Wattpad Malaysia proudly presents xMizabel, a successful published author, a very talented Romance writer, the Chief Editor of  LejenPress, a Malaysian publishing house, a Computer Science (Interactive Media) graduate, an animated storyteller born who has been raised in a musical family, and she is well-known for her Romance story 'Uqasha' (click here to access the English version).

...

Assalamualaikum and good day!

Maria Isabella here! Firstly, I would like to thank AmbassadorsMY  for the invitation. I never thought our Wattpad community (Malaysian) would grow and finally have our very own small family. Kudos to team AmbassadorsMY!

You see, I started reading in Wattpad around 2011 and my language selection was English, so I was suggested many inspiring English novels. My all-time-favourite is the After series by Anna Todd (imaginator1D) and I remember being motivated so much by her success that once I finished pursuing my degree, I decided to write while waiting for my convocation.

August 2015 was the beginning of it all.

I created a new Wattpad account, selected Malay as my language so that I was brought to its community – of books and writers. I was overwhelmed honestly to find K-Pop fan fictions flooding everywhere. As quite a rebel, I went against current trend and dived into 'erotic' romance instead – because I believe I'm a hopeless romantic kind of girl (LOL).

Uqasha was my debut. It was a piece that I tried to write in 2012 after reading Kelabu by Nadia Khan (neddokhan) – the dummy title was Sentuh back then – but I stopped after the fourth chapter. I figured it's about time that I picked the (virtual) pen up again. Extracting the sentiment of Sentuh, I began the journey of Uqasha.

PBAKL 2016 in May marked the published version of it by Lejen Press as it hit more than 3M views in Wattpad. The capital M however triggered few parties that later used Uqasha's sultry/seductive front cover as an excuse to hinder its demand. When Lejen decided to stop its printing late 2016, I agreed – feeling the need to rebrand Uqasha.

And here it is.

After a year trying to work on it, I'm happy to announce that the new Uqasha is ready. It's been rewritten and improvised by yours truly. I captured all its predecessor essence and embodied them in a new form. This adaptation is still the very Uqasha itself, yet it doesn't feel quite like it.

For former Uqasha fans, this will feel a lot like throwback session with new plot twists. For new, budding readers, hop along let's! For English readers and international participants, you may find Uqasha's English version from Amazon UK (translated by yours truly, too, and published by Fixi London) so you won't miss out. I have the preview under my Works if you'd like to check it out.

Now, I present you a special sneak peek, the core key-plot that initiated it all back then in 2012, rewritten and never been shared anywhere else yet to date, of Uqasha Suci, coming real soon in 2018. Start the hashtag now! #uqashasuci

UQASHA SUCI

Seperti yang dirancang, rumah itu kosong malam ini. John dan Malique keluar, manakala Edri menunggu di bawah blok sementara aku naik ke atas dengan misi menundukkan gayboy alim itu. Kunci rumah dijolok pantas sebelum ada yang melihat dan bilik Malique terus aku cerobohi.

Aku sedikit terkejut melihat bilik itu nampak kemas. Ada sekeping tilam tipis di tepi katil bujang Malique – pasti tempat Adam melelapkan diri. Bantal, selimut dan alas tilam dikemas rapi – neat nerd alert.

Kemudian, aku terpandang pula bagasi besar di satu sudut. Aku cam bagasi itu milik siapa dan di atasnya terletak satu fail jernih. Aku hampiri dan capai, lalu mataku laju membaca tulisan di helaian kertas paling atas di dalam fail itu – résumé Adam.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––

PERSONAL DETAILS

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Name: Umarussadam Abdullah

Age: 27 tahun

Marital Status: Single

Ethnicity: Siamese Chinese

Religion: Islam

 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––  

"Qasha??" Suara yang aku tunggu itu menyapa. Sebelum berpaling, aku tarik nafas dalam-dalam, letakkan kembali fail itu dan menguntum senyuman.

"Hai, baru balik?" Aku tuturkan bicara selembut mungkin, menutup debaran di dada.

Adam kelihatan skeptikal dengan perubahan personaku, lalu pantas menyoal. "Apa awak buat kat sini? Salah masuk bilik ke?"

"Perli, eh?" Aku cuba tolak jauh-jauh rasa marah yang bertandang dan fokus pada misiku. "Atau you nak imply I buta warna pulak malam ni, tak boleh beza merah dengan biru?" Satu langkah dibuka mendekati Adam yang masih berdiri di pintu bilik.

Dia sedikit pun tak nampak canggung dengan kewujudanku. "Saya tak cakap macam tu pun, awak yang buat tanggapan sendiri. Mana Edri?" Dan tanpa aku sangka, dia melangkah masuk dan meletakkan beg bimbitnya di atas meja komputer Malique – di mana aku berdiri.

Bau cologne yang dipakainya terimbas di hidungku. "T-tak tahu." Aku berdehem untuk menyembunyikan gugup. "I datang sini nak jumpa Malique, nak pass barang tapi bila I sampai, rumah memang kosong, tak ada sesiapa."

Tanpa memandangku, Adam melangkah ke dinding di mana tuala bergantung dan mencapai sehelai yang berwarna kelabu. "Okey, tak apa. Saya boleh tolong pass, if you don't mind."

Bukan main jual mahal gayboy ni? Aku dah kasi hint pun macam tak jalan. Ini tak boleh jadi. Aku rasa tercabar lalu pantas kakiku melangkah mendekatinya yang masih buat tak peduli padaku. "Takpelah, I tunggu je sampai Malique balik. Sementara tu, you boleh teman I, kan?"

Dan aku memeluk tubuhnya dari belakang, mengejutkan Adam yang pantas berpaling dan menolak tubuhku. "Awak buat apa ni, Qasha?"

"Tak ada apa-apa... Just curious about you." Aku tak mengalah pada penolakannya, lalu aku dekati semula Adam yang sudah menapak ke belakang.

"What about me?" Berkerut dahinya.

Aku hampiri lagi hingga belakang Adam hampir berlaga di pintu closet. Aku letakkan sebelah tangan di dadanya; jantungnya juga laju sepertiku. "They said, you're gay... Are you?"

Tanganku yang meraba dadanya ditolak ke tepi. "Siapa cakap?"

Aku letakkan pula kedua-dua tangan di dadanya. "You know, the boys lah, siapa lagi... So, betul ke you gay?"

Mata kami bertentangan. Tapak tanganku membaca jelas rentak jantungnya yang masih laju, seiring nafasnya. Adam menelan liur. "Yes, I am. Tapi awak jangan beritahu Malique pula, saya tak nak dia rasa tak selesa tumpangkan saya di bilik dia."

Sentuhan provokasiku di tubuhnya terhenti. "Really??"

"Yes," jawab Adam dengan suara tegas dan wajah yang lebih tenang berbanding tadi.

Biar betul dia ni?

"Really really?? You gay?? So, you tak rasa apa-apa langsung being this close with me??" Semakin tercabar, aku rapatkan tubuhku dengan tubuhnya.

"Qasha..." Suaranya memberi amaran lalu aku tekankan dadaku di tubuhnya. Dia cuba menolakku perlahan dan bertegas, "Useless, Qasha. Because I feel nothing."

Terdesak untuk memprovok gayboy itu, aku lakukan sesuatu yang lebih drastik; aku merangkul lehernya dan merapatkan bibir kami. "Qasha..." rayu Adam dalam bisikan sebelum aku rasakan keinginannya tewas tatkala aku tekankan lagi keempukan dadaku ke tubuhnya.

"Kiss me..." pintaku dalam nafsu yang tiba-tiba memuncak dan ditunaikan terus oleh gayboy itu. Mulutnya menjemput lidahku masuk selepas beberapa ketika dan entah kenapa tubuhku mahukan lebih. Seperti kucing manja, aku geselkan badanku di setiap lekuk tegapnya.

Tangannya turun meramas punggungku. Dia jugamahukanku. Lalu kemahuan batin kami dilunaskan di atas katil Malique, dengankeadaan aku dan Adam masih lengkap berpakaian.

P/S: Massive credit to The Sims 4 to have made it possible for me to create their characters, environment and interactions as accurately as possible, solely for the purpose of this sneak peek! It takes off a bit of the 'heat' and add 'humour' to it, no? ;p

Thank you so much fro sharing Uqasha Suci with us, Maria. The pictures are a wonderful addition to our imagination. Terima kasih!

  @xMizabel will give a paperback (An autographed copy of Davika published book ) to ONE lucky winner.  Click here.

If you have any questions to ask her regarding Uqasha, romance, writing, publishing or anything else, you're welcome to add it in the comment below.