Sidratul Muntaha

Chapter 91♾

Bismillahi Rrahmaani Rraheem•

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu•

Miss me? Here you go. The story ahead.

One second! Please make sure your works are done and also that you hve prayed your salahs. Don't postpone that for this. This is nothing in front of that. Remember?

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Muntaha arrived in his room and watched Sidra and Rushi as they spoke. He stayed silent and unhearing of their conversation as his eyes transfixed themselves upon Sidra as she talked. What was it about her that made him want to keep looking at her? Sidra smiled at something and then suddenly turned towards the door. His presence surprised her and she lifted her eyebrows into a silent question. Peace was what settled in his heart. He shook his head silently. She smiled.

Rushi turned when she gauged Sidra's attention shift. She smiled once she saw him at the doorway.

"So you are back." Rushi commented lightly. Muntaha walked inside the room.

"I should thank you for staying here." He told her.

"Of course I stayed. I haven't spoken to her in a long while." Rushi told him and then smiled at Sidra before she left. Muntaha settled on the bed beside Sidra and watched her again.

"Don't watch me like that Muntaha. You are making me nervous."

"Why do you get nervous so easily?" Muntaha questioned her as he picked up her hand and threaded their fingers together. "Do you know... for months I have had dreams about you."

"I used to dream about you too." Sidra replied softly. They watched each other with utmost love before Sidra looked away.

Something shone on her neck. Muntaha frowned as he extended a hand and gently lifted a thinly crafted golden chain. Sidra watched him as he did that. He took the pendant on the palm.

"Sidra? I haven't seen this on your neck before." He commented lightly. Raabel had told him that this necklace was gifted to her by his own mother. He just wanted to know what Sidra knew about it.

"Oh... I had removed it in the valley during my initial lessons." She told him somberly reminiscing about Vareesha. "They used to be rough and I was scared that this chain will break." Sidra told him.

"So it was around your neck during your stay here?"

"Yes."

"I never saw it. Or maybe I never paid much attention." Muntaha said. "It's beautiful. Where did you get it?"

"My mother gave it to me. When I was around six. This is the only thing that she have given me. I didn't know where she got it though. When I asked her, she had said it always belonged to me. Do you know Jibreel... this necklace has been my comfort for all my life. I used to hold it in my hand and cry after every punishment. This gave me the strength. At night I used to tilt it near the fire and watch the flower and the words. I don't even know what they mean, but when they used to shine in there, they brought me comfort. They brought me peace..." Muntaha watched the gem and then her, before smiling and bringing her closer. He placed her head over his chest and then lifted the pendant once more, tilting it around it front of their eyes till it caught the right angle of the light and shone. It illuminated the flower within and also the two words, 'Siham' and 'Jibreel'. His heart missed a beat as he watched his name shine from within the depths of the jade. He inhaled. His name had been a source of comfort for his beloved since before Allah brought her to him. His name had always resided in her heart, near her heart, bringing her peace and becoming a strength without even her knowledge or his. Before she was brought to him, she was already declared as his and his name had been linked to hers. He moved his gaze towards the darkening skies outside.