02
QUIRKING MEMORIES

𝐀 𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 

𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐟 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞'𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭.

She closed the dairy and sat on the couch. Her fingers started tracing the unseen path over the book and her eyes were all set over an invisible point somewhere in the space. Her mind was occupied by a lot of thoughts which she was already aware of somehow. All the old and the same thoughts, she has been thinking again about it. But Alas! She never got to know the answer to all the questions that were filling her head with baseless thoughts. ALL QUESTIONS.

She sighed out loud at her thoughts and wished to know the truth. Maybe it was divine mercy, it wasn't the right time for her but sometimes it's the blessed second when your wish would be listened to and will be answered soon. All she had to do was patience. As Allah loves those who are patient. Allah makes patient people his friend.

It was a sunny day but still it was cold outside. She loved the view of the falling leaves, but it was the time when the flowers would bloom, tree's leaves grow and the birds come out of their houses to enhance the beauty of nature. It was the arrival of Spring. Everyone was happy for the spring.

She was waiting for the tulips to bloom. She knows the least, this time she can't watch the tulips as she will go back to her country before April. She can just see the baby buds of tulips that were going to bloom this spring.

Sometimes, Elayne and Hande mischievously step into the grass around the places where they see the attention board to not step in. First, they examine their surroundings, when they find no one seeing them, they wink at each other and knowingly step in and humbly laugh at their own act. It was not said to be good to step on the grass with their shoes but they both were always in their own world and never acted upon. It was their 8-year-old habit. Oh! Did I say 8 years old? Yeah! 8 years old, it was when they first met in the public park and mischievously stepped once and got back, then they glanced around where they found each other doing the same thing. So, they shake their hands. Well, they don't believe in some of these sayings or even if they believe, they never act on it.

They were the two princesses of their own world where everything was good, somewhere in fantasy. Between sleep and awake. There was no evil when they both combined for fun. They never hurt anyone by their act.

Elayne also plucked one tulip every time whenever she saw them. Elayne and tulips always had less time together.

Elayne moved her head towards the window where she could see that the weather would still be unfair for someone. I-am-gonna-make-it-hard-for-you-to-walk-back. The voice of Asr Adhan (prayer call) was stirring sweetness in her ears. She was silently listening to the Asr Adhan (prayer call). She felt her mind empty, her thoughts were still there but there was no more heaviness. The air felt light.

"Allah hu Akbar, Allah hu Akbar, Laila ha illallah", the prayer call ended with tears in Elayne's hazel color eyes. Stirring honey in her ears.

She always felt something breathtaking in these words of Adhan. When Muezzin called that Allah is great, Allah is great. There is no one except Allah, you worship. That literally there is no one except him.

She stood up from the couch and placed the book on the table where nothing except a page was over it. She went to the washroom for ablution. Hande came out of her room and saw nothing except that book which she remembered the preface of. She simply smiled at her thoughts. She also went for the ablution and took her prayer mat in Elayne's room.

Elayne was still in the washroom. Hande placed Elayne's prayer mat with her and stood to offer Salah. Elayne came out and was surprised to see Hande praying in her room. She waited for her to finish but then denying her thoughts she stood beside her and began the Salah.

Hande already left the room after Salah and dua, but Elayne was still sitting on the prayer mat with her hands open for mercy. She had stopped making dua after Salah for many years. She just used to sit on the mat after Salah with open hands. Because she believed that he's the only one who can listen to everything, whether you say it or not. But today her heart want to say and the only words came out was,
"Please, show me the Truth."

AND ALLAH KNOWS WHAT YOUR SILENT HEART WANTS...

The journey to heaven is not easy. In exchange for this eternal blessing, desires must be sold to the Lord of the entire universe soul. Then by going one step somewhere we can advance towards heaven. She remembered the day when she found that book.

3 YEAR'S BACK

It was a smoky night in Istanbul, snow was scattered everywhere on the path. Her boots were half dipped in snow at every step she took. Her scarf was not in her control because of the cold breeze blowing when someone all of a sudden came to her and handed a coat. She couldn't see his face, as he was wearing the mask. She was so shocked that she couldn't deny it and took it without saying any word. That man, a manly man, gave the coat by saying, "It's cold outside, Be careful! Bye!!!"

Elayne never figured out who that man was and why he was this polite to me. Sometimes she thinks "He could do anything to me, but he didn't. He can lose her mind and could take me anywhere. There was no one there but he", and these were the end of her thoughts. After these thoughts she praises GOD for his mercy and blessings.

On the same day when she was in the back street parallel to the street filled with a lot of people after she interacted with this man, she found a box lying on the footpath. She stood there for a few minutes, waiting for the owner of the box but no one came. The parallel street was crowded, she couldn't find the owner. She thought maybe someone put it here so that he would take it later but knew it was too late. She was also getting late. She called Hande and told her that she could get late so don't worry.

Her phone battery was running out. She put it back in her cross-body bag. And again, start waiting but all in vain. She waited for 45 minutes. People were coming and going but no one was aware of it. When she lost hope she took it in her hand and walked towards her home. All the way home she was thinking she would find the owner.

Who knows for whom it was.

When she came back home, she found Hande was still awake. She tells the whole scene related to the box except that man's interaction. She doesn't want to make her worry. Hande told her to find the owner without opening the box for 3 Years. If you couldn't find that person then took it for yourself. It was the estimated time.

It's the rule in Islam.

That if you find something, stand there and wait for the owner of the thing, if the owner doesn't come back, take it with yourself and find the owner for the next 3 years. If still you couldn't find the owner than use it but if you later found the owner then give them back or pay them.

Elayne took that box and put it in the lowest drawer. A lot of questions were popping in her mind. She can't answer even a single one. She tried hard to find the owner of the box. After a few months, her eyes started researching for the man who handed her the coat, as it was also someone else's thing. She remembered his eye's which were lowered but still she saw that his eyes were light brown like honey. There was something in his eyes which she didn't understand.

She didn't tell every single person she met. But she tries to ask them questions in riddles. Riddles- A Good Idea- Stay Mysterious- Until You Know-

On the next day, she opened the drawer and put it in her lap. She tries to remember every single small detail about the past night.

She examined the box from all its sides, she found that there was a word scratched on its front side. She reads it in whispers and tries to figure it out. Her next two days went totally silently thinking about the riddle written over it.

After two days, her mind wasn't processing much so she slept the whole day. Hande was also getting worried for her, but she was somehow satisfied by her busyness. She was involved in finding someone she didn't know. Somehow it was relieved for her. Elayne wakes up at 9:45 pm.

She found that all the lights of the house were off. She went to Hande's room to talk about the box riddles, but she was already asleep. Elayne closed her room's door and stepped towards the kitchen, she felt someone was outside the window in the backyard. She got scared, so she hurried in the direction of Hande's room. She hovered over Hande and woke her up.

"What happened Elayne? Why is your face getting pale, buddie? Is everything okay?"

Hande got worried and shot a dozen of questions at Elayne but all she could say was, "ooo...ou.... Outsideee..." She was pulling Hande while shivering. She took Hande out and they both were moving on their toes. They first went to the kitchen, Elayne grabbed a knife while Hande pulled a hockey bat which was given to her as a gift. They both moved to the backyard.

At first, they both were afraid but as they examine the whole backyard their fear evaporates into the air like it never exists. Heading inside the home, Hande asked for some more details at which Elayne told her everything she saw there, "When I wake up, I came to your room to tell you something but you were asleep so, I headed to kitchen to eat something where I found a shadow of a manly man and not just shadow, I even saw him but it was dark I couldn't see him. I mean I say his manly appearance not the face. But I swear I saw someone in backyard, I am not lying. Believe me Hande!!!" she was trying to convince her.

Elayne started shivering again while her hands were getting cold and sweaty. Her thoughts scared her. She was not still getting out of that night thing than these creepy things started happening in their home. Hande calmed her down in the best way possible. She was not a girl who get scared by anything but the current things were making her feel this emotion. And cherry on the top she had the see an article over dark things that there exist some people who make the milkshake of the fetus and drink it. Everything was creepy.

"I believe you girl, you are saying right but maybe he ran away. So just calm down girl. Don't panic."
She knew whatever Elayne was saying was right because she can't lie to her and Elayne's condition was telling her the truth too. Her shivering hands, her cold body and her pale face.
Hande stood and headed towards the kitchen for some water for Elayne, but Elayne also ran behind her, still she was scared. She thought now someone would come in that room too through any window and disappeared before Hande came back. Hande also knows that Elayne really got scared. Hande took the bottle out of the fridge and poured the water in a glass which she gave Elayne. Elayne's hands were still shivering, she was denying her thoughts but all was that- it was giving her shivers down her spine. Hande was standing near her and trying to figure out the whole situation. She took the glass and attached it with her lips when her eyes moved toward the window. But the actual shocking thing was a piece of paper. A piece of paper- the all-time game changer.

Somewhere Hande's mind was denying it but she came out of her thoughts with the noise of something smashed to the floor. She quickly looked at Elayne whose face was getting more horrified and paler. The glass in Elayne's hand was now resting on the floor while scattered into hundreds of pieces.

Hande looked towards the place Elayne was seeing. She found a piece of paper there or maybe a letter. She stepped towards it and took it in her hands. It was just a piece of paper over which something was written but neither in Turkish nor in English. What was it? That was the actual confusion.

She took it to Elayne but rather than seeing Elayne shouted, "Look I told you there was someone, this paper would also be his. Hande hide me, I am getting scared. They would have come to kill me." Whom she was talking about, she even won't know.

Hande pulled her in a hug while Elayne was weeping. Few moments later, Hande took her to her room and decided to sleep with Elayne in case she gets scared again. Elayne laid on the bed while Hande asked her for a minute as she went to her room and put the paper in a safe place so later, she could figure it out. Hande checked the door and the windows of their house, after turning off all the lights she went back to Elayne's room.

Elayne was staring at the roof with eyes wide open. She was in a trance of something. And many IFs were roaming in her mind. She felt a hand on her shoulder on which she got distracted. Hande sat beside her and told her, "Be calm, nothing will happen. Everything is fine."

At which Elayne nodded and put her head on Hande's lap. Elayne slept while Hande was still caressing her hairs. But her mind was filled with a lot of things. She slept on the last hour of night when the moon was leaving everything behind while Hande sat beside Elayne.

♡♡♡

>>>ELAYNE'S pronunciation is EYL-LANE, those who can't still get it.

Happy Reading!
Browneyedsoul ♡
Binte Naeem (Zefanya Gul)