IN TWENTY ONE DAYS (Preview)

4; PARCHED.

ABUJA, NIGERIA.

"Are you awake?" Amani inclined her head to look at her husband's figure sleeping soundlessly on their bed. The bed she hasn't slept on for a long time.

"Uh, yeah." He move around, surprised that his wife is there to wake him up to pray Fajr.

Even when they don't talk, he is the one to always touch her shoulder to wake her up as she sleeps next to her daughter in the other room. It never was the other way around except that time and he knew it meant one thing.

"Can we pray together?" She asked in a small voice, moving her right hand around his muscular arm, feeling the strong arm beneath her finger tips makes her miss him all the more.

Her touch burned the place she positioned it one making him frisson. Good Lord, he missed his wife so much more than he thought.

"Sure. I'll just perform ablution." He can't help but draw her in his arms and wrap her in his comfort when he hit her hand trying to stand up.

Amani let the few tears drop down from her eyes because she didn't know how much she missed him till then. Having him wrap his arms around her means one thing, he is ready to hear her out. They have this weird connection that when they fight, he makes the second step while she takes the last one especially if it is her fault. But just his arms around her is making her so sentimental. He draw her closer and sat her down on his lap smelling her addicting scent. He almost sent crazy when she stopped giving him the comfort he always gets when they were together.

"I missed you so much, my maan." She cried into his neck, tightly holding onto him like her dear life. Even Koala Bear won't show her how to cuddle into someone.

"I missed you too, my Beyoncé." She grinned amidst tears listening to how he affectionately say Beyoncé making her think why did she even let go of this man. The man of her life and her soulmate.

So many minutes later that felt like seconds, she moved away so he could go perform ablution or they won't pray. She wipe away her tears and sniffed when he pecked her forehead. She don't deserve a man like Mika'il in her life. She made him do things he wouldn't have done all because of her foolishness and knowing her husband, he will be guilty of something that isn't his fault. He takes everything she does as his fault even when knowing fully well that she is at fault.

Her heart flutter when he didn't move away from her forehead and inhaled there. It makes her heart tighten in guilt and self-loathe. If only she knew how much he loves her and will do anything for her. She could ask him to stop the wedding and he will do that in a heartbeat, that is just how much he loves her. Love is something he values and when he loves, he gives himself up to that person completely and he did that to Amani.

They stood up and went into the bathroom where he turn on the faucet in the washing hand basin to perform ablution while she lie her head on his back and wrap her small arms around his stomach making his heart to ache in love. He smiled at her through the mirror when he finished performing ablution and prayed silently underneath his breath then he move his hand across her face. She grinned and let him lead the way to their room where she sprayed a praying mat.

After they prayed, he placed his right hand on her head like newly weds do and prayed for her. She couldn't stop the smile from adorning her lips the whole time and her heart kept fluttering with lots of glitters and butterflies.