The holiday that they both took was coming to an end,so Hameed decided to make it worthy before he went back to work and Asma to her studies,also the therapy session, Asma had finally warmed up to his presence ,she no more give him cold shoulders and silent treatment.
He stood by the garden translucent door admiring Asma who's so focused on her work,gardening the flowers. Her forehead glazed themselves with sweats as she used the back of her gloved hand to wipe it away. 'Her focus was always on that lavender,she gives more attention to it more than other flowers,did she perhaps love it? I should buy more right? No! I will buy more definitely....' Hameed's thoughts goes on like that till he became dazed not aware that Asma stood in front of him with a vase in her hands.'when did she get here?' He silently questioned in his head.
"Don't just stand here like a block, be useful" she voiced out and tossed out the vase into his arms. Hameed hurriedly caught the vase as it almost slipped out of his hands
"When did you get here?" He asked following her deep into the garden his face twisted into an embarrassed look for been caught staring.
" staring is not good, I snapped you out before it becomes your habit" picking up another empty vase,she made her way to bucket of fertilized sand and filled it halfway.
"I wouldn't mind if it becomes an habit,because my eyes won't stray away from you even for a second as you're my wife" He said with a confident smile,signaling her with his head on what to do with the flower vase he was holding .
"Fill it halfway with sand and dish that baby in" she brushed his words away pointing towards a big vase filled with preemie sunflowers.
"Your choice of words always fascinates me" He pointed out with an iota of expectation,whether she will comment on his cheesy words.
"The baby Mr.Hameed"she brushed it off again.
"What!a baby? Are we perhaps expecting a baby." He asked feigning innocence, in his head jubilating 'Ha! I got you, you're going to fall for this definitely'
"If you regard a sunflower as a baby,then yes we're expecting one" she walked past him to the open cabinet picking up the watering can.
"Ya Allah this girl surely knows how to make things not obvious to her" he internally groaned,slightly stomping his feet like a small child who was deprived of a toy, she turned around questioning him with a raised brow. "No..don't mind me I was just testing the durability of this shoes" He sheepishly said and made his way to where she's working on the flowers.
They garden in silence, sheltering the pre-matured flowers into different shapes of vases.
"Have you ever went to a cinema?" He asked as they sat on a wooden bench in the garden after they finished watering the flowers. He slipped deeper into the bench as he's tired from attending and feeding the so called babies.
"None that I can recall"came her reply as she looked ahead of the garden wooden fence to the morning sun.
Okay! This is another chance
"Go get ready Asma we're hitting the cinema today" he enthusiastically said,excitement filled his emerald green eyes which made him to sit upright.
Asma looked into his emerald green orbs observantly as they started to turn jade green in color, 'so this is another way to explore the world,just like gaming ' she thought,her mind quickly turning her disinterest to interest.
They made their way into the tremendous mall. Hameed dressed in olive green pants and white bottom up shirt,while Asma cloaked in her usual dark abaya with dark green hijab.
Upon arriving inside the mall ,Hameed bought some drinks and popcorn. After that he asked Asma to wait for him in the waiting lounge of the mall as he bought movies tickets for both of them. It didn't take long when they entered the cinema room with their refreshments.
There were the early bird so they got to choose a great spot first. Hameed and Asma sat on the second rows of chairs so that they'll have a clear view with no disturbance of couple's lovey dovey moments at the back rows. After some minutes and the cinema tended to be full,they took off the lights and the movie began.
It was a romantic movie about a girl who suffered from blood cancer and a doctor who was in charge of her chemotherapy. The girl gave up on everything,on falling in love ,getting married,exploring life as she knew that she's going to die in two months. 'If she's going to die in two months to come,then what's the essence of attaching herself to something that later on she will have to say goodbye ' that what she believed but everything came crashing,her will,her oath,her resolve when she met her doctor. He made her experience a great life full of love,care and happiness,he showed her the beauty of life and travel with her through out her cancerous life till she breathed her last breath,though with no regret!!.
The movie was a tragic one that made most of the people in the cinema to shed some tears. Hameed eyes gauged Asma face when the movie came to an end,whether he will find any changes but yes! As usual she concealed them perfectly without any twitch.
"Come on Asma, let's go kill this feeling of 'after watching a tragic movie'"He stood up from his seat then accidentally grabbed her hand attempting to drag her up,earning her attention at an incredible velocity ,realization quickly hit him as his widen eyes looked down to their jabbed hands. People in the cinema seemed to vanish as their gazes locked into each other's.
Spray of emotions all around as their world had gone haywire with the friction that their hands exchanged.
Asma tired slipping away her hand when the chaotic voices of people in the cinema unbuilt the tension between them,but Hameed clasped it further not giving her any chance 'I won't back out like before Asma I won't!' He wordlessly made her stood up ,his eyes held the look of determination and together they walked out of the cinema with their entangled hands,it was when they got to his car that he reluctantly let go.
The moment he let go she felt the warmth of his hand evaporated into thin air. 'Why does it suddenly feel cold?'she thought
Hameed drove them to bowling alley. Asma eyes wandered around the room as they made their way to the cashier,he payed for the bowling fee and booked a lean.
"Do you know how to play a bowling game"Hameed asked passing a pair of bowling shoes to her,though it looked smaller compared to his but it still looked big on her feet.
"No, but I read about it" she replied and firmly tied the laces of her shoes.
"Okay I'll teach you"
Hameed made his way to where the bowling balls were kept and picked up a normal size and a small size.
"pin bowling, the goal is to knock over pins on a long playing surface known as lean.A strike is achieved when all the pins are knocked down on the first roll, and a spare is achieved if all the pins are knocked over on a second roll." He explained and silently looked at her face
"Trust me it's going to be fun"
Hameed altered his stance,one leg forward the other bent backward then released the bowling ball knocking down all the 10 pins.
"See,that's not hard. Come lemme show you".
After bowling at the bowling alley,Hameed and Asma proceed to amusement park.
"We are not children,so what brought us here"Asma dully said adjusting the strap of her bag. Scrutinizing the surrounding which was bustling with life,buzz of chatters and squeals of children as they enjoyed different kinds of rides and games.
"Believe me, I also don't know what made me to drive here,but trying won't hurt right?"
Hameed made his way to a stall where he changed the money to coins. They enjoyed extreme rides 'more like Hameed enjoyed it' but Asma only sat there calculating the distance between the ground and the flying UFO.
Hameed felt like his head was spinning after they were done with the roller coaster ride. He felt like he was going to puke from the intense dizziness that he felt. Asma couldn't help but ponder,She didn't except that Hameed would have motion sickness after the enthusiasm he showed for the ride. She didn't know what got into her as she silently walked to a certain stall where they sold bottled water, she brought one and went back to where he sat.
"You should drink up water to cool off the nausea"she passed it to him and found her seat beside him.
"Thank you"
He drank the water while his eyes strayed to her face, 'her facade is still intact' he thought
'But what made her to care for me?' He asked in his head 'Maybe she felt a bit of it'.
Not wanting to spoil the outing by his motion sickness Hameed stood up to his feet.
"Let's visit the arcade"
They made their way into the arcade. It was hard to imagine that it was Asma's first time in the arcade,everything was new and fascinating to her.
"What are we going to do here?"she asked as she looked curiously at the row of glasses shelves which were filled with all sort of stuffed cute toys. In front one of it ,a man stood and had put a few coins into the machine ,then started to move a control red bottom.
"We're going to claw toys,each attempt cost one coin, want to try?" Hameed asked, she nodded her head meaning no
"Just go ahead"
"Mhmm alright, Asma? Which one do you like I will help you claw it!"Hameed was eager to impress Asma with his clawing skills.
"Anything"she said and stood beside him watching him as he put a coin into the machine.
"Okay just watch I will claw as many toys as you want "Hameed busted.sadly luck was not on his side today ,he had put in ten coins,and still did not claw anything at all. He looked as if he was on the verge of breaking down the machine. Whenever he came with Maryam he usually clawed more that ten toys for her. He groaned slowly running his hands into his hair.
"Shift,let me try" Asma voice came from behind him,she shoved her bag to him and stood by his side then bent to the machine.
"The coins?"Hameed gave her all the remaining coins and moved from his spot.
Asma attentively looked into the glass and then pressed the red button, she successfully clawed a small cute bunny at first try. 'She's luckier than me' Hameed complained silently.
Asma nonchalantly picked the bunny toy and stuffed it into Hameed's arms,then continued to claw. At the end Asma had actually used those remaining coins to claw about 12 toys.
After they left the arcade,Hameed held two carton bags full of furry toys that Asma had clawed in satisfaction. He was so excited about how she gave her all to clawed toys for him.
"Could we please go to that stall?" Asma said pointing towards a particular stall that looked dull with many children working around it,from the look one could phased them as orphans wanting to earn some money to carter for themselves.
"Okay" Hameed expression changed to a pity one as he observed the stall. They made their way to the stall.Asma greeted the girl in charge of the stall and distributed all the stuffed toys they clawed to the children around,they happily thanked her and wished her well.
Hameed also gave the girl some money to provide for the children. The girl and the children faces beamed with happiness as they thanked Asma and Hameed repeatedly .
After that they made their way to another stall that contained varieties of snacks to feed their grumbled bellies. After they're done snacking on the food and some sweet candies. Hameed and Asma went to the sea side park to witness the beautiful sunset.
"Did you enjoy today?" Hameed asked Asma who sat beside him on a bench looking at the yellowish-orange color of the sky as the sun began to set.
They've removed their shoes feeling the cold sensation of the sea sand. She turned and looked at him her lips parted slightly to say something but went against it as she closed them back.
Seeing that she's having difficulty voicing her thoughts
He asked something else.
"What can you say about sunsets?"
"Sunsets are one of the most beautiful creations of Allah,When you look at it you seem to ponder where does the sun goes ,but all knowings goes to Allah the Almighty".
She explained dipping her feet more into the sand. The side of Hameed's orbs wrinkled slightly as he smiled. Her eyes at that moment were so beautiful with peachy hue in them as her gaze was fixed on the sun.
"I've never heard a perfect view about sunset than yours" He praised
"Apart from the religious perspective,many people viewed sunsets in different ways, Sunsets are also intimately connected with love, life, friendship, family, the beach, and the ocean."He said concentrating on the sun too.
"Sunsets are instants of intimate and private contemplation. It's a time when we look at each other without mirrors"He continued
"Richie Norton said,Every sunset is an opportunity to reset,Then Asma let's reset our relationship. Let's start with friendship" Hameed shifted his gaze from the sun to her face.
""Life is partly what we make it, and partly what it is made by the friends we choose." — Tennessee Williams"As usual Asma quoted from Tennessee William writings on friendship.
"Then if you believe in that,.."he paused looking at her eyes which intensively looked back into his and then continued
"..be my friend Asma, one who I can share my worries with,the one I can lean on for support,one who can accept my fear and chase away my nightmares,one that I can call my wife at sunrise and call me her husband at sunset "
She kept quiet
"Being friends doesn't hurt right?" He tilted his head to the right side inform of questioning,stretching his hand out for a shake.
She lifted her hand to his own level. Witnessing that Hameed softly and gently took her hand into his for a firm shake.
"Omit the last part"
"Why?"
" it doesn't feel right?" 'Feel?Hameed kept silent for some minutes 'just like Ahmad said,she uses the words but doesn't feel them' clearing his throat he uttered
"Don't be afraid of new beginnings. Don't shy away from new people, new energy, new surroundings Asma. Embrace new chances at happiness."
"It seemed impossible, having my emotions back could take eternity and I don't have time for that"
"Okay let's leave it as a tool of reference".
He softly squeezed her hand in his feeling the softness of her palm at the same time assuring her his protection. She shook his hand lightly. Her voice came out a little scratchy yet confirmative.
"Friends"
Hameed face beamed as he placed his other hand on top of their interlocked ones.
"Let's watch all of our sunset together"
'Hmm' she faintly nodded.
And that's how they sat ,Hameed not letting go of her hand as the sun set ,setting down with their sealed friendship...