Emeralds

Thirty-six.

Thirty-six
[Adam]

"We should go to the beach sometime," Ahmed says as we lay on our back on the soccer field. "We haven't been there together in ages."
"Totally true," I say taking a deep breath. The cold air brings tears to my eyes and the dark sky ironically has more gravity than earth that even though I'm lying on the ground I can almost feel my body being absorbed by the hollow darkness ahead. "Let's do it next weekend if I don't have to work."
"Deal," he says and we stay in our favourite world for a long while. Completely silent. Listening to the old memories our minds are reminiscing, the plans we can't stop making, and the daily routines and tasks we can't get off our minds.

A person always needs his/her best friend; even to just sit silently together, and think. Like their existence and closeness gives you the courage to think freely and be innovative.

My phone vibrates on the ground next to me and I pick it up and answer.
"Wa'likom Asslam, Adam, it's me Salam."
"Oh, how is everything Salam?"
"Alhamdulillah," she says in a worried tone. "By any chance are you home with Leen?"
"No, I was playing soccer with Ahmed and she called a while ago saying she'll hang out with you," I say sitting up and my heartbeats have already gone crazy. "Why? Didn't she come yet?"
"No she didn't," she says like she's about to cry. "She called at eight and was supposed to be here at 8:30 at most, it's 9:00 now and she doesn't answer her phone."
"I'm going home right now," I say jumping from my seat. "I'll tell you when I find her."
"Okay," she says brokenly. "Please hurry."

"What's wrong?" asks Ahmed who's on his feet now as well.
"Leen said she'll hang out with Salam," I say moving around quickly collecting my things and looking for the keys. "She was supposed to get there thirty minutes ago and she doesn't even pick up." His face falls.
"What are you looking for?" he asks as I'm still roaming around myself.
"I don't know where the heck I put my keys!"
"Leave everything right now and I'll drive you," he says pulling me by the arm.

We reach home at 9:15, and as I'm about to unlock the door my phone rings. I take it out of my pocket.
"Hello, is this Mr. Adam?" A female voice speaks.
"Yes," I reply with a barely audible voice. I'm afraid I know what this means.
"Are you related to Mrs. Leen Aly?" she asks and I find myself running to the car again. "Yes, I'm her husband," I reply, nudging Ahmed to start the car.
"Your wife was in car accident and has been transferred here. . ."
***
I run through the ER door barely making out anything at all. If Ahmed wasn't with me I wouldn't have known how to reach Leen, or how to think for the matter, with all the chaos in my head.
I drop on a chair by her bed and look at her sleeping, her head is wrapped in bandages and her arm is broken. I reach out a trembling hand to touch her arm. Tears form in my eyes and quickly slide down my face.
"Leen," I call weakly. "Leen can you hear me?" Ahmed tightens his hand around my shoulder reassuringly.

The doctor approaches holding a pad and a pen.
"Are you her husband?" he asks.
"Yes," I manage to say without crying. "How is she?"
"She was in great pain when she arrived so we gave her some pain relievers and sedatives," he reports. "She has a broken arm, and her head is greatly injured, but we have to wait till she wakes up to do further tests and to be sure of her injuries exactly."
"What do you mean exactly?" I ask suspiciously.
"Head injuries have a lot of consequences and sometimes we have to wait till the patient is conscious to know if there's something we can't see."
"When will she wake up?" I ask.
"In a few hours," he says hanging the pad on her bed. "Call any of the nurses when she wakes up or when you notice she's in pain."
"Okay," I say sitting down next to her bed again.
"We have to call her parents," says Ahmed.
"Yes, I almost forgot that Salam told me to call her back too. But I don't know how to tell them this, it'll be a shock."
"But they're her family," Ahmed says. "They have to know."
"I know!" I say not being able to hold back my anger or emotions anymore.
"I'll call them," Ahmed says.