Larai's footsteps resounded in the quiet, lonely road. The rate at which her heartbeat, skyrocketed. She kept on swiveling her head in the hopes of seeing someone—anyone, but nothing could be seen, except for the bushes and trees of course. No birds were chirping and flying.

Just as she increased her pace, she heard the sound of another footstep shuffling behind her.

With her heart thumping aggressively against its confines, she turned around.

At the sight of a hideous being, whose face was completely battered, tears of blood flowing from its eyes and from between its legs, Larai let out a horrific scream and took to her heels. "Please save me!" She kept on screaming, as she ran as fast as her tired legs could carry her.

She didn't stop running until she arrived at the dead-end of a cliff. Her body trembled as she turned around, but surprisingly, the hideous being hadn't followed her. She inhaled and exhaled.

Her relief was short-lived when all of a sudden, it appeared again. "Nooooooo!!" She screamed at the top of her lungs and took a step back, then another, totally forgetting about the cliff behind her. "What are you? Please don't hurt me." She cried.

"This is all your fault!"  A familiar voice echoed.

Azumi? Larai's eyes dilated and she lifted her head. Sure enough, it was her sister. The hideous being had transformed into Azumi.

Larai took in a sudden breath. "Azumi?" She called and advanced towards her sister, but with each step she took forward, Azumi backed away from her. "Please wait! Where are you going? Why are you shedding tears of blood?" Larai's gaze then trailed to her legs. "Why do you have blood running down your legs."

"This is all your fault." More blood streamed down her face. "This is all your fault." She kept on repeating the words.

"What are you saying?" Larai stretched out a hand to hold her sister, but to her utmost horror, her hand went through her body. Bewildered,

Larai's heart plummeted and she let out a gasp. Despite how hard she tried, she couldn't wrap her head around the mystery right in front of her.

"I'm leaving and I'm never coming back. I'm never going to forgive you. I hate you!"

"Please don't say that, Azumi." Larai couldn't control her tears anymore. "And what do you mean you're leaving? We haven't fulfilled our dreams yet. I haven't even thought you how to knit, read and write, remember?"

"It's all over now. Goodbye." She closed her eyes and her body slowly began to diminish right in front of Larai's eyes.

"Azumi!" She screamed and raced towards her, but it was already too late. Her sister had already dissipated into thin air.

"AZUMI!!!" Larai screamed and sprung up from bed, sweating profusely.

Her breaths emerged in ragged pants. She tried to control her breathing by opening her mouth, but her effort was futile.

She wrapped a hand around her neck and swallowed hard. "What...what sort of a dream was that?" She yanked the duvet off her body and got down from the bed. "Azumi." She cried and curled into a ball by the foot of the bed. She couldn't comprehend what the dream was about, but she had a hunch something terrible was going on with her sister. She could feel it in her heart. "Ya Allah, please protect my sister."

Larai got into her bed again and attempted to sleep, but immediately she closed her eyes, the heart-wrenching picture of Azumi flashed into her mind and her words kept on reverberating.

This is all your fault.

You've cheated me.

I'm leaving and I'm never coming back.

I hate you!

"Yusuf." She picked up the cellphone which Yusuf had gifted her on the day she got admission into the university. She dialed his number, but ended the call, just before it could ring. It was midnight. She didn't want to disturb him at such an ungodly hour, but she badly needed someone to talk to, otherwise, she just might go insane.

Neglecting all consequences, she redialed his number and took the phone to her ear.

"Larai." Came his groggy voice. "Why are you calling me by this time?"

"I need to speak to you. Could you please come over?" She whimpered.

"What?" Larai could hear the astonishment in his voice. "Are you sure you're alright? Do you even know what time it is? I can't go there and I'm sure you have an idea why."

"I'm not alright." Her voice quivered. "Please, Yusuf, I really need someone to talk to right now."

"Wait...are you crying?" Larai could hear him getting out of bed. "Wait for me. I'm coming."

Larai ended the call and continued to sob. Her heart kept on telling her something was wrong with her sister. The nightmare she had definitely had a meaning.

She was still engrossed in her thoughts when she heard a soft knock on the door.

Quickly, she walked to the door and flung the door open. "Yusuf." She blinked and fresh tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Ya Allah!" He exclaimed. "What's wrong?"

"I had a nightmare. I can't stop thinking about it. It's awful an—"

"Let's go in, then we can talk. Someone might see me here and assume the worse." He reasoned and walked into the room, then shut the door behind him. "Hmm..." He cleared his throat. "Please put on your hijab." He requested and averted his gaze elsewhere.

Larai mentally facepalmed. Amidst her emotional trauma, she had forgotten to cover up. She was dressed in a flimsy nightgown, that practically showed her body.

She hurried towards the headboard and picked Azumi's yellow hijab that she had hung there the previous night.

Typically, she would have felt embarrassed, but instead, tears welled up in her eyed as she put it on.

"Tell me; what happened? What was the nightmare about?" Yusuf's voice made her realize she wasn't alone in the room anymore.

She walked back to where he was standing and stood about a meter away from him. His tall frame, hovering over her petite one.

"Yusuf, I think my sister is in some sort of trouble. I can't even explain the dream." She sniffled.

"Calm down and talk to me. What exactly did you see in the dream?"

"It was Azumi. She had blood coming out of her eyes and she kept on blaming me for something I know nothing about. She—" Larai's words got stuck in her throat and she let out a croaked sob. "She was saying something about leaving for good. Yusuf, I have a feeling something is wrong with my sister. I need to see her. I need to make sure she's alright."

"Calm down, Larai." Yusuf cooed. "It's just a dream. You don't have to read meaning into it. I'm sure she's alright, so please don't worry so much about her."

"I can't help, but feel this way." She sobbed. If anything happened to her sister, without a doubt, she knew she would never be able to forgive herself for leaving her behind and probably making her take the blame for her actions. "Maybe...maybe this wasn't a good decision after all.

"What are you saying?" Yusuf asked, nonplussed.

"Maybe I made a terrible mistake by deciding to run away from home. I...I don't want to do this anymore. I want to go back home. Please take me home, Yusuf. I don't want to stay here anymore. I need to be with my family."

Yusuf looked at her askance. "You seem tired. Please have a rest and we will talk about this tomorrow. Make sure you say your prayers, so you won't have another nightmare. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." She muttered underneath her breath and rushed out of the room.

Larai pulled off her hijab and clutched it against her chest. The piece of clothing was the last thing her sister gave her. Asides from memories, it was the only thing Larai had of her. 

Throughout the night, Larai couldn't sleep a wink. Thoughts of her sister filled her mind and the image of her sad face never left her mind—not even for a second.

A knock on the door pulled Larai out of her trance. Without being told, she already knew who it was at the other side of the door. She put on the yellow hijab and ambled to the door to get it.

"Good morning." Yusuf's soothing voice filled her ears the moment she opened the door.

She looked up at him and realized he had changed into a white jallabiya.

Regardless of how troubled her mind was, she still couldn't help, but admire his looks. "Good morning." She returned his greeting and opened the door wider, giving him access to go in.

"How are you? Were you able to get any sleep?"

She shook her head. "I couldn't. I'm sorry for disturbing you last night. I didn't want to call you, but at the same time, I wanted to."

"You don't have to apologize for that and I mean it. I'm glad you thought of me in your difficult times. It just proves how much you trust me." He smiled. "And about the dream, forget about it. I'm sure it's meaningless."

"Forget it?" She exhaled. "Meaningless dream? I don't think so. It seemed so real. I can feel it in my heart, something is definitely wrong with my sister, Yusuf."

"Please calm down and hear me out."

"Calm down?" A humorless chuckle emerged from her mouth. "You want me to calm down? But I can't calm down! It's my sister we're talking about here. Ask yourself this question: if it was Yumnah or Yusrah in some sort of trouble, will you be able to keep calm?" 

Yusuf heaved a tired sigh. "I honestly don't get why you're making a mountain out of a mole hill. As I said, it's just a dream. For all we know, a meaningless one at that."

"But it could also be meaningful."

"Is that what you're hoping for?" He hummed.

"No, but—"

"What is it you want?" He stood tall in front of her. "What do you want to happen now? The best you can do is pray for her safety. Nothing else."

Larai shook her head in disagreement. "There's something more I can do." She remarked, avoiding his intent stare. "I want to go back home."

There was a moment of silence in the atmosphere.

Yusuf looked on, unable to utter a single word. Larai's words must have taken him aback.

"I know this may sound selfish of me, but there is no other alternative. It's been six months since I left home. I think it's about time I went home. I will apologize to my parents and won't stop until they forgive me. I will get to be with my sister again and everything would go back to normal." She gulped. "I'm so sorry for all the troubles I have caused. You spent a lot of money on my studies and I'm just going to leave them all behind. Believe me, I don't want to do this, but I have no choice. I'm sorry. Please find it in your heart to forgive me for leaving this way." She picked up her cellphone from the bed and placed it in Yusuf's hand. "I'm returning this to you as well. Please extend my apologies to Yusrah and everyone else."

"Is that what you really want?" Yusuf deadpanned.

"Yes." She wiped a lone tear from her eye. "That is what I want."

"What about us then?"

Larai hadn't really thought about it. Leaving the house would automatically mean leaving Yusuf's life for good, for her parents would never accept him, for being the reason she ran away from home. "Some things are not meant to be." She swallowed. "Maybe, our relationship was never predestined." Like a thousand pin prickling her throat, the words emerged. She could practically hear her heart breaking into a million pieces. If she was in so much pain, she couldn't imagine what Yusuf must be feeling at the moment. Instead of repaying his goodness with goodness, she repaid it with heartbreak. "But know this; I will never forget you and my heart will always belong to you."

"Nonsense!" Yusuf picked a vase from the dressing mirror and smashed it on the floor. "Arrant nonsense."

Larai took in a sudden breath and moved away.

"Just because of a stupid dream? You're leaving everything—me, behind just because of a dream you had? How does that even make sense to you? Or is this a way of getting away from me, because you're no longer interested in me? If that's the case, then you don't have to pull a stunt like this. Just say the word and I'd gladly take you back to where I took you from."

"No, Yusuf." Larai fiercely shook her head. "I love you so much and you know that. I owe you my life. The last thing I want is to break your heart. I want you to be happy."

"Then why the hell are you doing it? Do you think I will be jumping for joy once you leave me? Larai." His voice quivered a little. "We've gone too far to turn our backs on each other. We are slowly approaching our destination, then why do you want to back away when we're halfway there? Please talk to me. I need to know. And don't you dare give me the cock and bull story as a reason."

His words made Larai realize she over-reacted. He was right; she was indeed blowing things out of proportion, but what could she have done? Her emotion had gotten the best of her. She never thought she would be able to stay away from her family for a long period of six months. It seemed surreal. "I'm sorry, Yusuf, my emotion got the best of me. I'm just so worried about my kid sister."

"I understand, but think about this rationally; what good will it be if you go back to the village right now? Your parents may accept you back after much difficulty, but they'd definitely try to get you married to Zakari or any other man and our love story will come to an end. Your dream of becoming a lawyer and a writer would come to an end. Is that what you want? No, right? Then please listen to me, calm down. I promised to do my best to make sure all your dreams are fulfilled and I'm not about to give that up. For you, I will travel back to your village and check up on your family."

Like a loose faucet, tears ran down Larai's flawless cheeks. She had no words to express her gratitude. "You will do that for me?" She sniffed. "Thank you so much. Thank you."

"For your happiness, I'd do anything. I should go and get ready. I will be leaving today because I don't like seeing you in distress. I will return with good news—it's a promise from me to you."

Larai's lips thinned. Right there and then, the love she had for him increased in folds.

•

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