❝ I know. I could be happy until midnight if I wanted to. But what about after midnight? What about two AM? What about four AM? What about months and even years later?
I don't want to let him in knowing sometime in the future I'd have to let him go...
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Daneen gripped her hand around Ammi Jaan's shoulder tighter, keeping an eye on the old woman's slipper-clad feet as she led her into the bedroom.
She let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding when Ammi Jaan gripped the headrest of a chair near her bed, released her hold on Daneen, and sat down on the floral bedspread, not letting out one wince of agony in the process. Daneen wondered if Ammi Jaan would do so on purpose or for Daneen's peace of mind.
"Come here," Ammi Jaan beckoned to Daneen, who sat down next to her.
"You might not be my real daughter," Ammi Jaan spoke with such love that Daneen had her heart moved. "But you're no less than one for me."
As Daneen pulled away from the forehead kiss the old woman had given her, she hoped Ammi wouldn't but she had already put forth her surprise at the frown on Daneen's lips.
Ammi glanced out the window as she patted her face with a towel.
"What has the power to put out the light in your eyes, meri jaan?"
Daneen sighed, getting on her feet and grabbing the damp towel from Ammi, walking over to a cloth stand and spreading it out over it. "Questions, questions."
"The answer is within you, all you've to do is look closely."
"I'm afraid of what I'll see if I do that."
"How about we rewind your day?" Ammi Jaan smiled. "How was Fajr?"
Daneen's train of thought travelled back to earlier that morning, when both she and Ammi Jaan had assembled in the living room for Fajr prayer.
"You were with me, Ammi Jaan. You prayed alongside me."
Ammi Jaan's eyes sparkled in the sunlight streaming in from the window. Daneen already knew what would be coming next.
A Fajr prayer indefinitely led by Tabish.
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I'm posting three chapters in a row because of how absent I've been from this book. Enjoy! <3
