***
Haider removed his shoes and stepped inside the mosque, the carpets beneath his feet cool against his skin.
From inside, various tones filled the air, each voice reciting a familiar verse in Arabic.
Haider's lips curved into a smile. The children's cheerful and wistful recitations were calming.
He walked inside, and immediately, the students' attention fell upon him.
"Uncle Haider!!"
"It's Uncle Haider!!"
Haider couldn't help but chuckle as the kids circled around him with their hopeful eyes.
"Uncle Haider, what did you bring for us this time?"
"I hope it's the chocolate you bought last time!!"
Haider grinned and pulled out two bundles filled with various snacks. Instantly, the kids cheered.
"Yay!! Thank you, Uncle Haider! Let's go eat."
"Who is leaving?"
A stern voice interrupted from behind.
The children's faces fell as they slowly turned around.
There, they were met with their ustad, who wore a deep, fierce scowl, his arms crossed over his chest.
"U-Ustad..."
The kids pouted.
"Come on, let them go for a while," Haider requested.
SIGH
Yusuf sighed deeply, having lost to the children's charms, and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"You are really spoiling them."
Haider giggled.
Within a second, the room full of children was nowhere to be found as they seized their chance and fled.
"So? Why have you come on such short notice?"
Yusuf's question brought a serious look to Haider's face, prompting him to take a seat across from him. Yusuf couldn't help but notice the dark, shuddering air surrounding Haider. It was almost suffocating.
"They came again, this time to my house."
Instantly, Yusuf's eyes widened in surprise, and the hand resting against his face dropped in shock.
He lifted one brow and asked in a raspy, hurried tone.
"Why now? They weren't meant to come now!?"
"I don't know... but the important part is that Ariya is with me. I can't let them see her."
Haider spoke with determination etched into his tone, his hands curling into fists to further symbolise his tenacity.
Yusuf breathed out heavily one last time, rubbing his forehead. He was already suffering from a headache with this information. He opened his mouth again.
"What can I do now?"
"Stall them for some time. I will handle it this time. You just need to step in after I clear the path."
Yusuf pondered in silence for a brief moment before locking eyes with the man across from him. When he stared deeper into Haider's eyes, a chill ran through him, causing him to scoff with a slight sense of fear.
"Don't go showing this side of yourself around Ariya. She might run for her life."
***
Care and love were two different yet vastly similar feelings. You care for people you give importance to, and you only love people who are dear to you.
And what is the process of climbing the stairs of love? Someone who has never felt such emotions would never know what it truly meant.
People learn from books and from wise teachers. However, neither of those two would truly teach you how to love.
It is fragile and so fickle. A feeling that feels so fleeting and distant.
Each human is designed in different shapes and bodies, each of them having their own special people they hold dear to.
So what does it mean to love?
1. You are overly concerned about how you are seen by your significant other.
2. You keep thinking about them even when they aren't with you.
3. Your care for them is endless, enough to sacrifice your own happiness for them.
4. They become the living muse of your life.
5. It feels empty without them.
6. You wish to never part with them.
I closed the book in my hands and returned it to the library shelf.
What am I even doing?
It has been like this for a while. My heart keeps throbbing. His gentle actions and his care- they meant so much that words couldn't describe them.
How did I conclude that I've fallen in love with him?
It was almost like a sudden realisation, a thought that simply appeared in my mind before slowly engulfing it.
I haven't loved a man before, nor have I ever paid them any mind.
Yet somehow, there was this desire blooming within me.
I wanted to get to know him better. I wanted to know his likes and dislikes, his happiness, and what he truly felt for me.
I wanted to ask why he chose me out of all people, but then again, I felt guilty for being so happy that he chose me above everyone else.
It almost seemed like I was special to him, someone he wanted to spend his life with.
Had he given it a thought like this?
Nevertheless, the face he wore last night still troubled me.
I picked up my things and headed out of the building. Today, I wanted to go and meet him.