Wattpad username:

inkedconfessions_

Book Name:

Winged Dreams

Write-up:

"And be patient, for indeed, Allah does not allow to be lost the reward of those who do good."

[11:115]

_

"I love you too."

These were the last words Bilal utters before hanging up the call. Dina stares at the phone which now no more displayed his smiling face but instead showed her hollow reflection in the black screen. His words lingering in her mind, replaying again and again as though it wanted them to be registered. 

Dina sighs, putting her phone aside on the bed side table. Just when she was about the lie down next to Anam, the ringing of her phone once again alarms her. The screen displays the call from an unknown number. 

"Hello?"

"Dina!" A loud, overexcited voice booms from the other side of the screen. Dina cringes at the voice before he once again says, "I've been waiting to call you but you didn't find time since you know I'm such a busy person...." The voice goes on. 

Dina sighs in annoyance, her anger rising with every passing second. This was the third time Tabrez was calling her from an unknown number. To say that she was mad would be an understatement. 

What did it take for guys like him to understand the meaning of no?

"C'mon Dina, all I'm asking for is just one meet. I know Bilal isn't in country—" 

HOW DARE HE?!

"Tabrez..." Dina bites her tongue, trying to stay calm and not throw her phone accross the room. "This is the last time I'm warning you before I report this to the police or worst file a case. So please stop this nonsense!" Dina says sternly before hanging up. She throws her phone back on the bed side table and turns towards Anam who was sleeping soundly throughout all her conversations. 

The sight of her sleeping daughter calms her, reminding her of her husband. Her mind drifts back to the conversation she had with him earlier. The way he spoke about those kids and situation made her heart ache, but the fact that he was not here in her arms, made her heart ache more. With thoughts of him, his smile, his scent, his grin, she falls asleep. 

That night, the moon shines down at the world a little brighter. Two hearts yearning for eachothers presence and yet staying patient for the most awaited reunion. 

~bilal stands amidst the open ground, his face adorning a wide smile, as he says something which seems inaudible. Slowly his smile starts to falter. And then, 

screams. 

Horrified screams. 

Blood and dust.

Bombs and destruction.

People running around and a man pressed under the rubble of a fallen home. His face adorning a familiar smile.~

"Bilal!" Dina abruptly wakes up, her eyes filled with tears. Her entire being shaking and sweating from the horrible nightmare she just witnessed. Realizing that it was nightmare, she breathes in relief. But a part of her still shook thinking about the possibility of the what she dreamt. She shakes her head, not allowing any negative thoughts to clog her mind.

The next day, it took Dina one hour to convince herself to go to the apartment. Since Bilal's departure, she had not stepped in there even once. Although it made her sad that Bilal was not there with her anymore, she made up her mind to go there despite. Mainly because she had to pick Anam's clothes and tidy the place. 

"Ammi, I'm going home. And I'll be back—" 

She stopped mid sentence noticing the looks on Shabana and Jawed's face. They're eyes were wide as they stared at the blank phone screen. 

"What's wrong?" Dina asks, Her thoughts already assuming the worst things possible. And yet a part of her hoped to not hear one name. 

All her resolve broke when she heard Shabana whisper. 

"B-Bilal."

She sat down immediately, her head spinning already at what they were yet to say. Having that nightmare last did not help either. 

"Ammi, abba, what happened?" She asked once again when they hadn't said anything. 

"Bilal... I- we were talking to him and- and-" Shabana broke down in tears, not being able to explain any further. 

"We were talking to Bilal and I think the air strikes took place." Jawad mutters, his state close to Shabana's. "We heard screams and saw smoke before the screen went blank. I think the phone fell off his hand." He says, his eyes filling with tears. 

Dina stares at them in horror. Her heart beating vigorously. Her mind screaming all the negative thoughts at her. Flashes of her dream play before her eyes and a sharp pain engulfs her head. She lifts her hand to her head, caressing it slowly. Tears already clouding her vision.

He promised he would return. He wouldn't break a promise, right? It was an air strike, but it didn't confirm that anything happened to Bilal, so he had to be fine right?  

Her mind stays in denial. Not wanting to assume the worst. In contrast to what her thoughts were just a few minutes ago. She abruptly gets up and runs to her room. 

Picking her phone, she rings his number. The one from which she spoke to him last night. Upon receiving no response, her heart clenches. She tries once again. And yet again no response. The caller just saying that the number was switched off. 

Dina's heart broke. Her face painted in agony as tears fell from her eyes. 

She knew what it meant to loose a dear one. 

But now, her entire world was at stake.

                                      _

One week.

One week of Dina endlessly trying to call on one particular number only to recieve the same response everytime. In this past week, Shabana and Jawed had also tried to contact someone from aifa but all the numbers they had were unreachable. 

Dina had barely any tears to cry by the amount she shed the past week. She was dying to hear his voice once again, just hear him whisper once to her that everything was fine. That he was fine.

With swollen eyes, Dina walks down to Shabana's room. Although she had no courage left to enter the apartment that was left abandoned since Bilal's departure, she had to. She missed his scent. She craved his presence. She had to go back there once. And a part of her hoped she would find a way to contact him back. 

Informing Shabana of leaving to her apartment and handing over Anam to her, Dina walked out of the house. Barely any strength left in her due to lack of food. Her niqab covered her face as her eyes went blurry with tears every minute.

While opening the door, she was distracted by the ringing of her phone. Thinking it could be Bilal, she immediately hunted her bag, trying to fish for the phone only to find a unknown number calling her. 

Tabrez.

A sigh of annoyance left her lips. He had called from unknown number twice today already and yesterday too.  Dina didn't have time to deal with him. She had decided that she would stop answering his calls the last time she had picked it up. 

Upon entering her apartment, she felt a wave of nostalgia hit her. Tears clouding her vision once again. She stood amidst the lone apartment which was her home but no more felt like home without him. A thin line of hope was what kept her away from breaking down completely. 

Hope that he would return.

Hope that he wouldn't break his promise. 

She walked towards his wardrobe. Pulling out one of his shirt, she hugged it close to her chest which felt like it would suffocate. She cried for the longest times holding onto every piece of his belonging. Wretched sobs escaping her. 

Bilal had asked her to never let her smile falter. But how could that be possible when the one who caused that smile is no longer here?

The creaking of her apartment door caught her attention. She wiped her eyes, shakily walking towards the door. Her legs no longer had the strength to hold her. But what she saw in front made her breath hitch. 

She stood gaping at the guy who adorned the same lopsided grin, staring at her. 

Bilal had lost his phone during the air strikes and the telephone poles were completely destroyed. He couldn't find a way to contact back until he finally reached Banglore where he tried calling. But Dina didn't receive thinking it was an unknown number. 

"Bilal," she whispered.

He smiled at her, opening his arms. 

She didn't know whether it was a dream or whether she was just imagining. But at that point, she din't care. She just wanted to be in his arms and that's what she did. 

The warmth that radiated off him proved that she was not dreaming but infact she was really in his arms. 

Maybe now, her smile wouldn't falter. Insha'allah. 

Afterall, her world of dreams got it's wings back.

Wattpad username:

__miss_fantasy__

Book Name:

Bowled over by the Broken

Write up:

The Prophet (pbuh) says: “No man is alone with a woman but the Shaytan is the third one present.’” [Narrated by Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Hakim)

"Dina!"

"Dina, we are getting late," Bilal called out to his wife once again, after buckling his second baby boy Khalifa on the baby seat beside his sister Anam.

"Just a minute, Bilal," Dina adjusted the niqab on her face and walked out, the half-crescent on her lips hidden from the world in a beautiful way.

As she took a stand in front of him, he showered her his famous lopsided grin, feeling so proud at her for adorning herself with the veil and announcing to the whole universe that her body and soul was only his to see and to be. 

"Shall we?" Dina asked, her heart skipping a beat everytime her husband stared at her unblinkingly with stars dancing in his hazel eyes.

"Yeah, sure," Bilal's ears tinged pink and no matter how many times and how much he looked at her beloved face, he felt as if it was never enough. 

"I think if you both stand like this for some more, you will definitely miss the nikah," Jawed smirked at his son and Bilal shrugged at his father, quickly opening the door for Dina.

"Did Asif and Simran start too?" Dina queried, settling herself in her seat and checking the kids on the back.

"A while back, I think we are the ones late," Bilal spoke, taking the left towards the highway.

The venue of the function fell short and the couple reached there in a few minutes. Dina scooped Khalifa on her arms and waved Anam who stood persistent on going with her father, a sincere prayer left her lips at the sight of the father and daughter duo walking hand in hand, dressed in the most elegant of ways.

For after all the storms, there is always a calm.

"Assalamu alaikum," Tammara greeted her as she entered the women's section.

"Wa alaikum assalam, How are you?" Dina enquired with a smile.

"Alhamdulillah, let's go inside," Tammara beamed, taking the duffle bag from Dina's hands to offer some help.

They both entered through the air-conditioning, inside, the place was decorated with the beige theme, curtains of the pale colors hanging through the walls beautified with pleasant red roses and lilies.

The atmosphere was modest and also gorgeous at the same time.

"If it were for me, I would have gone to Antarctica rather than living a life with you as my twin," Ahmed groaned, placing a bag of dresses in the lady's room.

"Perks of life as a brother," Afrin grinned, taking her dress out, " Once you are born, you unknowingly sign the papers of your sister's personal porter."

"Hey, here I thought I missed the nikah by getting late," Dina said entering the room after Tammara, "You people are yet to get ready."

"Exactly, they give a time on the invitation and do the nikah several minutes later," Aamina bhabhi laughed, giving a stroke of eyeliner on the bride.

"If you have girls like Afrin, izzat ka falooda hona hi tha," Ahmed snorted, moving towards the threshold.

"They said this is a lady's room but all I see is gents- first Sulaiman," Afrin pointed to the kid playing with the makeup, "then Khalifa and there is Ahmed."

"Afrin-"

"Afrin, Ahmed stop, if I leave you to fight, my nikah is never going to happen," the Bride whined from the mirror.

Ahmed opened his lips to argue but thought better and walked out, leaving the other ones in the room to laugh at the twin's nonchalance.

"You look pretty, Masha Allah," Dina complimented the bride and the latter smiled warmly.

Everyone got ready at their own pace and Dina spent the rest of the time at her hand with Simran and Tabasum. 

Being friends with Anabya at the local masjid, they haven't thought that their friendship will sprout from a bud and blossom this wonderfully. And from just friends, meeting their families had made them more than that. 

Dina shifted Khalifa as he fell asleep on her arms soon after and Tammara helped her with a baby casket of Fariha. 

"Oh, my Bee! You are finally getting hitched," Hafsa chimed entering the room with her protruding belly. She strolled towards the bride and gave her a bear hug.

Anabya blushed prettily, for the first time her heart tinkering on her body and her stomach doing somersaults, butterflies erupting from below and flapping their wings. 

Never in her dreams she had dreamt of marrying Shamaaz but she had also never dreamt of him, changing towards the deen with so much intensity and determination.

It is wonderful to be Bowled over by the Broken. 

This time though, everything occurred opposite, when Shamaaz had approached Anabya after his breakup with Maryam, he had asked for change. The change that will bring better than the bad that this world offered, he had said.

Though Anabya sensed his demeanor altering, she rejected his request and had asked him to take help from the local Sheikh. 

For every single instance, when a guy and a girl become segregated, the third person accompanying them would be the Shaitan.

Later, after days passed, time-lapsed, moons set and suns raised, Anabya saw Shamaaz with a night light. 

Like the lighthouse brightening the dark path of the mighty ocean, he had set out to brighten her simple life. 

And just like that, she had been Bowled over by him-the Broken one of the two.

"Bee, one more stroke and Shamaaz will die," Afrin smirked, applying the last of the touch-ups, " this time we will rephrase the sentence, not death by chocolate but by saying, 'death by the first sight of the bride'."

Everyone erupted into laughter, bringing the bride out of her safe shore towards the landscape where a journey of pleasant greenery and enchanted flowers were laid.

Like forever, the Qubool hai moment brought itself with a lot of emotions, all the couples that slew the night with love exchanged loving glances to one another. 

Anabya-the most simple, introverted, and reserved girl, who seldom expected others to do things for her, held tears in her eyes at the moment of the bidaai.

Leaving her family, friends and her home wasn't as easy as she had initially thought but when Shamaaz wiped her tears and pressed their entwined hands, the small gesture brought itself a relief. 

A ray of hope made her heart settle towards calming that this journey which she has stepped on, thinking it will be filled with thorns, slowly seemed to be restored by roses. 

Of course, life is unpredictable and cruel but one look at Shamaaz made her realize that if life threw hurricanes their way, like a tree they would stand tall.

Him as the stem and her as the branches.