Sayida glared at her friend whom she had been searching for hours now. As usual, this friend of hers was stuck in the children's ward of the hospital they both work in. She's not even a pediatrician, to begin with. However, she maintained a cordial relationship with almost every kid that gets treated in that ward. Of course, she uses her ' I'm a doctor' card to get into the place. Her fair cheeks were stained with a lipstick mark. Beside her was a girl of about five years, who was busily applying lipstick on her pouted lips.
God! Khayra and children. Just like them, she was bubbly and excited.
Sayida rolled her eyes at Khayra when she laughed at something one of the children had whispered into her ear. In her hand, she held several cards made from origami paper. If she doesn't stop cackling like a witch in front of the children, she'll get kicked out of the ward in no time__ for the umpteenth time.
The smile on Khayra's face drained as soon as her eyes met Sayida's. Judging from the way Sayida was glaring at her, she could only conclude that she was done for. Sayida who had been leaning against the door frame of the ward, straightened her posture and started to walk down the corridor.
" God! I'm dead."
Khayra said her quick goodbyes to the kids, not knowing that it would be her last. If she had any idea of what was about to unfold, she would have parted with a proper goodbye. She quickly darted after Sayida.
" Baby, you know I love you." She pointed out, her jogs gradually turning into long strides, after catching up with Sayida. Her friend's long legs were the problem.
" Abeg, don't even start." Sayida stopped in her tracks and turned to Khayra. She didn't know how her enraged expressions softened, but she found herself reciprocating Khayra's cute grin. She couldn't stay angry at her for long. " Where have you been? You know we have to start getting ready for your wedding. It's getting late already."
" I just got out of the OR with Dr. Aliyu, and I decided to pass by the children's ward." Khayra pouted and threw her free hand around Sayida's shoulder. " Let's go now, baby."
" Eh na. Let's go."
They then picked up their steps and headed towards the car park.
" You have my diary, koh?" Khayra asked.
" Yes please, Princess Diana. And I'm yet to read it."
" If you read it, I'll show you the Jeffrey Dahmer side of me." Khayra had always been so protective of that diary of hers.
Sayida's laughter echoed within the hospital's parking lot." Come and kill me."
Laughing off the joke, they both got into Khayra's car and drove off to her house, where they would be sorting things out for her upcoming wedding. Throughout the drive, Khayra succeeded in making her single friend get hit by a spell of loneliness as she spoke to Zayn on the phone. Sayida rolled her eyes at Khayra who was still engrossed in the call she was making. They had reached their destination for God's sake.
" I'm going to find myself something to eat." Sayida closed the main gate of Khayra's two-bedroom bungalow, leaving them in the confines of the house. " Come inside when you are done with your cin soyayya." She walked past Khayra and then into the bungalow. Khayra ran behind her friend after hanging up the call. She's dead meat.
After getting off the call with Zayn, not knowing it would be her last, she and Sayida immediately began to sort out her clothes for the various occasions as part of the wedding. Normally, she was supposed to be doing all of this with her family, to conform to the wedding rituals of her Palestinian background, but they wanted nothing to do with her. Looking at her, one would think that she's got no problems in life. Like, she's getting married to the Sultan's son. On the brighter side, she's found herself a good friend, an amazing spouse, and a beautiful family. That was enough for her.
They quickly wrapped up with whatever they were doing, rest assured that they had fully prepared themselves for the wedding. Sayida sought to catch some sleep while Khayra stayed up to prepare dinner for them.
If someone had told Sayida that she would wake up to the detestable sight in front of her, she would have gladly sponsored the person's rehabilitation expenses. It wasn't a sight to behold at all. Not to talk about all that she had heard before being cursed with that sight. She had warned Khayra countless times about that Sa'eed guy. With his cursed mouth, he had blurted out that he raped her at any chance he got, and threatened to destroy Zayn if she lets his actions out to anyone, with what he had done to Zayn at the military camp as a vivid example of what he was capable of. Both Khayra and Sayida were the ones who treated Zayn after that episode. That would be enough to blackmail her. Sa'eed is not human. No, he can't be one. He's a monster in human skin.
She crouched low to pick up a paper that was right beside her feet. It was a suicide note written in Khayra's handwriting. There were smudges at the end of some sentences and a few wet patches too.
She didn't know when salty tears started to cascade down her face. She did nothing to stop them. She wondered how Khayra was able to go through all of that alone.
Forget about Sayida. Khayra was a whole mess. Her back was against one of the walls of her hall, as Sa'eed's disgraceful figure towered over hers. One of his hands cupped her breast and would squeeze it yet again at any given time. The other hand harshly tugged her slender waist, pinning her body to his. Her entire face was flushed from crying and her nose was tinted with a shade of red. She had pleaded enough, he didn't deserve her pleas in the first place. He deserved to die, and she had every single right to be the one to kill him. She had every single right. In her hand, was a scalpel which she placed at his neck. A scalpel that was gifted to her by Zayn, after she had treated him.
She made sure to target a vein, with which she could finish him with one swipe. She was a doctor for a reason. However, she couldn't bring herself to do it. His eyes held a threatening look she wouldn't dare to go against. Sa'eed let out a humourless chuckle when he felt a lone drop of blood trickle down his neck. Was that all she could do? His gaze drifted to Sayida, who gasped as soon as her gaze met his. He was well aware of the fact that she had been standing there for a while and must have heard all that they had said, including his confession.
He suddenly winced when he felt the scalpel pierce a little further into his skin, and turned to Khayra.
" Don't do anything to her please," Khayra begged. More tears were streaming down her face." She won't tell anyone what she saw. I won't too."
" I can't make any promises." Much to her dismay, he kissed her tears away. At least it was better than shoving his member in and out of her.
He winced again when the sting at his neck aggravated. " You're hurting me, Khayra." He complained.
" You've done worse, Sa'eed!" She retorted." What did I ever do to you?" She asked again for the umpteenth time.
She won't give him another chance to repeat his inhumane actions. She was just about to swipe the scalpel across his neck when he caught hold of the wrist of the hand she had the scalpel in.
He must have had a hunch of what she was about to do. With that, he caught hold of her other wrist and swiped the scalpel across it like it was a piece of paper.
Khayra's eyes widened as she fell on the floor, fighting for her life. Did Sa'eed let her use her skills as a doctor to save herself? No. He made sure to see her entire life drain out of her before he let go of her.
"Inna lillahi wa inna illahi raaji'oon." He feigned agony.
" You are a monster!" Sayida screamed at him. However, she saw smart enough not to step an inch towards him, lest she meets the same date as her friend.
" You can tell me that after I'm done dealing with you." Saying that, he sprinted toward her, and she knew better than to stand there like a wawa tree__ note the double reference. It was a chase of survival. He never stopped chasing after even when she dashed out of the house through the back door. She had never run faster. In the haze of the moment, she was drained of her senses after being hit by a truck. Surviving that accident was a miracle of a lifetime. Sa'eed had left her to her fate, thinking she was dead. Miraculously, as she prefered to put it, she was found by a family friend and admitted to a hospital. She had been in a coma for eleven months, with the incident being a little over a year.
Sayida deemed it right to meet Zayn as soon as she was fit enough to. It was quite surprising to find out that Zayn had gotten married to someone else.
Sa'eed thought all his atrocities died with Sayida and got buried with Khayra. He had lied to himself. A big-time lie. Nothing is truly hidden under the sun. Everything is coming right back at him, with a force that will blow him away__ an unanticipated fall.
" Inna lillahi wa inna lillahi raaji'oon!" Zayn lamented for the umpteenth time, in less than a day. There has been a lot to take in.
Slowly, he slumped back into the chair he had been sitting on, his hands automatically moving to his temples to massage away the slight headache that was brewing in his head. His gaze moved back to Sayida who was nothing short of a crying mess. Her eyes were set on her fingers that fiddled with the laced seams of her dress.
She could feel eyes on her, beckoning her, but she wasn't down to meet their gazes. She just couldn't.
For a while, the lounge was engulfed in utter silence. Fareed__who knew little about Khayra, Emraan, Eskander, and Mariya__ everyone was silenced by Sa'eed's outrageous acts. Zayn and Haseeb were the most affected. All of them were too taken aback to bring themselves to utter a word, come to talk of Sayida who had to witness the traumatizing aight.
The two attorneys in the room deemed it a chance to set things right.
" Sayida,"
She found herself looking up at Mariya, who had called her. She wouldn't dare miss that soothing voice.
Steadily, Mariya put forward her request to Sayida, after carefully weighing the odds. A request that would benefit every one of them.
"Are you willing to testify all that you just recounted to us in court?"
About half a minute later, Mariya's shoulders slumped in defeat at Sayida's reaction to her question. She didn't like the fear and confusion that washed over the woman's features. It only denoted a negative answer to her question. She couldn't blame the woman, considering the fact that she had been through the same phase with Zayn after Hassan had almost stripped her of her honour.
She shared a glance with Zayn. He knew exactly what she was thinking about, so he offered her a reassuring smile__ one that calmed her nerves.
" Let me handle this." Emraan stepped forward, closer to where Sayida was seated. " Sayida, if there's anything good at all you can do in your friend's memory, then it's going to be joining us to stand against that pathetic excuse of a man. Listen, with your testification, we can keep him behind bars for as long as possible. You have to do this with us. Your security is rest assured because he's in police custody. There's nothing to worry about."
The lounge was cast in a spell of silence once again as Sayida weighed the odds, contemplating whether to embark on the cause at hand.
Come to think of it, she had no reason to refuse. Sa'eed had to be punished for what he did to her best friend. If her effort was all it took to make such a thing come to pass, then why not? She stopped fiddling with the seams of her dress and raised her head to meet six pairs of eyes staring at her. The suspense she was putting them through was painstakingly excruciating. Hope gleamed in their eyes and she didn't have any intention of dousing that kindled hope.
" I'm willing to testify against him. I'll do all it takes." She finally broke the excruciating silence with her answer. One that they had been yearning to hear.
" Thank you," Mariya muttered, sighing in relief.
" We are truly grateful," Haseeb added. " I'll press the rest of the charges."
It was a relief for all of them. Sayida's testification against Sa'eed marked the end of his chapters in Zayn's life.
One man down.
Before they all departed to their various destinations, Sayida gave Zayn, Khayra's diary__ the diary no eyes apart from hers saw its contents.
Back in the days when Khayra was alive, she had wanted to see what was written in the pages of the diary so badly to see what her friend was hiding from her. The words scribbled in the pages of the over-protected book had shattered her to the very core, and she begged to differ on how Khayra had gone through such a thing all alone. No wonder she chose it to stay hidden. It can serve as a shred of evidence to back Sayida's testification when the matter is taken to court.
Sa'eed is indeed a monster__ probably a son of the devil.
She had handed the book to Zayn, advising him to read at his own risk.
Furthermore, she was glad to know that it was Mariya who had replaced her friend in Zayn's life. She liked the woman already.
*~*
It was all so overwhelming for Mariya to handle. Nana's death and all the trouble that Sa'eed has evoked. She had read Khayra's diary after Haseeb, and there she was thinking that she had been through one of the worst things that could ever happen to a woman.
Night had already fallen and it was past seven pm. Together, her family and Zayn's family had prayed Isha including Eskander, with Emraan as their leader. Zayn was an exception though. He chose to disappear to God knows where.
After the prayers, Mariya escorted her parents and Fareed to the parking lot. Having said their goodbyes, Fareed drove off onto the road.
Mariya heaved a tired sigh when their car was far from sight. It was a good thing that she and Zayn had decided to spend the night at the palace. The drive back to their manse would have been tiring.
For now, she needed to find Zayn. She knew he would be somewhere in the palace because she was staring at his car that was parked right beside Eskander's. She turned on her heels and made it toward Zayn's private chamber, hoping to find him there.
She was right. She knew she would find him in his chambers. Her heart squeezed at the sight of her husband who was seated on a prayer mat that was splayed right beside his bed. He had his back to the wooden frame of the bed, with his head thrown back on the well-laid bed.
The room was dark, except for the light that spilled from the brightly lit hallway as Mariya stood in the doorway. She stepped into the room and shut the door behind her. Once again, the room was engulfed in darkness. She didn't bother to switch on the lights because she knew he prefered it that way. She waited for a while to get her eyes accustomed to the darkness, and then made her way to sit beside him on the prayer mat. None of them uttered a word. Zayn only closed the distance between them and gently placed his head on her shoulder.
Mariya reciprocated the gesture by putting an arm on his shoulder to keep him closer. She patted the area softly.
" Everything is going to be alright, Ashraf." She reassured him.
" When?" His voice was shaky and hoarse.
As for that, she didn't have an answer to it, but she wished she did. She couldn't deceive him further with sweet-coated words. It's not going to be easy__ that was a plain fact.
She didn't stop the lone tear that slid down her face. Now she understood why Zayn was drawn to dark places. It blended so perfectly with the pain, that no one can make it out.
" Mariya, I'm tired." He continued. This time, he sounded worse. His throat burned so badly, and he wanted to let it all out. " Everything is slipping out of my reach. I've always consoled myself that God doesn't fail a heart that turns to him, but my faith is running thin. Nothing is going on well. "
" Zayn,..." Mariya paused abruptly. Her voice sounded foreign to her. She didn't trust herself to go about what she wanted to say to him, in fear that she was going to end up being the one breaking down. He needed the support more than her at the moment.
Not knowing what else to say, she engulfed him in her tight embrace. The way he reciprocated the hug made her heart churn in pain. He held her tightly, not willing to let go.
" Nothing is going to be the same again." A painful sob escaped his lips.
Yaa Rabb!
Mariya felt her chest area getting soaked with what seemed like Zayn's tears. It didn't take long before his cries filled the room. It was filled with agony and pain. The hollowness in his cries couldn't be missed. She was so grateful that the entire room was soundproof.
It shattered her heart into pieces and she couldn't find it in her to fix it.
He was having a major breakdown, and all she could do was offer words of affirmation that barely soothed any pain. The damage impacted was way bigger.
" Mariya, I can't continue like this." He choked on a sob. At this rate, she didn't even bother to wipe her tears away because they kept flowing.
She won't call him weak for breaking down in her presence. Who said men don't cry? Mariya allowed him to cry out all the built-up pain and unspoken feelings that did him no good. They were in that position for only God knows how long.
She was quite relieved when his cries died down. For a few minutes, none of them spoke. Mariya then decided to break the hug, only to find out that he was asleep. At least it will serve as a short break from everything that was happening in his life. She was glad to have him asleep before eight pm. It would help him get enough rest, and hopefully, fix his messed-up sleep schedule.
"In shaa Allah, everything is going to be just fine. 'With hardships comes ease.'"
Instead of waking him up to lie on the bed, she aligned his body to be accommodated by the breadth and width of his prayer mat. Thankfully, it was wide enough. She got him a pillow from the bed and propped his head up on it. She didn't forget to cover him with a quilt.
" Goodnight, Ashraf." She placed a peck on his forehead before exiting the room.
Hiiiiii😁
I don land ooo. This is an early update.
Pls, tell me what I should do to that Sa'eed guy.
Zayn 🤧
Lemme just pass.
See you.