A tale of love, loss, and new beginnings.
Hareem wants to start over, Momin is stuck in the past. Can a newly wedded couple learn to love and accept one another while also dealing with an uncertain future and a haunting past?
Trigger warning: ptsd...
"And among His Signs is this, that He created for you wives from among yourselves, that you may find repose in them, and He has put between you affection and mercy. Verily, in that are indeed signs for a people who reflect." (30:21)
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Chapter Twenty Nine
His hands trembled as he brought them up to cover his mouth. He felt like his heart had come up to his throat, constricting it so he couldn't breath. His brain was on fire as a thousand questions swirled in his head like a tornado, sucking out the energy in him.
It was Hareem that walked onto the stage and excitedly started a speech. It was Hareem that halted, the blood leaving her body as the video started. It was Hareem that looked around the stage, her body trembling as she hugged herself and tried to hide the tears threatening to fall from her eyes. It was Hareem that his brother had been hopelessly in love with.
Deep down, this was what Momin feared the most. It was what he had expected, but had denied again and again, blocking out the facts that easily connected to show the larger picture.
The stage fright, the long lasting trauma, the reluctance to mention what had happened because it involved another man, the mistrust in her eyes, the sad smile that refused to accept any compliments, and the deeply scarring unwillingness to love.
"Turn it off," Momin commanded, his voice gruff. "That's enough."
"Bhai, are you sure? I think I have a clip in which I have Ashiq too," Naeem told. Momin paused for a second only, before nodding his head. He didn't want to see his brother's pain stricken face, the pain he had for the girl he loved: the girl that Momin had married.
"Turn it off right this second!" He shouted, before exiting the room with his knuckles rolled up so tight, the nails pierced through the skin of his palms.
Momin lost all control of his body as he threw open the door of his car and raced through the streets, his right foot heavily pressed on the accelerator. The veins on his temples throbbed, while his jaw was clenched so hard his teeth rattled. Before he knew it, he found himself at the lake, the portion that was attached to the public park and deserted at that time of the day.
Taking out the key from the ignition, slamming the car door shut as he got out, Momin roughly kicked a rock that rested on the ground, kicking it into the water, from where it bounced a few times before sinking, just like the way his soul was slowly sinking.
He sighed out loud before raking his fingers through his hair, leaning against his car as he stared at the little island in the distance.
The island was once an infantry base, but in the past thirty years it had transitioned into a golf club the townspeople frequented. He had been in that golf club more times than he could count, sometimes for Eid galas, weddings, or school graduations. He had been in those buildings, and under that sky with Hareem and Ashiq.
