Prisoners Of Paradise (CTBB Spin Off)

~9~

This chapter is dedicated to R3Hijabi for being so adorable and you guys should definitely go check out her story "Not Your Expected Hijabi" Enjoy the latest slice of paradise - i.e. this chapter hehe 😛

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"It's beautiful."

The clouds that had now covered the skies were stained with fruity colours like grapefruit pink and mango gold as the sun dipped below the horizon, reflecting onto the sea. Watching this sunset made me feel hungry but I never looked away, almost forgetting Ilyas' presence beside me on the sand until he spoke.

"It really is," I murmured, tears springing to my eyes for some reason. I blinked them away, wondering why I suddenly felt so emotional. Maybe it was because I could have been home by now, if I had caught that flight this morning with my friends, and if I hadn't fallen off the yacht...so many 'if's, but dwelling on them made no difference. I was still here, with Ilyas, on this lonely island that didn't even have proper trees or food.

I got to my feet and approached the ocean, stopping until I was knee deep, not even bothering to roll up my tights which were caked with sand. This was the longest I had ever spent on a beach of any kind, and as a kid I had always hated leaving the beach because I had wanted to stay there forever, but forever wasn't fun when you were imprisoned there.

I hadn't realised Ilyas had joined me at the tide until I heard a splash, and saw his head pop up, just a silhouette against the vibrant rose-gold sunset. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"Going for one last swim," Ilyas called back before disappearing underwater. I swear, if I didn't know any better I'd say that man was a fish or something. He had spent the entire day swimming while I lied on the beach, trying not to use up energy, and when he had returned from his swim he had speared two fish, bringing them back as trophies.

While he swam, I prayed Maghrib, and there was something so natural and beautiful about praying on sand, with no mat or anything. It made me feel closer to Allah for some reason. Just when I finished praying, Ilyas emerged from the waves, dripping wet, and if it wasn't for the fading light, I would've been able to see every detail of his body, but good thing I turned away, knowing very well that my eyes had seen enough for that day.

"Were you praying?" Ilyas asked as soon as he was within speaking distance, running his fingers through his hair, which was spiked up from the ocean.

I nodded, leaning back on my palm. "Yeah. Don't you pray?"

Ilyas shook his head, which consequently caused drops of water to spurt everywhere, and I flinched, but didn't say anything as I waited for his answer. "Nah. It's not for me."

"What do you mean?" I followed his movements as he picked up his shirt and used it as a sort of towel, dabbing at his arms and chest.

"I'm not a religious person, I guess," Ilyas replied with a shrug. "It's not my thing."

"I used to be like that," I didn't know why I blurted that out, but I knew where this guy was coming from; I had been there once.

"Really?" Ilyas sounded surprised, and I didn't know if I should have been offended or...

"Yeah. I was once a reckless girl who had no care for religion, but I changed."

"Why did you change?" Ilyas seemed genuinely curious as he sat on the sand again, and I watched the sky darken as I collected my thoughts, contemplating whether I should tell him how I used to be. I was not proud of it, nor did I go boasting it to people about how many parties I went to and how many friends I had.