Chapter 47 Zahra
ZAHRA
The cool concrete of the room has started to give me a strange sense of comfort. If nothing else, the dark bareness of this room allows my mind to wander occasionally to better moments and better days.
My eyes flutter shut as I let the exhaustion come over me. I send out a silent prayer, asking for a night where my dreams don't come so I can sink into the empty darkness. Because that is better than my countless dreams of death.
Someone is in the room with me. I don't hear the door creak over, or a flush of light from the security room door, but I can’t shake the instinct that someone is here.
My eyes flutter open slowly, vision so blurry at first I'm convinced that I must be hallucinating.
I rub my eyes once, twice, and finally a third time, but the face of the man sitting next to me doesn't change—my father's face.
"Baba?" I whisper, as if saying his name louder will make him disappear.
The wrinkles around his eyes form as he smiles at me. "My sweet Zahra, I can't tell you how happy I am to see you again."
Tears of joy fill my eyes. It’s really him. He’s here. But if I could see him...
"Am I dead?" I ask, a sudden rush of sorrow filling me. I must be dead. I never got to say goodbye to Azula or Samirah. Never got to thank Arman for all he's done. Never realized that my last moment with Declan would be our final time together.
My chest squeezes with grief.
My father reaches out to take my hands into his.
Real. Everything feels so real. My family was never super religious, but I did have hopes that one day I'd be reunited with all the people I’d lost. Maybe one day I'd eventually be reunited with everyone who is left.
Everyone who gets to live, while I remain.
..as a spirit? Is that what I am? "Am I a ghost?
" I ask my father, realizing he never answered my first question.
He lifts our entangled hands and presses a kiss to mine. "You are not dead. Nor are you a spirit."
"So, I'm hallucinating? Great. That's exactly what I need right now," I deadpan.
He snorts so endearingly, I let myself believe this is real. "You're not hallucinating, but you are dreaming. I can't stay long but I am here to tell you that help is on the way. So, you need to get ready, Zahra. You need to fight. Just keep fighting…so you can live. Don’t forget to live."
His voice starts to fade, as does the image of him. My father's skin starts to glow brighter and brighter until I'm nearly blinded by the light. The sound of an explosion has me up on my feet, and the next thing I know, I’m being pulled out of the darkness.