Pendulum

Seventeen

I frowned at the pages, flipping through every single page, in hopes that there would be something by the time I made it to the end of the journal. Could there have been another journal Noor was not privy to? Something more personal that she had hidden somewhere, hoping it was never to be found after she had left? I collapsed back on the bed, my hair spreading across the mattress in wild, matted curls - as I felt a dull pain in the back of my head. I was about to feel immense pain before the visuals would start flashing before my eyes. I was about to have another vision. My hands gripped different parts of the mattress, bracing myself for what I was about to see.

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A lifetime ago...

He watched her from behind the pillars of the mosque. The way she shut her eyes every time, her lips moving quickly as she recited her prayers. Her forehead crinkled with the focus she gave to prayer, and he smiled. He imagined walking up to her, smoothing away the frown lines with a few brushes of his fingers across her soft skin. A soft flush coloured her skin, and he felt a sudden sense of longing. 

He yearned to be able to touch her at will, not to worry about the society and how they would never be allowed to stay together. Marry her, said one of the voices. He paused, giving it some thought - he could find a way to make her stay with him forever. Matrimony was one of the most respected bonds here, there was no way they would try to separate them. His eyes darted back to her, but she was no longer standing before the sanctum, and he searched for her through the wide halls in the mosque. "I don't know what he wants from me, please help me stay strong and clear so that I won't be able to stray from the path I'm meant to be on," she whispered. He turned, seeking the voice that had been imprinted in his mind ever since he heard words escape her soft lips. Her eyes opened and found his - holding his gaze as he cracked a smile at her. Confusion melted into softness that he could not find a definition for, before settling on disbelief. "What are you doing here?" she hissed. 

"I wanted to see you."

She rolled her eyes. "You've seen me now, haven't you? Please leave." He shook his head, the smile growing wider with every second. She was disturbed by his presence, she felt that there was a connect they had with each other. She knew they deserved each other. "Marry me," he said. Comprehension dawned upon her face, and she glared at him, planting an arm on her hip. "It's not funny," she threatened. He reached for her hands, stopping himself halfway as he remembered that he shouldn't touch her without her permission. He took a deep breath before looking at her. "I want to marry you." 

Her cheeks flushed further, giving the tip of her nose a sudden tinge of pink. The urge to kiss the tinge of pink away was growing wave by wave, and he clenched his hands into fists to avoid touching her. "I cannot marry you, Dev. Please." She started moving away when his hand shot out to grab her arm. "I want you, I don't care what anyone thinks, I just want you." She looked up at him through a blur of her tears as they threatened to overflow. "Please," she begged. He shook his head so slowly, it took her a few seconds before she realised his answer, but as he shook his head, his hand softened its grip on hers - letting go. A tear escaped down her right eye, and he turned towards the entrance.

She watched him walk away from her, swiping the tears off her cheeks when he turned before stepping out. He placed a hand on his chest, before extending that hand in her direction. He was telling her that his heart belonged to her. A fresh set of tears escaped, and she looked away. When he realised that her heart belonged to him, she would not be able to stop him from whisking her away from the world - for once in her life, she was afraid of the promise he'd so readily made to her.

She was in love.