Love after Loss

Chapter 31 - Checkmate

"O you who have believed,
seek help through patience & prayer.
Indeed, Allah is with the patient."
~ Quran (2:153)
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Author

The orange sky had almost lost its colour to the blue hues of post-dusk. Hiba's eyes were blindfolded, making her other senses stronger as she awoke from her deep (forced) slumber.

'Alhamdulillah, I'm alive...' she thought.

She tried to shuffle around in her seat, but her hands were tied and she was buckled into the seat.

"Boss. She's awake." A voice said from in front of her.

"Oh really? Well, that's great news! Good evening Hiba, I am going to take off this blindfold so you can see what's happening. Besides, you will once again be my wife, so what's the point in chaining you up?"

Rohan. That voice suddenly made her remember everything that happened.

Rohan removed her blindfold slowly, as to take care of her eyes. She opened them, those eyelids fluttering slowly to find herself in a dark car with blue-purple lighting around her. The seat was comfy, but the soft plushness of the leather was replaced by a stone cold feeling in her heart as she looked to the man next to her.

"Like it? I know how much you liked cars, so I thought why not take the nice car out?" Rohan said. But he was wrong. At this point Hiba was only thinking of how to survive. She saw... not many exit points. It seemed like they were driving on a motorway. Surely they would need to stop at some service station on the way, but even then, there were two men with beefy muscles dressed in black sat up front.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"We are going to a special place of mine. After my latest... business... deal was successful, I bought it because I knew you would love it." He replied, smiling. "When we get there, the nikkah papers are waiting. I think we just need to resign, say kabool and you and I can be a couple once more. And I will be able to see your beautiful face once more, but hopefully you won't try and run this time either." He said, chuckling again at his plan.

Hiba didn't respond when he said that. She just sat looking out of the window, waiting, praying for safe passage home, alive.

At a time when tears were forming in her eyes, and she was feeling hopelessness, she remembered Aaliyah's words from when they separated in New York.

"Don't cry Hiba auntie, ammu used to say whenever you cry remember Allah and cry to Him. Also, you're very pretty, I am going to make dua that you marry my Abbu, ok?" She smiled and laughed at her memories of the children, and remembered how happy she was with them, how much she loved them as if they were her own children.

So she did what Aizah told her daughter to do, who passed on the same lesson to Hiba. She turned to the One who she knew is always there for her. Allah.

'Oh Ya Allah... indeed you are the Creator, the one who Gives Life and the one who Gives Death. Only you know what is written for us, you know what is best for us, you would never burden us with more than we can handle. So I ask for strength and patience through this difficult task. I ask that you protect the good, and guide the bad towards the straight path. For your beautiful religion and truth that you revealed to our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (Peace and Blessings be upon Him) is surely the right way the path to Jannah, and I ask you guide us all on that path and do not let us be unguided. Ameen.'

This dua she read quietly to herself was more powerful than she thought, because she read it with such conviction that she was putting all of her faith in Allah to handle everything for her.