The City of Ottawa, Ontario, is experiencing the first true heat wave of the summer in mid-June, and it is a beautiful thing. For Zahra Said, a native of Al Bahah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the summer heat was most welcome. She'd been living in the Canadian Capital for a decade, ever since her father, Mohammed Said, fled Saudi Arabia after being found guilty of corruption while working for the Ministry of the Interior.
For Zahra, life had been a roller coaster ever since those halcyon days when she first set foot in the Capital of Canada. Ottawa was like a different universe compared to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, that's for sure. At the tender age of nineteen, Zahra thought of Canada as the promised land, a place where she would be free to do whatever she wanted. At the not so tender age of twenty nine, Zahra knew better...
"What a journey this life has been," Zahra thought, standing on the Mackenzie King Bridge in downtown Ottawa, waiting for the OC Transpo 95 bus that would take her to the suburb of Orleans, Ontario. Today, she went to work at the National Gallery of Canada, like she always did, and for some reason, she felt ill. Instead of going home, Zahra went to the clinic, where the doctor told her some news that would have far-reaching implications for her and her husband Kareem...
Nothing would be the same after today, this much Zahra knew for sure. After boarding the double decker bus, she sat there, remembering all the hardships she'd endured and wonders she'd experienced. Adaptation was what one did in order to survive, Zahra's father Mohammed Said taught her that much before his untimely passing. At his urging, Zahra enrolled at Carleton University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in accounting, and later, an MBA.
While attending Carleton University, Zahra met the man destined to change her life forever, Kareem Diallo, a newcomer to the City of Ottawa, Ontario, by way of Guinea. The six-foot-two, broad-shouldered, dark-skinned and muscular, ruggedly handsome West African Muslim brother took Zahra's breath away from the first moment they met. He was unfamiliar with the Carleton campus and was looking for a prayer room, and Zahra offered to be his guide...
"Salaam, brother, today is Friday and Jummah prayers are held in the gym at noon," Zahra said helpfully, looking at the tall, well-dressed brother who stood before her. Kareem nodded, and then thanked her profusely. The two of them were standing in the Atrium, the most heavily trafficked area of the Carleton University, and when Kareem started heading to the Tory building, Zahra offered to be his guide.
"I'm going in the wrong spot, aren't I?" Kareem asked, smiling shyly, and Zahra grinned, then beckoned for him to follow her. They walked together, among the throngs of students of all hues who were going in all directions. They walked through the crowded Atrium, down the University Center Building stairs, and across the parking lot, toward the underpass located under the train tracks, towards the gym.
"We've reached our destination, fellow traveler," Zahra said with a smile, and Kareem nodded, smiled and wished her a good day. Zahra stood there, watching Kareem go, and smiled some more. Clad in a blue silk shirt, black silk pants and shiny black dress shoes, Kareem looked good. Even better? The brother from Guinea had one hell of a cute butt on him. That definitely brought a smile to Zahra's face...
Kareem Diallo headed to the washroom, where he washed his face, hands and feet, as he had been taught by his father, Imam Abdullah Diallo of Kamsar, Guinea. As he looked at his reflection in the washroom mirror, Kareem smiled, thinking about how he got to the gym. That lovely, Hijab-wearing Arab gal had been truly heaven sent, that's for sure...
Kareem headed to the prayer area, where dozens of brothers were already sitting on the crimson carpet, awaiting the arrival of the preacher. Kareem spotted a friend from one of his classes, a Lebanese guy named Ahmed Aoun, and went to sit next to him. The two buddies exchanged dap, and sat there, watching as brothers and sisters arrived, going to their respective prayer areas.
"Dude, do you know her?" Ahmed asked, brushing his hand against Kareem's, and Kareem, who had been looking when Zahra and a group of Muslim girls walked by, flinched. Kareem smiled nervously at Ahmed and shrugged, and Ahmed laughed. Just as Kareem was about to say something, the preacher arrived, and the brothers fell silent, listening to what the older man had to say.
"Maker of All Things, please help me succeed at Carleton University and hopefully find the right sister and become a good husband and father when the right time comes," Kareem thought as he prayed. When the prayer concluded, he went to get his shoes, and then headed out of the gym. He looked for Ahmed among the crowd of brothers and sisters exiting the gym, but couldn't find him. As he continued to look, he felt someone poke him in the back...
"Hello again brother," Zahra said, smiling at Kareem, who gasped as she poked his back and turned around, a shocked look on his darkly handsome face. Kareem smiled, seemingly surprised to see her there, even though they'd both come from prayer. Zahra watched him as he sat at the front, and she hung at the back with the other sisters. There were six or eight rows of brothers praying and perhaps two or three rows of sisters. Unfair but another sad fact of my faith, Zahra thought.
"Salaam, sister, good to see you again, thanks for getting me to the prayer on time," Kareem said, nodding at Zahra. Before Zahra could reply, however, several Arab male students walking by looked at her, then at Kareem, and muttered something in Arabic. Zahra's eyes widened, and her lip curled in distaste. Kareem looked at her curiously, clearly he had missed it. When he queried about what was bothering her, she played it cool...
"You're welcome, brother, it's the least I could do," Zahra replied, and once more, she and Kareem ended up walking together. As it turns out, Zahra's next class was in twenty minutes at the Dunton Tower building, which housed Carleton University's School of Business. Kareem on the other hand was going to the Mac Odrum Library, right next to Dunton Tower, to work on his Criminology assignments. It would seem their paths were congruent...
"Sister, I grew up dirt poor in guinea, this school is like a dream come true for me, even being an international student is like a dream come true," Kareem said, smiling, and Zahra paused. There was something so open, so unabashed and guileless in his smile that she marveled at him. In Zahra's experience with males, both the ones of her race and others, they were a guarded lot. Not Kareem, he seemed as wide open as the sky...
"Kareem, Canada is beautiful, but you should be careful out here, even in paradise there was at least one snake," Zahra cautioned, and Kareem looked at her intensely, causing her heart to skip a beat. They stood in the middle of the sunlit quad, between their two destinations. People walking by stared at them, but Kareem and Zahra ignored them...
"Sister, I think you've seen a lot of bad people, and bad situations, I know we just met but I promise you I'm not one of those bad souls," Kareem said, and Zahra licked her lips, looking at him appraisingly. In her time in Ottawa, Zahra had lost her beloved father Mohammed Said to Diabetes, lived in a tiny room in an apartment building run by racist creeps, had her Hijab pulled by a bigot, and been harassed by Middle-Eastern cab drivers. Those experiences turned her into a bitter cynic...
"That's what they all say," Zahra said, smiling fatalistically, and Kareem, amazingly, looked into her eyes, and what she saw in his gaze gave her pause. This one actually seemed sincere, Zahra remembered thinking. Kareem, polite as ever, wished Zahra a good day, then walked away. Handsome brother, a good Muslim, with a cute butt, and I've chased him away, Zahra thought, suddenly realizing that she'd blown an opportunity for...what exactly?
