Her father married her to a beggar because she was born blindand what happened next left everyone speechless.
Zainab had never seen the world with her own eyes, but she felt its cruelty with every breath. Born blind into a family that valued beauty above all else, she was the stain on their flawless imagehidden away, a burden.
Her sisters were admired for their enchanting eyes and graceful figures, while she was treated like a disgracelocked inside, unseen, unheard.
Her mother died when Zainab was five, and from that moment, her father became cold, bitter, and full of resentmentespecially toward her. He never called her by name. To him, she was just “that thing.”
She wasnt allowed at the table, nor in the room when guests came. He believed her blindness was a curse, a sign of misfortune, a divine punishment.
When she turned twenty-one, he made a decision that shattered what little remained of her already broken heart.
One morning, he entered her tiny roomwhere she sat quietly, tracing the raised letters of a Braille bookand placed a folded cloth in her lap.
“Tomorrow, you marry,” he said flatly, no emotion in his voice.
Zainab froze. The words made no sense. *Married? To whom?*
“A beggar from the mosque,” he continued. “You’re blind, he’s poor. A perfect match.”
Her face drained of color.
She wanted to scream, to runbut no sound came out. She had no choice. She never had.
The next day, it was done quicklya rushed ceremony with few witnesses, no joy. She never saw his face, and no one dared describe it to her.
Her father pushed her toward the stranger and told her to take his arm. She obeyed mechanically, a shadow without a soul. The crowd sneered, whispering, “The blind girl and the beggar.”
After the ceremony, her father handed her a small bundle of clothes to the man.
“Now she’s your problem,” he said, walking away without looking back.
The beggarYushaled her silently through the streets. They arrived at a crumbling hut on the village outskirts. The air smelled of damp earth and smoke.
“Its not much,” Yusha said softly. “But here, you’ll be safe.”
Zainab sat on an old mat inside, swallowing her tears. This was her fate nowa blind girl, wed to a beggar, in a hut of clay and despair.
But from the first night, something strange happened.
Yusha made her tea with gentle hands. He gave her his coat when she shivered and slept by the door like a faithful guardian.
He spoke to her with kindness, asking what stories she loved, what dreams she hadthings no one had ever cared to ask.
Days passed. Yusha guided her to the river each morning, describing the sun, the birds, the treespainting them so vividly with his words that she began to “see” through his voice.
He sang while they washed clothes. At night, he told her stories of stars and distant lands. For the first time in years, she laughed.
Her heart softened. And in that humble hut, something unexpected happenedZainab fell in love.
One afternoon, she took his hand and asked, “Were you always a beggar?”
Yusha hesitated. “No,” he finally admitted. “Not always.”
He said no more, and she didnt press.
Until one day.
She went alone to the market, following his careful directions. But halfway there, someone grabbed her arm roughly.
“Blind rat!” Her sister Amina spat the words with disgust. “Still alive? Still playing wife to a beggar?”
Zainabs tears burned, but she held her head high.
“Im happy,” she replied calmly.
Amina laughed cruelly. “You dont even know what he looks like. Hes garbagejust like you.” Then she whispered something that shattered Zainabs heart.
*”Hes no beggar. Youve been lied to.”*
Confused and shaken, Zainab returned home in silence. When Yusha returned that night, she demanded the truth.
“Who are you?”
Kneeling before her, he took her hands and confessed, “I didnt want to lie. Im not a beggar. Im the emirs son.”
The world spun. *A prince in rags.*
“Why?” she whispered.
“Because I wanted someone who saw *me*not my title, not my wealth,” he said. “Just me.”
Her breath caught.
“And now?” she asked.
“Now,” Yusha said, “you come with meto my world, my palace.”
Her heart pounded. “But Im blind. How can I be a princess?”
He smiled. “You already are.”
That night, a royal carriage arrived. The guards bowed as they entered. The queen hesitatedthen embraced her. “Then she is my daughter,” she declared.
The next morning, courtiers whispered as Zainab entered, clinging to Yushas arm. But then he stunned them all.
“I will not be crowned unless my wife is honored here. If she isnt accepted, Ill leave with her.”
The queen rose. “From this day forth, Zainab is a princess of this house. Disrespect her, and you disrespect the throne.”
Silence fell.
Zainabs heart beat not with fearbut with strength. She wasnt a shadow anymore.
She was seen.
Not for her beautybut for the love in her soul.
