Sidratul Muntaha

Chapter 117

Azfahan

Amiza stared unseeingly towards the wall of her cage. She felt her joints protest each time she moved. Her eyes felt dry to her. Her tatters were on the verge of falling down each time she made any movement. Her lustrous and shiny hair seemed to be dull now. Her skin was pale. Within some days her beauty had waned. The beauty which had become troublesome to her had now finally left her alone to face the troubles it had created. Amiza wanted to cry but her tears had dried up.

Sometimes she had bouts of panic which made her feel like the walls were caving down on her. The memories she so fondly preserved seemed to be deserting her. She seemed to forget little details of the incidents of her past. The only thing she seemed to strongly carry in her heart was Adara... Or was it Sidra she preferred? Sometimes she wished they never came here. Her sister would still have been hers that way. She wouldn't have come to know of her reality and she wouldn't have felt so lonely. But them she wouldn't have met so many people. Adara wouldn't have met so many people. She wouldn't have found her identity.

It would have been fine... Amiza would have preferred that. Amiza would have preferred not sharing Adara. Amiza would have preferred not having met anyone from here. Because Amiza had always been selfish where it concerned Adara. And right now she wanted to be selfish. She wanted to be selfish enough to wish that they still remained in Hinviz. Now she was all alone in this wide world and there was no light visible.

WHY? Why did this happen with her? She had been good and kind. She had always helped everyone. She had kept her heart soft and clean. She had loved with all her heart and borne all the pain that was thrown her way. She had even been accepting when Murtaza chose Rushi and not her. When her sister was taken, she had persevered. She had tried to be morally right. She had forgiven those who had wronged her. And yet... Where did her fate bring her? Here? In this dark pit? In this viper's nest? Where her respect was in tatters? Where she was nothing but a commodity? Why? What was her mistake? Beauty? Or was her mistake, her relationship with Adara? With Sidratul Muntaha? Was all her suffering because of Adara? Was Maahim right?

Adara hadn't come... Maahim had said she wouldn't come. Maahim had said Adara had moved on to her own destiny and family. Who needed a foster sister when she had her own family? Maahim had said she would forget Amiza because she was content now. She had hoped upon hoped. Even when she had married Jaleed and been tortured in Anazirah, she hadn't felt as hopeless as she felt now. This was so suffocating that drawing air in her lungs seemed to be a mountainous task. And yet... The tears didn't come...

Neither did Adara...

Her hopes were shattering one by one. Her heart was fracturing as it counted days. Every second seemed like a torture in itself. Did Adara even think of her now? Did she remember she had a sister called Amiza? Did she forget her? But Amiza couldn't forget her... Her face was the first thought of her morning and the last one before she slept. And even in her dreams it was her sister's memories that kept her company. How could Amiza forget her when she was the centre of Amiza's whole world? And yet... The world outside had moved on without her. Was there anyone who was searching for her? Hoping for her return? Had she even made relationships in this land so far away from her own?

She was a foreigner here, a stranger in a strange land. Here she was just a woman stripped of her dignity. What that felt like Amiza wouldn't want even an enemy to feel... It  was like your skin was trapped in a field of thorns and each time you tried to pull away, the thorns would tear your skin off. Amiza felt like she was being torn into pieces each day. When was the end going to arrive? Was this it, was this her life?? She wished for something, anything to happen... She wished for a change, for something that could take her away from here...

'Click.'

Amiza's eyes widened in fear. Who was it? This wasn't the time to lead her to her humiliation. Or was it? Had she even forgotten to keep the track of time? Or was it someone who wanted to repeat the last week's events? Her heartbeat quickened fearfully. She felt it thudding in her chest and was scared it would escape through her ribs and break her irreparably.