"I plan; you plan; we all plan, but Allah's plan is the best."

Sofia's POV.

"Ya Allah! What should I even do? Should I accept this or run away?" I whispered to myself.

"Goodness! I'm just going through my high school and college is still left. Oh my, what am I going to do? But Nikkah is a Sunnah and a completion of half deen, SubhanAllah! But I'm not even ready and if I say no then papa is going to disown me.Ya Allah, help me!" I mumbled.

I stood up and went to perform ablution to pray to my lord of the whole universe because He is the all seer and all hearer. I raised my both palms to the Qiblah and pray to Allah loudly.

"If this man that my father wants me to marry is good for me in this life and here after, Ya Allah let me be able to love him. If not distance us how you distance west from east."

"I don't even know what he sees in me, though-I'm not pretty, intelligent or good; what I know is that I'm just an ordinary girl. I don't know what he sees in this plain Sophy, I thought.

After I was through with my prayers, I went to the dining table for my breakfast. My dad, mum, my younger brother and I-all of us started eating in silence before papa decided to break the silence which made me almost choked on my food.

"Oyin*, you will be getting married next week," papa said while handing mama a credit card. A tear glistened in my eye but I restrained from shedding it. *(honey).

"Um…, papa can I meet Maryam after Zhur?" I timidly asked and waited patiently for his reply silently praying that he would allow me to.

"You are…free to go!" he replied. I was already sweating, nervously playing with my food. I beamed with uncontrollable excitement.

Do you know why I was happy?

Do you know how it feels to have a person who understands you before you can open your mouth to talk?

She was like a sister to me more than any of my best friends. We were quite opposite. Well, opposites did attract. I was still wrapped in this excitement when I found myself knocking on her door.

"Asssalam  alaikom, sugar bunny," I greeted her in a weary voice.

"Sugar sweetie, what happened to you? You saw a ghost or…?" she tried to lighten the mood but that was not what was worrying me.  She waited for me to reply but I couldn't.

"Have you been crying? What happened to your face? Who's the motherf**k that made you cry?" Well, like I said, opposites did attract. She was so possessive of me like an elder sister. I loved her and everything about her but she liked swearing a lot. Tapping her foot impatiently, she said, "Sophia, I am asking something and for God's sake answer me."

"You know,…um..," I broke down in tears, "I am getting married next week insha Allah," I blurted out through hiccups.

"What?" she yelled and stood up from the couch on which she was sitting and continued, "How? Why? Who? When? Where? " She bombarded me with these questions.

"Where-I don't know. How-I'm not sure. When -next week. Why?-Ask papa. To whom-I don't know him physically but I know his name is Umar Yusuf," I replied and closed my eyes as the pain rose to my forehead because of too much stress.

"Oooh! Gurly, you f***ing mean Yusuf? That hottie, special made creature? Wow! You are so lucky! I wish I was the one. He is freaking handsome and rich. I envy you!" she reacted with dreamy eyes as I chuckled upon seeing her reaction.

"Maryam is that all you're going to say? I said. "I am getting married next week with the person I don't know anything about!" I almost shouted at her so as to reason with her.

"I know, but why would papa do that? Well,there's nothing you can do. You will have to accept your fate. And if he dares hurt you by any means, I will kill him and bury him under my house," she stated and I felt overwhelmed by her love. "But let's talk reality. How does he know you? Why you? With all the girls he has been with?" my foolish, crazy heck was just using her brain.  But I love her any way.

I cried out in frustration. "I don't know but, darling, I will make him regret marrying me. He has shaken up my plan and future," I vowed venomously.

"Um, well, nobody knows tomorrow. You could be the one head over heels in love with him," she teased.

"I don't think so," I said doubtfully because I'd never seen him and neither did I know his personality. Besides, he was older than me by five years and I was only eighteen.  I did not know what Allah had planned for me but I know His plans were always the best for me.

"Well best of luck bae with your hottie," she said winking at me and then hugged me.

I shook my head, sighed and whispered, "What a foolish girl she is!"