Sidratul Muntaha

Chapter 124

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu
Whats up ppl?
How are you all!?
Hope you missed this story!
Jazakallahu khairan for all the comments and messages!
I missed u all!

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Haraira

Haneen picked up the pendant from her lap and felt her world tilt on it's axis. The world seemed to become muted as the memories from her past rushed towards her, swarming her with pain and helplessness. There was nostalgia mixed with the air she breath. She became, once again... Nashwa bint Harith. A lone tear cascaded down her cheeks and fell on the pendant, shining softly. Her heart seemed to be beating to the tunes of her yesteryears. A sense of wistfulness wrapped her up in a cocoon. She sighed as another tear splattered on the surface of the pendant. The flower encased within it seemed to shine.

"How did you come here?" She inquired, talking to the inanimate object in her hand. She clutched it possessively. "How did you reach me after all these years?"

This was her pendant. She closed her eyes losing herself in it's memories.

Some memories just make you feel wrung out and lonely, even when surrounded by the whole world. She felt like she was the loneliest person to be breathing in the world right then. Her breaths felt forced and the weight of the last two decades pressed down on her chest making it difficult to breathe. The memories didn't give her respite though. They washed her away in swirls of colors and feelings, words and silences. And she let them...

The day was cold and silent. The city of Haraira was lazily sleeping in the winter afternoon when a small carriage stopped in front of a house. Nashwa stepped out of the carriage with the help of her maid and slowly stepped forward towards the house. Even though her steps were slow, there was eagerness in her gait. She was excited to meet him. She smiled softly as she thought of him.

In the winter banquet of that year something changed between her and Paras. She had gone to change out of her spoilt clothes in the palace when she had ran into him. He had stood there enthralled without blinking his eyes and she had watched him stand there and laughed. She knew him since forever but that was the first time a prick of interest had pierced her heart.

After that their story was quite unremarkable. They began to accidentally meet everywhere. Or maybe she began to notice him everywhere. Whatever it was, it was beautiful. They started to sneak looks at each other and then exchange notes and then full fledged letters before she could even take into account that she looked forward to their accidental meetings and exchange of thoughts. She felt like the whole world had become more colorful.

Some weeks ago, Paras bought a small house for their first meeting and that house became their own cozy little nook hidden from the world. They always maintained distance when they met. He stayed near the door while she remained further away but they began to talk to each other and it was like she had never been alive before she had met him. He brought out a very different version of Nashwa. She loved it. They knew it was wrong and yet they couldn't stop.... Wouldn't stop. They just wanted to spend time with each other.

Today they were meeting because they both found time between their busy lives and longing hearts. Nashwa watched him as he rose to welcome her. She smiled softly as her maid retired to just outside the door. Paras smiled... his very own special smile, full of teeth and twinkling eyes. She smiled in response, helpless in the way she reacted to him.

"Were you waiting for a long time?" She asked him softly. He chuckled.

"When it's you, no amount of time is too long. I could wait for my whole life for you to look at me just once." Paras told her. She felt her heart stutter at his words. Her cheeks heated up and her breaths became uneven. How could someone's words affect her so much that she lost control?