was a short pause.
"We take refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan." Abdul broke the silence and said.
Shay quickly got up from the bed.
"I have to go talk to grandma about this." She said and exited the room.