𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐯𝐚𝐬.

𝟒𝟐. 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐚'𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐬𝐝𝐨𝐦.

The clock ticked to four o'clock in the evening. The elderly woman glimpsed her grandson lost in his daze, a frown on his forehead, clearly deep in thought.

❝ 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨, 𝘔𝘳. 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘢 𝘏𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯 𝘒𝘩𝘢𝘯! ❞

❝ 𝘋𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢. 𝘚𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘯𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘯. ❞

❝ 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘦𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭. 𝘍𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘰 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦! ❞

The man was lost in the words. Each one throbbed in his mind, and the more he let himself ponder them, the more they hurt.

He seemed exhausted and embittered, which mystified his grandmother, as she had never seen him so worn out before. Her confusion deepened when he asked her a question.

❝ What is love, Dadi? ❞ he asked, still lost in his daze. The grandmother stared at her grandson, nonplussed for a second, then snapped back to reality and passed him a winsome smile. Her eyes twinkled with contentment, and her heart skipped a beat.

❝ Love is a disaster, my boy, an exquisite disaster. It's something you wouldn't want to end, a motive to survive, a hope in your life, and a khafifa in your gloom, ❞ she expressed in poetic words. Her words made the man's eyes sparkle with the concept of love, healing the parts of him that had been broken before.

❝ And how do we know we are in love? ❞ he queried again, his ocean-blue eyes clutching a myriad of emotions. He held his grandmother's palm and placed a kiss on it, making her smile with tears in her eyes.

❝ Love is when you stop questioning its existence. Love is when you feel good even in the pain given by your loved ones. Love is when you smile with tears in your eyes. Love is when a monster turns into a kind soul. Love is pure. Love is an obsession. Love is a drug that you get addicted to. Love is all you want to survive.❞

The old woman whispered as memories of her past gushed through her mind. Each soul in the universe holds a past; sometimes it's exquisite, sometimes not. It felt like the woman was still madly in love with her beloved, her late husband.

Musa stared at his grandmother in astonishment, absorbing the love she had for her husband. He believed love couldn't be real for him. Love was a myth, but now it felt like his intense emotions had pushed him to question his grandmother.

❝ When love finds its way, no borders can stop it from reaching your heart, not even yourself. And when you neglect those feelings, it won't allow your heart to rest in peace. ❞

The old woman continued, her words lingering in his mind. His heart kept beating rapidly, acknowledging the emotions he started to feel for the person he blamed for his past. His heart never agreed, but his mind kept pouring venom.

❝ Does love demolish people, Dadi? ❞ he inquired further, making his grandmother stare blankly at the wall, lost in thought as she tried to find the right words for her grandson, who waited patiently.

❝ Sometimes love helps you survive, and sometimes it kills,❞ A familiar voice interjected. Altamash entered, shutting the door behind him as he approached, hugging his grandmother who caressed his hair.

Musa rolled his eyes at Altamash, who returned a teasing smirk, making Musa glare at him. Altamash made a show of zipping his mouth, unable to withstand the intensity of Musa's glare. Musa turned back to his grandmother, who shook her head at both of them.

Musa resumed his thoughts, his mind under too much pressure to bear. Everything felt suffocating. It seemed like his heart wanted him to accept something he was in denial about. Of course, it's Musa Hassan Khan we're talking about—the man who wouldn't go back on his word—yet he was at a stage in life where he began to sense his heart's emotions.

But soon, his grandmother's words snapped Musa back to reality. Her words resonated through his whole body. He stared at her, his heart racing, while all he could do was breathe and wait to puff some cigarette smoke. Meanwhile, her melodic voice rang in every corner of the room, making him shut his eyes, which displayed intense emotions.

❝ If the heart is pulling you toward them, then it's love. But if it's about the body, then it's lust. If it's lust you're carrying for them, then lust destroys people. Love doesn't, Musa.❞