A Prayer Heeded

by Samreen Ahsan

  “Hang on, baby.” I cup her face. “We’re in the middle of a conversation. I’m not done with him.”

  I look at Khaldun. He’s standing at a slight distance, not moving forward. “Why don’t you come and take her from me?” I say, with confidence. “Let’s see your powers. I’ve heard quite a lot about them.”

  Rania tightens her grip and hides behind me.

  “Come on, Khaldun, step up and take her from me.”

  As soon as he steps toward me, another creature appears to take his hand. “Leave it, brother. You know you cannot even try.”

  “Ah! Who we have here? Welcome, Fadil. What a nice family reunion.” I smile at both of them.

  “Hello, Adam. It’s good to see you again,” he says quietly. He then looks at his brother. “Don’t take another step. You know the consequences.”

  Rania looks at both of them and then to me. “Adam, what’s going on? Why are we here?”

  “We’re here for one simple experiment,” I announce. They all look at me in confusion.

  “Khaldun!” I gaze at him. “Have you ever gone to any science classes?”

  He twitches his eyebrow. “We are born with ultimate knowledge and power. We don’t attend schools.”

  “Ah yes! I almost forgot.” I shake my head with humor. I walk around both the brothers, observing them, holding Rania’s hand firmly. Rania gives me a scared look. “The power of sneaking into people’s heads and changing their minds. How productive!” I criticize. “The power of appearing to those who you want, although your name says you should be hidden.” I look specifically at Khaldun. “You are spoiling your name, my friend.”

  “Come to the point, Gibson.” Khaldun sounds infuriated.

  “Yes, I am.” I keep walking around them, still holding Rania’s hand. “Since you are unaware of human experimentation, let me tell you something very interesting.” I halt my walk and face Khaldun. “Have you heard about quantum physics—the observer’s effect?”

  They both look at me blankly.

  “So I believe you haven’t.” I smile as I observe their expressions. “Quantum physics tells us that observation affects the reality of what is being observed.” I gesture to him. “Do you know what I’m talking about?”

  They are confounded.

  I continue. “The experiment revealed that the greater the amount of watching, the greater the observer’s influence on what actually takes place.” They both listen to me intently.

  “This experiment can also be applied to God’s existence. God remains hidden and silent unless you participate. Without God, we cannot. Without us, God will not. We are all the co-creators of reality with God. God moves only when there is intention or prayer. He walks toward us when we take the very first step. Faith is the prime step.” Rania opens her mouth to say something, but I gesture for her to stay quiet.

  “The truth is, everything in the universe is ultimately energy, and energy is influenced by the mind. Something only appears as matter when it is being observed.”

  I move away from them and stand on our handmade Egyptian rug. “Our thoughts have the power to shape our very reality. This is how the Law of Attraction works. What we focus on most of the time, we get. When we don’t focus on something, it disappears from our vision. The observer creates reality simply by observing it.” I look into his eyes. “So, in my world and in my mind, if I don’t observe you…” I continue, “you don’t exist to me.”

  “Rania.” I draw her close to me. “You need to believe it too, and work on this theory. Your observation and acknowledgement makes him powerful, makes him believe that he possesses you.” I kiss her gently on the lips. “You belong to me and no one else. There is no way he can take you away from me, because he doesn’t have that power. Your attention to him makes him believe that he can rule you, but the truth is…he is only a Jinni. He doesn’t have a strong mind, like us. He uses his damn powers because you let him use them. If you ignore him, remain oblivious to his powers, he is just a mere unseen creature.”

  “Don’t you dare touch my wife, Adam Gibson.” I hear his voice slitting our shell. “You are driving your fate into hell.” He raises his voice in a commanding manner. The sound echoes from the barren walls like a thundering peroration.

  “Seriously?” I glare at him. “Who are you? A hell’s patron?”

  “Leave it, Khaldun, there is no point in arguing,” his intelligent brother advises him.

  “I have the power to sneak into anyone’s mind, Adam. I can change your mind—”

  “Are you kidding me, Khaldun?” I laugh. “You really think you can match my brain’s wavelengths and pour filth into my mind? Don’t give me this shit, okay?”

  He still glares at me.

  “Let me show you a mirror, Khaldun. You were such a chicken that you didn’t even have the balls to show yourself to the woman you fell in love with, the way you really are. You disguised yourself and deceived her. Your love was based on utter betrayal,” I say.

  His voice comes from his throat in a hollow screech. “I have loved her all my life.”

  “And she is no more, Khaldun. She’s dead. What you see in front of you is just a woman who looks like her. But she is not her. There is no reincarnation here. Kiya’s soul is with God, so if you have enough power, just fly up to Heaven and search for her. Stop poking in our world when we don’t intrude in yours.”

  “Just leave her, Gibson.” His voice creates turbulence around us.

  “You think you can come to my bedroom and pull her out of my embrace to put her into a deathbed? You think I would allow you to do that?” I glare at him. “If you can come to my house and take her away from me, then I have a bloody right to come to your house and make love to my wife, right here.”

  He doesn’t have to say anything; I can see how enraged he is.

  I hold Rania tightly and lay her down on the pillow. “In our world, there is no one else besides us.” I remove strands of hair from her face. “I am going to make love to you right here because I own you, socially and religiously. You are mine in all ways. I don’t need his fucking permission to make love to my wife.” She looks at me in shock. “Don’t think I’m acting like Jibran. He never knew what the problem was, and I don’t blame him for that. And now that I know, I won’t let Khaldun crawl into your mind. There should always be me, in your reality and in your mind.”

  I cover us with a sheet, hiding our physical bodies from him. I can feel the hatred of his gaze burning our shell, but I know there is nothing he can do about it.

  When I stepped into Fadil’s world, he told me that God has appointed angels for me, to protect me from any harm. I never knew He loved me enough to protect me from troubles, to create a shell around me, and give me enough power to protect someone else who is there with me. I actually believed Fadil, when he told me how staying close to Rania, enclosing her in my protective shell, ended her nightmares. I never knew God loved me so much, only because of my acts of charity. I always denied His existence, always remained oblivious to His powers, but now I believe if He is with me, there is no other power in this world that can harm me.

  As soon as Rania starts feeling my touch, I hear Khaldun roaring in anger. It’s like the growl of thunder, that keeps on echoing back from the brick walls. It feels like the stones will fall down around us. The ground underneath us starts trembling.

  Suddenly, the floor starts spinning around us like a huge wheel. I note with amusement that the place where we are lying remains perfectly still. Khaldun’s powers are lodged outside our boundary, outside the angels surrounding us.

  I look at her. “You see, Rania?” I caress her temples. “This is the power of God. Nothing works against His will. He created us for each other. He made perfect arrangements for us to meet, fall in love and get married, because we’re born to please each other. We were born to love and cherish each other.” She smiles. I know how my words affect her, tantalizing each part of her body, provoking her to dwell in my world of pleasure.r />
  I start kissing her slowly and passionately. Her body gets so warm, it feels like it’s going to melt the walls around us. We attack each other like famished animals, not sure who is the predator and who is the prey. I enter her and move slowly, hypnotized by this steady, cadenced motion.

  Tonight I realize this is what it is to feel beauty, to experience the texture of bliss, to savor the taste of Heaven.

  MY LIFE

  ♀

  A ray of sunlight hits me through the narrow opening in the blinds, and I flutter my eyes open. The first thing I feel is my loving husband kissing me pleasurably. Even in my sleep, he knows how to rock my world.

  “What a beautiful way to start the day.” Adam kisses me passionately on my lips. “God, I love you so much. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever have enough of you…”

  “You should never.” I kiss him on his nose. “This will keep you hooked on me forever.”

  “I am yours forever, my love.” He bites my neck.

  “Don’t you have to go to work, Mr. Gibson?” He is still busy kissing me, which sends tingles all through my heated body. “It’s been two months, and you haven’t looked at your work.”

  He looks up at me. “Yeah, I know. It feels so different, waking up in my room with you.” He kisses my forehead. “I wish we could go back to our honeymoon.”

  “Two months were not enough for you?” I grin at him.

  “I guess a whole lifetime wouldn’t be enough. Why don’t you come to work with me?”

  “Oh no. I don’t think it would be a great idea. You want to work, or keep your body busy with me?” I wink at him.

  “Being busy with you sounds like a more productive idea.” He winks back at me. He rolls my body on top of him, and I lay my head on his chest. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are, Mrs. Gibson?” He caresses my temples with his fingers. “Even the Jinn worship the ground you walk on—imagine how hard it is for men.” He kisses me once more. “At our wedding party last night, you know how many men were watching you like hungry hawks? Now that they all know what a precious woman I have at my side and in my bed to rock my world, I’m sure the jealousy will kill them.”

  I laugh at him. “Well, that goes for you too. Since I pulled the sexiest, most eligible bachelor off the market, I am sure many women will be singing the blues.”

  “Hmm.” He smiles at me. “Do you ever get jealous?”

  “Jealousy is something I would never want to accept as a trait. It burns everything, Adam.”

  He watches my serious expression and then kisses me. “And you have nothing to be jealous of. You live here.” He places my hand on his heart. “Yes, I agree, before you I was an animal. You brought out the best in me. You are my weakness and my strength together. The power you have over me is overwhelming, and it scares me witless. You rule my heart, body and soul. You have brought magic into my life. Never stop weaving your spells on me. I am enslaved to you, my wife.” He sighs. “After meeting you, I never looked at any other woman, because I wanted this perfection.”

  “I know, Adam. You never let me out of your sight.”

  “Yes. But this beauty…” He rolls me again and I am under his warm body now. “…knows how to turn this man into a wild beast.” He sneers devilishly, while nibbling on my collarbone.

  “Isn’t this wild beast going to be late for work?” I am laughing, but enjoying his love.

  “Oh no, baby. I own the damn place. It’s the blessing of being a boss. And if you keep blushing like a rose all the time, I’ll never be able to go to work.”

  He dives into me like a truly famished beast, savoring me completely, devouring my soul with his love. “Oh my God…Adam…” I scream in excitement.

  ***

  Sitting on my terrace drinking iced tea during the morning hours is bliss. I enjoy the warm breeze of June as it teases my hair. After our ecstatic, mind-blowing lovemaking session in the early morning, I finally pushed Adam to go to work.

  Can’t get enough! It’s not only about him; the feeling is mutual. I never thought we would survive our first lovemaking in Khaldun’s chamber, right under his nose. Yet, Adam proved his powers over Khaldun and fulfilled all our desire for pleasure. After that, Khaldun was washed out of my life as if he never existed.

  Adam took us for a honeymoon the very next day. For two months, we traveled to all the romantic destinations of the world. We made love in all the wild places a couple could imagine. Under the enormous stars, in the middle of the sea, under a waterfall, in the middle of a forest, in the rain, under an open sky on the beach—there was no place left where Adam didn’t mark his presence on me.

  It seemed like I was the center of his universe. I felt like he lived for me, he breathed for me. Never once, in those two months, did he look back to his work and his world. He never answered any calls, he never checked his email, he never got busy on his phone. He dedicated his complete attention to me; it seemed like we were cut off from the world during that time span, and we wove our own world with love and laughter, not to mention lots and lots of sex.

  I smile at the thought of how he explored my body in those two months. He peeled off all the dead layers from me, revealing a true woman. I never thought I would indulge my body with someone so pleasurably—without feeling even a hint of pain. I know how much Adam wanted to ravage my body in passion, but he stayed calm and gentle with me, keeping my past in mind. Still, I tried my best to pull out the animal in him. If he can’t satisfy his sexual desires with me, then where would he go?

  Sometimes I fear the overwhelming love he has for me. A person who can fight with unseen powers for me—I don’t know what else he might do. I truly wonder what good deed I have done in the past to deserve such a loving man in my life. I can feel his love, just from the way he looks at me. I can feel his love in a single touch, in just a kiss.

  It is my first morning in my new home after our marriage. When I last left this place, it was to drag Adam to Khaldun’s world. After that, I never came back here. After he left for work this morning, I explored my new place. It already feels like home. What astonished me most was, when I stepped into the pool area, the walls were covered with huge portraits of me. I do remember Adam taking my picture before Christmas. But the moments he had captured took my breath away. I never thought I was so beautiful, the way he sees me. I am beautiful because he makes me feel beautiful. The observer’s theory that he mentioned to Khaldun, it applies to me too. I am nothing if he doesn’t love me. His love and passion make me feel like the prettiest woman in this world. If I look at myself through his eyes, I can say there is no match for my beauty, because it is the way he makes me feel. I am his world, I am his universe and I am his life. Sometimes I fear what he would do if he ever has to live without me. But I promise, as our practical life starts from today onward, I will be his strength and not his weakness. I will never be a reason for him to worry. I will always be there to provide comfort, peace and pleasure, in any way he wants from me.

  After finishing my iced tea, I get up from my luxurious outdoor lounger and decide to call Adam to tell him how much I already miss him. I walk back into the kitchen and call his number. His phone goes to voicemail. It’s his first day back after two months; I am sure he must be busy. I remember how busy he used to be all the time, and I wonder how he took two months out of his life and spent the time exploring our relationship with no phone, no emails and no meetings.

  We landed yesterday, in the afternoon, and I was rushed to the spa to get ready for our wedding party. People from around the continent were eagerly waiting to meet Adam’s bride. How proud he was, introducing me to his business associates. There was an unrestrained sparkle in his eyes, as if he wanted to show the world that he holds the most precious jewel—a priceless possession. He gave me the feeling that conquering me meant he conquered the whole world. And truly, in his arms, by his side, I felt like the most blessed and luckiest woman alive.

  The thought of the party reminds me that Mike never
came to talk to me at the party. I don’t remember if he was there or not. I am sure Adam had sent him an invitation. I know for sure Ben came, because he came to talk to us, with Baba. My father left the same night, going back to Dubai to attend his meetings. He just came for a few hours to bestow his blessings on us. I could see how happy he was to see me happy. I just wish I could bring back those five years, which we both wasted in our grudges. I already miss him.

  I pick up my phone and dial Mike’s number.

  As soon as I hear his voice, I bark at him. “Why the hell didn’t you come to my party?”

  “Hey, it’s so good to hear from you, my friend.” He sounds happy to hear my voice.

  “You are meeting me for lunch, or I am coming to drag you from work.” I am pretty serious.

  I hear him laugh. “Okay, where do you want to meet?”

  “Come to my place. I will make lunch for you.”

  “You’re still in your apartment? I thought you—”

  “At my new place, stupid. I am Mrs. Gibson now. You have forgotten already?” I smile. “You know where Adam’s place is, right?”

  “Of course I know. I’ll be there in an hour.” He chuckles.

  ***

  An hour later, Julianne, our housekeeper, informs me that Mike is waiting for me in the living room. I come down the marble stairs and catch Mike’s gaze, looking at me agape.

  “Oh my.” He looks me over from head to toe. “You have turned into a sexy enchantress.”

  I laugh at his joke. “Shut up.” I hug him tightly.

  He pulls away and looks at me. “His love has changed you, no doubt. I never knew shagging would suit you so much.” He grins widely. I punch him lightly on his stomach.

  “Shut your mouth, Mike. If Adam hears you talking to me like that…”

  “Oh yeah, the caveman will hunt me down.” He shakes his head. “But you look rocking, baby. I’m just wondering what he’s done to you that you are glowing.”