The truth About cypher ✓

Novosibirsk

Nights were the longest part of the day for Ali Raza. They were always cold and dark, an odd sense of emptiness lingered in his heart and mind. He used to have nightmares, violent ones. But all that changed when he was with Laila's father. Idris was sharp even as a boy. He knew Ali Raza had trouble sleeping. He knew his best friend was afraid of the dark. Idris found Raza hiding behind curtains a lot, sometimes even locked in almirahs.

Idris gave Ali Raza the light he needed; he gave his friend a lighter.

The lighter was made of a glass body. Its headstone made up of some soft metal. That was the most important gift Idris gave Ali Raza after his goddaughter. He had carved their initials on its base; A&I.

Ali Raza wasn't afraid of the dark anymore.

October 31st haunted him the most. Laila did suffer, so did her stepmother but Ali Raza was shattered. After that, he spent hours searching for that old lighter. It was broken, its glass body chipped from one side. But he fixed it. Ali Raza found an old repair shop around Parizhsky Kommuny and paid quite a handful to get it fixed. Perhaps he wondered if the light would still work its magic and burn his nightmares away.

But the lighter wasn't his, to begin with.

Idris told him, "I'm lending you this lighter till you learn to embrace the darkness, Raza. Once you learn that there is nothing lingering in the shadows, you will return it back."

He never got a chance to return his best friend's lighter back.

The lighter was useless. Even when it was fixed, Ali Raza never felt the warmth from its wick. Everything around him was still dark. It wasn't until Idris was gone that Raza realized, the warmth he felt wasn't from that glass lighter. The light in his almirahs was not emitted from the kerosene the lighter burned. It was Idris.

Idris was Raza's burning lighter.

Laila reached out to her godfather who was lost in his thoughts. Ali Raza was seated in his armchair, facing the window of his study. For a moment the tapping of rain against the window sounded more metallic than it used to and Laila's silhouette against the light looked warmer, less imposing but more familiar. She was Idris's daughter after all.

"Abu, I'm ready." Laila furrowed her brow looking at the man resting in his armchair.

Ali Raza leaned forward, eyes narrowed. He looked focused. Almost as if he was trying to find something in Laila's features, maybe searching for warmth.

"Ah, is it time for your trip to Novosibirsk already? Tell me why are you going again?"

"For a weekend away with friends." Laila smiled.

"But Mila isn't coming. Have you not sorted your argument yet?" Laila sighed at this statement. She had informed her godfather that she wasn't on good terms with Mila for quite some time now. That was probably the only thing she had shared with the man which was true, almost true.

"It's a process and I think she needs space. So do I, that's why the trip!"

Ali Raza arched his eyebrow, "And this does not harm your internship in any way?"

"You ask too many questions. It gets annoying." Laila chuckled placing a soft kiss on his forehead. She hugged him one last time before Maksim announced her car is ready.

"I'll see you soon Nifige Sebe." Her godfather whispered while waving her goodbye.

It takes approximately an hour to reach Novosibirsk by flight but Laila was exhausted. She had her stitches removed earlier than they were supposed to and the pain hadn't stopped being a bitch to her. Laila kept her eyes closed and allowed herself to just sleep through the travel. Her attempts failed miserably.