It was 6:00 AM. Hasan was going home after a long night shift. He was waiting for the bus to go home and get some sleep before his next shift. He noticed a group of teenagers approaching. He recognized one of them; it was his little cousin, Ibrahim.
When they approached him, he greeted him.

Hasan
"Hey little cousin, how are you?"

Ibrahim
"Hello Hasan, I'm good, Alhamdulillah. What about you?"

Ibrahim
"Alhamdulillah, I'm doing great,As you can see, I'm in such great health that I'm out so early in the morning to enjoy the fresh air of this lovely day."

Ibrahim's friend
"Wow, how could you be this energetic this early in the morning? If we didn't have school, I would never even leave my bed!"

Ibrahim
"It's not like that, you see, Hasan is a nurse. He just worked a night shift. He's going home now."

Hasan
"Why did you do that? jokingly. It would have been fun to convince them that I'm an energetic guy who would take a walk so early in the morning and does that with a beautiful big smile. I could be that guy, you know, if only I didn't have to do night shifts."

Ibrahim
"I know that, Hasan, out of everyone I know, you're the most optimistic, energetic, and funniest. I was just explaining the situation to my friends. I didn't mean to bother you."

Hasan
"Oh, you're such a good boy, look how much you've grown! Come here and give big bro a hug."

Ibrahim tried to get away from Hasan, but his friends caught him before he could, and Hasan pulled him in for a tight hug and playfully messed up his hair.

Ibrahim
"Look what you did! I can't show up to school with messy hair. The teachers will scold me."

Hasan
"It's okay, you still look handsome. You should be proud that you look like me. Imagine if you looked like your brother, Karam!"

Ibrahim
"My brother Karam doesn't look that bad, he just has a bad sense of fashion."

The bus arrived and was about to take off while Hasan was busy chatting with his cousin. Before the bus left, Ibrahim's friends reminded Hasan that he needed to go or he would miss it. He realized that he had forgotten about his bus and said goodbye to his cousin and ran to catch the bus.

"Your cousin is such an odd guy," one of Ibrahim's friends commented.
"He's too unserious for an adult."

Ibrahim
"Yeah, I know,but he's really kind. He gives me a gift every Eid, even though I always tell him that he doesn't have to."

_______

Omar had an important business meeting. He woke up late and had to start the meeting online while he was still driving. An officer pulled him aside for using the phone while driving. He tried to apologize to the officer and explain the situation to him, but the officer wouldn't give him a break and insisted on taking his license.

His uncle called while he was still negotiating with the police officer. He knew that if he didn't answer, his uncle would make him regret it, so he answered the call.

"What are you doing? It's an important meeting. Why are you not here?" Tariq demanded.

Omar
"I know, I'm sorry. My alarm didn't go off for some reason, and I got stuck in traffic.
The officer pulled me aside, and he won't let me go. He insists on taking my license."

Tariq
"Oh, Omar, why did he pull you aside? What did you do?"

Omar
"I was on the phone,I was hoping to at least attend the meeting online, and he caught me and told me to give him my license. I showed him my license, but obviously, I can't give it to him because I still need to drive to work. What am I going to do if another officer pulls me aside? I'll be taken to jail for driving without a license, and I don't have time for that!"

Tariq
"Oh, stop blubbering, just let me talk to the officer. Put him on the phone."

"What? Why? What are you going to do?" Omar asked, bewildered.

Tariq
"Just give him the phone. Stop wasting time."

Omar
"Okay, fine!"

Omar sighed and handed the phone to the officer.
The officer looked puzzled as he took the phone. After a few seconds, the officer gave him the phone back and told him that he could go.
Omar was confused. He sat there for a few seconds, then he remembered the meeting and took off.

When he arrived, the meeting was about to end, but his secretary had taken notes for him. He quickly gave them the latest updates from the marketing department and the important things he wanted to discuss.
After the meeting, his uncle called him to his office.

"Take a seat, Omar," Tariq said sternly.

"I know what you want to say," Omar admitted. "I promise it won't happen again."

Tariq
"I know,but you still need to take responsibility. You see, in order to help you get to work and keep your license, I promised the officer a generous amount."

Omar
"I'm sorry, but I don't think I understand. What do you mean?"

Tariq
"You see, one of my friends is the chief of the police force. I told the young officer that I and his boss are good friends. Don't ask me how I proved it to him, but the point is, my friend doesn't do me favors for free. For every favor I need to pay him a certain amount of money, or we will lose his protection. You understand now, don't you?"

Omar
"I see,It's my fault, so it's fair that I pay. Tell me how much exactly, and I'll send you the money."

Tariq
"5,000 dollars. You're lucky it's a small favor. Be careful next time."

Omar
"5,000 dollars! If I knew, I would have just given him my license. It wouldn't have cost me that much money to get it back the legal way!"

Tariq
"Yeah, but it would have wasted so much time. You would have missed the meeting and would have needed to take a day off from work to go beg some judge to give it back to you."

Omar couldn't argue with his uncle. He excused himself and left his uncle's office, feeling both relieved and resentful.

__________

Hasan woke up at 2 am, he barely had time to eat and get ready for his next shift at the hospital, he asked his younger sister where she put his clothes after he took them off she told him she was washing them and they needed to dry, he sighed and pulled out his spare work clothes from the closet, while he was putting on his clothes his coworker called, he answered the phone while putting on his shoe.

"Hasan: 'Hey, how are you, dear Leith? Don't worry, I'm putting my shoes on as we speak. I'll be there on time. You wouldn't need to cover for me again, I promise you.'

Leith: 'That's not why I called you, although I do need you to come urgently, Hasan. You need to come immediately, run if you have to!'

Hasan was startled. It wasn't the first time they had requested his presence urgently, but Leith's tone this time was different. It frightened him.

Hasan: 'What's wrong? Did something bad happen?'

Leith: 'Hasan, we work in a hospital. Bad things happen daily here! A school football team's bus crashed, and many players were injured. They are so young, so they panicked. A few of them are in a coma. Hurry up and get here. We need as many staff members as we can get.'

Hasan: 'I understand. I'm coming.'

Hasan hurried to the hospital. Once he stepped inside, he saw paramedics carrying a boy to the emergency room. The paramedics placed the boy on a stretcher. The boy's face was covered in blood, but he was still conscious. Hasan followed them to the emergency room. The boy's condition was critical. The doctor ordered them to prepare the boy for an operation immediately. Hasan cleaned the boy's wounds and washed his face. When the blood was cleared, he was shocked to find out who the boy was. He was about to assist in the operation that was to save the life of his little cousin, Ibrahim.

Hasan: 'Ibrahim, is that you? Can you hear me, buddy?'

Ibrahim wasn't aware of his surroundings. He was hallucinating and saying random, unclear words.

Hasan: 'It's okay, buddy. We've got you. Don't be scared.'

It looked like Ibrahim finally recognized Hasan's voice, as he reached out and hugged his arm. The other nurses pulled him away and laid him down as the doctor gave him an anesthetic shot.

Hasan called his mother. He didn't know how to tell his aunt, so he thought he could just leave it to his mom to deliver the news. His mother was shocked and cried a bit, even though he assured her that Ibrahim was safe now and that the operation was successful.

Hasan's mother: 'Oh dear! Poor child! He's such a good boy. Why did this happen!'

Hasan: 'Calm down, Mom. You're supposed to be brave and composed. We don't want to scare my aunt. What happened is not on the news yet, and the school hasn't informed the parents yet. They want to make sure that everyone is okay before informing anyone, although it's past midnight, and I'm sure the parents are wondering about their children's whereabouts. It's a matter of time before they start calling the police.
'
Hasan's mother: 'I understand. Do you want me to call her now?'

Hasan: 'Yeah, but please don't freak her out. Just tell her that it was just a little accident and that he's fine now, but he needs to rest.'

Hasan's mother: 'Okay. Will the other parents be informed too?'

Hasan: 'Yes, the doctor in charge just ordered the school to inform the parents. They can't keep stalling. The parents have the right to know.'

Hasan's mother: 'Okay, I'll be as gentle as I can. Poor Mariam. I'll call her daughter first and ask her to tell her mother.'

Hasan: 'Yeah, that'll be better.'

Hasan's mother: 'Goodnight, son. Good luck to you.'

Hasan: 'Thanks, Mom.'

When the parents found out, the hospital was flooding with angry parents. They yelled at the school management, and many parents threatened to take it to court. Ibrahim's parents came. They were able to see him from behind the glass window. His condition was stable, but he needed to sleep peacefully, and they didn't want to bother him.

Mariam: 'Oh, my dear baby! If I knew this would happen, I would have taken him to the match myself. How could this happen!'

Mariam was completely heartbroken, but she was still more composed than her husband, Hosam, who threw many fits and almost got into a fight with one of the nurses, but Hasan stopped him.

Hosam: 'With all that money we pay to that private school, you'd think they hire only the best drivers. How could that stupid man drive like that? Would he crash straight into a van if his kids were on the bus?'

Hasan: 'Calm down, Uncle, please. The patients need to rest.'

Hosam: 'Alright, but I need to know who's responsible for this!'

Hasan: 'I understand you're angry, but the kids need to rest. You want Ibrahim to get better, right?'

Mariam: 'Let's go, Hosam. Hasan is right. We need to calm ourselves. Getting angry and throwing a fit here won't change what happened.'

Hosam: 'Where do you want us to go when our son is in the hospital?'

Mariam: 'Let's go to the cafeteria. We won't go home, but let's try to compose ourselves and give the children a chance to rest.'

Hosam: 'You're right. Let's go.'

After a few hours, the hospital got quiet. Most parents reached the same conclusion as Ibrahim's parents, and the staff managed to control the situation.

At 6:00 AM, Hasan stepped out of the hospital. It was the end of another night shift, one that he'll never forget, one that traumatized him more than he imagined.