I Never dreamed of living life again,
And he constantly pushed the death away.

♤

The flame of fire reflected in his eyes as continued to watch brothel burn to ashes. The flames grew angry by each passing second as the people ran out of the place, some with their belongings and some with nothing. Their only house was burned down, and no one could anything about it.

Tears of fear and devastation filled like a jug of water. Their heart beat with loudly as they saw their only means of earning and pleasure burn into ashes. Maybe there met actual soulmates, but they knew that the stain after going to these kind places will never let the world reunite lovers, not even soul mates.

"Who has burned it?"

Everyone knew who did this, but they will never agree on it. Who wants their death to be always stand on their head?

Whispers grew louder with the passing wind as they formed the crowd around the burning brothel with. The flames burned everything around it and inside it. It burned so many sins, so many wrong things, so many memories which still linger around the burning wall. No matter how much the wall is burned the memory has already made their places inside every nook and corner, every soul and body, every mind and thought, every time and hour.

Those aggressive flames reflected in his honey brown eyes, which shined in arrogant golden flame. Those hunter-eagle eyes assessed the brothel burning into blackened smoke just his soul. His lips covered under the black patterned keffiyeh turned into a sickening smile. White pearly fangs should have shined if only he upturned his keffiyeh, letting people see his face.

The old man smiled looking at the burning brothel and hushed away the people from it,- "Wallahi, you people are so selfish. You all never cared when this place that lured the youngsters into coming here and committing sins. Now, you all care about when someone has decided to finally stop this sin."

His gruffa and aged voice let the hues of shame coil around people making them hide their face by looking here and there.

No one stopped it from burning.

"Baraq." The aged man called the near him when the crowd started to vanish away leaving the place burning.

Baraq never took commands. But, the way that man has called him towards him, as if he was no one to be scared of, as if people do not fear him, as if he wasn't the air to be ignore.

His steps were calculated as he walked near the man, like a hunter ready to hunt his prey.

"Salam, Baba." The word 'baba' meant nothing to him. He never cared about any relation or any friend, now. He called him that only because he don't know by what name to call him.

"Wa'alaikum assalam wa'rahmatullahu wabarkatuhu". Greeting back he smiled gently at Baraq.

Baraq couldn't help but feel the uneasiness crawling on his back seeing him smile so gently to him.

"Dear, why do you have to burn in the fire of aggression. It is not good, as for it eats away all your knowledge." The gentle voice of the aged man did nothing other than burning his heart more.

But, he was Baraq and Baraq always knows how to not let the insides reaction reflect the outside world.

"This fire is the only thing that can quench my thirst." Baraq's predatory voice held something in it, which scared away people. It was the way, he smoothly let the words roll our of his mouth before making people choke on those same words.

"Running behind the fire does no good to anyone." The wiser one tried to advice him and deep down he also knows that Baraq will never be lured into the mystical world of words.

"I don't chase fire, baba. It lives with in me." He finally let down the keffiyeh and exhaled heavily as if he had run a marathon.

The scar run along his cheek bone to his jaw, it looked very deep and it scared away the kids from. It looked as if someone tried to snatch away his beauty and was quite successful in it. His high cheekbones and sharp jaw shined under the setting sun and he again covered his face.

"Ask your Allah, to never let me meet you again.

For, I am not the angel to bless anyone who comes in my way." The aged man shook his head at the under lying threat hiding beneath his icy tone. His tone was so sharp that even the animals with the aged man took some steps back seeing the younger one walk away with his shoulders as wide as his arrogance and pride.

"May Allah be pleased with you my son." The blessing was left hanging in the air as they both parted their ways.

♤

Her eyes closed with a soft shudder as she thought the possibility of meeting the Creator and been held accountable for her deeds.

She knew she couldn't make it without them, that was the reason she didn't want to live anymore; not anymore.

Nineteen winters old and she have never felt this much cold in her whole life, her body was numb with pain and cold; and her mind was hazy with uncountable and unpredictable thoughts swirling around her every memory. If only she had the power to change things, if only she knew magic to make things fall in their place.

But, she was late; a little too late to make amends. Her feet has already left the edge of the wall, she was no more standing but the air carried her to the place where she want to die.

Die.

She swore never to take a step towards suicide, ironically, here she was with nothing to end the things at once and all.

But, the sudden warmth of something erased her every thought. The pure fragrance of musk filled her with warmth, she no longer felt the cold crippling around her.

His heavy and shuddering breath made her realize she was flying with someone she don't know and seeing this her eyes widened in horror as she suddenly pushed him away from his hold making him lose his hold on her.

"La" his husky, stern and cold voice made her glare at him, it was filled with a very strange warmness, if Layla could name it; it would be called the fire of rage.

But, the thing was Layla couldn't name. She was so oblivion to her surrounding that she believed she was dreaming.

"Dreams will never be this beautiful." His cold tone cleared the fog around her thoughts. And she looked at him as he was some Angel, the raw beauty of his eyes shined like gold, pure and rare gold; but there was something in his eyes. There was the lines hiding behind the pure and rare gold, and she thought she was hallucinating. His eyes held the poetry so strong which could burn the world into ashes, maybe he was the broken hero who never found his lover.

He was the beauty no world could handle, but here he was with her making sure she was okay. How could he not be an angel?

Blind in the world of her reverie, her eyes stuck on him and she didn't realise when they landed safely on the ground.

He was the kind of beauty where no logic, no ethics, no reason stopped the world from praising. It was just pure beauty but was he really that beautiful?

Layla was smitten by Baraq's eyes only.

And Baraq could sense the destruction along the way; for once he too looked at someone with the same feelings. He could feel her eyes burning holes in his side profile. Her gaze burned his soul, igniting a fire no one can extinguish.

"Wallahi, the modern people are so idiot." Muttering in his native language he gazed at her with disappointment and she couldn't even understand a single he said.

"What-" Her question was left hanging in the air as he jerked her away from him and walked away from her.

Her eyes still lingering on his walking away form, making him turn around abruptly and glare at her with fire in his eyes.

She quickly looked away and fidgeted with her fingers.

"What did just happened?" Surely, no words exchanged between them, he was just an angel sent by God to save her; she believed it. But, the air around him still lingered with his presence.

"Astagfirullah, what was I going to do."

Realization hit her bad with tears rushing to her eyes. She realized, she was going to commit suicide, which was forbidden in her religion. Smacking her head several times, she looked here and there to find out where she was?

It was the abandoned the floor of the city hospital and sun had already left her alone. Moon didn't shined today in the sky. And she was alone to walk to her house from this far.

"I promise Allah, I will never do this again." A painful sob tore through her throat as she looked around for the help.

Her house was in the other corner of the city and the city hospital was in other corner. She don't know even if she will reach her house today or not.

Regret tore through her heart like a paper, tearing into more fine shreds. Exhaling a heavy breath, she walked slowly to somewhere where he walked earlier.

"I am sorry." She called to know one out in particular.

Her heart burnt with regret as she walked back to her house. She no more care about how she was left behind abandoned, but she only cared about she disobeyed her Lord? How she disobeyed His command? How she neglected His book and His way of guiding; prayer?

May be this was the way to make her realise how to come back to their Creator. And now when she will come back to Him, she will never turn away from Him, not again.

Suddenly, someone's golden eyes put a full stop on her thoughts and she thanked her Creator for sending that angel in her life.
She will not lie, she was mesmerized by his eyes. But, she only wished good for his life. And she don't know how her single Dua will turn his life upside down.

How was the book?😁😁