Sands In The Darkest Night

Goodbye

Everything that happens, happens for a reason.

...

Three months had passed since Aria last saw him. She had come to the Nile, religiously, every day hoping to see him.

But he was never there.

She sighed.

She looked down at the entire town from the top of a palm tree. In the far distance, she could see the daunting structures and high pillars of the Royal Palace.

Aria sighed softly.

"Who are you, Ammon?"

She had asked him the last time and his reply had left her confused ever since.

"Both our undoing."

•••

The day was wet and cold.

Aria would never forget-the day she was exiled, the day she lost everything dear to her, everything she ever loved.

The news of her rebellion or rather what her people thought was rebellion had spread far and wide. It was about the incident that took place between her and her teacher weeks ago.

Apparently, the other teens had spread the rumours of what had transpired between her and him.

They thought her questions stemmed from unbelief and the right course of action was to purge her from among them-from among her own people.

Aria would never forget the hurtful words and the hate-filled gazes. She was eschewed like a gentile-like an unclean thing.

Aria closed her eyes as she curled in on herself on the cold hard floor of her new Egyptian master's house.

A single tear fell from her eye as she recollected the day she was exiled-the day her whole world fell apart.

•••
Aria had just come back from her errand, having gone for the whole day-she was very tired.

She entered their small house which has been her home for the past fourteen years. As she entered the house, a strange wind blew her and she had a trepidation-like something bad was about to happen.

She greeted her mother and father.

"Evening Mother, evening Father."

Normally, her mother would embrace her, her father would kiss her, but they stood afar off. She sensed something wasn't right.

"Mother, Father?" She called quietly. Her mother burst into tears and sobbed into her husband's chest. Aria's confused eyes met with her father's and he looked away.

Aria didn't miss the pained look in his eyes.

"You Aria, daughter of Joseph and Sarah, have become a nuisance among our people." A deep voice spoke.

Aria turned to the source of the voice. Her eyes widened as she saw an aged man walk to stand by her father.

Aria gasped. It was Eliah, he was one one of the chief of the elders of their people.

'What was he doing here?' 'How come she hadn't seen him?'

His traditional robe was wrapped around him in a dignified manner. It was obvious he was a man of honour.