All the Masalaa of joint-family living...

A fictional story related as a leaked online diary in the voice of a contemporary,young, South African Guji wife...

Friday, 1 August 2014

Flash Back Mini Series Part 1 - A touch of Nostalgia...

Seeing Nasreen and Muhammad on Eid day got me thinking of how I met Imraan since it was around the same time as their engagement...
It also reminded me of my Nani. Nasreens engagement was the last family function she preceded over with all her skill and Nani-isms.

In my fourth year I had to do a major prac at a recognized ECD facility for special needs, Port Shepstone has one or two only so I decided to find one in Durban that catered for children with Autism, Cerebral palsy, hearing and speech difficulties, etc. I came and stayed with my Nani for that month...my Nani was thrilled.

The Friday before Nasreen's engagement I was sitting in the office working on some resource's when a guy came in saying he was there to fetch his nephew early. He gave his name and the name of his nephew and waited while the secretary called the parents to confirm and authenticated the leave. 

I noticed the guy as he looked around, you know those times when you see somebody for the first time but you notice everything in one glance, well this was that kind of time...only problem is, he noticed me noticing him and I felt my give away blush rising to my cheeks. Luckily the secretary distracted him by asking for his signature and I used the moment to escape.

A few moments later I looked out of the staffroom window only to catch HIM looking at ME while he walked his nephew,Talha-a little boy who had hearing difficulties due to an illness after birth, out. Shew, I was glad to see the door close behind him...okay maybe not glad, but you know...that was too embarrassing for one day.

The following Monday I was still wondering about HIM much to my own annoyance while I watched the children as they waited to be picked-up. "Excuse me...are you Fatima ma'am?", a voice asked me.

I looked up into the face that disturbed me, nothing like the one I was dreaming off, but I quickly realized, this lady was holding onto the hand of the same little boy I saw HIM fetch yesterday. Oh-0...

I nodded my head, not trusting my voice, what did she want?
"salaams, I'm Sumaya, Talhas mother, my brother-in-law saw you yesterday and asked me, no wait, forced me, into asking you for your number" she said it fast , all in one breath.

She took me completely by surprise, I cleared my throat and quietly said, "I'm sorry I can't do that"
"okay no problem, please make maaf, I hope I haven't offended you" and  she quickly turned and walked away, her face red.
I almost felt sorry for her as I heard her mutter, "I told your stupid uncle not to make me do this, he just embarrassed her and me now, he doesn't listen"
I almost laughed, she was cute, in all her pregnant huffiness and irritation.

That evening I saw an email on my blackberry in the school email account I had set up for sponsorships. Thinking I finally had a sponsor, I opened up excitedly, even when I saw the name Imraan in the address bar it didn't click, the subject was 'just one question'.
I opened it immediately still thinking its a possible sponsor.

"if i sponsor the event will I get your phone number?"-whaaat the...
I read the senders name again and realized who it was.
"pretty persistent you are" I replied
"I know, never did this before but there's just something about you...that sounds so lame"
"never did what before?" I texted back
"never bribed a preschooler for his homework record book, never read through every note hoping to find a way to contact somebody."
"you sound like a stalker quiet frankly, and I have enough going on, I don't have time for this"
"I'm sorry, I'm not a stalker, I just want to get to know you, can I please invite you on Facebook"

Something told me that this guy was serious, weird but serious... I didn't have time to deal with him now, I need to sort things with Nasreen first. The rumour mill was working hard after yesterdays engagement.

"yah whatever, if you can find me, add me"

After things had sort of calmed down that night and my Kala and Nasreen had left, I logged on to Facebook and ofcorse there was an invite waiting for me, the invite message said simply, "found you".

I accepted and typed back, "ofcorse you did, that's what stalkers do"...



No comments:

Post a Comment