The Mecca Bound

في طريق مكة

Hajj changes people.

I've seen thousands transformed. I organize the journey—visas, transport, guidance.

Michael is different from most pilgrims.

I'm Samira.

Forty-six, Saudi, third generation Hajj organizer. My family has guided pilgrims for sixty years.

Michael converted three years ago.

He's fifty.

British, former banker, found Islam in his darkness. Now he seeks completion.

"I need to understand," he says. "Not just perform."

"Understanding is why we guide."

"Why did you convert?"

"My life was empty. Money, success, nothing else. Islam filled the emptiness."

"Many find that."

"I want to find more."

I become his guide personally.

Unusual—I usually manage, not guide. But something about his earnestness...

"Why me?" he asks.

"Because you're not seeking tourism. You're seeking truth."

The journey to Mecca is its own pilgrimage.

I explain each step, each meaning. He absorbs like desert drinks rain.

"The Kaaba—why do we circle it?"

"We become planets around the sun. Allah is the center."

"Beautiful."

"Islam is always beautiful."

"You've done this many times."

"I've never done Hajj itself. Just organized."

"Never? Why?"

"I was always too busy helping others. This year is different."

"Why?"

"You made me want to walk it again."

The first kiss is in Mina.

Between prayers, between rituals. Sacred and profane blending.

"Astaghfirullah," I whisper.

"Is this sin?"

"Ask Allah when we reach the Kaaba."

The Kaaba.

Millions circling, praying. We circle together, tears streaming.

"What do you feel?" I ask.

"Complete. For the first time. And in love."

"Marry me."

"Michael—"

"Here. Now. Before we leave Mecca."

"That's—"

"The most Muslim thing I could do. Choose a wife on Hajj."

We marry before leaving.

Simple ceremony, witnesses from the pilgrimage. Allah as our guest.

"Happy?" he asks on our wedding night.

"Hajj brought me more than I expected."

"The pilgrimage?"

"The pilgrim."

Five years later

We run the Hajj organization together.

Guiding thousands to what we found ourselves.

"Best Hajj?" he asks.

"Every one with you."

Alhamdulillah.

For journeys that transform.

For converts who seek.

For pilgrimages that become love.

The End.