Re: Online Saga
....continued from the previous
He was so excited to meet the girl for the first time. They had not even seen pictures of each other yet. The moment plane landed, he rushed out of the gate and started walking towards the baggage claim area. Being the largest city of Florida, Jacksonville had a relatively smaller airport and there weren’t many people around. While he was walking towards the baggage claim/ground transportation, he passed by a beautiful girl who was walking towards the opposite direction. Being nervous and uncertain, he doesn’t stop by the girl, yet passes few steps and then looked back. To his surprise the girl was also looking back. Then they both returned to walk towards each other simultaneously. When confronted, she asked, “Ali?” He nodded yes and asked back, “Irrum?” She simply landed herself into his arms and they surely got lost in the heaven for few moments. He was still looking into her eyes to see the brightness and similar satisfaction that he was feeling. He took her to car rental, picked his rental car and then followed her towards the hotel that was very close to her home. While exiting the airport she entered into an oncoming ramp probably being nervous but luckily there was no oncoming traffic at the time. That made him almost faint but he did not follow her and kept going the right way. Here they lost each other. Ali had a map with him and had already planned his route from the airport to the hotel.
In about 30 minutes he arrived at the hotel and was pleased to see that Irram had already arrived there and was parked in front of the hotel waiting for him. She had also picked her sister on the way. She came out of her car and went along Ali to check-in. After he put his stuff in the room, she then told him to follow her to her home. He obliged and went to her home that was nearby. He was welcome by her mother and rest of the family. Her mother had previously known about the plan and had cooked a grand feast for dinner. They all had dinner and talked about general stuff. Mother assured Ali that he was welcome to the Afghan home. After dinner Ali went to his hotel and to his surprise Irrum followed him to the hotel. At the hotel, they talked about so many things while holding hands of each other. Ali was very respectful of the fact that she trusted him all along and did not show any reservation towards being with him alone. He kissed her on her forehead and expressed his utter satisfaction of the meeting. While they were talking, time flew so fast and before they realized it was midnight. She worriedly wanted to leave at once that he did not mind. Ali spent the night at the hotel probably dreaming about his shehzadi all night long.
Next day, Irrum called Ali at about 11:00 am and told him how her mom was so upset at her for staying with him till that late. She told him that she could not out the house to meet him that day. Her mom had gone to work and she told her not to go out at all. Ali was upset and worried but was hopeful that he could talk to her mom in the evening when she came home. They both did stay on the phone talking to each other the whole day. In the evening when her mom came home, Ali talked to her and apologized to her for keeping Irrum with him till late. He took it all upon him and told her that Irrum wanted to leave but he kept talking to her. He also assured her that she could trust him towards the sanity of her daughter and he would not do cross his/her limits. Mom was pleased after the conversation and invited him over for the dinner. He gladly went there, had dinner and met his shehzadi in the process. He stayed at their home till late, talking to the family and getting to know them. He was really impressed with them and was already feeling very comfortable.
He spent another night at the hotel and next day Irrum was allowed to take him around the city. Her sisters accompanied them and they went to all landmark places in the city. He was enjoying every bit of his tip. Tonight was his last night there and he went to their home again. He assured the mother again that she could trust him and her daughter with her eyes closed and they were not going to do anything wrong. Mother was happy to meet Ali and hoped for the best for him. Being conservative, she was still an open-minded woman and wanted them both to get to know each and see what’s laid in there for them. If they really liked each other and wanted to be together then she had no problem in them getting married. She however explained her expectations based on their culture and family values that were all acceptable by Ali. He told them good-bye and thanked them very much for their great hospitality.
Today was Monday, July 6, and time for him to go back. Irrum stopped at his hotel early in morning while she had left for school. He was surprised to see her early. They were spending their final 2 hours together. He could not be happier than this. She had already missed her 2 classes and she followed him to the airport. She wanted to remain with him till the last second he was there in her city. He was equally sad when he saw her shedding tears at the gate of the plane when he was leaving. They both waved goodbye to each other.
[RIGHT].....to be continued[/RIGHT]