All For What! - Episode 1

In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the most merciful. Praise be to Allah, the lord of the world. Master of the day of judgment. You alone we worship and you alone we ask for help. Guide us to the right path, the part of those who you favor and not the path of those who earn your anger, nor of those who go astray. Ameen.

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The night sky was full of stars, but no moon. Maryam Mubarak was in the balcony admiring the beauty of the sky at night and missing her husband, Saeed. He had left for work since morning and he was not back yet. She was bored of staying indoors and repeating the same routines everyday, she missed working and couldn't wait to give birth and return to her job as a nurse in a renowned hospital in Abuja.

Saeed Mahmud Mubarak was a business man of twenty seven, happily married to Maryam for a year and expecting an addition to their family soon. His wife was nine months pregnant and was on maternity leave, since a week ago. Saeed was a workaholic, he spends almost the entire day at work everyday, but that didn't distract him from observing his obligatory prayers on time. He was a very religious man.

Maryam Saeed Mubarak, a woman of twenty four; she was dedicated to her job as a nurse and often times, she worked overnight. She wasn't too bothered by the fact, her husband was a workaholic, because she was not always at home too

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. She was also religious, but sometimes after a very long day at work, she returns home exhausted and sleeps off, forgetting to offer her isha prayer.

Which is a very bad thing to do. There is no excuse for missing any obligatory prayer except for women, during their periods.

After a hectic day at work, as usual, Saeed returned back home in the night, looking very tired.

"Welcome back home habibi" Maryam hugged him. She really missed him a lot. She was bored of staying indoors all day long. After a long stressful day, what Saeed needed was to come home to his lovely wife.

"I missed you," he started stroking her huge baby bump. "How is our little baby in there doing?" He asked, bending down to her abdomen's level and planting a kiss there. She smiled, looking down at her husband. She felt like the luckiest woman to get such a caring husband and didn't fail in thanking Allah everyday. They were married for almost a year and not once, have they had a serious misunderstanding before.

"I missed you too. How was work?" She asked with a smile on her face. He stood straight and his brows immediately furrowed.

"It was hectic as always, but Alhamdulilah, I handled everything well," he replied.

"Let me have your briefcase," she said, intending her hands to take it from him. He moved the hand holding the briefcase back and shook his head.

"It's alright habibty, I will take it in myself. I don't want you carrying anything heavy in your current condition," he said, lovingly. She chuckled at his words. It was just a briefcase, not a sack full of stones.

"Sit here," she pulled him towards to a  cushion. "- I will be back," she said and hurried to the kitchen, before Saeed could speak.

Few minutes later, she came back with a glass of freshly prepared orange juice, a glass of water and some baked snacks, neatly arranged on a tray and presented it to her husband, with a smile. He looked up at her and smiled too. She was thoughtful. He took a sip of the juice and had some snacks.

"Very delicious," he complimented, making her smile wider. She loved being complimented. Who doesn't? 

"Have some," he said, bringing the plate forward.

"No," she declined. "- there are some left in the kitchen."

"Have you prayed isha?" she asked. Saeed loved how Maryam never failed to remind him.

"I have. I prayed in the masjid before coming back home," he answered.

"Alright then. The food is served already, let's go and have dinner," she said. Saeed thought.

"You haven't eaten yet?" He asked in disbelief. He couldn't believe she waited for him again, after telling her countless number of times to quit waiting for him and have her dinner, if not for herself, at least for the baby she was carrying.

"Why did you wait for me?" He furrowed his brows. "- haven't I told you to stop doing that?" He asked, getting a little bit angry. She was fond of doing that, not that he didn't appreciate it, he appreciated it a lot, but didn't want her to keep doing that for the sake of their unborn baby. She sensed his anger and started tearing up. She was getting emotional for little things again.

"I'm sorry," she said and hurried upstairs, to their room. He sighed and went after her.

He opened the door to their room and met her lying on the bed, crying.

"Habibty?" He called, but she didn't respond. He got on the bed and lay beside her. "Please stop crying now," he hushed. "- I wasn't yelling at you, I was only trying to make you understand, you're pregnant and shouldn't starve yourself," he reasoned, kissing her tears away.

"I never want to see these tears in your eyes again, expect if they are tears of joy," he said, taking her in his arms. She stopped crying and looked into her husband's eyes.

"I am sorry habibi, I won't repeat it again. I love you." She said.

"I love you more." He kissed her forehead. "- let's go eat now, I'm starving," he smiled sheepishly.

They got up from the bed and together, they went to the dinning section hand in hand and enjoyed their meal peacefully. They thanked Allah before retiring to bed in each others arms.