Those who do not want to or wish to read about Islamic stuff are free to skip the part in brown.
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Chapter One:
Copper Sunrise
"Is that (torment) better or the Paradise of Eternity promised to the Muttaqans (pious and righteous persons)? It will be theirs as a reward and as a final destination. For them there will be there in all that they desire, and they will abide (there forever). It is a promise binding upon your Lord that must be fulfilled."
(Surah Al-Furqan)
The winds gusted and the rain thundered
All she could do was sit and wonder
The trails raindrops left on the window
She kept tracing them with her fingers
The world outside seemed a paradise
But she knew in her heart as she always had
The paradise she once found was never hers
The illusions were far more entrapping than they should have been
For when a sinner turns back to a right path
It takes time for things to turn out as expected
Closing her eyes she prayed silently
For Allah to forgive her and grant her what she wanted
Her permit to the paradise in the heavens above
She forced open the locked doors with a single click she gave with the bronze metal key. They sprang apart inviting the gushes of fresh drugged breeze inside. She breathed in the morning winds which were alluringly significant of refreshing her entire being. It felt so brisk, cool and briny. Wrapping herself more securely in the cape, she made her way out on the hill top. The sky was pitched black but she could see the stars twinkling in the absolute obscurity. There is never bleakness to life. Even in the darkest of times ciphers of hope are to be found if one looks with satisfactory fidelity and eagerness.
Extracting out the prayer mat from the inside of her cape she spread it on the dewy grass. That was custom. A sacrament she started following a few months ago. She positioned herself in the centre of the mat, covering her head with the head cloth; she tugged the hem of it inside the space. Making her Intention (niyat) she began her prayer (Salah). All the while she had her eyes transfixed on the locality of prostration. Her each solitary act executed with such prudence that the probability of mistake was zero. Her lips enthused evenly with what she was reciting. "Al-Salamu alaykum wa Rahmat Allah wa Barakatu"(Peace and Allah's Mercy and Blessings be upon you). She uttered this phrase twice at the termination of the Salat, once with the head turned to the right and once with the head turned to the left. She began tipping her thumb in the space between the flexion creases of her fingers reciting "Tasbih Fatima".
When she was finished, she brought her hands in concert with visage turned up to the canopy of heaven. Whatever she prayed, she kept it silent. In no time her eyes brimmed over and then the lone tears started peeking out leisurely and as a final point riding across her face losing them in her attire. Her body rocked back and forth with hiccups escaping from her mouth. She prayed and prayed for what felt like forever. She got up and with trembling hands folded the prayer mat and kept it aside on the table.
She looked ahead. The vast mountains and hills stretched in front of her so clearly covered with mosses and plants, reaching to jagged summits and crowned with rigorous, towering firs. Everything appeared to be verdant with what little light the sky was giving off turning begrimed blue from black. It looked like an exotic planet. The roads wounded across the mountains rolling form left to right, sticking around the edges, supported by embankments and then suddenly hindered by the ending spaces.
She was a born native of that ground but then she figured out she would never get used to the show of unscathed, intact exquisiteness and pulchritude the picturesque valley presented. Each time she stood at the peaked slope and stared down into the endless nadir of the falling space and the sinuous river she found herself in synchronization to the serenity that pervaded around her.
Each spectacle possessed the arresting, unwavering beauty and each wisp of air rejuvenated her being. This was life. The glorious undefined mystery called life, too many pieces merging into one forming an amalgam of nature. She remembered asking once..
"What is life?"
"Its too complex a question to ask don't you think, my child."
"Yes. What is life?"
"Do you feel that? The magical particles descending down your body and generating the biggest of mysteries and energies the world spawns. Those particles gleaming inside of you and inculcating the breaths you are taking to function in this world. This breathing... these breaths regardless to what condition you are in. May it be you are handicapped, or blind, or deaf or dumb or diseased. You breathe, you live shunning the conditions at the back end. This is one thing, child. Life is too cavernous a word to be defined by a mere human like me or you or anyone. All you should know is that you are given a life. Not by choice but as present. Relish the present. Let tomorrow be burdened by tomorrow."
The dark clouds ringed the horizon, invading and dancing in the gaiety of the rising morning. The trees were swaying and swishing flippantly and the flowers scattering the delectable odor, which was so good to smell that she felt her internal gleaming with something so close to complacency. The birds chirped. How more soothing could that sound?
For her, it was the best music in the world besides the Talawat of Holy Quran.
They twittered praising their Creator. Birds were taken as signs of renewed life, magic and mysticism. She cited a male bluebird warbling on the bare branches of a nearby tree. She wished she could stand there for eternity or else have that presentable scenery committed forever to memory.
Standing at that height, the world fell in an effortless embrace of calmness and ethereal beauty. The height, it gave her strength...and hope, at that point all the past wretchedness of her life seemed so inconsequential and diminutive like a single drop of rain in the immense downpour. Death is no doubt the prevalent reality and tragedy of life and all that comes prior to it is life.
"I see you are early today yet again." A voice trailed down to her from behind. With a smile on her face she turned back.
"I see you are late today yet again." She replied with the same gentleness in her voice.
"Good one. Come let's sit."
"Yeah. Of course." Khushi obeyed, setting herself on one of the two chairs surrounding the yard table. She looked at her companion. "Won't you join me?"
"I will." Payal made her way slowly to the tables relishing the morning view. Sitting on the chair, she flipped back her hair and snuggled her hands inside her sweater pocket.
"It's cold." She commented.
"What do you expect? The sweltering heat? You might as well visit The Sahara!" She stuck out her tongue like a two year old.
"You are recovering your humor, Khushi. Though I say, it's kind of shaky."
"I am? I wish I could speed up the progress. " Her eyes twinkled.
"Don't fret! You are doing extremely fine. More than a customary person can supervise." Payal shot out assurances, the master she was at that.
"Exactly! I hear that a lot. I am not normal." She tittered, though it was dry and not profound.
"Why do you think like that?" Payal questioned, her mouth forming a thin line. She hated when Khushi acted all artificial and self conscious.
The sun had yet not appeared in the bounds of the canopy, but it was broadcasting its advent by baking a twinge of scarlet and ginger into the periwinkle sky. Khushi turned her face towards that side.
"How majestic that appears...I would never get enough of Allah's(God's) munificence and benediction!!!" She breathed out, emphasizing the word majestic'.
Payal followed her gaze. The sky did look majestic emerging right out of heaven to show them who Allah(God) is, and who He could be.
She loved that part of the day; it gave her an absolute potency, tranquility and bizarre elation. The crooning of the birds resounded in her ears.
"It looks like paradise..." Payal breathed, dazzled by the emerging rays of sunlight.
"Yes. But it's transient. For a reality check, I'd never find paradise on Earth. Paradise is up there for me." She looked up in the sky, sending a silent prayer to the heavens above.
"Why are you such a gloomy Gus Khushi?" Payal questioned, irked.
"Recounting facts and standing by the truths, guided by no illusions and false hopes reflects your knowledge about the undying universe."
"I know a lot has happened with you in the past year Khushi but that doesn't mean you should stop hoping and looking forward to a healthier future."
"You are wrong Payal. Hope is the only thing which is making me go on. Whatever happened did a lot to me. I have started understanding the world in a way I never did before. I want to be a person my Father wanted me to be. Even now I make mistakes but what matters most is that I discover a way to correct them. Can you feel the engagements of nature and the call of the winds?" She inquired.
"No I can't." Dua answered, dubiety dripping from her words.
"What if I say I can? Because now I find myself in symphony with the music of the universe. I believe in Allah(God) unlike I have ever believed in Him before. I love Prophet(PBUH) and that leads me to the love of Allah too."
"I appreciate but why would you say one can never find paradise on earth if you have such strong faith now."
"I don't know. I feel like it's the reality. Life on Earth can be pleasant with consent of Allah(God) if one uncovers the truths about the being and desist it from going astray in this stunning world with ensnaring spells and charms. It can be worth living if one finds a way to Allah(God). But the real paradise can be only found above there. This is why this world has been rendered perishable and heaven and hell are originated. When the world would end and the Doomsday would come the doors would be left open of both heaven and hell."
"I know that." She said, cocking her eyebrows. Maybe Khushi was losing it, she thought but the next words changed her thoughts.
"I still die every day inside for what I did. I let my family down. I gave away myself to a wretched soul for something I claimed love. In those days I couldn't help thinking I had found a paradise on Earth with him. What did I get in return? Treachery? Mortification? Heartbreak? I know one thing for sure Payal, that paradise was never mine. People do find paradise on Earth but I was wrong about mine. Maybe I'd at some cross of my life end up finding a paradise on earth but what I want is a place in the Heavens above. The contentment I feel now, asking for forgiveness every day is the only thing that leads me on. Even now I can say I have found a paradise on earth. But I know here in my heart the paradise on Earth cannot be of a sinner like me. One day when my Allah(God) would forgive me and my father would be happy with me up there I'd happily leave this world knowing that in the end I'd find my way to the real paradise and the heavens above."
She then smiled at Payal and Payal smiled in return, knowing that her friend had learnt a lot from life and the gaffes she made. She knew now that her friend had grown up a lot more than her age. She knew that her friend struggled with her own demons every day. She determined she'd be always there with her and maybe she'd learn the lessons of life and realities of the world from her. She prayed to Allah(God) to let her friend find her way to the heavens she was longing for.
This does not have Arnav in it but this chapter was needed. It will help understanding Khushi's character. She is one big mystery here. Even to herself 😉
It is not good enough. I know I know. After all I am not a philosopher.😆
Next chapter will be up depending upon the response. The bigger the impact of responses the faster it will be up.
Yes I can be mean at times😳
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Bye
Namaste
Allah Hafiz
and obviously
Adieu.😉
Mischief Managed.
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