Dedicated to @kafilataregbesola
Storms make trees take deeper roots..
~Dolly Parton
Elham's POV
It had been ninety six hours and I could not stop looking at my wrist watch and the door to the room my mother was in. Nobody was allowed to see her, not even family. Not like she had any family apart from me because as far as I was concerned, my father was not one of us. He had learnt about her condition the night it happened and he was still yet to step his feet in this building. I, on the other hand, could not bring myself to do anything. It was a constant cycle of Salaah and sitting down to stare at that door, hoping a nurse would walk up to me and tell me I could go in. "Elham!" Imaan called out, taking a seat beside me. She looked worried-sick. She and her mom had tried so hard to convince me to go home and have some rest but of course I did not succumb to their wishes. I looked at her flatly and mumbled a 'hey'. "How are you coping?" She asked me. "I am doing wonderfully" I responded, sarcastically. "It does not seem so" She said but I simply ignored her. I knew I was being unnecessarily rude to everyone, including Asaad who had tried so hard to cheer me up. He even brought me breakfast, lunch and dinner, knowing fully well I was not going to eat any of it. The only thing I had managed to eat in the past four days was some smoothie, a coke and a sandwich. "Look" She sighed, then continued. "I know I have no idea what you are feeling right now, but I know I am really concerned about you and your health and so has everyone that has come to see you. We both know Ummi would not be happy that you are doing this to yourself" I sighed, knowing she was right, she had a valid point. Realizing that I was buying into what she was saying, she continued speaking.
"I am not saying I expect you to smile to everyone and anything. I'm just saying, you should go home, have some rest, shower and change into clean clothes because you STINK" "hey!" I smacked her arm playfully. "We, both know it's true. Also, you should have a proper meal. I'll have some food arranged for you at home" She winked at that. What was that even supposed to mean?
"My mom and I will be here, I promise to keep you posted okay?" "Okay" I nodded in agreement, with a pressed smile. She was right, there was little or nothing I could do to help Ummi. I could only take care of myself and leave the rest to Allah. I was currently in the car with Iman's older brother, Fareed. I left my best friend and her mom in the hospital as agreed. The smell of fresh air suddenly felt new and refreshing after spending four days taking inhaling the disgusting smell of chemicals. As we reached my house, I thanked Fareed and dropped off. I noticed the front door was unlocked and the lights were on. Did someone break into the house? "Hello?" I shouted, slowly walking in. It suddenly reminded me of horror films where the character would proceed to walk into their house knowing fully well that there was something off. I never understood why they did that but here I was doing the same. As I slowly walked towards the kitchen where I noticed some noise was coming from, the smell of spices hit my nostrils. The burglar must have had some audacity to even cook such an aromatic food!
"Surprise!" A voice said, and I stepped into the kitchen to see a smiling Sufyan. I jumped in excitement. "Sufyan! Oh my goodness it is you!" I shouted in awe. I guessed that was the reason Imaan had winked earlier. "How long have you been here? How long will you be here for? How did you grow so tall , I literally have to look all the way up to see your face! Why did you not tell me you where in town" I was beaming and full of excitement. My eyes could not believe it. That was the first time I was seeing him in years and he looked quite different from the person I saw on those facetimes. "Relax, one question at a time. But firstly, you need to go upstairs and have a nice hot bath. How does that sound?" He smiled. I nodded in agreement and was about to speak again when someone interrupted. "Salaam Elham. I have been waiting for you" It was Aseeyah. She pulled me into a hug. I disliked it, the feeling of people treating me with pity but I knew she had pure intentions so I hugged her back. After that, we headed upstairs were she told me about her new celebrity crush, the new series she was watching and how 'hot' Sufy was. I rolled my eyes.
" Everyone says that, it makes me feel awkward lol" I said. If she liked him, It was a match I was willing to make. They seemed like they would make a great married couple! I excused myself to shower as I noticed her blush. I sat in the bathtub for almost an hour, trying so hard to block any negative thoughts and just relax. I wore a loose nightie and put on my niqab and jilbab since Sufyan was around. He was not my mahram so he was not allowed to see my face as a niqabi. As soon I was done with cleaning up and my night skincare, I joined them downstairs. Aseeyah explained to me that they all decided that she would have to stay at home with me since Iman's house was empty and they could not just let me spend the night alone. Sufy had rented a shortlet apartment but had decided to spend the night in my living room probably to just give me all the emotional support I needed and make sure I did not cry my eyes out throughout the night.
The Biryani Sufy made was lovely, it was the tastiest meal I had in days. We all caught up, Sufy telling us about his life in Pakistan. It made me consider moving there because he was surely having tons of fun. "How are your parents?" I asked him. "They are doing good. They are sending their regards. I think my mom would pay a visit soon, she's just really caught up with work" "Please, she does not need to stress herself. The food is great by the way. You did not tell me you became such a good cook" I stated. "I know right! It is so adorable when men can cook...PROPERLY" Aseeyah chipped in, shoving the rice in her mouth. "Because when Asaad cooks, it is definitely not adorable" She added and we both laughed. "Did I just hear my name" A voice yelled jokingly and soon enough, Asaad surfaced with Yas beside him. She jumped on me, hugging me tightly.
"At least now you do not stink!" she said and I shot her a glare. "Well, nobody has ever called me adorable, so I'll take it" Sufy said to Aseeyah and I noticed her blush. I shook my head in silence. "Hi Sufy" Yas said, serving herself some of the biryani. My gaze turned to Asaad who seemed to have been staring at me.
I mumbled a 'hi' "Omg this is delicious, I will hire you as my personal chef" Yas said to Sufy and they continued chitchatting from there. Asaad signaled me to come with him so I excused myself and followed him. Once we were outside, he shoved his hands into his pockets and took a deep breath. It was quite cold.
"Red looks good on you" he said. I smiled, and then realized he could not see it because my face was covered. "Thank you. And thank you for all the support" I said, looking up at him, observing his side profile. He seemed to be avoiding any eye contact, which I found odd. "I see it took Sufyan's presence to have you eat" I scrunched my eyebrows. "No, not at all. It was Imaan who convinced me actually" I said, causing him to look at me. "Really? Well, I am just glad that you are eating. I was terrified that something was going to happen to you" He walked and stood right in front of me. I noticed the dark circles around his eyes. He was in a black t-shirt, and black sweatpants. His hair seemed to have grown longer than usual and was in a mess. "You do not need to worry about me Asaad, I've told you this, many times! You do not seem too well yourself" And the worse part was that he was not even opening up to me. Did he not trust me? "Elham...Oh hello ASAAD. I don't think we've greeted" Sufyan said, coming from behind me.
"Oh yes, I totally forgot. Asaad, my friend Sufy. Sufy, Asaad" I said. I noticed a wave of emotion flash through Sufy's eyes but I could not place what it was. They exchanged their 'hellos' and an awkward silence befell the atmosphere. "Well don't keep her out too long, It is late and she needs to get some rest" Sufy said in a somewhat angry tone. Asaad smiled amusedly and simply muttered a "sure". "Great!" Sufy exclaimed, and with that, he went back inside. I shook my head in silence, what was that all about? "I should get going, I have a couple of things to handle. I'll see you tomorrow morning?" He said, I gave him a confused look. "I will be here to pick you up for school" He stated. "I can't remember telling you or anyone, that I will be going to SCHOOL tomorrow" I was slightly pissed. How was I supposed to concentrate properly in class with the knowledge that Ummi was fighting for her life? No, I could not. I had to be close to her. "El, You can't keep skipping school. I know it's hard for you right now, but sitting down in the hospital day and night will not help you or your mother. You can't put everything in your life to a halt because of this. You can only pray to Allah and..." I cut him off.
"And what? And continue living life as though nothing happened? Who do you think you are? Giving me advice that I did not sought for?" "El, please calm d.." "I WILL NOT CALM DOWN. My life is falling apart and SCHOOL is the least of my worries right now!" I shouted. "So please, keep your advice to yourself, or maybe you could even use some of it because you look messed up, so maybe you should focus on yourself instead!" I was trembling, furious even. I heard footsteps and instantly knew it was the others coming to check what was wrong. Asaad stood there, his eyes piercing into mine. He looked hurt, I had never seen him like that and it began to scare me. I had gone too far. "What's wrong?" Yasmeen asked. "I will be here tomorrow morning. It's left to you to decide if you're coming to school or not. I can't force you, I am only trying to help" And with that, he walked away.
I turned to see confused faces staring at me, questions filled in their eyes, but I did not want to explain what just happened to anyone. I just needed some time alone, so I ran up to my room and shut the door closed.
