"Perhaps your Lord will have mercy on you ˹if you repent˺, but if you return ˹to sin˺, We will return ˹to punishment˺. And We have made Hell a ˹permanent˺ confinement for the disbelievers." (Al Quran 17:8)

🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁

The trance broke just as she blinked, making him avert his gaze with a jerk. That's when the wave of pain returned to him in full intensity and he unintentionally let out a grunt in pain as he clutched at the back of his shoulder.

"Are you alright? I am so sorry I pulled you back so suddenly—" Her panicked voice clashed against Eesa's ears and he felt himself roll his eyes in exasperation.

"I am fine." He managed to blurt out through gritted teeth; rubbing on his shoulder briefly before turning his direction to his bike.

"—Maybe you should get checked—it could be a minor fracture—or—" Laila's worry was now getting worse as she began to chase after him, who was already more  than a few paces after him thanks to his long legs.

"Didn't you hear me?!" Suddenly Eesa turned to face her and yelled angrily, causing Laila to flinch and almost trip backwards in shock.

"I don't need your help!" He continued in the same tone, while Laila watched him with eyes and mouth wide open in horror.

"I—I—I—I—was—I was just—i—trying to—help—i—" Her voice began to break down and her face had become ashen pale. If Eesa wasn't so angry, he could've seen she was visibly shaking in terror.

"Mind your own damn business—I am not interested in your help—or your religious fanaticism, alright? You come at me one more time and I swear I am going to get the cops! Got it?!" He exclaimed furiously through clenched teeth once again, making Laila take a few steps back, despite the fact that they were separated by quite a few paces already.

Eesa continued to watch her through eyes blazing coal. With a grunt, he turned his back on her and finished the distance to his bike.

"Of all the looneys to run into—" He muttered under his breath, but was loud enough to reach her ears. Upon reaching his ride, he sat upon his bike and without sparing her another glance he rode off into the night.

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

It had been a few days since that eventful night and for some odd reason, he just couldn't get her face out of his head. There was no escape from her. Wherever Eesa went, he half expected to run into her any moment.

'Is it out of guilt? Because I lashed at her?' Eesa would think and question the source of his fixation with that strange woman.

'It's not completely my fault—she came out of nowhere and started spewing all that religious nonsense—I wasn't even doing what she thought I was—It's all her fault for misunderstanding the situation—' He would explain to himself every time; yet, the guilt would come back and claw at him the very next moment.

It was such another night when he had gotten off some errand and was passing by that same bridge. He had decided to head to the nearest convenience store before returning home.

Eesa continued to make way down the snowy path with his hands stuffed in his jackets pocket, when out of nowhere he was stopped in his path by a homeless man sitting on the side of pavement.

"Please spare some change—It's so cold—Please son—May God be with you—" The old, dirty man clung onto Eesa's legs, who was forced to pause in his path and turn to look at him.

Eesa found himself looking at a man who appeared to be in his 50s. He seemed to be a junkie, unkempt from head to toe, dressed in rags and a tattered jacket, which was failing to keep him from shivering in this freezing weather of -15 degrees of Canada's cold.

The man was now looking up at him beseechingly. His eyes full of hope and a hand stretched out in hope. For a moment, Eesa watched him with a look of doubt. He was beginning to turn away, when suddenly something inside him stirred.

Out of nowhere, her voice rang inside his head and his feet immediately halted in steps by themselves.

"And you? Did you listen to Him? Did you obey Him? Did you ever stop to think if what you are doing is what He wanted from you? What did you give up for Him?"

An undefinable feeling captured his existence and he began to feel unsure, except it disappeared as quickly as it had started.

'Why the hell am I thinking about what that crazy woman said?! No one helped me when I was in need—I had got this far all by myself—No one came to my rescue!—Not even Allah—so why should I help anyone.'

As always, that old voice rang in his head and with a huff he turned back to his path. However, he couldn't take another step forward, when suddenly the old man reached up and clawed at his jacket, causing Eesa to reflexively push him off of himself with a jerk.

"Get away from me!" Eesa cried out in a fury, while the junkie spat insults at him. Not bothering to spare him another second, Eesa turned his back on him and began to get along on his way.

Once again, he was cursing the moment he met that damned woman. It was like she had taken control over his life. As if things weren't horrible enough already, that she had to come in and made him doubt what he had left in his past long ago.

He was walking away angrily, when a sharp blow to the back of his head made him cry out in pain. Staggering on his feet, Eesa turned on his back to find himself looking at the junkie with a broken glass bottle in his hand aimed towards his head. Before Eesa could say anything more, his consciousness began to cloud and the last thing he heard was a woman's scream, before he crashed and fell onto the wet asphalt.

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

He sees himself crouched on the floor over a lifeless body
His hands are dripping with blood
He is staring at them in horror
He slowly turns his gaze up and blood drips down his eyes instead of tears
His mouth is gaping wide open in a cry but nothing comes out

He is now in his room, enveloped in darkness
A prayer mat is spread out in a corner next to the window and moonlight is streaming upon it
He sees himself on sajda—crying his heart out, wailing
His chest is burning with pain as if it is being torn apart and set on fire at the same time
He is looking up, his face is drenched in tears and eyes burning from crying
But his hands are holding up to the sky—and he cries and cries with hiccups; gasping for breaths

He is back on that bridge
Weeping with his face hidden behind his hands
Out of nowhere she comes and crouches infront of him, caresses his face and wipes away his tears
"it's alright now...you can stop now...it's going to be alright...everything is going to be alright now..." she says and Eesa smiles up at her before closing his eyes and losing himself in her secure embrace...

With a sharp gasp his eyes snapped open and he sat up with a jerk. Only a split second later, his eyes had shut close reflexively because of the blinding lights.

For a few moments, Eesa could do nothing but take sharp gasps in terror. His heart was beating so loud against his ribcage and his head was pounding, making it impossible for him to make out his reality.

It wasn't until someone started nudging him that he began to make sense of his surroundings.

"—Sir? Can you hear me?" A woman's voice clashed against his ears and he turned to his right to find a nurse watching him questioningly.

"Wha—what—how—where I—" Eesa didn't even realise the words coming out of his lips. He just kept watching her in a daze.

"Sir, you're in a hospital. Do you remember anything?" When he didn't respond, she continued.

"You were brought in by the ambulance. You have an assault wound on your head. Do you remember what happened?" She was saying, when Eesa dropped his head in his hands with a grunt.

"Sir, why don't you just lie back down. You might be feeling a bit groggy, but it's completely fine. We have taken care of your wound and have run some tests. It is going to take a while before the results come back, so it's best you rest till then." She continued while helping him lie down.

"The mugger must've done away with your wallet and phone because were unable to find any identification on you. The police are here to take your statement. The lady who brought you in disappeared too somewhere. Whenever you're ready let us know—" Eesa listened to the nurse with half an ear. He couldn't process anything anymore.

Later, he left after feeling a bit better and reporting to  the police about whatever little he could remember of the incident. Although, surprisingly what he could remember with extreme clarity was that horrifying dream—in which her touch had felt so real—so comforting.

She was haunting him in his dreams too. There really was no escaping her. And Eesa knew now for a surety that ever since he met her—he has been cursed.

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

The next night, he was back in that place again. Yet, there was no sign of that junkie, homeless man. Thankfully, Eesa was able to get his phone and cards blocked in time. But he had already made up his mind on all the different ways he was going to kill him.

He had walked into the convenience store and pulled up a cart to put his stuff in. Just as he had begun to make his way towards the aisle, he looked to his left and then forgot to look away.

Standing behind the counter, she was looking up at him in shock; as if spotted a ghost. Her eyes widened in horror and her lips parted in surprise like she had a habit of doing. Whereas Eesa kept gawking at her unblinking in shock himself.

Shocked at his own actions—because surprisingly enough, he felt an unexpected sense of relief on meeting her again.

"Ah." A small cry escaped his lips and finally the trance was broken.

Assalamualaikum wa rehmatullahi wa barakatuhu🥰Thankyou for waiting❤️Hope you all liked and enjoyed reading, inshaAllah. Don't forget to vote and leave your comments🥰❤️