By the time it was ten a.m., I had started wondering if I should call up the mudeer at Muwayh or wait for his call. At about half past the hour, I received a call from the local Mudeer at Muwayh, a certain Dr. Shehab. He confirmed my identity and spoke to me in English. He told me he would inform the car/ambulance driver, who would call me in advance before coming to pick me up.
I went about my normal activities through the morning, but by the time it was early evening, I was almost certain that the driver wasn't going to call me that day. A little worried but pragmatic, I decided to wait till the next morning before calling up Dr. Shehab again.
It was at that time that my cousin Juzer Kagalwala called me up. He had been in touch with me earlier and wanted to know what had transpired with me at the Muderiya, as he was keen to come to Ta'if and take me to Jeddah to his place for a visit. I told him the facts as they were, and assured him that I would, as soon as possible, call him back and tell him how the visit could be arranged. I was thinking that maybe I could go to Muwayh the next day, and then seek the mudeer's permission to go to Jeddah on Thursday. This, however, seemed like a silly thing to do, as Muwayh is a further 200 km farther from Ta'if, and would therefore be over 400 km from Jeddah. Juzer also told me that he and his family were planning to do Umrah on Thursday, so if I could be made available, I could join in and complete the Umrah with him.
Thinking about all this emboldened me to call up Dr. Shehab and seek his permission to join on Saturday next instead of right away. I told him about my intention to visit my cousin in Jeddah as well as about my intention to do an Umrah if feasible. He agreed readily, and I was thus freed from his schedule. I called up Juzer again and he suggested that I come directly to Jeddah in a taxi or a government bus if available. I began to make preparations to go to Jeddah, and as per Juzer's arrangements, also to perform the umrah.
By nightfall, my stuff was ready and packed in two bags for the next day's departure. Worries about whether my plans would come to fruition or be laid aside prevented me from getting sleep after I had gone to bed. However, sleep did come and with it, dreams of achieving my ambitions in the days to come.
I went about my normal activities through the morning, but by the time it was early evening, I was almost certain that the driver wasn't going to call me that day. A little worried but pragmatic, I decided to wait till the next morning before calling up Dr. Shehab again.
It was at that time that my cousin Juzer Kagalwala called me up. He had been in touch with me earlier and wanted to know what had transpired with me at the Muderiya, as he was keen to come to Ta'if and take me to Jeddah to his place for a visit. I told him the facts as they were, and assured him that I would, as soon as possible, call him back and tell him how the visit could be arranged. I was thinking that maybe I could go to Muwayh the next day, and then seek the mudeer's permission to go to Jeddah on Thursday. This, however, seemed like a silly thing to do, as Muwayh is a further 200 km farther from Ta'if, and would therefore be over 400 km from Jeddah. Juzer also told me that he and his family were planning to do Umrah on Thursday, so if I could be made available, I could join in and complete the Umrah with him.
Thinking about all this emboldened me to call up Dr. Shehab and seek his permission to join on Saturday next instead of right away. I told him about my intention to visit my cousin in Jeddah as well as about my intention to do an Umrah if feasible. He agreed readily, and I was thus freed from his schedule. I called up Juzer again and he suggested that I come directly to Jeddah in a taxi or a government bus if available. I began to make preparations to go to Jeddah, and as per Juzer's arrangements, also to perform the umrah.
By nightfall, my stuff was ready and packed in two bags for the next day's departure. Worries about whether my plans would come to fruition or be laid aside prevented me from getting sleep after I had gone to bed. However, sleep did come and with it, dreams of achieving my ambitions in the days to come.
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