Stella was sitting on the grass when Clara came to her.
“stella do you know, that new Muslim girl in our class slapped Arthur” said Clara desperately.
“what?” stella was shocked.
“Arthur was abusing her because of her hijab since she came, and now he tried to touch her hand” told Clara.
“okay, abusing her makes sense but what's the deal with touching hand?” asked Stella suspiciously.
“because he is not ‘MEHRAM’ for her” replied Clara.
“what's that?” asked Stella.
“I don’t know much but that’s the word they use for people who cannot touch them especially its for males, they have a restriction that not everybody can touch Muslim women” explained Clara.
Stella did not ask anymore. She got curious and started to had some suspicious feelings, of which she was not sure. That day as stella reached home, she saw somebody familiar in her neighbourhood. As she saw the girl closely, she realized that it was the same hijabed girl from her class.
“oh, hi stella!” as the girl turned around, she saw stella and greeted her happily.
“hello! I didn’t know that you were staying right next to my house” said stella.
“but I knew that you were staying here” she replied calmly.
Stella ignored her because she didn’t want to get embarrassed because she didn’t even greet her as she knew that the new neighbours are Muslims.
“don't you guys greet people by saying salaam?” asked stella.
“yeah, we do, but I knew that you will not reply to my salaam as you don’t know the answer so I greeted you in your own way” said girl smilingly.
“what's the answer to your salaam?” from nowhere a question came in her mind and she asked.
“we greet by saying asslamo-alaikum and the other person replies walaikum-asslam" she told stella.
Stella asked her name, which she told her as Fatima. Stella had many more questions arisen in her mind but she controlled herself and went back home. She made up her mind that she will meet her again and ask those questions.
The next day at evening, stella was watching TV when she heard the knocking on the door. Her mother was in the kitchen.“stella look who's there?” she called out from the kitchen.
“yes mom” she replied.
She was not surprised to see Fatima, because she was already expecting that there will be unusual meetups as they are neighbours now. Fatima bought her a dish which her mother made.
“I bought you fish, my mother it in a new style today so I wanted to share it with you” said Fatima with a smile.
“thanks” said stella while taking the dish.
“come inside” asked stella.
“I'll surely come, I need your help in writing thesis, can you help me? If you don’t mind, I won't be upset with you if you'll deny I'm just asking” justified Fatima.
“oh, come on its not a problem I can surely help you” replied stella.
*
Fatima and stella were sitting in the cosy room busy in their work when questions started to disturb her mind.
“can I ask you few questions, like if you don’t mind answering them?” asked stella.
“yeah, feel free” Fatima smiled.
“I wanted to ask you that what does your greeting mean, I mean salaam? Stella asked her nervously.
“it means peace on you, and in return we say walaikum-asslam which means peace on you too” replied Fatima.
“nice meaning” stella complemented.
“do you need to pray to god every day?” she continued.
“we pray five times a day, which is called namaz, and our god has name called Allah and he is with us 24 hours, even if we don’t pray but we pray to him to thank him for his blessings” explained Fatima.
Stella didn’t want to ask any further questions. She was feeling something inside pushing her and her words were seemed to be capturing her, she didn’t want to dig any further. They completed their remaining work in silence.
Gradually they became good friends and even started to hang out together. Steven joseph slowly started to erase from her mind. She never thought about him again.
Only 1 week was left in her birthday, she was going turn 23 years old this 15 April. She was not as much excited like her mother or Clara seem to be. She was though happy that only a year was left in graduation and then she'll get job in best company.
“and then I'll live a happy and luxurious life” she used to think every time at night.
She was working day and night to reach her goals and become a successful person in her mother's life, so she can be happy to see her and she’ll have someone to praise her hard work wholeheartedly.
Clara planned a great birthday party at a hotel for stella. She wanted to surprise her, she invited many of her friends and class fellows. Stella didn’t know that and she wanted to celebrate her birthday simply with her mother.The day arrived; Clara took stella to salon. And there she got ready for her birthday, and wore dress which her mother gifted her. She thought that Clara will take her home now but when they headed towards a hotel, she was surprised.
“I told you to not arrange that much "she said to Clara angrily.
“come on don’t be selfish, I am your friend and I had to do it, now please don’t be angry it's your birthday and we have a surprise for you” said Clara.
Indeed, she was going to have a big surprise waiting for her.As stella entered the dining room everybody started to sang ‘happy birthday’.Her friends pop the party popper and they all cheered. The music started and everybody took their glasses and started to dance while stella sat on the chair waiting for cake to be arrive.A moment later the waiter entered with a large three tier cake and everybody shouted happily. Stella stood and they gathered around the table waiting for the stella to cut the cake. She held knife which was also decorated as the same colour as the cake, and started to cut the cake while everybody sang her the birthday song again.The room was decorated very beautifully with balloons and disco ball in the centre. After cutting the cake she fed the cake to everybody with her own hands. And then Clara and some other fellows mischievously put a cake on stella's face.“Clara what are you doing?” screamed stella.“oops! Its tradition” she cheered and l
The next day, she woke up to a beautiful and charming weather. The wind was cold, but it was all cloudy. It was weekend. She got dressed in a blue jean pants and a white shirt, and wore sweater from above to feel a bit warm. After breakfast, she was doing her assignments when she remembered that she has to go today somewhere. She couldn’t decide that whether she should go or not, but stevens attitude last night let her made up her mind that she should pay him last visit and take her bracelet because it was more important to her. She couldn't lose her father's last gift.The weather was still same, but she quit the idea of wearing sweater. She was looking chic in that outfit, and with natural untie hair of mid back length swaying around her neck with the wind, made her look alluring. She took a bus and walked the half way to his office. She reached and stood outside the tall building for a while, took a deep breath and realised wind was tasting pleasant and lively. A
For a moment she tried to recognise the voice, it was somehow similar. It was Fatima! After realising she ran to her door. The reciter was silent by then. She knocked the door. She had to wait few minutes when a little boy opened the door. “yes?” the boy asked. “uhm, I wanted to ask who was reciting just now?” she replied nervously. “it was my sister” he said instantly. “can I meet Fatima?” “do you know my sister? You're her friend? “yeah” “come inside then, I'll call her”She entered, it was clean and cosy inside. there were no sceneries or pictures on the wall, instead she saw some Arabic calligraphies. The boy showed her the way to their drawing room. “you may wait in here; she’ll be coming in a moment.” he said and went to call her. As she stepped inside, she saw someone sitting. He had a short beard of medium length, wore glasses, pale colour, dark black eyes resembled to Fa
It all occured on a cold night, she was wearing a long red dress. Carrying it was the most difficult thing even when she was drunk. The door of the lift opened with a ding and she got out, with one hand she slided her hair behind her ear and took slow steps in the corridor and looked for her room number, desperately looking at the closed doors. Then she remembered and took out the card from her purse. She was feeling dizzy. She read the number on it and started walking towards the door which faced her left. She turned the door knob and it was already open! She entered. It was a big dark room, lights were off or maybe it was on purpose. She instantly took her heels off and threw them on the floor at once as she could not bear the pain anymore. Without observing the surrounding she went to bathroom. She was feeling nauseated and vomited in the toilet until she felt light. Then she went under the shower and tried to unzip her dress. The zip was on back side and it was a great d
“you slept with me” he replied calmly. Stella thought that she'll may faint at the very moment, her head started to spin, her legs started to shake. She was already expecting such kind of situation, she already thought that it might have happened between them but hearing the bitter truth from him was more painful than thinking about it. “you may leave, you're wasting my time” he continued. She couldn't believe her eyes that how he can be so rude after spending a night with her even when she was unconscious, she assumed herself as a tissue paper which this man used and now throwing out like trash. She was disgusted with herself that she lost her virginity to a man who was not even worth it. She was continuously blaming herself that why she even drank and ended up in his room? His complete ignorance made her look at the door and she took heavy steps to go back. After entering her room, she sat on the bed and started to cry loudly. “Stella
She changed her clothes and packed her bags. As she reached stairs, she walked carefully not to get recognised. She went downstairs, there were many reporters. She saw security trying their best to stop them from entering hotel. For a moment she got curious that why these reporters came here or some famous personality is staying here. Then she walked towards the exit and looked at her watch, it was 11;10. She became worried that Clara would be tired of waiting. Just then she saw a car coming towards her. It was Clara. “sorry dude! I woke up a bit late” apologised Clara. “no need! I just came” replied stella. “then let's get going” said Clara while opening the car door. “I hope you had a good sleep yesterday” said Clara while driving. “what?” asked stella shockingly. “you were so drunk yesterday, Arthur called me to take you to hotel, I'm asking if you had a good sleep yesterday because you drank for the first time, maybe
“well thanks” said stella and walked away to avoid any further embarrassment. “what's that? I thought she liked me too” said Arthur to himself watching her back, walking away. Stella left Arthur in great surprise. The days went by slowly, making stella more confident. She made up her mind that if coincidentally she ran into him, she will not show any extraordinary expressions and will try to stay calm like she doesn’t know him. But sometimes fate don’t support you and what you expect never gets to happen instead you have to face opposite of it. That’s what happened to Stella. “ok students get off! We are here!” shouted professor park and got off the bus. Following professor everybody got off the bus. As they looked in front of them, they saw a huge company, made up of glass as major material, above the building was a creative logo designed by some expert and it clearly presented “Mckasson”, its name. Students were amazed by the arc
She looked up and saw his grey eyes which were already focused on her. For the first time she saw his face so closely. “he is indeed handsome” she thought. She felt unusual attraction towards him, which she never felt before. She could feel the secretion of hormones inside her body, she was on fire. She smelt his cologne, which was different from ordinary fragrances.On the other side steven joseph’s face was expressionless. He was good at hiding his feelings and expressions. But he was losing himself in front of that innocent face. He was getting lost in those dark eyes. He never got so much attract to a girl but now he was! Her red ears and blushing cheeks were making him crazy. “no, I don’t remember anything” she replied blinking her eyes several times and then lowered them again. She felt something around her waist, what was it? She couldn’t figure out for a second but it was a hand! Steven held her by the waist and said “should I
For a moment she tried to recognise the voice, it was somehow similar. It was Fatima! After realising she ran to her door. The reciter was silent by then. She knocked the door. She had to wait few minutes when a little boy opened the door. “yes?” the boy asked. “uhm, I wanted to ask who was reciting just now?” she replied nervously. “it was my sister” he said instantly. “can I meet Fatima?” “do you know my sister? You're her friend? “yeah” “come inside then, I'll call her”She entered, it was clean and cosy inside. there were no sceneries or pictures on the wall, instead she saw some Arabic calligraphies. The boy showed her the way to their drawing room. “you may wait in here; she’ll be coming in a moment.” he said and went to call her. As she stepped inside, she saw someone sitting. He had a short beard of medium length, wore glasses, pale colour, dark black eyes resembled to Fa
The next day, she woke up to a beautiful and charming weather. The wind was cold, but it was all cloudy. It was weekend. She got dressed in a blue jean pants and a white shirt, and wore sweater from above to feel a bit warm. After breakfast, she was doing her assignments when she remembered that she has to go today somewhere. She couldn’t decide that whether she should go or not, but stevens attitude last night let her made up her mind that she should pay him last visit and take her bracelet because it was more important to her. She couldn't lose her father's last gift.The weather was still same, but she quit the idea of wearing sweater. She was looking chic in that outfit, and with natural untie hair of mid back length swaying around her neck with the wind, made her look alluring. She took a bus and walked the half way to his office. She reached and stood outside the tall building for a while, took a deep breath and realised wind was tasting pleasant and lively. A
As stella entered the dining room everybody started to sang ‘happy birthday’.Her friends pop the party popper and they all cheered. The music started and everybody took their glasses and started to dance while stella sat on the chair waiting for cake to be arrive.A moment later the waiter entered with a large three tier cake and everybody shouted happily. Stella stood and they gathered around the table waiting for the stella to cut the cake. She held knife which was also decorated as the same colour as the cake, and started to cut the cake while everybody sang her the birthday song again.The room was decorated very beautifully with balloons and disco ball in the centre. After cutting the cake she fed the cake to everybody with her own hands. And then Clara and some other fellows mischievously put a cake on stella's face.“Clara what are you doing?” screamed stella.“oops! Its tradition” she cheered and l
Stella was sitting on the grass when Clara came to her. “stella do you know, that new Muslim girl in our class slapped Arthur” said Clara desperately. “what?” stella was shocked. “Arthur was abusing her because of her hijab since she came, and now he tried to touch her hand” told Clara. “okay, abusing her makes sense but what's the deal with touching hand?” asked Stella suspiciously. “because he is not ‘MEHRAM’ for her” replied Clara. “what's that?” asked Stella. “I don’t know much but that’s the word they use for people who cannot touch them especially its for males, they have a restriction that not everybody can touch Muslim women” explained Clara. Stella did not ask anymore. She got curious and started to had some suspicious feelings, of which she was not sure. That day as stella reached home, she saw somebody familiar in her neighbourhood. As she saw the girl closely, she realized that it was the same hijabed girl f
She looked up and saw his grey eyes which were already focused on her. For the first time she saw his face so closely. “he is indeed handsome” she thought. She felt unusual attraction towards him, which she never felt before. She could feel the secretion of hormones inside her body, she was on fire. She smelt his cologne, which was different from ordinary fragrances.On the other side steven joseph’s face was expressionless. He was good at hiding his feelings and expressions. But he was losing himself in front of that innocent face. He was getting lost in those dark eyes. He never got so much attract to a girl but now he was! Her red ears and blushing cheeks were making him crazy. “no, I don’t remember anything” she replied blinking her eyes several times and then lowered them again. She felt something around her waist, what was it? She couldn’t figure out for a second but it was a hand! Steven held her by the waist and said “should I
“well thanks” said stella and walked away to avoid any further embarrassment. “what's that? I thought she liked me too” said Arthur to himself watching her back, walking away. Stella left Arthur in great surprise. The days went by slowly, making stella more confident. She made up her mind that if coincidentally she ran into him, she will not show any extraordinary expressions and will try to stay calm like she doesn’t know him. But sometimes fate don’t support you and what you expect never gets to happen instead you have to face opposite of it. That’s what happened to Stella. “ok students get off! We are here!” shouted professor park and got off the bus. Following professor everybody got off the bus. As they looked in front of them, they saw a huge company, made up of glass as major material, above the building was a creative logo designed by some expert and it clearly presented “Mckasson”, its name. Students were amazed by the arc
She changed her clothes and packed her bags. As she reached stairs, she walked carefully not to get recognised. She went downstairs, there were many reporters. She saw security trying their best to stop them from entering hotel. For a moment she got curious that why these reporters came here or some famous personality is staying here. Then she walked towards the exit and looked at her watch, it was 11;10. She became worried that Clara would be tired of waiting. Just then she saw a car coming towards her. It was Clara. “sorry dude! I woke up a bit late” apologised Clara. “no need! I just came” replied stella. “then let's get going” said Clara while opening the car door. “I hope you had a good sleep yesterday” said Clara while driving. “what?” asked stella shockingly. “you were so drunk yesterday, Arthur called me to take you to hotel, I'm asking if you had a good sleep yesterday because you drank for the first time, maybe
“you slept with me” he replied calmly. Stella thought that she'll may faint at the very moment, her head started to spin, her legs started to shake. She was already expecting such kind of situation, she already thought that it might have happened between them but hearing the bitter truth from him was more painful than thinking about it. “you may leave, you're wasting my time” he continued. She couldn't believe her eyes that how he can be so rude after spending a night with her even when she was unconscious, she assumed herself as a tissue paper which this man used and now throwing out like trash. She was disgusted with herself that she lost her virginity to a man who was not even worth it. She was continuously blaming herself that why she even drank and ended up in his room? His complete ignorance made her look at the door and she took heavy steps to go back. After entering her room, she sat on the bed and started to cry loudly. “Stella
It all occured on a cold night, she was wearing a long red dress. Carrying it was the most difficult thing even when she was drunk. The door of the lift opened with a ding and she got out, with one hand she slided her hair behind her ear and took slow steps in the corridor and looked for her room number, desperately looking at the closed doors. Then she remembered and took out the card from her purse. She was feeling dizzy. She read the number on it and started walking towards the door which faced her left. She turned the door knob and it was already open! She entered. It was a big dark room, lights were off or maybe it was on purpose. She instantly took her heels off and threw them on the floor at once as she could not bear the pain anymore. Without observing the surrounding she went to bathroom. She was feeling nauseated and vomited in the toilet until she felt light. Then she went under the shower and tried to unzip her dress. The zip was on back side and it was a great d