She has another beloved

His eyes opened slowly as the clammy voice rolled around his head, ponderously fading into a dissonant echo. The night was still and cool, a comfortable shelter from agonising thoughts. Moonlight, pale and broken, illuminated the corners of the room, making his chambers seem like a hazy dream. His soft bedding tugged at him, inviting him to return to his slumber, as did the hypnotic drumming of the rain against his window. His eyelids faded under the heavy weight of his weary fatigue.

And then he snapped awake as he realised the empty space beside him: a warm, vacant spot mimicking the void in his heart. His wife wasn't there anymore. She had another beloved. A jolt of pain pierced his soul, making it all the more real, and he felt he would collapse from the leaden weight that pressed down on him at that very instant.

They'd only been married a few weeks, and everyday he had slept, her face the last image in his mind, and every morning he had woken in time for the dawn prayer to see her sleeping softly beside him once again. He hadn't even suspected a thing. Rolling onto his back, he blinked the gummy film away from his eyes and pondered where in the city she could be. There were many places in this city for those seeking an escape from an unhappy life: it was a place where all extremes could be tasted, both of the body and the soul.

His lip quivered as he tried to push away the unwanted thoughts. What had he done wrong?

He rose, wrapping himself in a cloak, the tapping of the rain echoing around the room. It felt somehow reassuring, like a ghostly memory from childhood detailing happier, warmer times. His feet softly padded against the cold floor as he made his way from the bedchamber, pausing only to light a torch, the oil making his nose wrinkle, the resultant glow creeping its way around the walls in a slow, shy path.

His eyes paused on her table before he left, a twinge spiking in his heart as he remembered how he had caught a glimpse of her open diary, where he had found the haunting words that were now burned into his memory: At nights, I spend time with my true beloved

He closed the door behind him, the latch catching with a soft click. A flicker of movement stole his gaze, and he frowned, noticing light seeping out from beneath the crack in a nearby room. He found it puzzling - neither of them had ever used that particular room, and it had been reserved as a storage area or a spare whenever they had guests.

His fingers curled into a fist - what if they had intruders? He grit his teeth and cursed himself for being a fool - he had kept no weapons in the house; so engrossed had he been in his newly married life. Closing his eyes, he let out a sharp breath as he considered that it would soon to be his newly separated life.

He gently pushed at the door, and his eyes widened as the scene within revealed itself.

Sitting on a small prayer mat as she made sajdah and ruku, his wife prayed, her eyes closed, a nearby lamp bathing her face in light. His heart caught in his throat, and a chill washed over him as he realised that even without the lamp, his wife's face would still have glowed. Her lips muttered whispered prayers, his presence not even noticed.

Or so he thought.

Turning her head from right to left to end the prayer, her lids opened, and her liquid brown eyes fixed him with an amused stare. A small smile ghosted across her lips.

"But..." he gaped.

"Ssshhh," she breathed. "Don't you see?" Her voice was soft and light. "Had He not loved me more than He loved you, He would not have let me stand here in prayer, while He let you dream your life away in sleep."

Not sure whether she was chiding him or guiding him, all he could blurt out was: "Can I join you?"

Her smile grew wider, and she reached out for the lamp, adjusting its position. As the light spread across the floor like a fire gobbling all in its path, he noticed something that had not caught his attention before. Spread beside her, empty and bare, was another prayer mat.

"But, of course!" she exclaimed, humour tinkling in her voice, honey coating her words. "I've been waiting for you! I've been waiting for you for all this time!"