"He thought living alone will bring him to peace,
But, he was forced to live in loneliness and waiting for it to cease."

♤

Tears in her eyes threatened to spill down. His heavy pants echoed around them as he reached on the outskirts of the village. There was she standing on the barren land. Slumped shoulders. Thin line of tears on the edge of her eyes.

His lungs tightened with another tight and cold breath.

She stumbled walking near him. Soft and small hiccups following after her every step.

"من تجرأ على فعل هذا أنت؟"

"Who dared to do this to you?"

Her hazy mind didn't work smarter and she couldn't comprehend what he said. Flashback with meeting with Kaif reflected in her eyes and her lips trembled before letting out the words.

"He- he said something. I couldn'-t un-der-stand?" Heaving another sob, she trembled like a leaf.

She never had any encounter with a male which left her this scared. She never talked to any boy. Kaif's lustful eyes scared her. She couldn't understand what he muttered under his breath gazing at her. But, his nearness scared her.

Her eye shut close tightly, when small glimpse of Kaif reflected in her eyes, how he bend near her ears and tried to touch her.

Baraq felt fire exploding into veins. He closed the gap between them. Gritting his teeth, he asked,- "What did he said?"

His grips closing around her arms. Fingers pressing hard on her muscles, making her hiss.

"I don't know." She cried. Her fingers trying to get off his hands.

Jerking her slightly away from him, he rubbed his temples hard and yelled into the wind.

"How could you not know? How could you?" Pacing back and forth he continued to yell at her.

"Who asked you to leave the market and wander alone like, like you have no one? Who?"

They weren't simple tears, they were her memories she has kept tied to herself. Now, they were flowing out as if free from everything.

"Salma asked me to fetch some water from well outside of the village." Wiping away her tears harshly. She yelled back. Her voice hoarse from all the hiccups and crying.

Fisting her wrist in a tight grip. He dragged her back to village. Steps hard and full of anger.

Hissing, she yanked away her hand from his grip.

"What do you want now?" Anger and frustrated clearly blurring her sight.

"To make Salma learn a simple lesson."

"I don't want any of that."

"Than what do you want?" Exasperated from all the talk and stress he muttered and lean on the wall next to him.

"Take me back to my place." She didn't hesitate a bit to put forward her wish.

"I can't." Tchin, he denied gazing hard at huge rocks.

"Why?"

His golden sandy liquid eyes met her simple brown eyes. For a fraction, she froze. Everything around her frozen. She tried hard to not lose her self in his eyes. A shiver ran down her spine, as he gazed intensely at her. Peeling away her eyes slowly from his stare, she huffed a breath as silence covered them. He was a magnet pulling her into him.

"Because, my magic don't work when I am injured or bruised. They work only for coming back but not for going somewhere.

I need to heal before to leave you at your place." His octave grew deeper and huskier as he informed her making her shake with another shiver.

Avoiding meeting his gaze, she nodded her head but showered him with another question making him glare at her.

"Now how will I be keep myself safe from Kaif?"

"Marry someone, he doesn't goes after wedded women." Slumping against the wall he sighed.

Her heart dropped.

She jogged to him and kneeled infront of him.

"Baraq, think and say. This is about my life. If I married someone here, I wouldn't be able to go back. I have to find my family. Someone took them away from me.

Don't joke like that please." Tears visible in her eyes as she gulped and tried to make him understand.

His eyes frozen on her form kneeling infront of him. Something about her screamed naive. And his heart did somersault when his brain screamed for only one answer.

"There's this solution. Where you can marry him and forget him, because he doesn't really care about anything."

"What if for once I want for him to care about me?" Her eyes questioned him and she whispered her question out loud.

"He won't. He never cares"

"Is marrying the only solution?"

"Do you have any other solution?" She stayed quiet at his question. There was no way she could get out of this place safely. Marrying some stranger, was her nightmare. And she chose to live in her nightmare for her family.

Gulping a bile of sob, she nodded hesitantly.

"I will marry him."

There she stood shattered with the decision she made for herself. Heart beating aloud as if fearing for the time to come. Every unit of her body shaking with fear and thoughts, she can't put to an end.

Baraq saw the fear in her eyes welling up as shiny tears. Something in his guts stirred up strangely and he almost, almost denied her decision. But, than Kaif's kohl rimmed eyes dripping malicious tricks flashed in front of his eyes. Closing his eyes tightly, he stood.

"كان هناك شخص يقف دائمًا بجانب عائلته كلما دعت الحاجة. وأسئلة الصخور والطين والرمل والسماء والأشجار والنجوم, هل ستقف لها نفس العائلة عندما يحين الوقت؟"

"kan hunak shakhs yaqif dayman bijanib eayilatih kulama daeat alhajatu. wa'asyilat alsukhur waltiyn walraml walsama' wal'ashjar walnujum, hal sataqif laha nafs aleayilat eindama yahin alwaqtu?"

"There was someone, who always stood up for their family whenever needed. And the rocks, mud, sand, sky, trees and stars questions, will the same family stand for her when the time comes?"

The words weighed heavy escaping from his mouth, but she couldn't comprehend the meaning of his words. So carelessly he was walking; was he really so careless?

Her down turned eyes gazed at him traipsing away with lazy and heavy steps, as if busy in thinking. His words replaying in her mind as if she could really find the meaning of his words. Her sight blurred and he slowly walked away without turning around to even spare her a single glance.