Her Best Friend

Today was Zuwairah's wedding, and she was so happy. Many of her friends were visiting, and she could not wait to become Mrs. Rasheed.

"Hey! Where's Tracy?" one of her friends, whose name happened to be Comfort, asked. Tracy had been Zuwairah's friend for over eighteen years now, and even though she wasn't a Muslim, Zuwairah's family loved her very much. She was also one of her best friends.

"That's true. Where is she?" Zulaiha chimed in.

"I think you guys should all calm down, okay? Her flight will land soon. Don't worry, she's going to make it," Zuwairah assured them.

"She better," they all chorused.

***

It'd been over an hour, and there was still no trace of Tracy. The wedding was about to begin, and Zuwairah was starting to get restless. Of all people, she didn't want Tracy to be the one to miss her wedding day.

She asked Zulaiha to pass her the phone; she wanted to give Tracy another call.

"Hey! Where are you?" she asked as soon as Tracy picked up.

"Hey girlfriend…I'm so sorry, I won't be able to make it to your wedding. Something came up, and I just can't…I'm sorry," she replied over the phone. Zuwairah was shocked by her sudden revelation.

They had been in constant communication over the phone, and Tracy had never mentioned that she wouldn't be able to attend Zuwairah's wedding.

Unbeknownst to her, Tracy was already in the house.

"I will make it up to you," she hung up without waiting for a reply.

"Did she just hang up on me?!" Zuwairah asked herself as she stared at her phone in bewilderment. She was speechless. In fact, speechless was an understatement at the moment. She was beyond shocked, and just when she was about to recover from the news her friend had just hit her with, she heard a familiar voice.

"Hello, girls!" Tracy screamed excitedly as all the girls squealed and ran to hug her.

"Unbelievable!" Zuwairah scoffed while she rolled her eyes. "She just told me she wouldn't be able to make it! Was she pulling my leg all along?"

"Baby!" Tracy called, trying her best to give Zuwairah an innocent look.

"Were you pulling my leg when you told me you wouldn't be able to make it?" she asked, glaring at her friend.

"What? No, baby, I wouldn't do that! You know you're my one and only," Tracy replied, giving Zuwairah her puppy-dog face.

"Well…" Zuwairah trailed off as she glanced over at everyone in the room, "that will soon change because I'm going to become someone else's one and only soon." She blushed when the rest of the girls made an 'O' shape with their mouths.

"Oh my God, that's true! Speaking of the devil, I can't believe you still haven't shown me his picture. Please don't tell me you're scared that I'll take him away from you?" she asked, smirking.

"You wouldn't dare!" She glared at her.

"This girl is too funny. Why does she take everything so personal?" Tracy thought.

Tracy and the other girls burst into a fit of laughter before saying in unison, "Why don't you just show her his picture?"

"Okay then." She passed her phone to Zulaiha. Zulaiha didn't bother to look at the picture because she had met him so many times already. Instead, she passed it to the other girls. They kept passing the phone until it reached Tracy.

Tracy felt as if cold water had been poured over her the moment her eyes came in contact with the picture. "Is…is this…is this the man you want to marry?" she asked her friend.

"Of course that's him! Who else would it be?" She shot Tracy a curious look. "So, what do you think? Isn't my love so handsome and charming?"

"Eh…erm…y-yeah…he's…" she replied, stuttering.

"Hey, are you okay? You seem anxious all of a sudden," a concerned Zuwairah asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm perfectly okay! Erm, Zuwairah?" she called, and Zuwairah raised her brow in question "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

Zuwairah agreed, and they both walked out of the room to talk in private.

"Hey, what happened to you? Why the sudden change in mood?" Zuwairah asked her friend.

"Zuwairah, I am not okay! I'm not okay at all. You see…you see, that guy is…I'm sorry, Zuwairah, but you just can't marry him! You can't! You can never ever marry him!"

"Wait a minute, Tracy, what are you saying? Have you forgotten that today is my wedding day? You can't play your silly pranks today. Please, Tracy, I love this man so much. He's the one I want marry, no one else."

"Zuwairah, I'm sorry if my words have hurt you, but I know what I'm talking about. He's Abdul!"

Zuwairah couldn't help but chuckle at Tracy's words. "No, no, I'm sure my love is not that monster, okay? His name is not even Abdul; it's Rasheed."

"Zuwairah, please, just listen to me. Listen to me carefully. Yes, his name might be Rasheed—that's what you and his parents call him, right?"

"Right."

"But what do his friends call him?"

"Abdul," Zuwairah replied. Now, her heart was beating twice as fast as before.

"Yes! Which implies that his full name is Abdul Rasheed. His parents call him Rasheed, while his friends call him Abdul. Plus, they look so alike—the same face, same hair, same nose. Zuwairah, please believe me! I'm very sure of what I'm saying. He's the same person. He's the one. You can't marry him!"

"Tracy, are you really sure?" She couldn't believe what she had just heard. She didn't know what to feel right now. Could he be that man? Could her future husband, who she had trusted with all her heart, be that monster?

"I'm very sure, Zuwairah. We need to stop this wedding! I can't let you marry him! Have you forgotten? Have you forgotten what he did?! You can't marry that monster!" Tracy half-yelled. She was so scared; she couldn't let her friend get married to the man everyone was so afraid of.

"What do we do now?" Zuwairah asked in a panic.

"You have to call off the wedding," Tracy suggested.

"No, Tracy! I can't do that! I'll ruin my family's reputation," she said, almost on the verge of crying. What was happening? She was so happy this morning, excited to get married to Rasheed, but now everything had changed! Everything was ruined. Nothing would ever be the same now that she knew that the person she was about to marry had done such evil things.

"You have to talk to Aunty at least. She's better off than your parents. She'll understand," Tracy suggested. Zuwairah nodded in agreement.

***

"Aunty, can I talk to you for a moment?" she asked her aunt, who was getting dressed for the wedding already. She took a seat beside her.

"Hey, you aren't dressed yet?" she answered Zuwairah with a question.

"Erm…no, Aunty, I'm not, but I will be soon," she said smiling. How would she tell her that she couldn't go through with the wedding anymore because she had learned that her husband was someone she never thought he could be? She was very sure her aunt would spank her for uttering such nonsense. Yes! To her, it would sound absurd.

"Aunty, you see…I've always wanted to ask you this question: what if, maybe, God forbid…" Her Aunty nodded in anticipation. "What if, on a wedding day, the wife refuses to go through with the wedding? Is that okay?"

"What? Impossible! That would never happen! I've never heard anything so absurd in my life. What's happened? Why are you asking?" she asked Zuwairah. The question had caught her off guard. She was astonished. How could she just blurt something like this out of the blue?

"Erm…nothing…nothing, I was just asking, you know, just to know. So…if I, hypothetically, were the one who wanted to cancel my wedding, you wouldn't give your consent?" Zuwairah asked again.

"No way, dear! We would never support such behavior. But you, I trust, would also never think of doing something so drastic. You love your man, right?"

"Yeah, right," she replied, nodding her head with an awkward smile on her face.

"Okay, then I think I should leave you and go get dressed," Zuwairah said, standing up. She could feel her palms sweating, but she had to play along. She didn't think she would be able to bear the consequences if her parents found out.

"Yes, of course. And remember, you're the bride, and this is your day."

"Don't you dare touch me!" Zuwairah spat at her husband as he tried to come closer to her on their matrimonial bed the night after their wedding. Her voice was shaking as she uttered those words.

"And why can't I come closer to my amarya (wife)? I'm your husband, Zuwairah," he replied to her. He couldn't pinpoint what was happening. Earlier in the morning, before they had tied the knot, they were so happy. When he had called her on the phone, she'd sounded so happy while they talked. So, why was she acting this way now? What had happened to her all of a sudden?

"No, you're not. You can never be my husband!" she spat at him. She had promised herself she would never allow him to touch her. She only agreed to go through with the wedding because she didn't want to ruin her family's reputation.

"Yes, I am because we got married this morning. I've paid your bride price already, my dear wife. Please, just tell me the reason you're behaving this way," he asked in frustration. What had gotten into her all of a sudden? She didn't look like the same Zuwairah he knew.

"Go! Just leave!" Zuwairah screamed, crying uncontrollably again.

"I told you already, I'm not going anywhere. You're my wife, and I love you very much." He tried his best to make her see all the love he had for her, but it was to avail because Zuwairah was not ready to change her mind.

"But I don't love you! Please, go away!" she shouted at him.

"Zuwairah, what's wrong? Are you no longer a virgin? I promise if that's the case, I won't be mad. I love you, and I'll understand. I didn't marry you for that; I married you because I love you so much," he said to her, almost crying.

"What could have caused this sudden change?" he kept asking himself.

"I don't care, Rasheed. Just go away! I hate you so much, so go!"

"I see, you don't know what you're saying," he said smiling, trying to move closer to her, but in a swift motion, Zuwairah brought out a small knife and threatened him with it.

"Don't you dare move closer to me because I won't hesitate to kill you," she said, pointing the small knife at him.

"Zuwairah! W-what are you doing with a knife?" he asked, glaring at her. He was so shocked. He hadn't seen this side of her before.

"You better leave this room right now. If not, I'm going to kill you and then kill myself," she threatened again. "Now out! Out! Get away from here!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.

Rasheed was confounded by what was happening. He was sure that he hadn't done anything wrong, so why the sudden change? "Perhaps she's hiding something?" he thought before bringing his phone out of his trousers. He dialed his friend's number, and within the first ring, he picked up.

"Hello to the groom," he taunted, but he composed himself when he heard his friend's weary voice.

"Abdul, what's wrong?"

"I…I don't know what's happening," he said.

"What? What do you mean?" his friend asked, surprised and confused also.

"She…she drove me out of the room."

"Who? Who drove you out?"

"Zuwairah, of course! Who else?"

"What?! What happened? Why would she do that? I mean, you two are married, right? So why would she drive you out of the room? Come on, Abdul, you don't joke about things like this on your wedding night. So, hurry up and go be with your wife…okay?"

"I'm not joking! I'm serious, Abubakar. She…she drove me out by threatening to kill herself if I didn't leave."

"What? Are we talking about the same Zuwairah? She isn't someone who would do something like that…" Abubakar answered, not sure of what to say.

"That's why I'm so confused right now. I think something's bothering her. She needs someone to talk to. You need to go see her. She was shivering and crying when I left."

"Are you sure you didn't offend her?"

"How could I? I mean, we just got married today, and…no, I didn't do anything, Abubakar."

"Okay, calm down, okay? Just go to the other room and sleep peacefully. First thing tomorrow morning, Qasim and I will be there," he said, and they both hung up the call.

Zuwairah was not the type to deceive others. No, she didn't have it in her, so why would she drive her husband out of the room and lock herself inside? Something fishy was definitely going on, but what could it be?

***

"As salamu Alaikum (peace be upon you)," both Abubakar and Qasim chorused together as they entered Rasheed's house.

"Wa Alaykum salam (peace be upon you too)," Rasheed answered with a tired and sad voice.

"God of mercy, this is serious, isn't it?! I mean, she really did lock you out of your room, didn't she?" Qasim asked with wide eyes as he saw yesterday's clothes still on his friend's body.

"I don't know what to do anymore. I tried to have a proper conversation with her. I pleaded with her. I did everything I could to make her open the door for me this morning, but no, she wouldn't."

"Subhanallah! Where is she now?"

"She's in my room."

The two friends left the sitting room to talk with her. "She won't act the same way with us, right? She will open that door today and explain why she is treating our friend so badly. Moreover, no one forced her into this marriage. If she wasn't interested, she could have just said so instead of making my friend miserable," Qasim said annoyed. Abubakar only glanced at him for a few seconds and shook his head.

"I don't share your optimism," that was the only thing that came out of his mouth.

"Of course you don't. You think something big is awaiting us, huh?" He smirked.

They both halted in front of the room and took a deep breath before they started knocking.

Zuwairah was asleep. She had been unable to get a wink of sleep last night. She had been scared that her husband would badge into the room, so instead, she became her own security guard, guarding her room with her knife in her hand.

She jolted up in surprise and fear when she heard the knocking. Again, Abubakar rapped on the door.

"Wh-who is there?" she stuttered. Her body shivered on the bed as she made sure to hold the knife securely in her hand, pointing it directly at the door in case he knocked it down.

"Zuwairah, it's me, Abubakar. Please open this door."

"No…no…I won't! Go away! You all should just go away!"

"Zuwairah, what has gotten into you? Why are you behaving this way? Is this how a newly wedded couple acts? No! So, please, open this door. Let's talk. This isn't right. Tell us what's bothering you, what you're afraid of, and we will help you…Please, just open this door," Abubakar said as he banged on the door repeatedly.

"No way! I already said that you should just leave me alone! I want to be left alone! None of you can help me! None of you can save me! Just leave me alone. Please, I beg you, go away!"

"Zuwairah, I swear to God, if you don't open this door right now, I'm going to break it down," that was her husband's voice.

"No! No!! No!!! Don't you dare! If you break this door, I'll kill you and then myself! Don't you even think about it!" she said with a shivering voice.

"See! See what I've been dealing with!? This is what she's been saying since yesterday, that she will kill me and then herself. What could I have done to her? I have no idea. She keeps insisting she'll kill herself."

"Zuwairah, please, I beg you, I beg you in the name of Allah, open this door. You can't remain like this forever. You need to come out and settle things with your husband. If he has wronged you in any way, just say so, and he'll ask for your forgiveness."

"You should all just go away. I swear, if you don't leave, I'll kill myself!"

"Okay, okay, fine…we will leave. We're going, Zuwairah."

"Just go!!!" she yelled at them.

The three men looked at each other with sad expressions before they all went back to the sitting room.

Abubakar stood by the window while Abdul and Qasim took a seat. Abdul rubbed his palm over his face frustratedly before tears started running down his cheeks.

"Abdul, you need to be honest with us. Why is she so angry? No! She doesn't even sound angry. She sounds scared. Like…like she's scared of you or something. What did you do to her?" Qasim asked. Abubakar stared at him intently as they both waited patiently for his answer.

"You both have known me since childhood, guys! You know that I don't fight. I'm not the quarreling type. I've never crossed that line in 26 years. When I met Zuwairah, you two were the ones that gave me the courage to talk to her. Since then, we’ve been fine and happy, up until last night. I swear I didn't do anything to her. I swear!" he lamented.

"If you didn't, then what could have caused this?!" Abubakar asked in frustration. He gestured animatedly, causing his hand to accidentally move the cotton covering the doorway. That's when he spotted someone running towards the gate. It was Zuwairah, without any shoes on her feet.

"Zu-Zuwairah?" he called out in surprise.

"Did you see her?" Abdul asked with a confused look.

"That…that…that was Zuwairah running away," he said, his eyes bulging in fear.

"What? Where was—" Abdul stopped mid-sentence when he saw her running towards the gate.

"Zuwairah!!" he screamed out her name, but she didn't stop. She kept running and running. The three men ran out of the house to follow her, but by the time they reached the gate, she had already hopped into an unknown car. The car drove roughly away.