Chapter Eighty-Three

He was in the barren desert, staggering on his feet with nothing in sight for as far as his eyes could see. Why or where? He didn’t know. But he knew he was lost. All he recalled was that one moment he’d been soaring above the clouds, relishing the cool whipping past his face and through his majestic wings. Until suddenly, an unseen force hurtled him down to earth.

Dehydration made his tongue sit numb and swollen in his mouth. The soles of his feet blistered from walking in the hot sand for so long. And though the harsh sun rays continued punishing him, he kept on walking. Rafiq didn’t know how much longer his body could take it. Although he wasn’t dead yet, he knew death would catch up to him soon enough.

Succumbing to the torture, he felt his body sway this and the other way before his knees gave out and he collapsed onto the hot sand. He shut his eyes, ignoring the unpleasant temperature of the sand beneath his cheek. After all, there was nothing else he could do but die.