Mehrem

34

Illiyeen

After a few hours, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to Umair, who struggled to place the blanket on my shoulders.

"How are you feeling?"

"Much Better. Where is everyone?" Umair replied in a hazy voice.

"They went back. Ahsan Bhai was here, but I don't know where he is now." I said and helped him sit up. "You seem to love hospitals too much. You are here every chance you get." I snickered and sniffed.

Umair was confused. Of course, he was. " What?"

Illiyeen, what are you doing? Stupid. Wait for him to heal; he just survived an accident.

I shook my head. "Nothing. I'll call someone to check on you."

"I'm sorry." His voice brought me back to reality.

"You should be." I spat back.

"Well, you should apologize as well, " he said, and I furrowed my brows. I don't remember anything I should be apologizing for.

"For what?"

"For not letting me drop you off and come home early. If you did, then nothing would have happened."

I folded my arms and stared at him.

"I am not going to apologize at all. You are the one at fault here. Also, if you had not been speeding, you would be anywhere but in this hospital room. You were not waking up. Jiju said you lost a lot of blood. I waited for, I don't know how many hours, and you think it's fine to joke around." I yelled.

I looked at Umair with teary eyes and sat beside him on the bed. Trying to sit up, Umair moved closer and wiped my tears. He kissed my forehead and whispered something, which made me tear up more.

"I'm sorry, my angry bird."

"Umair! Stop making fun of me."

He laughed, "I am not. You are sulking like a baby. But an angry bird is your new nickname. I am not backing off this time."

I playfully hit his chest, and he winced in pain. "Sorry. Actually, no, sorry, you deserve it. Next time, don't you dare work overtime. I will personally manage your schedule."

He nodded and said, "You can do anything to me, but first let me heal."

I nodded. Suddenly, the door opened. Ahsan Bhai walked in and looked at Umair. He sighed and moved closer.

"You motherfucker." Bhai muttered and lightly hit Umair's chest. He laughed in return. 

"The police are here to question." Ahsan Bhai said, and I quickly put my dupatta on my head.

"Mr. Umair Ansari, how are feeling?" A man in his late fifties asked, " Can he not see? Umair was lying like a living corpse. "I am better," Umair replied with a smile. " Jhoota.

"We want to question you about the accident. Are you ready?" Another young man asked.

Was it not like a typical accident? I thought. Umair started narrating what had happened,

"I was driving. But suddenly there were two cars parked in the middle of the road. I stopped, but my door opened before I could grasp the situation, and they threw me on the road. They hit something on my head, making me close my eyes. The next I knew, they stabbed me multiple times. There were quite a few people. Their faces were covered with masks."

My hands started to tremble; someone tried to kill Umair. But Chacho was in prison; who else? His minions? Why can't we have a typical accident, nothing related to Chacho? I thought and then mentally rolled my eyes at myself. I should not wish for even a specific accident.