The Light Of Enlightenment

Chapter 3

It's dedicated to RehabIskander, my very first little sis:) She's one of the people who made my early days in wattpad very much enjoyable and memorable^_^ She's currently busy with her exams. I miss you Rehab! Come back soon>_<

Pulling out her surgical knife, the first thing Wasifa did was carefully cut Katherine's pant legs from knee-down. After she had freed her leg completely, she assessed the wound that was probably caused by the sharp edge of a metal. The cut was deep and it covered the area from her upper calf to almost her feet. She wondered how the woman had survived that long without any kind of medication or medical attention. She greatly admired her endurance power.

She didn't even look more than thirty, Wasifa thought. Proved the point more that some lessons might come from the most unexpected people sometimes. She stopped the blood flow by putting pressure and tying a piece of cloth namely the lower part of her Abaya, in a tight knot above the cut. Then with great care she cleaned the area with an antiseptic, stitched the cut close and then dressed it up.

And all that time Katherine regarded the person with carefully masked wonder. From the moment she looked up to meet the woman's gaze, the sincerity and anxiety she found in her eyes threw her off track for a while. For all the things she expected from her, concern and sympathy weren't in the list. She called her a terrorist for crying out loud! And the kind of terrorists she knew of, didn't possess a heart. And now that she thought about it, she never inter-acted with a Moslem so closely up until now. But nothing could waver her contempt for them, they took away someone so precious from her, that void in her life could never be filled.

Despite all that, she was not an ungrateful person by nature. So she decided she should at least express her gratitude to the woman for saving her life.

After Wasifa finished, she hastily stood up and started collecting her things in order to fulfill the promise she made earlier. "You shouldn't put too much pressure on that, the wound might re-open", she cautioned her. But just as she started to make her way back, the voice of the woman halted her,

"Wait", she said.

"Thank you for saving my life".

Wasifa turned around, quite surprised by the sudden change in behavior. She gave a polite smile and shook her head.

"I don't possess the power to save your life," she added.

"The One that gave you life only holds the power to save it, so thank Him."

It was evident that her statement was not received positively when the woman's face clouded with a feeling that was hard to discern.

"How are you so sure? That there is some greater power?"

Further surprised with the response, Wasifa took a step forward, and with a mysterious smile she added, "Me? I see the evidence everywhere" she stretched both her hands by her side to emphasize. "And if you looked closely enough, it won't escape your sight either."

Katherine scoffed at the statement.

"If there is a Just and Fair Ruler somewhere up there, then why is this world so unfair, you think?"

Wasifa took several steps and stood before Katherine. With the most compassionate and sincere tone, she stated, "God never said that this world is fair. It will always be full of test and trials and hardships but one thing He has promised is that every hardship will be accompanied by relief" ['Verily along with every hardship, there is relief. Surah Inshirah; 94(1-8)]

"You seem to talk from experience" Katherine pointed.

Again with a mysterious smile Wasifa added, "I might."