Zaid leaned his head against the cool glass. The world outside felt too fast, too loud, and too bright. But this version of the song gave him a place to hide. The lyrics, "Enti malaak, enti hayati" (You are an angel, you are my life), didn't feel like a love song anymore; they felt like a goodbye.
The neon lights of the city blurred into streaks of violet and amber through the rain-slicked window of the taxi. In his ears, the "Slowed + Reverb" remix of began to play, the familiar Arabic melody stretched into a haunting, ethereal hum.
The song faded out, the final echo of the word Malaak hanging in the air for a second too long, leaving him in a silence that felt heavier than before. He reached for the "repeat" button, not ready to step back into the real world just yet.