Chapter Seventeen – Unintentionally
Raphael stood to his feet and turned to the balcony on the right of his room. As he walked towards it, he still kept thinking about Alaya. He started thinking about how his life changed over the years as he passed the opened curtain on either side of the glass door that lead to the balcony. He froze for a moment when the cold breeze from the outside touched him as he stepped out in the balcony. But then he started walking into the cold, as he accepted the fact that perhaps he was not meant to have the comfort of warmth in any aspect of his life.
As he held on to the railing and thought back at his life, the many ups and downs that he went through came rushing to his mind. His mother’s death on the day he graduated from school made it the worst day of his life. He knew that if he was able to afford to get further treatment for his mother, she would have lived a little longer by Allah’s Will. That thought triggered him to build the life he had been planning all his life. In hope of doing things for his father that he could not do for his mother. As a result, he opened up a motor vehicle wash and repair garage right by the small space behind his house. He had very little hope that it would work out but remembered his mother’s words about hopelessness.
“Hopelessness is only from shaithaan, son. Stay away from it as much as possible. And if you do feel that something is impossible, just look up and make dua to Allah. For whatever you need. Allah will make it come true if that in fact is best for you. Put your trust in Him in whatever you do, Raphael. And stay in touch with His Word. It will give you strength.” his mother had said to him the day before she died. Those words stick to him because those were one of the last things he heard from his mother. As a result he started thinking more about it. And as weird as it felt in the beginning, he started calling on Allah whenever he needed something. He started reciting the Quran more often. And to his surprise, he did feel strong whenever he spent time with those Words. And he began to see the fruits of his labour sooner than he thought.
His plan to open a garage became a huge success. He knew how to do the job due to his early career in a garage far away from home. Many people started bringing their vehicles to him because of the cheap price he asks for and because of his honesty. Soon, he had a business of his own and realized he needed help to attend to the many vehicles that parked into the garage. He hired a couple of young men from the neighborhood who were interested and knew how to do the work. Many more voluntarily came to work with him because of how they saw his business growing.
An year later when he had enough money, he invested in opening a retail shop in the neighborhood as he saw that there were no shops nearby the area and people had to walk far to get the basic groceries. Once again, he started it small and then it grew like a rapid fire. Soon, he owned a mall in a more developed area of the city along with the shop he ran in his home street.
He started many other businesses in a similar manner and soon, many other businessmen started signing contracts with him. Even people from abroad heard about a growing young businessman in a small town in Cairo. His business expanded as he made partnerships with other businessmen from abroad and a few years down the line, he lost count of the many people he was running his business with. He found himself travelling, buying estates to live with his father and his many assistants managing his jobs for him. Every day, he takes a moment to look what’s all around him and just thank Allah. Because he knew deep down inside that it was only by Allah’s Will that he became successful. And what he saw in his huge business was the answer to his duas.
Raphael looked up at the sky full of stars as he remembered Allah. The stars reminded him of an ayah of the Quran where Allah takes an oath by the placement of the stars. And through that oath Allah compares the Quran to the stars. As though to say that the Quran guides a person through the dark journey of life. Just like how the stars show which way to go for a person who travels in the night.
As usual, a deep happiness filled his heart as he thought about an ayah from the Quran. Over the years, Raphael has had a growing love for that Book. He loves to recite it, memorize it and learn more about it. Whenever he does learn something new, he loved to share it. Especially with those he adored the most. Till now, he only shared his knowledge with his father. But there was someone else’s name always in the corner of his heart whenever he thought of sharing an ayah. That was none other than Alaya.
He was surprised when he saw her after almost a decade. The first thought that came to his mind was that she looked so much more beautiful in a hijab and a modest dress. He wondered if Alaya too had learned more about Islam and turned towards Allah. He didn’t get to know that since they did not get to have many interactions till now.
Raphael’s chest tightened at the thought that their situation does not allow them to have a close conversation. If only….if only he hadn’t heard about Alaya’s engagement when he had gone to search for her in New York a few weeks ago. If only he didn’t hear that she was happy about it. If only he didn’t have to come back to Boston, and be forced to marry Laana under the circumstances he was in. Perhaps he would have gotten back with Alaya, if Laana was out of the picture. It didn’t appear to Raphael that Alaya was married. If she was, why would she be here in Boston? He wished he knew. He wished he could find out. But he knew that the best thing he could do right now was to be patient. He didn’t want anyone to point fingers at Alaya with the accusations of having an affair with a married man. So he wouldn’t take a chance of that happening. And he wouldn’t let Alaya take even a single step down that road either.
There was sadness in Raphael’s heart as he laid in bed that night. He knew Laana was having an affair with another man since a few days after their marriage. As much as it hurt to realize that his wife was cheating on him, the fact that he got to see Alaya after he’d become hopeless of seeing her again gave a reason for his heart to beat with happiness. And the fact that she asked whether he was happy, made him smile after a time as long as forever. He started fantasizing what a life with Alaya would be like. But he brushed the thoughts off his mind remembering that he had to stay away from her as much as possible. He swore to himself that he would not get involved in any of Alaya’s affairs until Allah showed both of them a way of getting out of this difficult situation.
But it was quite the opposite that began to happen. Though Raphael still kept a distance and barely gave Alaya a chance to see him, he was all ears to anything that he would hear about Alaya from Jia or Laana. A few days after the encounter they had, Raphael heard from Jia that Alaya was not doing well.
“It was I think the fish she ate last night. She kept vomiting this whole morning. I searched for a medicine from the first aid box but could not find anything suitable. I told her to go to the doctor but she said she would be fine and went to work. I called her just now and she said felt dizzy but won’t skip work. I really think she shouldn’t be working.” Jia said in all desperation. The way she talked made Raphael realize how close Alaya became even with Jia while Laana won’t show even a bit of respect for her. Admiring Alaya’s humbleness, Raphael quickly thought of how he could help her. He found out the name of the company Alaya was working for through Jia and got to know that he knew the owner pretty well. He called that partner of his and requested him to give Alaya an early leave. Then, he sent a car to the office with a driver to pick up Alaya. Before the car even left the house, he searched for some medicine from his room and kept them on Alaya’s study table.
That was the beginning of the series of help Raphael began to send Alaya’s way. A few days after Alaya got well, he heard that she got stuck in a taxi with a man who harassed her verbally on her way to work. Raphael at once arranged a trusted driver just for Alaya without letting her know that it was he who did it. Then he heard that Alaya was in need of a personal computer to do some extra work even from home. Raphael contacted one of her co-workers to lend her a loan to buy a laptop. Then he heard that Alaya wanted to learn how to drive. Within a few days, Alaya found a friend on the road who offered her an admission into her brother’s driving school.
Alaya’s POV
Alaya was stunned by the affairs of her life. She paused moment by moment to think what in the world was going on. She was getting everything she needed and wanted just at the time she wished for it. Was she being helped by a fairy godmother or something?
She didn’t have the facts to know that she was being helped by someone who loved her. And he was helping her unintentionally with a heart on a purpose.
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“Then I swear by the setting of the stars. And indeed, it is an oath – if you could know – [most] great. Indeed its a noble Quran”
Quran 56:75-77
