Meet Taliha, a renowned introverted bookworm with a haunting past and a secret alter ego as an up-and-coming Islamic writer. Her peculiar and unconventional reactions to life's twists and turns have left her questioning her very existence, as the wo...
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious and Most Merciful, the Sixty-five chapter of the story begins, please do enjoy it. Good luck!
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Taliha's POV: Finally, another day begins and my alarm rings loudly in the room. My sensitive ears always hurt, but I still wake up, that's the goal.
I whisper with my head lowered a bit, "Alhamdulillah wa ilayka nushoor."
[Q25:62] 'And He is the One Who causes the day and the night to alternate, ˹as a sign˺ for whoever desires to be mindful or to be grateful.'
After adjusting my glasses on my face, my fingers reach for my phone to check the time.
It is the period when I enter my classroom for the second lesson. But with a sad sigh, I snap out of my daydream after realizing I've actually been bedridden for a few days.
I couldn't even pray Al-Duha, a prayer in my daily routine.
I squirm as my pale red eyes face the large room before my hand touches my laptop.
In a flash, I remembered last night and put a finger to my forehead in dismay. Last night, I slept off feeling exhausted, after writing another part of my story.
It's actually hard doing my daily activities with a runny nose. The fact that I can't do anything without a loud sneeze makes me restless. The flu had begun after that tea date with Arif and still refuses to leave my body, I wonder why.
Arif is the prime suspect for my current state because the sneezing started after meeting him at the eatery that day. He is simply revolving around my world.
My mind is clouded with a flashback, remembering what Toby had told me at the eatery before my bedridden confinement started. After we sat down on a table, my eyes sighted Arif with his friends from afar. But I was shy and averted my gaze from him.
"Taliha," Toby said, drifting my attention to him.
I blink a confused look at him before letting out a faint chuckle nervously, then he smiles sweetly.
"I'm sure that you are surprised why I dragged you out of your class."
I was glad he knew that fact and replied to him with a nod, trying to understand him.
"Well, I uh." He mentioned nervously, "I initially wanted to check on your well-being."
With a faint smile, I pretended to feel touched by his care, "Ohh, thank you, Toby."
"During your freshers' party, I heard that you collected an award. That's brilliant."
My breath ceased for a moment after remembering the torture I encountered for earning that title, yet I nod with a forced smile.
"Thanks, again."
Masking my true intentions was my only option to handle the conversation with him due to my disorder, and luckily everything went well.
