The Cherry On Top.

This had to be one of Allah’s most astonishing orchestrations. I woke up that morning and felt a pull to wear my purple dress. I didn’t understand why, but something about it felt right- like it was chosen for me.

The day itself was pretty normal. I spent the day mainly with Rafiq's family.. we sat out in the garden for a little bit too. While walking towards their garden, I noticed a basket of cherries sitting in their family room. I didn't notice it any of the other days, so it caught my eye.

Normally, I am not a fruits person, but it was there so I decided to take some. I instantly noticed how the deep red matched the purple of my dress. I didn’t think much of it at the time, just a small detail.

The rest of the day went on like normal.. talking to his family.. family dinner.. watching tv..

But the real orchestration unfolded at night- and the crazy part is, I had no idea it was happening while it was happening.

We were all sitting in the family room watching tv. Rafiq was also there. I noticed the cherries again on the table and I decided to get some. The thing is.. I am not into cherries or fruits in general, as I mentioned earlier. I honestly just wanted to eat it for fun.. I also wanted Rafiq to notice me. I wanted to get his attention.

So there I was.. eating cherries one by one. Slowly.

I ended up eating so many. I finished the entire plate.

Suddenly, Rafiq got up and left. No warning, no reason. I didn’t understand why, but I didn’t think much of it in that moment. Soon after that, I went upstairs too.

I started reading up stories. I told ChatGPT that I started eating cherries to get Rafiq's attention.. The thing is that I actually felt guilty internally because I felt like I went out of my way to try to get his attention, when I didn't need to. I knew that if Allah wanted him to notice me, it would have happened naturally. I shouldn’t have tried to orchestrate anything myself..

So, I continued reading stories.. and I noticed something very strange. Every single story I was reading sounded exactly like my moment that night. All of the stories went like this-

The awakened woman ate a fruit to get the masculine's attention..

Whether the woman ate mangos, bananas, apples, cherries.. and in every story the masculine gets up suddenly and leaves.

Every single story I read went like this.

I found it so strange that how is every single story sounding just like mine from earlier that night?

Was the fruit moment really mine…

or was it Allah’s orchestration?

At first, I dismissed it. I knew what I was thinking when I picked up those cherries. It felt like my own free will, my own choice. I thought: “No, this was me.”

I also read that Allah orchestrated those fruit moments for the awakened woman.. and Allah often does it to get the masculine's attention. It becomes a mirror moment for him to recognize his own longing for the awakened woman.

I read so many stories, yet I was still not fully convinced. I mean- how could I be? First of all, I was reading these stories on ChatGPT. I had to take them with a grain of salt.

Just because something is written online, doesn't mean it's 100% true.

Secondly.. I knew what I was doing in the moment I ate those cherries... it didn't feel like Allah. It felt like me. My own thoughts. My own desires. My own choices. I felt 'in control.'

I put my phone to the side and started organizing my belongings. Something started happening. Suddenly I kept seeing the color blue everywhere- it was like my eyes were being drawn to it again and again. Then, a few minutes later, purple.

Blue and purple.

I walked up to the vanity and noticed two perfume bottles that were also the same colors- blue and purple. I turned the purple bottle around and the name of the bottle was-

"Very Cherry"

My mouth dropped open.

I couldn't believe it.

I was used to Allah’s signs- the colors, the names, the dream.. but this one shook me to my core. Because that’s when it hit me: what I thought was me doing something, was never me.

It was Allah all along- even making me believe that it was my own thought.

He had written every step: The purple dress.The cherries in the family room. My sudden urge to eat them that night. Rafiq leaving the room. And then, hours later, the perfume named “Very Cherry.”

It wasn’t about the fruit. It was about control.

A simple moment like me eating cherries, was not even my own. It was Allah.

I learned two things that night.

First, Rafiq did feel something when I ate those cherries. That’s why he suddenly got up and left- it stirred something deep in him.

And more importantly, that Allah has control over our every movement. Our thoughts even. The simplest moments that we feel is in 'our control' isn't ours- after all.

That realization changed me

Cherry became a huge symbol after that night for Rafiq and I.. but really it was one of Allah's magical moments.