If somebody asked Zahra - "do we ever reach a point in time when we just cannot love a person any longer?" - she wouldn't know.
Zahra Yusuf is the most sensible girl in her family. She listens to her mind more than her heart, maybe that's why her Na...
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chapter 20: sinking ships and soaring dreams
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"Zahra, I have a request." Shafaq spoke up.
We'd been talking for a while now, Humrah Di and Jafar Bhai were still walking behind us, subtly letting us know that they're keeping an eye and that there was nothing to worry about. I couldn't make out what he wanted to say, his expression did not give away anything.
"Yes?" I asked, out of curiosity.
"Trust me." He said, looking straight ahead. "Trust me or I will not be able to survive this."
Suddenly, a million different questions tumbled into my mind. All of them were contradictory and a few even scared me enough to double think what I was doing.
"I need you to know that I would never, never hurt you." He continued. "I want to be completely honest, but I can't. So I need you to understand that I am keeping things from you — big things, huge things — but I am only doing that in order to not hurt you."
"What do you mean—" I started.
"I can't bring myself to tell you those things right now because having complete knowledge of something this dangerous puts your life on the line." He emphasised. "I just need you to trust me and know that I will never let anything happen to you."
"I trust you, Shafaq." I nodded. "But promise me that as soon as you get a chance to explain everything, or once all of this is over — you will tell me."
"I promise."
"I do trust you, but..." I hesitated, Amirah's warning coming to my mind.
Shafaq is a manipulator. She had said, something that had offended me deeply.
"... I can't shake the fact that it's something related to Naahil. I have never loved anyone as much as I loved my brother, and if what I know about him is right — I can't figure out how he got entangled in... this. Whatever this is." I said, showing quotation marks.
"With time, I will reveal everything." Shafaq nodded gravely, and it looked for a second like he was guilty.
I must be imagining this.
"With time... Hmm..." I repeated. "It's soon going to be 27th July, the wedding date is literally two months away."
"It sounds like it's so close by when you say it like that." Shafaq shook his head. "But to me, it's so far away."
"I think two months is a perfect gap between now and then. The engagement will be next week, so I think time will go by quickly in the preparations." I interjected.
