Sidratul Muntaha

Chapter 36🕯

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu

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He was supposed to forget his own name for this duty and so he did. Now he was known as Faqeeh. For months he had taken his position as a meagre bodyguard of the Prince. He was easily replaceable and had no actual value. He was spying and spinning his web to be accepted and then the chance had been presented to him by one of his brothers. Just when he thought that the Prince's circle was unbreakable, an opening had been created by his leader's men. The information had been recieved by one of his men at the right moment and he had arrived to save the Prince from an assassination attempt. He had been slightly injured because of the incident, but at-least he had recovered well and good.

That moment, though painful, had been his turning point here. He had been accepted in the Prince's circle and been elevated to one of his trusted bodyguards. He had also become an advisor and a confidante to the Prince, replacing one of his men, Hamas. And that name had been added to his list of people to look out for. Thankfully he had his men with him to help him out.

Just today the Prince had dispatched a group of four men along with the four from his second brother to Khaliber. Their father had advised them to begin the plan of a single leadership and they were starting from Khaliber. The crown prince of Khaliber was in grave danger and could be saved only by luck or... He hoped what they had been hoping for, was achieved and that their efforts hadn't gone to waste.

He sighed as a face weaved itself infront of his eyes and he ached all over. He hoped they were all fine, whomever he loved. He wished nothing but happiness for them. He hoped when he could return she would still be there, waiting for him. But right now he couldn't waste that time in wishing for things that were better left alone. When the time was right, he would wish for it.

*****

Sidra sighed as she watched Taqdees sift the sand of the ground, through her hands. She was smelling it again and again. She stood up in haste and walked towards a direction. Sidra followed her hurriedly. Beneath their feet the soil was turning luminous.

They soon arrived at the base of a net of caves. The caves were all luminous and appeared miraculous by their looks. Sidra's breaths hitched by their looks. She couldn't believe something like this could actually exist in the world. Taqdees began to walk towards the caves and then entered one of them with Sidra in tow. She began to walk deeper into the cave and then bent down once more to smell the sand of the cave.

"This is the right way." Taqdees muttered. She began to walk more faster and Sidra started jogging behind her. The cave soon opened to a small forest and as they walked more deeper, the trees around them began thinning and the sky became visible once more. All around them there were flowers of different types and smell. They were all attractive and luring but Sidra shook her head and walked with a one track mind behind Taqdees, who was now running.

They soon reached a wide clearing, where Taqdees came to a standstill. Sidra gasped in breathlessness, bending over and then gulped air in large amounts before she straightened breathlessly. She looked ahead and her breath whooshed out of her, in a gasp. Before her in the centre of the vast clearing stood a tree. But it wasn't just a normal tree.

The tree was so big that it shaded the whole clearing, except the edges of the clearing, under it's widely spread branches. The tree was illuminated. It felt like the light was shining from within it. There were pink fruits hanging from the tree and even they were shining. The leaves were beautiful and as large as her palm. They were illuminated from within, like there was melted silver diffused within them. The color itself appeared to be silver even though they could see the green color within the leaves if they looked closely. And now when they stood right at the edge of it's shade Sidra understood what Taqdees had meant by the tree smelling of home. To her it smell like Muntaha. Sandalwood and musk merged with something purely him. She sighed inhaling it to her heart's content. Beside her she thought Taqdees did the same.