⚠ Sensitive themes are discussed in this chapter. It's not too disturbing, but the scene is part of the plot. ⚠

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• Luna •

"Assalamualaikum," Luna said, learning how to greet someone in his language. "Did I say it correctly?"

"You did. It is a difficult word to say correctly."

"I'm sure it's hard to pronounce for some people, especially for us who don't say it a lot. When you live in New Orleans, where cultures of different societies come together, it's always good to learn what you can about them."

Amir smiled as he took a sip of his grape juice. It was late in the evening as they sat on his couch.

"What does one say after the first greeting?"

"After saying, Assalamualaikum," we finish with "Walaikumassalam."

"Peace be with you, and peace be with you, too," she whispered.

"It's not customary to say any greeting, but it makes a person feel better about greeting each other when we pass by one another."

Bringing her spoon up, she took a small bite of her Chocolate Rice Krispies. "Teach me more. I enjoy learning a new language."

After going over the alphabet and numerology in Urdu, Amir and Luna moved on to him translating different texts from The Qur'an. She was very intrigued to learn more about what it said and to understand the teachings inside it. She had once read The Bible, The Book of Mormon, and The Torah when she once studied a religious course one semester at Tulane University, but she had always found herself captivated by two faiths -- Buddhism and Islam.

Luna adored how both faiths sat on a mat and meditated, or prayed. They had similar styles in practice, but they also differed in beliefs. She prayed alongside her parents and grandparents growing up as they were Christians. However, something had always drawn her to stay spiritual and never commit to one faith.

Glancing back at Amir, he turned a page and she hopped to her feet. When she came close to a room at the end of his hallway, she noticed the door was opened, and she peeked inside.

Her eyes traveled around the medium-sized bedroom as she gazed at a mat on the floor facing counter-clockwise and surveyed the calligraphy written on the wall. Only a small flat-screen TV hung above a dresser, with two end tables and lamps, sat on either side of the bed.

"Is this your bedroom?"

"There's not a lot in it, as you can see. I have another room I put all my books and movies in. I keep my room minimal," he said, standing next to her.

"My grandfather, my mother's father, was a Christian before he passed away. He was the same way in his house and had minimal things in his bedroom. He once turned the back area of it into a small Chapel, so my family could hear short sermons from him every morning. He believed in praising God every day."

"It's good to be in tune with one's faith. I love it when I can devote time to speak to Allah."

"I keep - I keep thinking I've been in your house before. Like, I'm having a memory. A déjà vu moment."

His lips turned up into a sweet smile. "Maybe it's because we are connected."

"No, Amir. I've been thinking about this for a long time, but I've been inside your hallway."

"You haven't been in my house. It's a feeling you have because we share a connection."

"Wait . . . I have walked through here. I can't remember when."

As they walk back to his mantle by his fireplace, Luna saw a picture of Amir with his family in front of a large concrete building. Behind them stood in the back was none other than Sarah's late father.

Sam.

Luna had now realized where she knew that building from. Amir was there the day Sam died, and she was on a Facetime call with him while giving birth to Sarah. Sam left to visit other countries after being diagnosed with Glioblastoma. He wanted to find a doctor who could treat him for it. Every doctor he'd met had turned him away, except one in Pakistan.

"Luna?" he mumbled, snapping her out of her memories.

"Yeah?"

"You looked like you were somewhere else in your head."

"I was. Sam's death. It happened right there," she told him, pointing at the picture where Sam's tall frame was in the background. "That's Sarah's father."

Amir's eyes opened wide as he slowly fell onto his couch. Sam was a few feet away from him, and Amir was the one who tried to perform emergency procedures on him after he noticed a man falling to the ground. Amir and Luna's connection was making a lot more sense.

Luna's soul was always led to his, and their pairing was not by chance or by coincidence, but by fate.

As she stood in her living room with Amir, they were beside her bookshelf, staying mute. Her grief about the moment she'd lost her high school sweetheart and the father of her child took hold of her emotions. From that moment on, she never fully recovered. She couldn't believe Sam was alive one minute and gone the next. What freaked her out more was knowing his last few moments on Earth were recorded from her phone, and Amir was shown through the camera lens.

"Luna . . ."

She glanced in his direction as he laid the picture face down so she didn't have to continue staring at it.

Her chest rose and fell, with her legs shaking as she stood still. Amir tried to usher her to her couch, but her body couldn't move. Feeling his hand run gently up and down her back, she finally met his gaze.

"Do you want anything to drink?"

She shook her head and looked down, staring at her lap. "I can't drink anything. Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Tell you what?"

"You could see my memories with Sam. His face must have struck you at any moment."

"I think when I tried to access all your memories, you sort of blocked them out. It was like you threw a veil over your mind, and it was dark," Amir explained.

"I don't know how to control that."

"It's a shock to myself that I was the one who tried my absolute best to revive him. I'm sorry that I couldn't have done more, Luna."

She gazed up at him, her eyes like polished red rubies. "You don't have to be sorry about anything. Allah made sure you'd be there."

"I love how you've always embraced my faith." Amir scooted over a little on the couch, making sure she had room. "Would you like to talk about it?"

"Not really, but I must," she said, sniffling. "I think I shut you out because I didn't want you to see my entire past. It's like when you close a window and cover it up. You can't see outside, and no one can see inside."

"We're friends and are in each other's lives. I love learning more about you as time goes on, and nothing in your past would make me think otherwise."

"I appreciate your honesty. I have so much to think about right now."

"I can imagine, Luna. This must be difficult for you."

Standing up, Luna looked outside the window and wrapped her arms around her chest, blinking away the tears falling from her face. "It's just . . . I was . . . I was in a mental hospital ward before."

Amir jumped and placed both of his hands on her shoulders, then tilted her eyes to him. "Oh, Luna."

"You know the moment we first met?"

He nodded. "I was in your studio and was scared to approach you."

"Scared? Why?"

"How was I supposed to explain to you who we are? I was scared to tell you anything, and I didn't know what country I was in. I can't believe I thought I was in Canada. That's also because of where Cassie lives."

"Right . . ." she whispered. "Amir?" she choked out, holding his gaze.

Within seconds, Amir's arms opened wide for her and he brought her body close to him, her face against his chest. The wetness from her cheeks hit the skin on his arms, causing him to shudder. Old memories of Sam's death had replayed in her mind like a song on repeat. They wouldn't stop as she shuddered in Amir's embrace.

"Let it out. It's okay."

Sniffing, she mumbled, "I think I had blocked everything out so you didn't have to see the nasty parts of me. I've been through so much."

"It's all right. The bad parts about you are also a part of me."

"You've seen how I went through a dark time when I had an eating disorder. Well, soon after recovering from that, I imagined Sam after I'd started dating Chase."

She turned away, flushing with embarrassment of imagining her late boyfriend. Amir continued to rub her back slowly, comforting her.

"When I say that I saw him, he was anywhere I wanted him to be. He would be there to help with my gardening or talk to me at Tulane University. I saw him when I cooked or cleaned and did my photography sessions. He never left my mind, and I never let him go. I watched his death . . . repeatedly. It was recorded when we spoke on the day he died. You're on that recording."

Amir's eyebrows raised. "What?"

"Now it makes sense why I thought you seemed familiar when we first met. I saw you through the camera nearly seven years ago."

"Oh, God."

"Sam's death haunted me. Several years had gone by, and I'd finally realized what was going on inside my head. Chase got me into a hospital. I made progress, but I . . ." she paused and sniffed. "I almost killed myself one night."

"I wish I could take away all those painful memories for you."

"It's just . . . You've seen the worst bits of me and still accept me for who I am. You've felt how I felt in the toughest moments I've buried deep inside, and when I first saw you, I honestly couldn't tell if you were a figment of my imagination or just some weirdo who pretended to be lost."

Amir laughed. "I would've thought the same thing if I saw me."

Luna playfully slapped his arm. "I didn't mean it that way. For a while there, I imagined someone who died. If you and I had never transitioned into Pakistan, I would've lost my shit."

"I'm glad we met when we did. We were two souls who were destined to be connected."

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