Sayonee (Re-writing)

E i g h t

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Laila
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The rain started just as I finished writing.

Tiny droplets at first.

Then more.

Then enough to make the garden smell like wet earth.

My favorite smell.

I smiled, closing my diary against my chest.

Today felt perfect.

Abba Jaan was coming home.

Alaya's nikah was only two days away.

Ammi had been cooking since morning.

And for the first time in months, nobody was talking about threats, security, politics, or marriage.

Everything felt normal.

Maybe Allah had finally decided to give us a break.

My phone rang.

Alaya.

"Assalamualaikum."

"Walaikumassalam," she laughed. "Did you get my dress?"

"Of course I did. And before you ask, yes, you're going to look beautiful."

"Obviously."

I rolled my eyes.

"Allah, your confidence is becoming a problem."

Her laughter echoed through the speaker.

I was about to say something else.

Then it happened.

A sound ripped through the air.

Not loud.

Not at first.

Just strange.

Wrong.

A deep vibration beneath my feet.

The swing shook violently.

I frowned.

"Alaya..."

Before I could finish speaking—

The world exploded.

The force threw me forward.

Everything became noise.

Glass shattering.

Metal twisting.

The ground slamming into my body.

For a second I couldn't hear anything.

Couldn't see anything.

Couldn't breathe.

Only a sharp ringing filled my ears.

I blinked.

Once.

Twice.

The phone had slipped from my hand.

The diary lay several feet away, pages torn apart by the wind.

And then I looked up.

The house was on fire.

No.

No.

No.

My heart stopped.

The front windows had shattered.