Torches flickered in the windows, ghostly flames that cast watery light. Snowflakes fluttered, spinning on the crest of the wind, before softly landing on the ground. Deep below, beneath the puffy blanket of snow, beneath the ice-cold marble, a soul stirred, sniffling.

Her hair lay wrapped, honeycomb-like, within her tattered scarf, and within her sleep-heavy eyes swam sadness. A clink. A tiny shift of movement. With great effort she raised her head, not letting the pain that shot through her neck bother her.

The night sky was bejewelled with stars. She paused, pondering.

"All I want..." she gasped, gagged, and then fell to her knees. Gritting her teeth, she flung her head back, fire now burning in her eyes. "All I want is to be close to You." She coughed, her throat tightening. "Forgive me. La ilaha illAllah...Glory to You, verily, I was one of the wrongdoers!"

Then the Angel of Death touched her, her wordly body sagged, then crumbled, and her soul flew upwards and onwards to Eternity, wrapped tightly in the love that she had sought all her life, but had never realised, until this very moment, where it was.