"engraved in my soul,
you'll live within my heart
for a million years - gabriel."

Samantha , Sarah and Hafsa were seated at the couch , staring with mouths open at Elsa and Alexander on the opposite end .

But of course they'd have the same devoid faces of perplexity and emotionlessness . Afra's news had basically turned the whole house into a frenzied environment .

"So basically you're telling that Afra is getting married ?"

For the fifth time in the last hour , Elsa and Alexander repeated the same news to the sister trio .

Clearly , Elsa had already lost all of her stamina and endurance while she discussed the news with her own brother and sister ; Valerie and Franklin .

Both of them had to be an unintentional part of a speculative debate . Wherein the opponent raised awareness over the issue of early marriages and the way it disturbed the harmonical balance in the human nature .

It had taken them over an hour to calm down the outrageous crowd . And when they supposedly were done — hoping to have a calmer response from the girls — they went ahead with disclosing the news .

"So you're basically saying — "

Alexander rolled his eyes and sat forward on the couch , his eyes transfixed and his face with a serious frown .

"— that Afra is getting married the next morning during a prayer time ! Why is it so hard to believe ?"

He roared ; despite his own discomfort . It wasn't his thing to be harsh or impatient , but the events and the stress it brought along just made him cranky and overwhelmed .

Sarah smiled , nodding reassuringly at him .

"Uncle Alex , please calm down . I do understand very well the turmoil you both must be facing . However , I also do agree with these monkeys who're shocked out of their souls ."

She cast a glance at each of the both who hardly moved and sat like literal statues .

Alexander followed her eyes and sighed with exasperation .

"Hafsa and Samantha , what's wrong with you both ?"

Elsa looked at them and crossed her legs .

Hafsa looked up to meet Elsa's eyes and took in a deep breath . She spoke so softly that Elsa had to draw closer to hear her words .

"You're not serious ! Afra is playing a joke ."

Hafsa relaxed and exhaled while bursting into nervous giggles under the irritated stares of Alex and Elsa .

Alex was about to burst out on her but Elsa stopped him with a calm smile and patted his back . She turned to Hafsa again .

"Sweetheart , I can understand your position at this moment . I didn't believe this until Afra herself gave in and confessed that she'd like to be married to him ."

Hafsa and Sarah exchanged confused glances and faced Elsa again .

"Although both me and Alex were badly shaken up , we decided to take into consideration what she had to say . According to her , now that they both had developed something for each other , they shouldn't sit back . It could lead one to commit sins while not being legally married . She was scared that they might end up with  worse circumstances if they didn't commence the marriage ."

Hafsa listened cautiously , hearing each word . And after a few seconds , she nodded and crossed her arms .

"I get her words . It's true that once a Muslim brother or sister develop something mutual between each other , it's obligatory to get them Islamically married lest they should pay heed to the shaitaan's whisperings ."

Samantha chuckled , rubbing the back of her neck .

"So my cousin is getting married now ?"

Elsa shrugged and smiled wide .

"My daughter is getting married ."

Sarah propped her chin on her hand and bit her lip .

"Do you trust the prince though ? I mean , I haven't met him personally so I don't stand a chance to judge him . But all these big people could be pretty nasty and arrogant ."

Elsa sucked her bottom lip in . She gazed helplessly at Alex who wrapped a hand around her shoulders and gave her a smile .

"Yes , I believe my daughter is logical and analyses more than someone's appearance . So I have settled on giving Afra a chance to prove her love ."

Sarah's bottom lip twisted out and she smiled a moment later .

"Impressive ! I like that attitude uncle ."

Alex smiled — almost like a happy dog — and bowed a ninety degrees while seated .

"Thank you , I'm honoured ."

Elsa rolled her eyes and jabbed her elbow into his ribs .

"Why would you be honoured ? You haven't won an Oscar ."

Sarah stifled her laugh and got up , straightening her shirt and amusingly walking out of the room .

As she trudged through the living room , sipping absently from a bottle of water , a few facts kept dwindling her thoughts .

It was rather peculiar how Afra had ended up liking the prince . For surity , she was hundred percent aware of her cousin's dislike towards the Prince . But then again , she hadn't ever been able to get to Afra while she was gone .

Her phone was switched off always .

That definitely provoked Sarah's suspicions . If at all everything did go well for Afra , then why was it so that her phone had been switched off for about two months ?

Sarah thoughtfully put down the bottle on a side table as her heart started racing .

What if she was being forced into it ?

Nothing could be more horrible than being stuck in a position where she would have no say and when absolutely no one was conscious of .

"You look awfully distressed ."

She shrieked and whirled around , her eyes widened with panic .

Once Derek's astounded figure met her eyes , she relaxed and held a hand against her head . It took her a minute to find her voice and help him relax to as well .

"I'm sorry , I was just too engrossed in my thoughts ."

She still had her head ducked while the effects of being alarmed were slowly retreating .

"I'm alright . Just a little antsy ."

His eyes quickly roamed across her face .

"Whatever for ?"

He positioned himself against the table by his side , his eyes still fixed on Sarah .

She didn't answer ; or rather felt that it was unnecessary for him to know .

"Is it because of Afra ?"

He causally brought up the topic and turned around instantly once her eyes jolted up to study his expressions .

"How.....—"

"Just heard you guys have the conversation you know ."

Sarah's shock faded away and she slumped with relaxation .

"Oh Okay ."

"But what's bothering you about her ?"

Sarah pursed her eyes . And before answering back , she took a few stray strands and began twirling them in between her fingers distractedly .

"I'm just.... perturbed . Sort of have a bad feeling about this ."

Derek sighed .

"I can relate to that . This sudden decision with her informing it to us out of the blue after keeping us away for two months is not working well with me either ."

Sarah's eyes twinkled as she thought similarly .

"I know right ! But then again , what if we're being paranoid ?"

Derek hummed with understanding .

"Okay wait , I have an idea . Tomorrow we will definitely have a chance to meet her . Let's talk to her for a minute and see what she says . And besides , once we're there , the power will be shifted into our side ."

Sarah remained monotonous for a minute before her face broke into a soft smile .

"That is a great idea ! Thanks ."

"Anything for you ."

Derek's hand made contact with her back and she instantly shivered in her position . And just like that , a new feeling of complete uncertainty and fantasy made her feel ecstatic .

He started patting her back gently , making her heart race with every second his fingers made contact with her shirt .

"Are you feeling better now ?"

Sarah batted her lashes while desperately trying to control the heat that was burning her cheeks .

"I....I a..m fi — fine ."

He attempted to bend lower and try to sneak a peek at her . But when she discerned what was going on , her legs turned around and holding a hand up , she paced away rapidly .

"Sarah , woah , atleast tell me why you're blushing ."

She hurriedly walked into a hallway and Derek's face lit up with a bright smile .

"How adorable ."

Samantha had walked into her room and the sight that met her eyes made her groan with her hands on her hips .

"Damn ! Now I'll need to clean up this mess ."

The last night , the girls and her had been awake watching a set of movies that she thought Hafsa would love . As expected she did enjoy them to the point that they Hafsa wouldn't let them sleep until they finished all five of them .

Samantha had learnt something important that night .

An obsessive Hafsa is a very scary thing .

But something else was making it hard to maintain her focus on other errands .

Afra's Marriage news had not only left her speechless but had gotten majority of the others to take it as a sick joke . Yet one couldn't blame anyone of it .

Afra was a benevolent and graceful woman . It was no doubt that she was capable enough to comprehend the difference between minor and major resolutions . However , sometimes , one cannot always be right about what they choose .

So it ticked her — fairly —  as an odd decision .

As she pulled her hair up into a bun , fixed it in place with a band and jumped onto her bed to sort through the junk , something rusty caught her eye. 

She let go of the wrappers she held in her hands and instantly reached out for it from underneath a pillow .

As the book revealed itself , Samantha's hand retreated backwards .

"A journal ?"

She paused hesitantly . It didn't look like hers or Sarah's . Mostly since she didn't even like books and Sarah never had one .

Out of curiosity , she pulled it out and shuffled into a corner . The book was a rusty brown shade , with a logo stamped over the top right corner .

Pushing a strand away , her eyes took notice of a bookmark that was slightly protruding out of the top .

  For a minute , she let her fingers brush over the cover and relish how smooth it felt .

The owner sure was a good caretaker .

A small , green leaf like paper protruded out of the top part . She pulled the book closer to her eyes and squinted until she figured that it was a leaf .

Not waiting anymore , she flipped open the book to that page and the impression she received from the first few words were that , it was Hafsa's writing .

Which meant it was Hafsa's journal .

She didn't want to read further than the date but a sentence had caught her attention that lead into her  reading throughout .

12th August 2016

Inaya is wrong .

Just like I had been .

Uptil now

Ya Allah , you have no idea how much I regretted jumping to conclusions .

Faaris is nothing like Inaya thinks .

He's one of the best man I've seen in a while .

Perhaps the incidents created illusions — which Shaitaan is an expert at — in creating fantasies in one's head .

Faaris is selfless , patient and extremely just with his words .

True to what he had told my mother , he has been actually — like seriously — in love with Inaya .

I bet this will remain a secret forever since both him and mama have refused to let it out to her . They have — most sincerely — made it understood to me that what has gone by is finished . And that no parts of the past shall be brought up .

However , I have a contrary ideology .

I feel like if Inaya doesn't know Faaris' truth — no matter how far along in life she'd have moved on — the uncertainty of his actions would always bring unease to her .

Samantha adjusted her legs a little and leaned closer to the book . If this entry held any evidence of Faaris' true attitude and etiquette , then she perceived that it could be of much assistance .

Hafsa was right .

One might move forward in life without fixing their previous incidents . However the burden of having left behind the remains always haunts .

I will say one thing very HONESTLY .

I suppose one can say it's ALLAH's way of making me the witness of the truth behind Faaris .

One night , I couldn't fall asleep . Cold and dark , the environment held more risk than comfort .

Having found no tranquility in the warmth of the blankets , I had gotten up to get some water and perhaps a sweet something to help me get drowsy .

Along the way to the kitchen , fell Faaris' room .

Although I had not meant to invade his privacy , the noises of sniffing and whimpering alarmed me a little .

For the sake of it , I ended up pushing open his door — which didn't have a lock — and ever so slightly stole a glance at him .

With his hands raised above and his eyes facing the roof , I saw him crying !

His words were mumbled and his voice was hoarse but his intentions were clear .

Every once in a little while , he would take Inaya's name .

I took longer than I had thought I  would to figure out his real love for my sister .

And let's not forget from where all of the misunderstanding started . The root of all the causes .

Daanish , our brother .

Faaris did do everything in his power to help Daanish out . It was to the extreme that he himself had gotten seriously injured and he still suffers from a decapitated knee .

Inaya and I had always thought that Faaris was a selfish jerk who had pushed my brother into the pit and saved himself .

However , mama told me about it . She narrated to me the tale of their bond .

Although it's hard for me and Inaya to have lost a brother in the battlefield , it was even harder for Faaris to have lost a friend right by his eyes as he helplessly watched .

How blessed was she to have a man begging for her happiness in the middle of the night .

How blessed was she to have the opportunity to marry him .

How blessed was she that Allah chose him for her .

And above all , how wrong were we , who misjudged a clean soul as his .

Regretfully ,
Hafsa .

Samantha shut the book with an impactful thud , her eyes welled up .

Faaris was such a wonderfully exceptional soul . She herself had never witnessed such an emotionally impactive situation .

Hafsa's words left her head swirling with a million thoughts all at once . Inaya was a lovely woman with wisdom and understanding .

What could she do if she wasn't aware of the truth ?

But of course , she'd hate the man .

Nonetheless , Faaris didn't deserve Inaya's disconcerted side as an ideal wife .

Samantha stood up , walking up and down in a frenzy of her miscellaneous emotions .

The entry that was dated about an year back was rightfully written by Hafsa . She wouldn't lie ; not to her journal atleast .

Samantha sucked her lip in. 

With a heavy heart — though she knew it would be wrong — she pulled her phone out of her jeans pocket and quickly skimmed through her contacts to find Inaya's number .

Holding a breath , she held the phone against her ear , dreading between disconnecting the call and holding still until Inaya's voice would be heard .

A few defeaning minutes ticked by and when Inaya's voice echoed , Samantha nearly dropped her phone .

"Hi Sam ! What's up girl ?"

Samantha cleared her throat .

"Hey bud ! I'm good . And you ?"

"Alhumdulillah , doing great ."

Samantha's lips turned into a shaky smile .

"Erm..... Inaya , I'm going to send you some pictures . They are extremely crucial and I want you to go through them ." She paused , pinching her temples . "Please don't kill me afterwards ."

There was a slight pause .

"Okay.....but why would I kill you ? You're such a silly bean ."

And she chuckled softly .

"I'm kidding . Anyhow , get going alright ."

"Sure love . Take care ."

"You too ."

As Samantha's shaky hand peeled the phone away from her ear , she dropped to her knees .

"Oh My God , I hope I am right !"

« Assalaamualaikum Princesses ❤ .

Please don't kill me for bringing these kids up all of a sudden . They're crucial and their feedback is essential as well .

AND YOU'LL SEE SOME MORE BETTER SCENES TOOOOO ! AAAAH , SO EXCITED !  ❤❤❤❤ .

I love you all so so so so much .

Much much much love ,
Me ;) »