Stairs passed in blur during my hurried flight down and out of the dorm's main door.
My open locks danced wildly in front of my vision as my black shirt clung onto my body, against the gush of wind.
My slippers giving out on me.
I didn't stop. I couldn't.
The attendant sitting behind the desk opted to stand up in alertness but I ran right past her. And out.
Until my feet stopped.
Until my eyes found him.
Until my heart finally settled back in its place.
There he stood. His body leaner than i remembered hidden away under hospital shirt and trousers, the colour of afternoon sky. Bruised arms hanging limp on his sides. Spender fingers curled inwardly as if unsure.
Skin ghost white peaked through the neck of his shirt, easily giving away the bandaged places. Stubble few days old. Those heart shaped lips turned somewhat bluish against the onslaught of the cruel night wind.
A tube stuck under his nose ran both sides all the way to his ears and behind. Disappearing. In the mystery of the uncut long hair that's been tied up in an equally unruly top bun. Few strands sticking out of it to greet the visitor.
Safe for the forever rebellious strands that shadowed down his forehead like loyal pets. Unmoving. Unrelenting. Promising to stay until the stars burnt out and the nights seezed to exist.
They promised their loyalty to the knitted eyebrows. Straight in sharp line. Threatening to clash together any minute. Right above to the two hoods of hawk like orbs.
They dilated.
And the world froze in existence.
King...
Nothing of his appearance spoke of him except for those eyes.
They drank me in way easier than ever. Way quicker than I could comprehend. And way deeper than I could afford.
And allowed me to explore much more than I could imagine.
A whole new world!
Catastrophic disaster. An apocalypse. Fire. Cries of an angry child. His thrashing. His tears. And the sky turning black. Utterly. Wiping everything else off. The void. The dark nothingness. Its entirety twisting and molding until it reduced to ash.
Until even dark turned all the shades of true darkness.
And swept him away.
Leaving a bare soul. Naked to my eyes. Defenseless.
I saw it all. I saw his story while I was gone. I saw him.
Three more steps and he was right in front of me. Waving in a whisper of the wind.
His body threatening to give out on him.
As if he just came out of deathbed.
Looking like an angel of pure light. Clean. Weightless like a feather. Breathtaking.
Yet he looked like the most vulnerable king...
I choked back a cry behind my palm.
"Oh my Allah!" It wasn't a cry. But shiver of my soul. I could feel it thrashing against the barrier of my body.
Wanting to be let out.
I stumbled forward.
His other worldly gaze tracked my nearness. His posture held back in hesitant shackles. Restrained.
Something in me longed for his approach. His nearness. His touch.
And my face twisted in a pained frown.
A chuckle escaped his lips. And my eyes closed shut. Feeling finally at home.
Ya Allah!
"I guess I'm supposed to live afterall." His worked slipped down my insides like a warm spring water. Effortlessly.
Beautifully. Like a medicine to my existence.
But what's this odd feeling of pain. It's not mine. But coming from him. My eyes eagerly found those midnight ones once again under the merciless neverending seams of the night sky.
My fingers raised towards his face. Unsure. Hovering midair.
"Whah-" I gulped back a huge lump of emotions,"what happened to y..." and my voice was gone. Just like that.
He tilted his head. His eyes digging even deeper into me." Death."
I gasped.
He blinked. And a lazy smile started to appear at the corners of that distorted heart.
" I asked God to either take my life or show me the way," he took my hand midair. Burning it all the way into blasphemy and granting it an entirely new life. And guided it to his heart. Another world in its own," and looks like I'm shown-" a heartbeat. And another. He lowered his face near enough to escort my craving to its peak," the way."
What do you mean..
I tried to speak but my lips only rejected puffs of low whisper. My heart reached out to him instead. He caught it in embrace.
"Faith," he started low as he leveled his gaze with mine," I wanna turn Muslim."
All the air was knocked out of me. The floor swept away from under my feet. And I saw the world go blur before me.
Million questions all at once.
What? How? Why?
What has he been going through all this time while I was gone!
Why does he sound like a whole new person standing in front of me?
Mature way past his age. As if he had walked an eternity and back in the short span of time.
As if he aged 20 years more in past few months.
"M-muslim?"
His eyes lit up all of a sudden,"Oh my silly goose!"
And I was pulled into a vigorous bear hug. Swept off my feet. Taking all of my weight on him, he bent backwards.
I giggled. In like forever.
And then came his laughter. Surprising the both of us. Steeling my breath away.
My ears perked up in a beautiful rhythm of his heartbeat against my cheek.
And I felt the life accept me finally.
And I accepted it back. Fully.
There I felt. This incredible energy surging inside of me. Familiar. But entirely new. Refreshing. And I knew I was complete.
Right against this amazing man.
No questions were needed to be asked at this point. No more answers needed. No queries to be made.
We were already where we were supposed to be.
We were in heaven.
God I love this man!
"I love you, king!" Words slipped out of my lips before I could stop them. In a muffle against his warm chest. A whisper to his heart in secrecy. Meant for him and only him.
His heart heard the whisper and his wild heartbeats answered it.
And the next moment his knees buckled up and his grip loosened around me, letting my body slip away from his hold. He flopped down in front of me.
His eyes never leaving mine.
Something passed in those mysterious orbs. Spreading with a blast. The sparkles flew in all directions until the untamed joy took over his vision.
He looked up at me with adoration. Acceptance in them wrapped around me like a warm shawl.
And there I saw. All the curtains falling. All the shadows disappearing. All the defenses ripped right off until I could see that vulnerability in his now unbelievably soft eyes.
I was never used to seeing him this way. Those eyes this open. This welcoming.
A tear trickled down those handsome Pearls of my night angel.
And my heart melted away like a pure snow of December.
He tilted his head further back to have a good look at me. Unblinking. As if he couldn't feel the tear.
I reached out and and my fingers chased away his tear. His eyes shut down in peace. Emanating through every fibre of his being.
"Thank you." His sweet nothingness caressed against my senses.
Taking my hand he lowered me down until I was sitting right in front of him. Under a warm bubble of his scrutiny. Safe.
"I want you to convert me right this instant." A sudden urgency in his provoke.
My eyebrows furrowed.
Squeezing my hand, he closed up a breath,"I can't hold myself back anymore, Faith. I wanna see you looking at me as your husband for once." His sleek words stroked away the cold flush from my skin.
And I felt my face burning in embarrassment. Stealing my eyes away, I looked around at the dmiky lit dorm rooms behind the thick folds of curtains.
Fingers prodded at my chin, guiding me right back to that old intensity once again behind that hawk like gaze,"don't keep your hubby waiting for long, you idiot."
His face contorted into a mischievous sprinkle of smile and he shook his head. As if sharing a secret joke with himself.
"But-" I breathed out a stutter. Not ready to speak already."you need to go to imam in mosque and convert in his hand-"
He held his delicate finger against my lip, cutting off my speech entirely.
"Shush," he added,"I wanna convert in your hands." His voice teased but his eyes held sincerity. Finality.
_________________________________________
Next chapter is going to be the final one.