Dear Reader,
I ended up writing this chapter differently and later than expected, and it is shorter. I hope you enjoy it though, and understand it, for it is in a somewhat chaotic order.
-LunarLitLover
Preview for next time: the four friends begin their journey to Jiddah, a costal city, where the blessed event will occur. They will probably travel through Mecca and make their traditional Hajj, or pilgrimage that all Muslims must make once in life, and may travel with a Bedouin tribe on the move or possibly a large caravan of traders.
Recap: Ali and Fatima/Yasmine kissed outside of Admin and Ayska's party and are now officially together.
Chapter 12: Ali al Din
Mud and Marriage
Working side-by-side to cover the walls with the adobe, Fatima's hand and mine brushed each other. I shivered.
She smiled at my reaction, half sweetly, half mockingly. And I shivered again as butterflies flew in my stomach. But this time her response was laughter.
I shoved her gently and jokingly, yet I nearly smeared her with the muddy substance we were working with. She gasped dramatically and shook her head at me as if scolding a five-year-old.
"I can't help it! I can't help my reactions!" I yelled, defending myself. And it was true. I couldn't help shivering whenever she touched me. And I couldn't help the butterflies that sprang actively from their cocoons in my stomach when she looked at me. I couldn't control the leap and speedy patter of my heart when we touched lips briefly as we always did when parting or reuniting. These things- these reactions to Fatima- were beyond my control. Why I did them, I had no idea. It's not as if I was nervous, for the interactions that triggered them were commonplace now. And it's not as if I was truly cold or sick to the stomach or tired from activity; these things could happen in the middle of a hot summer day when I sat on the floor with a full and happy belly. But if Fatima was there, they would happen.
Fatima's voice brought me back to the present. "I know you can't help it, Ali! But it must then mean that you are afraid of me!"
I smile broke my lips as an idea broke into my brain. "You sure about that, Fatima?" I asked.
She hesitated, trying to guess my next move, before confidently replying, "Yes."
"Well then," and I grabbed a handful of adobe and went after her. I chased her around the room until she was cornered. "Who's afraid now?" I asked.
But she did not answer, for she was shrieking in dread of what was about to happen and in light of the game. But that did not stop me. I grabbed her around the waist from behind and smeared the adobe into her face. She squealed, and I let off her face, only to resort to her shoulder and upper chest. The sounds she made now stopped and she turned to face me. I held her in my arms as I began to run the mud through her hair, at first playfully but then fondly. Our eyes held each other's gaze as I continued to dirty her hair with the filth that both of us had forgotten. I reached the back of her neck and held onto it tightly. She also reached up and looped her arms around my neck. I looked into her deep brown eyes once more before closing mine and falling into the kiss.
I shivered and my pace quickened as my stomach fluttered. However, these sensations were all but forgotten when compared to the touch of Fatima's lips. Although covered with adobe, they were still like perfect ripe figs waiting until the harvest would come for them. I kissed them harder, trying to devour their sweetness, when Fatima surprised me by slipping her tongue into my mouth for the first time. The tastes in our mouths mingled due to the fiery and passionate dance that we'd never come close to before. It was as if Allah was sitting here, with us standing in the blessed light of his glory. That's how heavenly it was.
Fatima finally pulled away, her eyes still closed. She leaned into me and rubbed her nose to mine before opening her eyes. After smiling warmly, she giggled and pointed at my face.
"What is it?" I asked, touching my face myself.
Fatima giggled again as I pulled an adobe-covered hand off my face. The mud on Fatima's face had rubbed onto mine during our kiss. I would get her for this.
"Fatima, you're going to pay!" I joked, hurrying to the bowl of heavy liquid. However Fatima beat me to it.
"No," she said. "We better not waste anymore. We need it for this home. Our home."
"You're right. It's for our home."
---
Fatima and I were eating dinner side-by-side, with our legs hanging out the large window, when Admin and Ayska arrived unannounced.
We immediately rose to welcome them and they quickly complimented the work on our home.
"It's looks wonderful, you two," Ayska said. "The adobe is so well done and covers all the cracks, including those in that new ceiling. Whoever knew your little safe-haven as a child would turn into a lovely home, Ali."
I blushed as Fatima beamed. It was her idea to fix up our home to be in better condition. Now that we had a little money from her assisting the silk dealer and my assisting the local herb doctor, she thought that we should do a bit of "home improvement." I had asked her if she would like to move elsewhere, but she vehemently refused. She loved this place, she'd said, but it needed a little work. At first I didn't much agree with her, but now, after much of the work, I understood why Fatima had put her heart and soul into this project.
Admin prodded Ayska and she stopped talking after finishing her sentence. "Tell them what we're here for," Admin said, rather more excitedly than he usual.
"Oh, right," Ayska said as if this reason was a thing easy to forget.
"She finally agreed!" Admin tried to explain to his friends. "I've been waiting so long, but she finally brought it up and realizes that we have everything but the official agreement! I was so happy! I thought she'd never want it! She…" He continued to babble unintelligibly until Ayska cut him off.
"What he's trying to say," she said exasperated. "Is that we're getting married!"
