Chapter 7: Relief

Zaheer was in a good mood. Not one of those good moods you have when you happen to just wake up on the right side of the bed. No, rather one of those moods that make you feel as if you love the whole world, and the whole world loves you in return.
Earlier that morning Zaheer’s boss, Peter, had called the entire team into his office.
“Well guys” Peter had said, choosing his words carefully. “I have some news”.
Everybody was silent.
Peter continued: “As you all very well know, We’ve conducted comprehensive interviews with the whole team in order to determine who will be forced to go. Well, after all the work, and all the stress (Peter smiled slightly) I have to tell you all that we have come to a final decision.

Zaheer had tried his best to remain as calm as possible, reassuring himself that Allah most certainly, always has a better plan for all. He looked around at all the nervous faces of his colleagues and made a silent dua for them all.
“So now” Peter said. “Upper level management has decided that all of the employees on this team are extremely efficient and well, simply put, needed.” Then he was quiet for a moment.
“What on earth does that mean?” a confused Zaheer asked.
“Well” Peter replied “It means that nobody from this team will be leaving!”

Everybody was silent for a moment before they all burst into excited laughter and screams.
“Seriously”, Sam the new guy said: “They’re not even firing me?
“Well yes, Peter replied. “They think that this group, in fact this whole department, is generating such good results and they’re afraid to well, spoil a good thing.”

Zaheer made a silent dua, thanking Allah for easing his burdens, before joining the guys excited chatter.

“I was so worried” said Lionel. “Ive been looking around for a job but I couldn’t find anything. I couldn’t even manage to tell my wife. She’s eight months pregnant and I’ve been told not to stress her out. So I didn’t tell her anything. Good thing too because she would have worried for nothing.”

Zaheer’s other colleague Safwaan, the only other muslim guy in the team, was elated at this news. He had just gotten married and was really not willing to lose his source of income, nor his sanity. He explained to Zaheer how his new bride had stressed him out even more than the prospect of unemployment since she had been nagging him non stop ever since he told her.

“Really man” he told Zaheer. “I should have done what Lionel did and kept it a secret. She’s been on my case all the time. It’s not like I didn’t know all the consequences of losing my job, no instead she had to make it a point of nagging me about it every single day. I’m telling you, if I didn’t love her so much I’d seriously contemplate leaving until she promised to stop nagging. Aay, the things we do for love!”

Zaheer couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of joy. He felt as though he had achieved something, even though in reality he had done nothing at all. He got that feeling, the feeling one gets when they’ve completed a really tough exam and they know that it turned out better than expected. He was the unofficial team leader and so, in a way, he felt responsible for all of the guys. Seeing them so relieved made him relieved and knowing that his latest worry was over, gave him a true sense of joy.
That night he prayed his Esha salaah for a little longer than usual, thanking Allah for all of Allah’s favours and for giving him so much to be happy about.

There was just one thing, in his mind, that was always undone. He never truly imagined that he was over Zahraa. He hadn’t even questioned it. Ever since things with them had came to such an abrupt halt, there hadn’t been anybody else that he was interested in. Instead he had just focused on his career. The other day, when Sameer had spoken about Zahraa, Zaheer had felt such intense frustration that he knew for sure that his feelings for her did not manage to miraculously disappear. He had always assumed that his feelings fro Zahraa was linked to the nostalgic memory of high school and to the ‘high school’ emotions that he had once had. But now as he sat here, feeling at peace with everything in the world, he really wished that she was right here by his side, sharing the moment with him.

He knew then, though he had no solutions, that something needed to be done.