Her Boyfriend, My Husband

CHAPTER 28

Maryam's POV

The bright lights hurt my eyes when they slowly started to flutter open. A headache raked up into my brain and I realised that it wasn't only because of the lights, it was because of this bandage wrapped around my head. I started to panic from the pain and the confusion of not knowing where I was. I wanted to scream out and call for Baba to come save me. He had been with me just now but then I wake up to find myself alone?

I struggle to lift up my head but my twelve year old body was too weak to carry such a load and I had no choice but to stay completely still on what I now realise was a hospital bed. The lights still hurt my eyes and my head still felt like it was going to fall right off my body. I was scared out of my mind and it was finally then that I managed to shout.

"Baba! Help!" I wailed, "Baba! Where are you!?"

Then suddenly, the door burst open but to my utter dismay, it wasn't my father coming to save me. It was a doctor and two nurses behind him. Their white faces masked with pity and grief as they looked down at me and I became even more confused and panicked.

"My daddy, where's he? And my mommy too. We... were in a taxi going home, please Mister... ring them and tell them that I'm in the hospital. They... they must be looking for me." I pleaded desperately concluding that I had somehow fell out of the taxi and gotten lost.

Baba has always told me to ring back home immediately I was lost and that was why he made me memorise both his and Mama's number.

"I... I can give you their phone number, please just... give them a ring and tell my daddy that... Maryam is lost and wants him to come get her."

The doctor should bring out his phone and hand it to me and ask me to punch in the number but he didn't. Why wouldn't he just call Baba? I was starting to be angry and the tears were already trickling down my face. I was even more scared when the doctor's blue eyes scanned over me as if in remorse of what he's about to say.

"Sweetheart, you are in Heritage London Hospital, you are not lost. You were in an accident." he said and I instantly covered my mouth to suppres the cry that left me.

No no no, the taxi was supposed to take us home not bring us to the hospital. Mama said that when you drive cautiously, obeying all the rules then you wouldn't get in an accident and that nice Pakistani taxi man was obeying all the rules. He didn't speed and he didn't beat the traffic lights so how was it possible for us to be in an accident?

"Calm down darling, and just try to relax OK? You're safe here it will all be alr---"

"No!" I screamed so loud that my throat felt like it was on fire. "Where's my daddy!? Baba! Help! Baba!"

Instead of answering me, this mean doctor exchanged looks with the nurses and from their expressions, I knew something was wrong. Mama always said that children don't understand things properly and I shouldn't interfere when adults were talking but this time, even I understood clearly that something was wrong.

"Please... sir my daddy and mommy... I want my daddy... I want my mommy... where are they?" I hiccuped and held my breath.

"Sweetie, you're the only survivor. Your parents, they died."

Just like a jolt of lightning, that memory flashed in my mind and was gone in less than a second. It was so vivid that I could even sense the smell of hospital disinfect and I could feel the starchy sheets beneath me. And as I slumped down against the wall, I could feel that same pain and agony and sorrow tearing my heart into shreds all over again. But this time it was because I it had happened again, I lost someone I loved, Kaka was gone just like my parents were all those years ago.