Shayista called for his musicians to play a cheerful tune as Champa danced. Her shimmies were in perfect sync with the universe. Shayista smoked a hookah and recalled the morning only a month ago when he first met her at Jannat. Since then, his priorities had shifted completely.
He let out a round of meandering smoke rings. Over the next few months he would help Miri erase her pain, help Champa with her madrasa, help Costa with his hunt for the Emerald Tablet and help Dhand marry the woman he loved. He would live for his friends. He would live for love.
Destiny would have its way. If one accepted it rather than resist, one could ride it to incredible heights. A journey was charted for him the day he was born, the day two angels were sent to his mother’s womb to write his Fate, and having written it, the mighty pen moved on. Surrendering to the grander design felt like an immense relief. For the first time, Shayista felt free. He opened his heart so Destiny could be fulfilled.
~