‘Avoidance of sin is lighter than the pain of remorse.’
-Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA)
…
AYRA
With a wince I peel open my heavy eyelids. The bright light plunges into my eyes and makes a tide of pain rise in my head. Squinting my eyes, I bring one shaky hand up my forehead. There’s a sound to my right and I slowly look. Surprise lights up in my chest.
I swerve my gaze back to my hand and surely, there’s a drip attached to it. I try to make sense of things. My whole body feels as if someone has torn apart my limbs and then stitched them back.
That’s when it all comes rushing back to me, like waves in the ocean returning to the shore. There were those weird men who had . . . done something awful to Rohaan.
“Maha!” My voice cracks and my throat is so dry camels could walk on it.
I frant
