Scarred For Life

Chapter 67

*

The sun shone lazily in the painfully blue sky as the white sedan weaved through the highway traffic, darting this way and that. Inside, Adnan held the steering wheel tightly, his eyes fixed straight ahead. Beside him, Afrah sat with her hands on her lap, also staring straight ahead.

They'd been driving for miles. Though the scenery was beautiful, Afrah hardly looked at anything other than the road. For Adnan however, he couldn't care less about the trees and the mountain ranges far off into the distance. He'd travelled along this same road hundreds of times already. He knew it like the back of his hand.

Though he made no indication that he was even paying attention, his eyes continuously darted towards the woman sitting beside him. Clad in a plain white shirt with lace trimmings down the front, a pair of black leggings and a floppy straw hat, she was the perfect picture of an exotic tourist, especially with his camera placed on her lap. Every now and then, Afrah would pick it up and snap away at the landscape.

For the most part however, they sat in silence. The only sound between them was the low humming of the air conditioning; it was a hot summer day after all.

"I think we should go back to Nigeria after this," Afrah said, keeping her voice low. Adnan floored the throttle as a minivan slowed down ahead of them, swerving out of the way at the last moment. He smiled to himself, easing off the throttle slightly. A quick glance at the gauge cluster showed that he was traveling at 140mph.

"Adnan, did you hear what I said?" Afrah asked, turning to look at him.

"I did," he replied. "I just don't see why you would suggest that."

"Don't you want to go and offer your respects?" she asked. "It'll be the right thing to do."

He floored the throttle once again, overtaking an old station wagon, a large bus, three sedans and an old lorry. An exuberant smile lit up his face, very pleased with what he'd just accomplished.

"I'm thinking about it," he said. "But we have other places we need to go to first. We shouldn't cut our honeymoon short."

"There will be time for that in the future," she said. "We can always go another time."

"You say that like you're certain of the future," he chuckled. "Our lives don't belong to us, remember?"

"Adnan, even if you end dying before that happens, I promise to visit the rest of the places we have planned out, in honor of your memory."

"Thanks," he muttered. "That makes me feel so relaxed."

Just then, the car was filled with the sound of a phone ringing. Adnan glanced at the caller ID on the infotainment screen, groaning audibly. Afrah however, clutched the camera tightly as her heart rate shot through the roof at the sight of the name.

"Hello?" Adnan said, pressing a button on the steering wheel.

"Where are you?" Her father in-law's voice sounded cool and detached even over the phone.

"I'm driving," Adnan replied, frowning at the road. "You're on speaker, and Afrah is also in the car."

There was a moment's pause before he spoke again. And when he did, his voice sounded entirely different.

"Afrah?" he said, unable to hide the amusement in his voice. "How are you? I haven't heard from you since the wedding. That's certainly not the way a daughter-in-law should behave."

Adnan turned to glance at her out of the corner of his eye, noticing how deathly pale she'd become. She wasn't looking at him. Instead, her eyes were focused on the road ahead. He noticed, however, how her shoulders heaved with each breath. She was trying to stay calm, he realized. But the terror in her eyes was too visible and her demeanor was far from normal.