A prostration between two worlds

Noura Ghassab

Prostration in the world of shadows is not as we know it.

For prostration there is not an act of worship, but an ancient covenant, in which the soul is bound to a specific direction of existence. Prostration is a declaration of loyalty and a direction of belonging. In the world of shadows, every being has its own direction of prayer.

Their qibla is not a place, but a deep, dark power; it is the center of balance of that world, and whoever prostrates himself in its direction becomes one of the people of the shadows.

But what Nirvana did broke all the norms.

I prostrated myself in the opposite direction, a direction that no one is allowed to face. That direction was the direction of love, the direction of humanity, the direction of "Iyad".

And that different prostration was a curse.

Prostration in the world of shadows is not forgiven if it is contrary to the direction of prayer (qibla), and whoever does so, his curse follows his blood and is passed on to those who come after him.

And so, “Sajda,” which was born as a result of this break in the balance of the worlds, was the fruit of a wrong prostration—a prostration that was not to the shadows, but to the light.

And so, no one in the world knew her, and no one on either side accepted her. For the curse dwelled on her brow, and light also shone from her.

And in that prostration, the story was born.

A story that will not be forgiven... until balance is restored, and the kiss is known again.