Chapter 5 – The Last Night
The words kept echoing in Sara’s head.
“No more college. Tomorrow is your wedding.”
She sat on the floor beside her bed, hugging her knees so tightly her arms hurt. Every corner of the small room felt like it was closing in on her, suffocating her.
From the kitchen, she could hear her mother’s quiet sobs. They were the kind of tears that didn’t need sound to be heard — Sara could feel them in her own chest.
Outside, the night was still. But inside, Sara’s thoughts were a storm.
Her mind flashed to her college — the laughter of her friends, the sound of the bell, the smell of the old library books she loved. And Mikaal. His teasing smile, his soft voice telling her not to worry about the bus, the way he always looked at her like she was worth something.
She closed her eyes. A single tear rolled down her cheek. How will I even tell him? Will he just find my seat empty and wonder?
The next morning, college started without her.
When attendance was taken in class, Mikaal’s eyes immediately went to her empty seat. He frowned. She never missed a day. Not Sara. She was the most brilliant student in their class — always prepared, always ready with answers.
“Maybe she’s sick,” a classmate whispered.
But Mikaal wasn’t convinced. He could feel something wasn’t right. He remembered the way she had looked yesterday, just before she turned to leave. There had been a tiny hesitation in her smile — as if she knew something was coming.
He spent the rest of the day distracted, staring at his phone, hoping for a message that never came. By the time the final bell rang, he knew he couldn’t just sit and wait.
Back at Sara’s house, preparations had already begun.
Her uncle’s voice could be heard barking orders from the courtyard. The smell of food was in the air, but it made Sara’s stomach turn. She sat in her room, watching the sunlight move across the wall. Each minute that passed brought her closer to the moment she dreaded.
Her mother came in quietly, holding a folded shawl. “Wear this tomorrow,” she said softly, though her voice trembled like a candle flame in the wind.
Sara took it in her hands, staring at it. The fabric felt heavier than it should — as if every stitch carried the weight of her fate. Her chest tightened, and her throat burned.
“Mama…” Her voice cracked. “I can’t. I can’t do this.”
Her mother’s eyes softened, but there was a sadness in them that told Sara she already knew what her daughter would say next.
“Mama,” she whispered again, tears now streaming down her face, “I will die if this happens. I don’t want to marry someone I don’t like… someone whose face only reminds me of pain. I… I like someone else. I love someone else.”
Her mother froze.
“It’s Mikaal,” Sara breathed, her lips trembling. “He’s the one who gave me a reason to smile again… who made me feel alive when everything else was dark. He’s my… everything.” Her voice broke completely on the last word.
Her mother’s hands shook as she cupped Sara’s face, pulling her close. “If I could take you and run away, I would. But… where will we go? We have nothing, Sara… nothing.”
Sara buried her face into her mother’s shoulder, clinging to her like a child lost in a storm. They stayed like that — two broken hearts trapped inside walls that felt more like chains.
In the silence of the night, Sara’s only wish was that Mikaal would somehow know… somehow come for her before the morning stole her life away.
But outside her locked window, the darkness gave no answers — only the sound of the wind, whispering a hopeless lullaby.
ns216.73.216.69da2
and then Add to home screen.