Much Ado About Nada

by Uzma Jalaluddin

“I wrote every song for you.”

Surely justice rests with Allah and not on this earth.”

but she wanted an excuse to talk to Baz again. The seven-minute drive to the mosque would be the perfect amount of time to say what she needed to say.

“Nada Syed,” he said softly, “why is it that only you can see into my whole damn heart.”

“I missed you, habibti,” he whispered.

No matter which way she held her relationship with Baz up to the light, they still wound up unhappy, and alone.

emailed letters, the ones that had started it all, as if she were Anne Elliot pining after her very own Captain Wentworth.

p.s. both my parents are Indian by way of Hyderabad,

teehee Hyderabadi

no perfect future wifey waiting for me once I eventually settle down. I prefer to do things the old-fashioned way—meet someone I hate at eleven, watch their public humiliation at fourteen, realize they’re stalking me at eighteen, then quietly pine after them before winning them over with my letter-writing prowess.

“Beta, it takes time to find the right person, and if you keep saying no, no, no, your chances will pass you by.”

this hit hard 🥲

“A world doesn’t exist where I don’t choose you, Nada beta, over everyone else. I will always choose you.”

“You carry your burdens so close to your hearts, both of you. It hurts to watch. Are you together again?”

“I’ve been in love with you since before I knew what that word meant. I want to be with you always. You fill my heart with joy, and I can’t wait to build a life together. Will you marry me?”

However, the way you started this relationship will taint it for the future.

Take it from someone who’s been there and made the wrong choice. Choose love and happiness, not fear. Have faith. Otherwise, the only comfort you’ll be left with is that of loving longest, when all hope is gone.”

Half agony, half hope. Loving you is Half agony, half hope.

How can I win back the love of my life?” Nada’s smile disappeared. “What was the answer?” “Work on yourself, make dua, and if it is meant to happen, nothing can keep you apart.”

“I might have been stubborn, proud, and resentful, but I was never inconstant. I have loved none but you, my Nada. You have my heart, even more now than when you broke it six years ago. Can we try again?”

AHHHH PERSUASION

More love, shared and multiplied. Joy, found and lost and then found again, which made it that much sweeter. Alhamdulillah.