Once Upon A Lifetime

Chapter Twenty-six ~ Eat the dang cheese bagel!

Misha's POV ~

I couldn't sleep that night. The news about Aasim had just made me so shocked and upset that I couldn't think properly. Saqib was a mess. Once we got to his apartment (which I have only been in once which was the day before we left for Brazil), he had lost it. It was hard for me to calm him down when I was doing no better emotionally nor mentally.

It was now Asr time but neither of us could move from the sofa. I was seated while Saqib had laid down with his head on my lap. I was stroking his hair mindlessly as I stared off at the blank TV screen. My hair was a mess and my eyes were probably red and puffy. Saqib's eyes were bloodshot and his face was a light shade of red. Neither of us could think properly.

When Taalia's mom explained everything that happened, she too ended up crying. Aasim's mom couldn't handle it anymore so she just went home. It was expected of her. She had now lost two of her children.

I finally broke my gaze from the TV and looked down at my husband. The sun was beginning to set and we still had yet to pray Asr. I was glad that we had prayed Zuhr before heading to Taalia's house or else we would have for sure missed it.

"Saqib?" I croaked, my voice sounding broken and quiet. He turned up to look at me. I tried to tell him about namaz but my voice wouldn't come out properly. "Asr." I managed to squeak out. He nodded then finally got up. My lap felt cold and I brought my knees up to my chest. I watched him stand up and move to the bathroom down the hall. It broke my heart even more (well, what was left of my already broken heart) to see him like that. He looked so... broken. Lost. I closed my eyes and rested my forehead against my knees.

Some way to end a honeymoon.

A few minutes later, I heard the bathroom door open and footsteps walking to I'm guessing the bedroom. I slowly got up from my seat and went to go do wudhu. Once I finished, I got ready and joined Saqib who was about to start praying. I prayed behind him and we prayed in silence. After we finished, I put away my prayer mat, Abaya and Hijab, and sat down on the bed. Saqib sat down next to me and we sat in a tensed silence for a long time.

I felt a tear suddenly slide down my cheek and the next thing I knew was that I was crying again. Saqib wrapped his arms around me and I clutched onto his shirt and sobbed into his chest. He leaned his head down and I heard him quietly crying. I wailed out loud and my throat started hurting but I didn't stop. This was too surreal. I never imagined this to happen. Just because... just because...

"Almira..." I sobbed out.

"Shh, shh, I - it'll be okay. This was supposed to happen. It was decided for them." Saqib said quietly, his voice breaking between cries. It sounded like he was trying to convince himself rather than comfort me. I pulled away from him a bit and looked up at his face. His eyes and face were red again and tears kept pouring out of his eyes. I brought my hands up to his cheeks and wiped his tears away though more would come.

"You're right, this was supposed to happen. Right? There was nothing we could do about it... right?" I broke into another sob and closed my eyes. I felt Saqib lean his forehead against mine and I immediately calmed down. My sobs turned to whimpers then turned to heavy breathing.

"We're just going to have to learn to get used to things without him. InshaAllah, we'll be okay."

"InshaAllah."

"How is Taalia taking it?"

"She is more devastated than us. Apparently, she has refused to eat anything and won't come out of her room. She's gotten so thin too!" I said, worrying.

"Sounds familiar, doesn't it?" Saqib said and I nodded.

"Yeah."

"We should go help her." He said as he fixed my hair around my face. "It's been almost a week, hasn't it? This isn't healthy for her, especially her brain..." He trailed off.