Alhumdullilah (all praise be to Allah) the One who got me this far... in sharing a story that means so much to me. 😭

I would not have come this far if it wasn't for the constant support from my family and friends and Wattpaddians!

The few months that took me to couple these words from simple phrases to sentences and then forming them into paragraphs to the extent they reached chapter lengths and then binded in this online world of readers and writers to only be shared with you all... as a story of Zara and Musa.

A story of heart aches, healing, and discovery. A story that I cherish so much to the depths of my heart, a story I laughed and cried with you all.

JazakAllahokhair.

I first would love to dedicate this book to my family. My mom. My daddy. And my Nani.

I only started this with the title to be 'Soft Thoughts' thinking it to be another one of those series of deep short stories- but surprise surprise!! 🎉

That prologue in the beginning (if you care to go back and re read in case you forgot) had set the stone of a whole story declaring that hearts echoe and we must recognize that only to relay our emotions to Allah the One who listens to every heart beat.

Also, psst. tala-al-badru suggested the name to me 😂

For Heart Echoes I had wild plans. Plans that consist not of only Musa and Zara, but everyone else's mental development as well as, and most importantly, spiritual consensus.

Because I think more than just a story getting published on wattpad, I wanted to write a story that delves on the emotions and the battles people go through in their day to day lives. And what warriors come out of it.

Sometimes we think the little happenings that happen to some are so petty, and unvital that we shouldn't be worried about the effects there on later.

And that's makes completely human sense.

But you know what else is so human? To fall into the light whispers of a trap so big.

Satan did not just blow a horn on Adam's (AS) head and then, he fell for the trap. It was actually a building hole, digging up day by day, minutes by minutes, till Adam was convinced to take the apple.

That's the same case with everyone in this story. Musa did not get oversized with some evil magic and then he deliberately turned cold to anything of religion. It was the people around him, the surrounding he was in, the clouds that buried the light within him, and as a weak human he fell for it.

He couldn't be strong because no one spoke up. He couldn't be strong because he let himself go. It was a battle he wasn't sure that the side he was on, betrayed him, so why must he hold on?

It is the things we do to people that effect their lives. And we will be questionable for it.

Zara did not have a blow over her head, that suddenly stroke her that: "Hey, I should go find my brother."

It was a day to day developing emotion, word by word, and the strings were just being beaded, the beads just being collected- and the heart was just melting in few drops. Zara could only do so much as a little girl, that when grew as a mature, young woman, married to a wondrous man- it made her realize that there was so much happening in her life, and yet her past was unanswered and unfulfilled.

Our past, present, and future sure is written by Allah. But the reason why we are unique and Ashraful Makhlooqat is because we can make decisions that no other creation can make.

Our minds, hearts, and senses are so sharp, that if we have our head gear straight, heart in the right place, mind on the Right Path, then anything is possible.

If you win that score: Alhumdullilah.

If you don't win that score: Alhumdullilah.

That's the beauty of this religion, content mindset all the way.

Zara had to build herself first, by the tarbiyah of her Nani and the support of her husband, and the encouragement of her best friend. She wouldn't be able to do this on her own, emotionally, physically, mentally.

So it goes to show that you can be strong, and still have people by your side. You don't have to be that one-woman show the way most movies, articles, always claim that the woman should be 'independent' to be 'strong'.

Independence and strength are completely different topics to revolve around. I wanted to show how humans can build each other up, as well as break one another.

While Zara was built throughout her teens, Musa was broken.

Two contrasting siblings, two different brought ups.

It's not ending now... don't be sad. Heads up for an epilogue soon, InshaAllah.

JazakAllahokhair once again for supporting me and joining us through this journey!

May Allah bless you all.

- e . a