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were forming light pools under their
knees and around their chins. They
looked as if fallen down from another
dimension under a jet of light coming
from a window. Stars seemed to be
falling over their hair as the dust
continued to come and go along the
beam. Nur Adhan was leaving now,
exchanging graceful looks with the
couple. The man, seeing me, stood up;
each part of his body slowly left the
luminous aura over the mats. This
place smelled of old wood and wax,
and the man's cologne. Sophie crossed
her legs before her, holding a delicately
weaved headscarf. As I paused, she
gently grasped my hand and declared:
"I will be trying your way, at least
for a while. See if it works for me."
I asked: "I would like to know what
happened here, Sophie?'
"Well," she said, lightly twisting the silky fabric that cast sparks on the round shape
of her nails. "Nur Adhan, the woman with the scarf." I nodded assent. "At first she
thought I was you. Then she asked me why I was not a Muslim like you. She was
very puzzled when I explained how you converted. This meeting happened a few
months ago. From this day on, we began to meet after class. I liked her right away,
and, well, I was curious about your religion."
I looked at her, astonished:
"You were not interested. I mean, you never asked any question, and whenever I
tried to explain things to you, you just backed away. So, I have never insisted."
"I know, Samy. I think Nur Adhan always had the right answer for me. I do not
recall exactly how, but what she said really made an impact on me; I thought for the
first time a religion could be beautiful and logic. It made sense! She was the one who
informed me that the man who was here with us was also a Muslim. He was my
classmate and I liked to speak with him as well. Strange how the destiny put things
together… I did not know about him at first. Actually, all this time he had hoped I
was a Muslim too because he liked me. So, one day, we met, Nur Adhan and I, as
usual, and she said something to me that was strong and moving and so direct I felt
touched and I felt convinced."
"What was that, Sophie?" I asked gently.
"She said: Wouldn't you like to keep your beauty only for your husband and meet a
man who would never touch or look at another woman except you? Wouldn't it be
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wonderful? That man could be the one
next to you.
I may have blushed, but, at the idea that this man, so handsome and intelligent, was not
a player… Can you imagine? He has never had a girlfriend?"
She looked quickly around, checking if anybody was eavesdropping, a little
embarrassed. But the place was almost empty, and she was anyway too excited to pay
much attention to her surroundings.
"Yes, it's quite amazing, is it not?" I confirmed, happy.
"He said he was going to marry me."
"Like that?"
"Yes, like that! I believed him."
"Are you thrilled?"
"Yes! I believe I am."
I let a tear get prisoner between my eyelids, a tear of overwhelming feelings. Sophie
put her arm around my shoulders. She looked different; her eyelids were opened
completely, just enough to welcome a ray of the sun. Her dark eyes became semi-
translucent as the green shades around the iris began to reveal themselves. The range
of squares reflecting from the upper windows seemed to embrace the white of her
gaze. I had never seen her so transfigured, so radiant. Then I recognized that she had
been expecting that all along without really believing in it.
I stirred, lifting the brim of Sophie's cap she had dropped on the floor, and
played with it. Then, I added:
"Do you know what the name Nur Adhan means?"
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