nothing but sand. Surely, there must be life beyond this barrenness .
Nora turned around hesitantly. The little cluster of houses she had hastily raced away from lay in the distance below her like white specks in the red sandy desert, enticing her to return.
I can’t… I must go on. I have to go on. Someone will help me. Someone will find me. But I can never go back. Not now! Not ever… never to that man!
Adam wiped the grease off his mechanical tools as he organized them neatly into his boxes. Basel watched him quietly.
“Aren’t you going to go after her?” he asked after a little while.
“She was the one who was so desperate to leave,” Adam replied nonchalantly, blowing out a ball of dust caught in his wrench.
“The sun is almost at its peak. A Western woman would never survive the heat of the arid Registan Desert. If you leave her out there, she will never make it alive. Hell, it would be hard for any man lost in those dunes, let alone a woman.”
“There’s nothing I can do about that. She ran the moment I let her, didn’t she?”
Basel let out a tired puff of air. “I don’t know what happened this morning, Adam. Last night you were looking up eagerly at her window like some overly smitten lover and today you tossed her out as if she was worth nothing. All I know is that if you leave her there to roam that desert, you’ll never see her alive again.”
Adam didn’t answer. His eyes grew cold and stern as he continued to neaten his tool boxes.
“We have everyone watching us,” Basel continued. “Word has already spread that the leader of Darul-Ilhaam is now married. What would someone think of Darul-Ilhaam if they heard the leader’s new wife split before he had even consummated the marriage?”
Adam frowned, glancing at the man across him over his brows.
“Oh, don’t bother taking the piss at me,” Basel warned. “It is true, isn’t it? We have more than a dozen witnesses who can vouch that you slept in the hall with them on the night of your marriage. And in the morning, your bride took off without as much as a protest.” He put his hands on his hips, pacing the width of the garage. “We have a lot to risk right now, Adam. We have the Americans to deal with. And then with treacherous bastards like Hafiz Sajadi and Mateen in the organization who will gladly pick on every one of your failures, to point out you’re not the right leader for Darul-Ilhaam, they will split the organization. They will turn our people against you. You can’t afford to let your new wife be another reason they’ll use to stand against you.”
Adam shook his head. “There is little I can do if she doesn’t want to come back.”
“Fine. But sort it out between yourselves as to how she can leave you without endangering your leadership. Leaving her to languish in the savage Registan Desert though, is not the way to go about doing that. Do you know the extent of wrath this will create in the Western media if they even heard that you left her to die there? You yourself said we almost have the Americans eating out of our palms. Why risk it now?”
Adam banged his toolbox shut, his breaths growing short and shallow as he tried to retain the anger raging inside him. She wanted to leave! She wanted to go! “I did all I could for her. There is nothing more I can do.” His words fell out with bitterness mingled with regret. He was angry that she had left. It mattered to him. After saving her… not once had she thought about him.
“But Adam…”
“I said I ain’t going after her!” he roared, suddenly losing his temper. He stood by a car, threading his fingers through his hair in frustration. He didn’t want to anger Basel. He knew he meant well. After all, he was one of only a few trusted friends in Darul-Ilhaam. “Please… Basel. Just leave it be.”
“She’s your woman Adam,” Basel said slowly. “You weren’t able to keep her from leaving and that’s bad
Nora turned around hesitantly. The little cluster of houses she had hastily raced away from lay in the distance below her like white specks in the red sandy desert, enticing her to return.
I can’t… I must go on. I have to go on. Someone will help me. Someone will find me. But I can never go back. Not now! Not ever… never to that man!
Adam wiped the grease off his mechanical tools as he organized them neatly into his boxes. Basel watched him quietly.
“Aren’t you going to go after her?” he asked after a little while.
“She was the one who was so desperate to leave,” Adam replied nonchalantly, blowing out a ball of dust caught in his wrench.
“The sun is almost at its peak. A Western woman would never survive the heat of the arid Registan Desert. If you leave her out there, she will never make it alive. Hell, it would be hard for any man lost in those dunes, let alone a woman.”
“There’s nothing I can do about that. She ran the moment I let her, didn’t she?”
Basel let out a tired puff of air. “I don’t know what happened this morning, Adam. Last night you were looking up eagerly at her window like some overly smitten lover and today you tossed her out as if she was worth nothing. All I know is that if you leave her there to roam that desert, you’ll never see her alive again.”
Adam didn’t answer. His eyes grew cold and stern as he continued to neaten his tool boxes.
“We have everyone watching us,” Basel continued. “Word has already spread that the leader of Darul-Ilhaam is now married. What would someone think of Darul-Ilhaam if they heard the leader’s new wife split before he had even consummated the marriage?”
Adam frowned, glancing at the man across him over his brows.
“Oh, don’t bother taking the piss at me,” Basel warned. “It is true, isn’t it? We have more than a dozen witnesses who can vouch that you slept in the hall with them on the night of your marriage. And in the morning, your bride took off without as much as a protest.” He put his hands on his hips, pacing the width of the garage. “We have a lot to risk right now, Adam. We have the Americans to deal with. And then with treacherous bastards like Hafiz Sajadi and Mateen in the organization who will gladly pick on every one of your failures, to point out you’re not the right leader for Darul-Ilhaam, they will split the organization. They will turn our people against you. You can’t afford to let your new wife be another reason they’ll use to stand against you.”
Adam shook his head. “There is little I can do if she doesn’t want to come back.”
“Fine. But sort it out between yourselves as to how she can leave you without endangering your leadership. Leaving her to languish in the savage Registan Desert though, is not the way to go about doing that. Do you know the extent of wrath this will create in the Western media if they even heard that you left her to die there? You yourself said we almost have the Americans eating out of our palms. Why risk it now?”
Adam banged his toolbox shut, his breaths growing short and shallow as he tried to retain the anger raging inside him. She wanted to leave! She wanted to go! “I did all I could for her. There is nothing more I can do.” His words fell out with bitterness mingled with regret. He was angry that she had left. It mattered to him. After saving her… not once had she thought about him.
“But Adam…”
“I said I ain’t going after her!” he roared, suddenly losing his temper. He stood by a car, threading his fingers through his hair in frustration. He didn’t want to anger Basel. He knew he meant well. After all, he was one of only a few trusted friends in Darul-Ilhaam. “Please… Basel. Just leave it be.”
“She’s your woman Adam,” Basel said slowly. “You weren’t able to keep her from leaving and that’s bad
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