married off his daughter

through sheer desperation. She sat in the dark for hours, the cold earth seeping into her bones.

When Yusha returned, the air felt different. The woodsmoke scent of him now smelled like burning deception.

“Zainab?” he asked, sensing the shift. He set a small parcel on the table—bread, perhaps, or a bit of cheese. “What’s happened?”

“Were you always a continue reading …