Amina carried her school bag and left the classroom. It was home time and she knew that he would be waiting outside the school gate. He did that every day. He was her next door neighbour and knew her ever since she was born. He was five at the time and the minute he saw her as a newborn baby girl and he decided that she will be his. Even at that young age he planned her life for her. He watched her grow up and develop into a beautiful young lady. He became more persistent that she was going to be his wife and no body else's.
Amina walked out of the school gate and there he was across the road from her. He started walking behind her and she would not dare turn back at him. It was rude to do that and she would develop a bad reputation. As soon as she walked into her house she ran to her father and said "'dad when is he going to stop doing that, people can see him and they will think that I am a bad girl". Her father, Mr Amin, gave her a worried look and asked "Is Adel still chasing you wherever you go" Amina looked at him almost crying ''yes and this is causing me embarrassment and everybody can notice now". With a decisive look on his face her father said "fine, I am going to deal with him seriously now".
The next day, Mr Amin visited Adel at his parents' next door. In the presence of his parents he asked "do you realise you are doing, you are giving my daughter a bad reputation. Would you like that to happen to your sister? What is it that you want?" he asked in a serious tone.
Adel looked at him straight in the eye and with such confidence said "I want to marry her, I have been in love with her ever since she was born and she is mine. No one else is going to have her". Mr Amin was taken by Adel's blunt and stright forward answer, and in a serious tone asked ''do you realise what you are saying, this is marriage not a game and you are both too young for that now". Adel replied with full confidence ''No we are not, I am 21 and she is 16. In Lebanon people even marry at a younger age. My family is well off and I can support her and my self. Otherwise, I will keep tracking her footsepts wherever she is until you say yes".
Mr Amin returned home not knowing what to do. If he does not allow this marriage to take place this man will give him a headache and give his daughter Amina a bad reputation and no one will want to marry her anyway. He decided that it would be best to consult Amina and see what she had to say.
Upon hearing this, Amina felt a twinkle in her heart. This man must really love her. He claimed to have been in love with her for so long that his love for her must be rooted in his heart. Where else would she find a man that would love her that much. If she says no she may never have this opportunity again. Secretly she felt that she was in love with him too, she loved his courage in revealing his love for her to her father and his persistence that no one else should have her. Amina all of a sudden felt that she too can hardly wait to be with living with him under the same roof as his wife. So definitely she said yes to the full proposal.
Together Under The Same Roof
Amina wa standing at the window watching her husband Adel make his way to their block of units. They had been married for one year now and she felt that it was the happiest year of her life. Every single day of this past year was a honeymoon on its own. Salah took her all around Lebanon, from North to South and from east to west. Just to have a good night out, he would drive for two hours from Tripoli to Beirut to have a night out together at an expensive restaurant. They would drive back in a happy romantic mood to finish off the night in each others arms and in the warmth of their home. Their happiness was further more completed when she learnt that she was pregnant with their first child. Adel was also happy to hear the good news and knew that will bond Amina even more to him. Nothing could have been any better...
What Happened?
Five years had passed since their marriage. Amina gave birth to a beautiful boy who was a split image of his dad. Amina still felt that happiness. Adel was still loving and they had just come back from their night out in a Beirut night club while their son stayed with his grandmother. As usual, she went to bed with a sense of love and serenity and slept like a baby. The next morning Adel did his usual routine and left to work at his father's business. Amina spent the day at her mum's and returned home in the evening before Adel came back from work.
