Sidratul Muntaha

Chapter 8 🛥

Bismillahi Rrahmaani Rraheem•

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu•

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The trees around them had begun thinning. The caravan had almost reached the river. Adara was watching her surroundings carefully. She didn't want any more surprises. Since they had encountered Yuvaan, it felt like the very forest had grown darker and was waiting to crush them. She wanted to get out of it as soon as possible. Rushi was walking beside her. Amiza walking slightly ahead of them. Rushi had been explaining about Islam to her and she was listening very carefully.

The forest trees were thinning out and they could hear the sound of the water. Amiza grew excited and turned back towards her sister in childlike happiness, making her chuckle. Rushi laughed beside her.

They emerged through the trees and walked out of the forest, the river flowing ahead of them invitingly. Amiza gasped and began walking fast towards the gurgling river. Adara smiled and followed her sister.

The River Cor was very vast and the other side of the sea couldn't even be seen. The river bank had sand as pure as snow and it glistened in the sunlight. There were purple flowers dotting the bank here and there. Amiza tenderly pulled a flower and held it in the palm of her hand and laughed. Her voice tinkled. Adara grinned happily watching her sister and prayed for her happiness to remain intact.

Adara looked around and saw a large ship anchored in the river. People were already boarding small boats that were perhaps lowered from the ships itself and were moving to the ship, before returning back to ferry more passengers.

Amiza watched excitedly as some more passengers were loaded on one of the four boats. The women from their caravan and the other caravans which had perhaps being travelling from other parts of the country, had already boarded the ships. The warriors remained behind, from each caravan.

The women and also the old men had already boarded the ship. The warriors were now boarding the boats and offered their hand to the girls. Adara moved towards the boat.

She heard the snap of a twig at first and then simultaneous snaps within moments. Amiza was still focused on boarding the boat, but Adara had been alerted, as she readied her bow and nocked an arrow on it, before facing the forest and aiming at it. Her eyes scanning the forest.

"Adara?" She heard Amiza ask.

"Amiza prepare yourself for fight or flight!" She replied without turning away from the forest. Amiza readied herself and the two sisters stood silently facing the forest.

Soon a man exited from the forest, followed by many others behind him. Then a whole bunch of people came out of the trees, carrying all kinds of weapons. The man was smiling cruelly as he watched them both. Amiza gasped beside her, but she remained emotionless to see Thuraiz in front of her, in flesh. She had had nightmares about the man standing before her and now that she was facing him she stood strong and brave. Her nightmares had already prepared her for this moment. Somewhere in her heart she always knew that this moment was inevitable.

"We meet again my daughter." Her father said to her in a mock delight. She remained silent in the face of this trouble. Beside her father stood Avik with a sour expression on his face and behind them both stood Arvan. She didn't bat an eye at any of them. The only person who unsettled her was the man standing beside Arvan... Yuvaan. He stood there tall and regal as always. Nothing about him seemed different and yet he seemed like a new person. She realised that it was his eyes that made it seem that way. His eyes were alternating between cruel and evil. She could even see tenderness and fear in them, flickering. She was confused. "Now that you stand before me..." Thuraiz was speaking again. She diverted her eyes from Yuvaan who was smiling at her sinisterly, when he realised she was watching him and turned towards her father. "I want to wring your neck with my bare hands and burn you right here! But no! I won't! I will torture you first and then take you back to my master and see you burn where you were destined to burn! I will watch the pain on your face as you cry out!"