Nikkah

Prologue

It was a dark and stormy night. A seventeen-year-old girl sat beside the window, terrified at how the rain was pouring at a high degree, as if it was the end of the world. She was afraid because her mom and dad weren't back from work. They always took a tricycle, and the ride from their office to home was twenty minutes. Given the situation of how it's been raining since an hour ago, she called them, and they told her they were on their way. She asked them not to come home yet until the rain ceases, but they were adamant to return as she was their only daughter living alone. They knew how she gets scared easily, most especially when there is a loud rumble of thunder.

The rain and wind were just so strong, it was making their roof shake as if it would fly away along.

She couldn't sit and wait for them. She was having a bad feeling. They were on a tricycle, and tricycles aren't strong enough to maintain their balance when there is a strong wind. This type of wind can even remove a tree from its root, so a tricycle that's not even heavy is nothing for it.

She took her purple dupatta that rested on the bed and put it over her neck. She thought looking for an umbrella would take much of her time, so she left without it.

As she opened the door with so much force because the wind wasn't letting it open, she witnessed the destruction it caused. The trees in their house fell, and the rope on which they hang clothes has also been broken. Their car park, too, has collapsed. She knew it would take a long time before those were fixed.

The fear of her mom and dad being outside struck her again. She felt restless and out of breath. Her mind made up the worst scenarios, worrying her more. She knew she wouldn't rest until she saw them happy and safe in front of her.

She walked through the heavy rain despite being scared of thunder. Before she made it to the gate, though, she heard the roar of it. She screamed, If there were birds around, they'd have definitely gotten scared and flew, but as everyone was scared of the rain, they all hid, including them.

"Mum, Dad, I'm doing this only for you," she whispered in a low tone. With the voice she used, even the sharpest ears wouldn't have heard. She went out of the gate, walking on the empty street.

"Tricycle. I need to find the tricycle," she reminded herself, going farther away from her small home. As she went further, she encountered a tricycle that got involved in an accident. She thought so because it was dropped upside down.

She yelled, certain it was an accident because a hand that was wearing her mom's bracelet was drawn out.

Her whole world crumbled in an instant, not believing the terrible scenarios her brain was creating would come true. She went closer, taking slow steps; if a tortoise and she were to be in a race at the moment, the tortoise would have won.

She peeked inside, seeing her parents' eyes closed.

Right there, her heart stopped beating, and she fell on her mother's lap, before she fainted.