T w e n t y  One
This one is for ahkiehsila
:)

PLEASE, If you're a muslim, please do not miss any prayers because of my books. That's the only thing I ask from you.

-deep_side_love-
(Same message from my side too)

☆

Mashal

The banging of Zeyara's continuously landing punches against the punching bag was startlingly loud which made me flinch.

But I didn't look away.

I had been secretly watching him for the past hour while he did his usual training workout.
His muscles strained with his every move, visible from the white vest he was wearing. Sweat glistened on his skin, making his vest cling to his chest, his curls bounced with every swing, but he still looked calm and determined without any sign of exhaustion.

There were other men as well, in the practice hall of Alnihayya. However, my eyes were fixed on Zeyara.
The men had started leaving the hall now, after an hour of inflicting effort but Zeyara was still unfazed.

Very soon the hall was empty. There was no one except Zeyara.

I watched in awe as he landed multiple punches and then spun around before kicking the punching bag.

As I stood there, hiding behind the door, all I knew was that I would never want to be in that bag's place.

A few more kicks later, the bag tore apart, no longer able to cope with the non stop torture. Rich golden sand, trailed down from the burst bag and formed a pile on the floor.

That is when Zeyara finally backed off, running a hand through his hair to smooth down the wild curls.

Azan from Alnihayya's underground mosque started echoing in the whole base, indicating that it was time for zuhr.

When it reached Zeyara's ears, he stopped his workout and answered the call to salah. His eyes flew towards the door and I squeezed myself a bit more, hoping that he won't see me.

He started walking towards the door to go and pray while my heart rate escalated.

What would he think if he saw me? Staring at unknown men while they practiced, almost shirtless. But I swear that was not my niyyah. I just came here because I also want to be like them.

I also want to be able to defend myself and I don't want that scenario where I couldn't defend myself, to repeat again. I wish Zeyara could teach me.

Thankfully though, he didn't notice me and went through the doors.

I let out a sigh of relief and when everything was clear, I walked back to my room.

I had been here in Alnihayya for a week now and it was just so boring for someone like me.
Ibrahim helped in the mosque and in the secret service. Zeyara was also a part of the secret service so yeah he actually is a spy.
At the same time, he was also a trainer for the new members of Alnihayya and was a senior leader.

But when I asked if I could help, they told me to 'go and help in the kitchen.'
That was so sexist of them. I'm gonna prove them wrong somehow.

Both, Zeyara and Ibrahim are too overprotective towards me. I just don't like it now. I'm a grown up person! I mean they strictly restricted me from wandering around in the base and to stay in my room.

But I don't listen to them anyways.

I walked around, sneaking into rooms and that's when I came across their training hall where Zeyara was. I also saw many other sectors, like the dungeon and jail for terrorists. I didn't dare to go in there though.

Sanan's hearing in the court is due today because he is better now and can go to the court. I wanted to see him so badly but Zeyara and Ibrahim just don't allow me anywhere near him.

After praying zuhr, I still felt that boredom would kill me so I decided to wander off again. I already knew that the medical and ammunition sections were in the middle. The East sector was jails and the North sector was the kitchen, the mess and the practice hall while the barracks and the mosque were south but I still had not seen the west sector.

I walked towards it, making minimal noise and hiding whenever I heard someone come. I realised that the west sector was mostly just IT and technology related stuff and it was the least used sector because no one was there.

I was just curious as to what was in the rooms so I tried opening the door to one of the rooms but it was locked. It had a keypad with numbers on it so I guessed it wanted a password.

I won't be able to open it anyways so why not have some fun?

I typed in my date of birth just randomly and turned around, about to walk away from there but to my surprise the door clicked and swung open.

I gasped as I turned to see the open door.
It must be my father's office.
I smiled at the thought that even though he didn't spend time with me he loved me so much that he used my date of birth.

I walked in and the lights automatically switched on. The room was dusty and it seemed like no one had touched it in a while. There was a bookshelf on one side, a computer and a study table.

I walked up to the table, knowing that it was my father's. It just gave me a strange kind of happiness. The desk was full of papers and maps. He might be doing a lot of research. There was also a thick red book placed on it with the title in golden letters, 'Alnihayya Constitution'.

It felt interesting so I just opened it and skimmed through the pages. It had all the rules of Alnihayya and it's manifestos. I skipped to the part where it was written, 'the leader's heritage'

The first few points were boring like, the leader's family will be protected and would get paid even after the leader passed away. But there was one point which caught my attention. The leader or any of his family members have the right to veto one decision. Even if everyone else is against it, if the leader says yes, it would happen.

Wow! I never knew I had those rights. I closed the book carefully, putting it aside and tried to find anything else of interest.

My eyes fell upon a small framed picture on the table. I picked it up out of curiosity and wiped off the dust with my sleeve.
It was the picture of a baby wrapped in a pink blanket. The baby had its eyes wide open and a full smile across his face. I was still staring at that picture, lost in my thoughts when I heard Ibrahim call out my name.

"Mashal! Where have you been? We were worried sick!" He huffed, trying to catch his breath as he stood in the doorway.

"Don't tell me you are breathless because you've been running around looking for me." I said, rolling my eyes.

"I told you to stay in your room!" He spat harshly, walking up to me. "What are you doing here anyway?"

I knew all he wanted was to protect me but this was getting on my nerves. He was treating me as if he was my baby sitter.
"Nothing. I'm just-" I still hadn't completed my sentence when his eyes fell on the picture in my hand and he exclaimed. "Hey that's you!"

"Me?" I asked startled and looked at the picture more carefully.

Ya Allah! It really was me. I mean I didn't look like my baby self anymore but the eyes matched and I shrieked in excitement. I had always wanted to know what I looked like when I was a baby.

Minahil and Abdullah had their baby pictures, I didn't. I couldn't contain the excitement and literally jumped in joy. "I was so cute!"

"Mashal how did you open this room. Wasn't it locked?" Ibrahim asked, ignoring my excitement.

"Yeah I just randomly typed in my date of birth and it worked!"

"Oh."

I couldn't help but notice how Ibrahim's expression changed into a dull, gloomy one. He looked disappointed and I couldn't understand why.

"What's wrong Ibrahim?" I asked softly. I was seriously concerned.

"So he used your name as a password for that nuclear weapon and he used your date of birth for this room. And....he just kept your picture on his table not mine." He said lowly, staring down at the table. "Was I that useless?"

I understood what he meant immediately and I didn't know how to reply. He was right. Why did dad favour me over him?

I still remember the time when Minahil was favoured over me. It used to kill me from inside so I know how Ibrahim might be feeling.

He let out a sarcastic laugh and mumbled. "Why am I asking you this even though I know the answer. Dad divorced my mother and married your mother so yea-"

"What?!" I asked in shock, without letting him complete his sentence.

"Yeah my mom cheated on dad so dad divorced her and got remarried.....but he never looked back at me or my mother again." Ibrahim's voice become sadder as he reached the last part of his sentence and I looked away from him.

So he is my half brother. That explains the age gap between us and that also explains, I still know almost nothing about my real identity as Mashal Naeem.

"I'm sure he loved you more than anyone. You were his first child." I whispered, smiling at Ibrahim reassuringly.

He was about to reply to me when we heard someone walk in and we turned to look at the person.
It was Zeyara who had walked in, with a full smile on his face. His hair was wet so I assumed he might have taken a shower. He really needed one after that sweaty training.

"Why do you look so happy?" Ibrahim asked him as they hi fived. "Got a proposal or something?"

Really? When did they become so frank?

Zeyara patted Ibrahim's back mischievously and smirked. "When I get one, it will be from hoor ul ayn."

"I doubt that bro." Ibrahim chuckled. "You might get one from a jin though."

Boys.

"Ahem Ahem." I made a fake throat clearing sound to let them know I was there because they had seriously forgotten that.

This caught Zeyara's attention and he glanced at my side with his jaw dropping in surprise. He clearly hadn't seen me there.
To say that he looked embarrassed was an understatement. I'm sure if he knew I was there, he would've never said those things.

I laughed inwardly knowing that he might be feeling just like I felt on Mrs Shamim's remark.

Ibrahim rolled his eyes at this. "If you're done being embarrassed, would you please tell the real reason of that smile?"

"Oh yeah!" Zeyara exclaimed as if he suddenly remembered something. "Sanan's case has been decided. He will be executed in two days time."

"What?! No!"
The blood drained from my face and I looked at him incredulously. I felt paralysed and shook my head in disbelief. I was temporarily speechless as my brain tried to make sense of it.

The worst part was that Zeyara and Ibrahim were happy about this.

"Seriously Mashal just get over it. Why are you so obsessed with him?" Zeyara frowned.

"I'm saying this the thousandth time, he is not bad!" I said firmly, clenching my fists in anger.

"You spent less than a week with him and you suddenly like him? Is it because of his appearance or-"

"Unbelievable." I gasped. "So that's what you meant when you said I only care about him? I can't believe you think so low of me!" I bellowed in my agitated voice.
How could Zeyara think like that?

"Mashal calm down its-" Ibrahim tried to console me.

"Really big brother?" I asked glancing at him. "You know what he just said? He just said that I spent a few days with Sanan and just fell in love with his looks. That's why I am trying to save him!"

"No he didn't mean that. Did you Zeyara?" Ibrahim turned to face him in disbelief.

Zeyara just looked away, unable to meet his gaze. He didn't say anything and it was clear by his expression that he meant exactly what I said.

This made Ibrahim furious and he gritted his teeth. "Careful with your words. That's my sister you are talking about!"

Zeyara still didn't look up and kept on staring at the ground as he whispered with a pained expression. "She likes him. It's obvious."

I would've just shut up and left. I would've listened to Ibrahim and calmed down and I would've just ignored that comment if it came from someone else's mouth but the fact that Zeyara was saying it, caused anger to overtake me and I had never been good with anger and words.
I guess I knew why he looked hurt and I wanted to hurt him even more.

"Not just like, I love him! He is the most handsome, the most religious, the most skilled man I have ever seen. Unlike you Zeyara! You're an ugly, weak.....and just look at your hair. It should be used as a broom. I am saying it again, I freaking love Sanan." I screamed at him. I knew I didn't mean any of that but I just wanted to let my anger out and make my point.

And to be honest everything I said didn't even make sense because Zeyara was neither weak, nor ugly. And his hair was the most beautiful thing ever.

Ibrahim stared at me amused, as if I had gone mad. He knew me enough to figure out that I was lying but Zeyara on the other hand, looked lifeless and numb. As if he had just seen the death angel.

Good. That's the same way he made me feel. He has no idea that his words felt like swords to me. He deserves it.

"Mashal he's gonna die anyways so what's the poin-" Ibrahim muttered but I interrupted him and added my last sentence. "Under article 60 B of the Alnihayya constitution, I Mashal Naeem, being the leader's heir, declare as my veto power that Sanan would not be executed!"

This time, Zeyara also looked up at me. Both of them stared at me stunned by my words as if trying to figure out how I knew that. Inside me, I was hugging myself for reading that book.

"I'm saying this one last time. Sanan will not be executed. That is the constitution and you can't break it. That's it!" Saying this, I stormed past them and out of that room.

I rushed through the coridoors back to my room. I slammed the door shut and now that I was sure no one was watching, I burst out crying. My heart yanked in and out of my chest. I dug my head in my arms and tried to block away the world.

How could Zeyara be so blind? Does he really think I like Sanan? Just because I want to save him doesn't mean I'm in love with him.
And if he really thinks that just small gestures can indicate love, then why is he so blind in his....own case?

☆

I have no idea where this story is going. I think I really should plan the ending before I begin. 😂

Have a good day!

-Muskaan.