And when you think you
                   Have forgotten me,
                  Look deeper in your soul,
                  That's where I lie.

                                         © ELIF HOORAIN
                                     

He walked towards the book rack and picked up the box. When he opened it, he found what he had been looking for. He took it and kept it in his Jean's pocket. He was putting back the box when his hand came in a contact with a book, and it fell open on the floor in front of him.

Her delicate face with the prettiest smile gazed back at him. He crouched down and picked the book, took out the picture and held it before his eyes. His soul pinched him telling him that she still lies here and he can never forget her.

“Hey Zain, what are you doing here at this hour of the night?” Saleem entered the study frowning but got baffled to find Zain glaring at him.

“These. What are these doing in your study room?”
He shouted with hurt brimming his eyes, holding a picture in one hand and the anklet in the other hand.

“ I can explain.” Saleem gulped down the lump in his throat.

“ You must explain each and everything from the beginning because I have found, one thing more.” He produced a letter which was sealed in the layer of the picture.

“It says that she loved me, and she never went away for another person. It says that she had been waiting for me. Why the hell did you lie?” He pushed his friend against the wall.

“She had given this long ago but remember that she never contacted you again, if she had ever loved you she would have come back to you.”

“She came back. I saw her in the woods, and now I remember that this anklet is hers. It is the anklet I gave her on her 18th birthday. If she had never loved me she would have never worn it. I have one anklet and I heard the jingle of the other one in her bare foot. She must be living in this town still. Tell me where is she?” He yelled at him and punched him in the face.

“You have lost your bloody brain. You can't see her or even meet her. You went away at your 20th birthday and three years later you sent her a gift, maybe she accepted it as girls love jewellery, but she never loved you.”

“No, you are a liar and if she has left this town then wherever she is I will find her, and you will help me in this.”

“Ha, help? Why do you think that I would help you? You left her when she needed you the most, and now you want me to take you back to her. Hun?”

“I didn't leave her. I was angry on her for punishing herself again and again. If anyone called her evil or bad, she would hurt herself, and it always depressed me. I wanted her to leave with me, but she refused.”

“When you were gone, you should have forgotten her.” Saleem wiped off the blood from his mouth.

“Sorry?”

“I said that you should not have sent her a pair of anklets.” He sounded defeated now.

“ Why? Are you going to give a gift advise now?” Sarcasm dripped from his tongue.

“You can't see her and meet her, not until.....” He stopped, he couldn't utter the coming words.

“Ha. Until?” Zain came near him and grabbing his collar forced him to answer.

“Not until you die.” The hot temples due to anger abruptly became cold as ice. His left his collar and stood still, waiting for him to say that he is joking.

“Yes, you will have to die to meet her because she is dead.” A bucket of ice water fell on his head and fell onto his knees on the carpeted floor.

“I am sorry that I had to hide this from you for ten years, but I had no other choice.” Zain got up and punched his friend right in the face again.

“Ow! You are wild enough to kill me right now.”

“I am, I am. Trust me I will kill you right here and right now if this is a bad joke.”

“This is not a joke. She was killed and the reason behind her murder were your given anklets.”

“What?”

“Yes, the day you sent her anklets, she wore them and never took them off. One day her father and aunt saw her dancing in them. They dragged her in the room and began to beat her until she was bleeding.”

“ How could they? The anklets was just a delicate jewellery and she was an innocent being. Why did they beat her?” He cried with streaming eyes.

“ I went there with my parents and tried to insert some sense in them, but they didn't budge a bit from their ignorance and stupidity. “

“ One night, she ran from her house and came to our mansion, she gave this picture to give you and the next day before I could inform you about the whole situation and the picture. I heard that she was found dead on the main road.” Saleem was drenched in sweat under the weight of the bitter memory he had to repeat.

“ They killed her.” Zain sighed looking up at the ceiling.

“Yeah, her father said that he used to see the figure of her mother in her when she wore the anklets. This infuriated him, and he saved her from a committing a sin by killing her.”

“Bastard.”

“You are angry that why didn't I tell you about this? You were millions of miles away. And her family said that if you come back they will kill you too. So I wanted to keep you safe.”

“That is why, you lied that she betrayed me.”

“The pain of betrayal heals sooner than the regret of losing someone for eternity. I didn't want you to blame yourself for all that happened to her.”

“Well, knowing now is more painful than you can imagine. Now I will live with a regret that she was killed awfully because of me.”

“Not because of you.” The same voice again entered his ears.

“Hun! Elena?” Zain got baffled and got up from the floor.

“What's wrong, Zain?”

“She is back. Do you hear her?” Saleem shook his head.

“She is back, I have her anklet.” He checked his pockets, but there was nothing.

“ Where is the anklet?” He shouted.

“ I don't know. You had it in your hand.”

“I...... Elena.” He saw her standing in the garden. He pushed Saleem aside and ran out of the house to reach the garden.

*****************************************************
“Elena, I know everything now. Please forgive me for everything. It all happened because of me.” He cried as he fell down in her feet. She helped him in getting up.
Tonight, her face was still pale but glowing like moonlight.

“Zain, I ran in these forests in pain because you though that I betrayed you. Even after death I could not rest in peace because our pure bond had gotten filth of a lie. I wanted to clean it and make it as pure as it was before.”

“ Elena...” His eyes were blood shot and lips were quivering.

“ Now that you know how much I have loved you, my time has come to leave this earth.”

“No, Elena. You can't leave like this. I will give you justice. I won't leave your murderers.”

“ Allah already gave me justice . My murderers were killed in a car accident few months later. But I was still restless as you were millions of miles apart.” She smiled at him.

“ Oh. But now I am back and you are too. So we can live together. Right?” He wiped his teary eyes.

“ Haha, no silly. Dead don't return.”

“Shut up, you are not dead.”

“ Death is inevitable, Zain.”

“Please don't leave.”

“Thank you for everything you did for me since my childhood. You were right that if someone repents on his or her sins then he or she is forgiven. No one is born evil or good, it is our deeds that make us. You know what I met mother, she lives in a beautiful palace and I live with her there. Allah forgave her and me also.” Her dark eyes were shining like a bright star.

"But you never did anything bad in your life. So Allah had already forgiven you."
He caressed her cheek with his fingers.

"Haha. I once stole Aunt's lipstick but gave it back to her later." She giggled making him laugh too.

She was still 18 years old and he had become a grown up man. Time had its effects on him not her.

"It is time to leave. I have to go." She was turning into the fading moonlight.

"No.no.no.no. Please stay a little long with me. Please. I even lost your anklet."

" Goodbye, Zain. I have loved you since the day you gave me the colouring book and will love you for eternity. Even though I can't stay but you won't be alone, I will be with you always. In different shapes, colours and melodies, you will find me."

" I....I..." He bit his lips to ease the pain of her departure.

" Even if you don't say it. I know it and can feel it." She put her hand on his heart and faded away like smoke.

"I love you, Elena. I have always loved you and will love you forever." He cried on the top of his lungs.

"Zain, get up. Let's go inside. Come on." Saleem took him inside and forced him to sleep.

***************************************
                    Next Day

"Zain. You want to visit her grave?" Saleem asked him on the breakfast table.

"Yes, I want to meet her before I leave and I will come now every week to look after her grave." Saleem patted his friend over his shoulder.

Later that evening when they came back , a servant of Saleem knocked on the door of study room.

"Yes, come in."

"Sir, this was found on your bed." Servant handed it to him and Zain shuddered with wonder.

"How can it be there? It wasn't there last night....she had taken it back...." He looked in astonishment at the anklet.

Then he remembered what she had said last night.

' Even though I can't stay but you won't be alone, I will be with you always.. In different shapes, colours and melodies, you will find me.'

She had left the anklet with him. He could feel her in its jingle.He smiled rubbing his fingers over it before keeping it in his Jean's pocket.

              He still feels her heartbeat
              Next to his
            Whenever the anklet jingles.

                                          ©Elif Hoorain.

**************************************

              T    H   E          E   N    D

Hopefully you guys enjoyed the story. Kindly comment your thoughts and questions if you have any related to the story, I would love to answer them. Thank you.

And also check out my ongoing Novel The Promise on my profile.

. Hopefully you guys won't be disappointed.❤️

Written by ©ELIF HOORAIN!

Dedicated to WattpadESL