Day 20 – As If Facing the Qibla
Zeynep’s heart fluttered in her chest like a trapped bird. The water had receded to her knees, but her soul still felt submerged in the deep. Yusuf’s voice echoed off the cistern walls, but there was something else within that call now—something like a warning.
“Zeynep! Come back!” Yusuf had said. “Something is coming!”
But Zeynep didn’t turn back.
She stood still, as if facing the qibla; standing at the mouth of the passage, trying to hold herself steady despite the tremor inside her. A brief moment of fear made her knees shake, but then she slowly bowed her head and prayed from her heart:
“My Lord... if this path is Yours, protect me. But if it is not, pull me away…”
At that moment, the zikr behind the wall became clear. “Lâ hawla wa lâ quwwata illâ billâh” echoed off the stones. When Zeynep heard that powerful phrase—one her mother always said during hardships—she closed her eyes.
She took a step.
As she entered the passage, she was met by an intoxication of liquid light surrounding her body. The stones beneath her feet felt alive. With each step, echoes from the past rang out. Her father’s laughter mixed with prayer, her mother’s sobs mingled with affection... Verses whispered into her ears when she cried at night as a child...
Suddenly, a scene opened before her.
It was as if time had shattered, and Zeynep had fallen into a moment from the past. A little girl was holding a glass stone in her palms. Her mother bent beside her, whispering something softly:
> “This stone is like your heart. If you keep it clear, the light of your Lord will pass through it. But if anger, fear, or pride enter, it will darken. And the light will vanish.”
Zeynep realized the child was her younger self. A memory she didn’t even remember.
Just then, there was a movement at the other end of the passage. Yusuf shouted in near panic:
“Zeynep! Get out of there! The walls are closing!”
But Zeynep now understood: she hadn’t come here by chance… The secret her mother once hid would bring her not only closer to her mother but to herself as well.
She reached out and touched the curled stones on the wall, which looked like an ancient map. A phrase appeared by itself:
> “He who knows himself, knows his Lord.”
Then the stones began to tremble.
The passage started to close.
Zeynep hesitated for a moment. Should she leave? Or stay and follow the trace of the truth?
Between two worlds—
One moment...
And then—
To be continued…
FOLLOW – COMMENT – SHARE – LIKE – TIP – SUBSCRIBE