Chapter 23

The ride to the hospital was more terrifying than the gunshot; with every bump that the ambulance made, his anxiety peaked higher. Seeing Nadia strapped in to the stretcher he knew it was just the beginning. The paramedics said that If he didn't call the time he did, she could've died. He knew they were trying to help, but their words just bounced right off him. He didn't care how they saved her, all he cared about was if she was going to be okay.

After getting out of the ambulance and sitting in the waiting room, he was near dying. The clacking of the keys coming from the receptionist and the constant boring commercials from the TV was driving him insane. He wanted to know what was going on with his girlfriend right then, not ten minutes, two hours or forty years later; He wanted to know before his brain shuts down. 

"You bastard! What did you do to my daughter!" Mammy interrupted his thoughts. She grabbed him by his neck but her sister stopped her. "Adda, calm down!" She said pulling Mammy away. 

Mujahid calmy spoke, "you should ask your idiot bodyguard why he tried to kill me!" 

Mammy tried to attack him again but her sister stopped her again. "Haba Adda Zainab! What's the meaning of this? We're in a hospital for crying out loud." She breathed in and out, rapidly and hissed before settling down. 

After an endless session of pacing the cold marble tiles, he managed to sit himself down on one of the monotonously grey waiting chairs pedantically aligned along the bare white walls of the corridor. A bulb hanging from the ceiling bathed the windowless corridor with ivory yellow light. Sitting on the edge of the chair, he placed his hands on his knees with the intention to stop them from bouncing every five seconds. His eyes fell on the discoloring, sand colored water dispenser placed in the corner of the corridor, next to an artificial plant full of faux, olive green leaves. He was extremely parched after refusing to eat or drink any edible substance for the past three hours. He walked over to the water fountain and picked up a worn out disposable cup to which he mixed hot and cold water in order to drink. He quickly gulped down the water, producing a sound similar to that made by the water dispenser itself, and licked his dry lips. He crushed the frail plastic cup in his hand and threw it in the bin. He walked back over to his seat and sat down, yet again, on the edge of the chair and resumed his tiresome wait for the steel handle of the interview room's door to open. 

Every movement he made, Mammy glared at him and deep down inside her heart she felt remorseful for what she did. If she had accepted him all of that wouldn't have happened. She was dead scared to lose her only daughter that she loved so much. 

The door to the emergency room got opened before Nadia got wheeled away to another room. The doctor took of his surgical hand gloves and face mask off. He sighed tirelessly and asked them to meet him in his office. 

Mammy sat opposite Mujahid as they impatiently waited to hear what the doctor has to say. He looked at Mujahid with a serious face. "You're her husband?" He asked. "Yes, can you please tell me if she's going to be okay?" He quickly replied. He could feel her mother sending daggers his way. 

"Uhh yes! She got shot in her shoulder which injured her pretty bad and she lost a lot of blood. But luckily, we were able to pull out the bullet before it did more harm to her. She will be okay by God grace."

The tension that had kept him tensed for 3 hours straight melted into nothing. "Can we see her now doctor?" Mammy asked impatient. He nodded, "yes you can. But she still is asleep. I will ask one of the nurses to take you there." He said, picking up the intercom. 

The nurse soon came in and took them to Nadia's room. When Mammy noticed Mujahid was still there. She turned and snapped. "What are you still doing here? What do you want from my daughter? Haven't you caused enough trouble?" 

He looked at her with no face expression. "Please, you should understand by now that I'm so much in love with your daughter and I'm willing to spend the rest of my life with her. Please," he pleaded with her. 

The room was silent with no noise coming from any angle. She gave him a stern look, "get out! Leave, now!" She spoke almost yelling. He sighed helplessly and walked out of the room. He actually thought she would show a little bit mercy because of her daughter's condition but she did otherwise.

When mammy's younger sister saw him. She quickly went after him. "Mujahid right?" He stopped and looked at her. She looked so much like Nadia. Like she is the woman that gave birth to her not Mammy. He smiled and nodded. She seemed nice. 

"I'm deeply sorry for what my sister did to you. She's very over protective when it comes to her children especially Nadia. How is she?" She spoke politely. "It's okay. And Nadia will be fine." He replied and directed her to where the room is because he wanted to leave the place before his emotions got the best of him. 

She thanked him and walked away. She entered the room and met Nadia's mother beside her. She found a sit and settled down before she started talking. "Adda," she started. "I don't know what this boy did to you. He seems like a nice person and he's clearly in love with Nadia...."

"Samira, I don't want to talk about that boy! He caused all of this! If he stayed away, my daughter wouldn't be here fighting for her life." Samira knew her elder sister pretty much. She didn't utter another word again. If she doesn't listen to her, she would listen to someone they all were scared of! 

Later in the night, Nadia slowly opened her eyes. That time Samira had left to cook for them while Mammy had gone to get her drugs the doctor prescribed. Slowly She tried to get up but quickly realized how futile it was when she had to bite her lip to keep from crying out. Sharp pain lanced through her shoulder and colorful spots flashed in front of her eyes, it felt like her whole body had been beaten and every movement caused some muscle or bone to ache. She let out lose of the tears and grimaced in pain. She wondered why she was alone. Where's Mujahid? Where's her mother? What happened? 

Before she attempted to get up again, Mammy came in and hurriedly went to her. "No, Nadia. Where are you going to? Lie down now. You need more rest. The doctor will be on his way now." She pressed a button to get the nurses attention. Soon a nurse came in with the doctor. They did what they're supposed to do and gave her a pain reliever injection. 

With heavy eyes, she looked at her mother's worried face. "Mammy, I'm sorry I disobeyed you!" She said with weak voice. "Shh Nadia. It's okay. You did nothing. Stop talking now and have more rest. Or do you want to eat? Your aunt went to bring some food for you." 

Nadia smiles and nodded. She was surprised by how her mother turned from her enemy to a caring and loving person. She badly wanted to ask about Mujahid but she didn't want to ruin the special moment they're sharing that moment. 

Nadia was in so much pain that her complexion is ashen. Her natural golden skin has sunken in tone to something so lifeless it scares her mother just to look at her. Her eyes closed and she sucks herself into a deeper place to cope. All Mammy could do was stroke her silky, soft hair and hold her hand. It barely seems enough, yet her heart rate comes down almost twenty beats per minute. From time to time her eyes drop to the bedsheets, but mostly they are fixed on Nadia’s face in a soft stare so that whenever she opens her eyes Mammy would be  the first thing she sees. 

“You should not bother yourself too much about some ordinary boy,” Mammy spoke after a while. Nadia’s eyes were closed. She smiled a bit, “Mammy, Mujahid is not some ordinary boy. You prefer I marry a rich person that won’t have my time or maybe he goes to club or he’s a womanizer? Mammy, Mujahid is more than what you think. He comes from a rich family too... I... don’t know why you still don’t like him.” She opened her eyes to see Mammy frowning at her. 

“If that’s it! You leave me with no choice but to find a husband for you instead! I can’t deal with this! Just in two days you’ve caused much trouble for me.” 

“Whatever happened, you caused it Mammy. Because of what you did, look at me. Look at where I am!” Nadia sighed helplessly and looked away. Mammy let go of her hand and settled down. 

Before any more argument, Samira came back with a basket of food. She looked at the both of them. She knew something definitely went wrong. She didn’t want to take the matters to the elders but she had to help her niece.

••

He loves the beach because he can walk for miles. There is nowhere else he could go for so long without crossing a man made structure, unless you count the beach-breaks and he doesn’t. They are wooden and covered in barnacles, that's as good as nature to him. Plus he loves to hop down them from the high side to the low and scramble back up on his return. He drinks in the sound of the gulls, crying for their suppers and watch the sun sink it the ocean.

“Hey, Salamu Alaikum.” A Middle aged beautiful lady walked beside him. “Wa’alaikumus Salam,” he replied glancing at her and looked away. “I’m guessing you don’t recognize me,” she said and chuckled. He looked at her for brief seconds and looked away, trying to remember where he knew her.

They both faced the ocean, enjoying the sight of the half sun slowly setting. “Pilot school? Kingston University London? Remember?” She spoke looking at him. “Oh... wait! Habiba? Right?” He asked not sure of what he said. Her heart thumped so hard that she swore it was audible, their eyes had met and he smiled. It was only a small smile, but it was enough to make her go weak at the knees. She slowly nodded feeling pleased that he remembered her. 

Mahmud had been her crush since their first day at the university. He has been kind to her. He was her only male friend back then but when they graduated, they parted ways because habiba lived in London with her family. 

She fiddled with her abaya getting more nervous the more he looked at her. Seeing him made her heart twirl. Hearing his voice made her stomach flutter. She couldn’t help but feel that way about him. His eyes, those deep amber eyes that could tell a whole story just by looking at them. And the way he moves. He trots along, effortlessly looking handsome. She stopped to look at him again and admire his perfection as she knew that's as far as she could ever get. She imagined his hands brushing against her hand as they walk down the beach and everyone's eyes fixed on them. 

“How have you been? Long time.” He interrupted her daydreaming. “I... I’m fine. It’s been like six years?” She asked not sure. He laughed a bit, “yes six years.” 

“You’ve changed. A lot,” he examined her whole figure. She laughed and bit and looked away. “How’s work? And everything?” She asked. He nodded still smiling. “Everything is great Alhamdulillah.” 

They looked at the ocean, both in deep thoughts. She knew if she doesn’t tell him what has been in her heart, she would lose her mind. It has been 6 years but now that she had seen him again, all the love she had for him came rushing back. She faced him and sighed. 

“Listen, Mahmud. The time I last saw you, surrounded by others - I wanted to take you by the hand and lead you away. I wanted to walk with you, talk with you. Youve been my friend, a kindred spirit, but the opposite gender. I don't want to steal you, cheat or lie - just to be able to tell you that I love you. That day, that breezy day, I let your voice soak in, your words, the way your eyes meet mine and don't turn away. I almost drown in your smile. Sometimes the very medicine we seek in life is always out of reach, as are you. I wish you had been my husband, then who would ask questions? Who would mind if we spent time together? Why is love treated in this dichotomous way? Do you love this person or that one? What if it isn't "or" but "and"? Don't other languages, such as Greek, have many words for love to define which type? Why are we stuck with only one? With you it isn't "eros," I have a lover, so maybe it's "philia," or "ludus"? All I know for sure is that it qualifies as "pragma" because this has been going on too long to be anything else. All I’m saying is that..... I’ve been in love with you for the past years.”