The difference she made!

Shattered and broken

"When your heart is broken, the world seems to be moving on without you."

Khalid's heart hammered against his ribs as he fumbled for his keys. It was the fear of the unknown, of the silence that greeted him as he pushed open the door. He stepped forward cautiously. His eyes scanning the room like a hawk, he called out Fajr's name;

 "Fajr!" His voice emerged as a hoarse rasp, choked by the fear constricting his throat.

He moved deeper into the house, the broken pieces of the glass in the hall got his attention and the fear that had been simmering beneath the surface now boiled over. He rushed to the bedroom then to the kitchen where he found Fajr sitting on the ground. She was hugging her legs into her chest, expelling her despair as if it were the last breath of air in her lungs.

Khalid knelt on one leg in front of her. "Fajr, are you Ok?"

He put his hand on her shoulder, but she moved her body quicker than his move to let his hand fall. He had only a moment to absorb the way she was looking at him, the shock colored her face, the marks that had her tears left on her cheeks. Something was unfathomable.

She stuck out her left arm to seek support against the cabinet and stood up. So did he.

Her anger couldn't be controlled anymore, she turned to face Khalid and yelled; "why didn't you tell me that dad is in hospital? I asked you, you said it was a relative...why didn't you say it was Dad?"

Realizing the reason, Khalid's head bent sorrowfully and he said in an understanding tone; "Please, calm down and let me explain."

His calmness made her lose control, she cut him short; "what? are you asking me to be calm??"

"I was meaning to tell you, Fajr. But.." she didn't let him finish his statement.

"When? In more weeks, months. There... dad is in bed, suffering and you ask me to calm down?! Damn it, Khalid! He is MY father! How dare you hid that from me? how could you look into my eyes while you are lying?" She yielded, clenching her fists.

Khalid raised an eyebrow and gave her a long hard stare; "Fajr, watch your words...and let's..."

He didn't know how those words brought the worst in her and affected her really bad.

She took a few steps forward and snarled, her eyes filling with tears; " Enough! Stop behaving like nothing happened." She faced him, tears were streaming down her face.

"I never thought you can be this cold-blooded,... heartless... emotionless...I hate you for doing this to me, I trusted you but..." Khalid stood frozen as she started hitting his chest with the side of her both grips repeatedly. Khalid was taken aback, he had never seen her in this condition. She looked so helpless, upset, and disappointed. He took a step back, but she moved forward, and kept pounding his chest with her fists in that angry, frustrated way as she spoke. It was rare to see her lose her composure.

Khalid hardly caught her wrists and demanded in a soft tone; "Stop it, Fajr. You will hurt yourself."

Tears kept rolling down her cheeks, Khalid's heart softened further. She struggled to free herself, but he didn't let go until she had no more energy to fight, and no more words to be said. He released her hands and put his arms around her, pressing her to his chest. She began sobbing uncontrollably while Khalid stroked her hair. "Don't do this to yourself, please!"

The word of endearment only made her sobs stronger. Her tears soaked through his white thobe as he soothed her.

"Dad has a cancer... I wasn't even informed!". She mumbled against his chest as she quivered in his arms.