Tied to you

chapter 3 : our flaws

so chapter 3 is out ^_^............please guys read the story and vote and comment.....it really encourages the author to write the story with interest. if you don't like the story then please don't read it but if you do then do vote and in case you find something offensive please comment so i could rectify my mistakes.

a lone girl sat on her window sill with cusions all around her. she gazed out of the window with dried tears on her cheeks. her long brown chocolate locks were in a mess. her eyes red and puffy. her life as it is, is a big mess. the trauma of her mother dying when she was six, her twin's tragic death, ye she had a twin and an loving elder sister. she somehow went through the pain of the death of her mother and twin, but couldn't bare the idea of losing her father too, her father's health was worsening day by day and she knew it despite her father trying his best to stay strong. she slowly got up but flinched away when her feet made contact with something burning. that's when she saw the burning pictures of a certain someone in the dustbin, someone who killed her twin, someone she wanted to forget and someone she wished was never born. she picked up the the burning photograph and discarded it in the dustbin after dousing it with her slippers. she quickly washed her face as soon as she heard the door bell ringing. she didn't want to stress her father more than he already was. after wrapping her hijab she quickly went downstairs and opened the door but to her utter surprise it wasn't her father as she had expected, instead there stood a familiar figure with his gaze behind him. she cleared her throat to make her presence known.

"assalamualikum" she said in a hoarse voice due to all the screaming and crying. she tried her best to make her voice normal.

"uh walaikumsalam" the young man nodded, his hazel orbs looked over at her petite frame and for a moment he thought she was crying sometime ago.

"are you okay?" he asked trying to be soft. though he wanted it to be soft but it came out harshly, somehow with this girl, nothing seems to come out soft.

"yeah i am fine" she said in a cracked voice lowering her gaze.

"uh um may i come in"

"no"

"what?"

"i said no, your a non mehram, and its not right for us to be alone like this, baba is not here at the moment" he had to smile at her practicing personality. living in today's world most of them forget where they stand or do not follow certain rules laid out by islam but here she is following them even if she is from a modern household.

"actually my sister has come with me" at this she looked up and he moved to reveal a small four year old girl dressed prettily in a pink frock sucking on a candy. a smile formed on her face as she bent down and picked up the tiny figure in her arm and without a second glance at the young man she went inside leaving him there contemplating what to do, there was a blizzard going on and it was freezing even after he was in his warm blazer. as if in reflex he sneezed and the young woman's blue eyes turned to look at him. though she hated him and was in a war whether to have a non mehram enter her house without her father being present, she let him in after thinking that he was trustworthy and besides ilham was with them. she asked them to sit on the sofa as she went into the kitchen to make some tea.

"you drink tea right?" she asked him.

"uh yeah" though he really didn't favor tea much, but was obliged to do so due to the freezing weather and out of politeness.

"baba has gone out for a meeting, he will probably return in another half an hour" she said mixing milk in the tea as his insides cringed. he hated milk. whether it was in coffee or in tea. but he wasn't allergic so he couldn't refuse. he nodded at her as he knew that his father was in a meeting, overall he was sent by her father himself. though he trusted his beloved uncle and never doubted his choice but still on insistence he visited his daughter to see if she was really eligible to take care of his sister.

"here you go" she put the steaming cup of tea in front of him, he gave her a tight lipped smile, she returned it with a fake one too. both of them had only one thought in mind. why do we hate each other so much? she made her way towards little ilham who was still unable to walk due to some problem in the leg  and just crawled around instead.

"hey baby, how are you? didn't get to see you for long" she made funny faces as the little girl giggled with her huge green eyes shining with joy, meanwhile the young man took a sip of his tea though not wanting to, but still. to say he was amazed would be an understatement......he loved it despite it containing milk, but sadly his ego was too big to compliment her. he observed her playing with his sister with a carefree attitude and the girl was so engrossed in the tiny toddler that she had forgotten that there was a third person who watched her carefully. he knew that she wasn't aware of the proposal and so it couldn't have just been plain acting to impress him. on second thoughts if even she knew about it, he was sure she would have done it out of general affection and he knows that because his own sister keeps repeating the name 'jannat' time to time, or specifically during her play time and night. he assumed her to be his sister's playmate. his heart filled with unknown joy when he saw his sister giggling and her laughing freely. suddenly as if realizing someone's gaze on her she stopped immediately and her consciousness took over. her eyes locked with her probable future husband, strangely unknown to her. she looked away as the tension in the room was visible and then glanced at the huge wall clock which indicated it was time for maghrib and as if on cue the adhan from the nearby masjid was heard.

"um you can go to the nearby masjid , i'll take care of ilham until you return" she said lowering her gaze. he didn't know what to do, he didn't pray, not since everything in his life turned upside down.

"i don't pray" at this she looked up curiously.

"why?"

"none of your business" he stated harshly as she flinched at his tone. they say curiosity kills a cat. now she knows why. she didn't probe him any further. she took ilham up with her to her bedroom and quickly made wudhu, after completing her maghrib salaah she went downstairs to see him engrossed in his phone. she didn't judge him because he didn't pray, she knew his actions were that of a good muslim as the society claims. he did follow the haraam, halal rule and helped out his community brothers, though she knew not praying was a great sin but she out looked that factor. no one is perfect. everyone is painted with flaws. on the contrary she was more sinned than he was. he may have scars but she was wounded, bruised and battered. both of them had their own tragic story, and own struggles. one striving to be a better muslimah and trying to forget her flawed past and the other one lost in the middle of nowhere trying to find his guiding light.

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