Chapter One: The Last Story

In their final year of college, there was a young man named Mohamed and a young woman named Salma.

Mohamed and Salma had known each other since their early years of college. At first, their relationship was completely normal. They were just friends. They talked about their studies, lectures, exams, and the dreams they each had for their lives after graduation.

But with time, things began to change.

Mohamed started to realize that Salma had become more than just a friend to him.

He looked forward to seeing her every day. Whenever she was absent from college, he would find himself wondering where she was and why she hadn't come.

And every time he talked to her, he felt like time passed far too quickly.

One day, during their final year of college, they were sitting away from the other students. Mohamed was unusually quiet.

Salma looked at him and asked:

— What's wrong, Mohamed? Why are you so quiet?

Mohamed took a deep breath.

— Salma... I want to tell you something I've been keeping inside for a long time.

— What is it?

Mohamed looked at her, and it was obvious that he was nervous.

— I... love you.

Salma fell silent.

Mohamed felt as if his heart had stopped.

He waited for her answer, prepared for anything—even the possibility of losing her.

But Salma smiled and said:

— I love you too, Mohamed.

For the first time since he had started speaking, Mohamed smiled.

At that moment, he felt as if the whole world had suddenly become brighter.

And from that day on, their story truly began.

Months passed, and Mohamed and Salma graduated from college.

Unlike many people, Mohamed never saw graduation as the end of their relationship.

Quite the opposite...

He saw it as the beginning of their real life together.

Some time after graduation, Mohamed went to Salma's family home and formally asked for her hand in marriage.

After a period of preparations, they got married.

Years passed, and their life together grew day after day.

Until God blessed them with twin boys.

Aser and Islam.

They were the most precious thing in Mohamed and Salma's lives.

Their home became filled with laughter, voices, and movement. Whenever Mohamed came home from work and saw his children, he would thank God for the life he had.

He thought that this happiness would remain with him forever.

But sometimes, life takes away the person we love most without asking for permission.

One day, Mohamed woke up to the sound of something unusual.

He opened his eyes and looked beside him.

— Salma?

There was no answer.

He got out of bed and hurried outside.

When he entered the living room, he found Salma lying on the floor.

— Salma!

He rushed toward her and picked her up in panic.

— Salma! Answer me!

But she didn't respond.

Mohamed quickly took her to the hospital.

All the way there, he kept trying to convince himself that it was only a fainting spell and that she would be fine.

But as soon as they arrived at the hospital, the doctors took Salma from him and began performing tests and scans.

Mohamed stood outside, not knowing what to do.

Every few moments, he looked toward the examination room.

One minute...

Two...

Ten...

Time seemed to pass painfully slowly.

Finally, the doctor came out.

Mohamed immediately stood up.

— Please, doctor. Tell me what's wrong with my wife.

The doctor remained silent for a moment before answering.

— We need to talk.

Mohamed felt his heart begin to race.

— Go ahead.

— The scans and tests show that your wife has cancer.

Mohamed froze.

— Cancer?

— Yes.

— But... we'll start treatment and she'll get better, right?

The doctor looked at him sadly.

— The problem is that the disease has spread throughout her body.

Mohamed remained silent.

— What do you mean, spread?

The doctor sighed.

— Her condition is very advanced. Unfortunately... she doesn't have much time left.

Mohamed felt as if everything around him had disappeared.

He couldn't hear.

He couldn't understand.

There was only one question running through his mind:

How?

How had his wife been sick without him noticing?

How had she been suffering right in front of him while he knew nothing?

How could someone lose the person they loved in a single moment?

Mohamed entered Salma's room.

She was lying on the bed, looking extremely tired.

He sat beside her and held her hand.

Tears began falling from his eyes without him even realizing it.

— I'm sorry, Salma...

Salma opened her eyes and looked at him.

— Sorry for what?

— For not realizing that you were sick.

— Don't say that.

— I should have known.

— Mohamed...

— Yes?

— Don't blame yourself.

Mohamed shook his head as he cried.

— But you're my wife... How could I not notice?

Salma gave him a weak smile.

— Because there was nothing you could have done.

Mohamed remained silent.

After a while, Salma asked:

— Where are the boys?

— I left them with my mother until you get better.

Salma looked at him and remained silent for a moment.

She knew that she didn't have much time left.

Then she said:

— Mohamed... I know I don't have much time left.

— Don't say that.

— You have to listen to me.

Mohamed held her hand tighter.

— I don't want to hear this.

— You have to.

Mohamed fell silent.

Salma said:

— Promise me you won't blame yourself after I'm gone.

Mohamed's tears grew heavier.

— I don't know how I'll live without you.

— You will.

— How can you say that?

— Because you have Aser and Islam.

Mohamed looked down.

— They need you more than I do.

Salma gently squeezed his hand.

— This is my fate, Mohamed. We all have a fate, and we have to accept it.

Mohamed remained silent.

Then Salma said:

— Get some sleep.

— I'm not leaving you.

— Sleep... I'm right here.

Mohamed stayed beside her, holding her hand.

After a long time, sleep overcame him while he was still sitting beside her bed.

In the morning...

Mohamed woke up to the sound of the heart monitor.

The sound was different.

He immediately stood up and looked at Salma.

— Salma?

There was no answer.

— Salma!

The nurses rushed into the room.

Mohamed moved toward her, but the nurses asked him to leave.

— Wait! What's wrong with her?

They took him outside.

Mohamed stood in front of the door, calling her name.

— Salma!

But there was no answer.

After a while, the doctor came out.

He looked at Mohamed and said:

— I'm sorry for your loss.

Mohamed couldn't feel himself anymore.

It was as if everything around him had stopped.

Salma was gone.

The woman he had loved since college...

The woman he had spent years with...

The mother of his children...

She was gone.

The funeral arrangements and burial passed as if Mohamed were watching someone else's life from far away.

He felt nothing.

He couldn't comprehend what had happened.

All he could think about was that she had been there only two days ago...

And now she was gone.

That night, Mohamed returned home.

The house was exactly the same.

But without Salma...

It felt completely different.

Her voice was gone.

Her laughter was gone.

Even the place where she used to sit now caused him pain.

Aser and Islam came and sat beside their father.

Mohamed looked at them for a long moment.

Then he said:

— Come sit next to me.

They sat down.

Mohamed looked at them and asked:

— Do you want to know about your mother?

They both looked at him with interest.

— Yes.

Mohamed smiled despite the sadness in his eyes.

— Your mother was the most beautiful thing that ever happened to me.

And he began telling them.

He told them how he met Salma in college.

How they had been friends at first.

How he fell in love with her.

He told them about the day he confessed his feelings.

— I was scared to tell her that I loved her.

Aser asked:

— Why?

Mohamed laughed for the first time in a long while.

— I was afraid she wouldn't love me back.

Islam asked:

— And did she?

Mohamed smiled.

— Yes... she told me she loved me too.

He continued telling them about their mother.

About the first time he asked for her hand in marriage.

About their wedding day.

About the first day he found out she was pregnant.

And about the day the two of them were born.

Every story brought another memory of Salma back to him.

The night passed...

And Mohamed was still talking.

Until morning began to approach.

Finally, he said:

— Alright, boys. That's enough for tonight. Go get some sleep.

Islam said:

— But we want to hear more about Mom.

Mohamed smiled sadly.

— I'll tell you more tomorrow.

Aser and Islam went to their room.

Mohamed entered his own room.

He rested his head on the bed and looked toward Salma's picture.

He whispered:

— I miss you, Salma...

Then he closed his eyes.

In the morning...

Aser and Islam woke up.

But their father didn't.

Mohamed was gone too.

Within only a few days, the two boys had lost both of their parents.

They were left alone...

Orphans.

But they weren't truly alone.

They still had their grandmother.

Mohamed's mother.

The woman who had lost her son, but refused to lose her son's children as well.

She hugged Aser and Islam and said:

— Don't be afraid... I'm never going to leave you.

From that day on, a completely new life began.

Aser and Islam moved in with their grandmother.

They grew up believing that they were simply two children who had lost their parents at a young age.

But their grandmother knew something they didn't.

A secret she had kept hidden from them for many years.

Until the day came...

The day Aser and Islam turned eighteen.

The day everything would change.

The day each of them would be faced with...

THE CHOICE

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