“Oh, so it wasn’t that you never got close to anyone for six months, Sis?” Nisa challenged what I’d said earlier.
“Yeah, Nisa, because after that, I never saw him again or stayed in touch with him.”
“Sis, why didn’t you try with him first? Who knows, maybe he was your soulmate.”
“Sweet Nisa, soulmates will find each other. Distance can’t steal them away, time can’t steal them away, and no one else can steal them away. Soulmates will meet in the place and at the time Allah has appointed.”
“But Sis, what about people who die without ever getting married?”
“That means their soulmate is in heaven, and they’ll meet after death.”
“But Sis, it’s so exhausting when people pity me for living alone and say, ‘Poor you, you’re not married yet, so you don’t have anyone to protect or support you.’”
“How old are you now, sweetheart?”
“Twenty-four, Sis.”
“That means you’re four years younger than me, and even now, I still often hear those bitter words. I used to cry while dwelling on my fate, too. But just like death, only Allah knows when our destined partner will come.”
“Yes, Sis. That’s true.”
“People who meddle in other people’s lives can only criticize, even though they still have plenty of flaws themselves. Yet they meddle in other people’s lives and expect them to follow their standards.”
“How do you deal with all of it without feeling sad?”
“I’ve cried before, Nisa. Many times. I’ve also been disappointed by it more than once. But I know that’s simply how life is—never free from trials.”
“So you’ve felt it too, huh?”
“Absolutely, Nisa. Very often. And there’s something you need to know. Everyone on this earth is fighting their own war. It’s just that some people’s lives look perfectly fine. There are probably two reasons for that: first, they’ve made peace with themselves and the fate they’ve been given; and second, they’re simply good at hiding it.”
“That’s just how people are, then, Sis.”
“Exactly, Nisa.”
The food was served, and we devoured it without mercy. I could see how much Nisa was enjoying it, and so was I. Our hungry stomachs had finally met their match… Hehehe, this food was delicious. Back when I didn’t have as much money as I do now, I often wrote lists of foods in my diary and prayed that Allah would give me everything on that list. Now it was time for my prayers to be answered. I was so grateful to Allah for hearing so many of my prayers and granting them so often. There was only one big prayer Allah still hadn’t granted me: a soulmate.
Dear soulmate, where are you right now? They say that if too many people pray for us to become their soulmate, it will be difficult for us to meet because so many people are praying to become our soulmate. Maybe I’m one of them. I held on to that idea to comfort myself. But deep in my heart, I wanted him to come, ask for my hand, marry me, and build a household filled with Sakinah, Mawadah, and Warahmah from Allah.
Dear soulmate, I’ve been waiting for you. Come soon—don’t take too long, okay? Do you know how exhausted my head gets when people ask me when it’s going to happen, and how badly I want to walk the nighttime streets with you, just the two of us? Could you come without making me suffer through another heartbreak?
Sometimes I wonder why other people get to live such easy lives, following the accepted pattern. Go to school, then college, then work in an office, start dating, and finally get married. Once, I desperately wanted something as simple as that. But now I’ve become a woman who has made peace with her fate. I don’t feel anxious about soulmates anymore. If someone is truly your soulmate, you’ll meet. Besides, I’ve already prayed, and no one can stop my soulmate from coming to me if Allah has willed it. So for now, I simply pray and place my trust in Allah’s plan for me. My only duty is to become the best person I can for His sake and to be useful to others—in other words, to hope for His pleasure.