Chapter Three: The Secret Behind His Smile
by @eeshaert
The next morning, Maryam told herself she had already forgotten about Adam.
She hadn’t.
That realization irritated her slightly.
There was nothing remarkable about their encounter. They had reached for the same book, exchanged a few polite words, and then gone their separate ways.
That was all.
At least, that was what she kept telling herself.
“Why are you smiling?”
Maryam looked up from her breakfast.
Hafsa was watching her with suspicion.
“I’m not smiling.”
“Yes, you are.”
“I’m not.”
Hafsa narrowed her eyes. “Maryam…”
Maryam quickly lifted her cup.
“Eat your breakfast.”
Hafsa laughed. “Alright, alright. I won’t ask.”
But the teasing smile on her face made it clear to Maryam that she didn’t believe a word of it.
Later that morning, Maryam returned to the library.
She settled into the same quiet corner she had used the previous day and opened her notebook. She had barely written two sentences when a familiar voice came from behind her.
“Excuse me.”
Her pen paused.
She already knew who it was.
Slowly, she turned around.
Adam stood a few steps away, holding a book.
“Is this seat taken?”
Maryam glanced at the empty chair opposite her.
“No.”
“Thank you.”
He sat down.
For several minutes, neither of them spoke.
Maryam tried to focus on her notes, but she found her attention drifting.
Eventually, Adam broke the silence.
“You like reading?”
She looked up.
“Yes.”
“What kind of books?”
Maryam considered the question for a moment.
“Stories that teach something meaningful.”
Adam smiled.
“That sounds like a difficult standard to meet.”
“Perhaps.”
He let out a quiet laugh.
Maryam returned to her notebook, though a faint smile lingered on her face.
Then Adam noticed something.
A small bookmark had slipped from her book.
He picked it up and handed it to her.
“Here.”
“Thank you.”
He studied it briefly before returning it.
“Did you make this?”
Maryam nodded.
At the bottom of the bookmark were three simple words:
Trust Allah's timing.
Adam’s expression shifted slightly.
“That’s a powerful reminder.”
“It is.”
He looked at her for a moment.
“Do you truly believe it?”
Maryam closed her notebook.
“I try to.”
Adam nodded slowly.
“I think I need that reminder as well.”
For the first time, Maryam found herself wondering about him.
Who was Adam?
Why did he seem so composed?
And what lay behind the polite smile he always wore?
She didn’t ask.
Some questions, she believed, were better answered with time.
Neither of them noticed the elderly librarian observing them from across the room.
She smiled quietly to herself before returning to her book.
Because sometimes, people meet for reasons they do not yet understand.
And sometimes…
Allah writes a story long before the characters realize they are living it.