Chapter 31: He wakes up. 

*

"I found love, 

When I thought I never would.

I thank the Almighty,

for giving me all 

that I never thought I could 

have"

-2am- 

*

Everything was blurry, his head ached and he felt like a thousand ants were crawling into his veins via his arms. Yazdan opened his eyes and closed it shut immediately due to the blinding light of the room. He opened them again slowly and looked around, until his eyes adjusted to the light. What- Ah right. This is what happens when you miss over a month of Insulin shots. I am surprised I even survived. I guess the few in between did the trick of saving my butt. Seriously. I am in for hell.

"I see you are awake" he wanted to shut his eyes and say no, he wasn't awake. He was not ready to face his family. He would he would get berated by his oldest sibling and it would not help when the rest would agree with him. Basically he was about to get roasted.

He tilted his head and saw IV's pushed into his hand veins on both hands and he let out a small whine. No wonder I felt ants crawling in my blood.

"Does your hand hurt, Mr. Zaeef?" Yazdan looked to where the nurse stood, beside his bed and shook his head lightly. Bad move. He whined as the throbbing began. He screwed his eyes shut and slowly lets sleep take over before he was jolted back awake when a thought occurred to him. Aanabia. The sedative was taking effects, causing him to slip into a slumber soon.

-

By the time he woke up again, it was dark. The room allowed light from the outside to enter, and there was a single lamp near his bed. He tilted his head to see Kayan sleeping on the chair. A small smile formed on his dried lips. Brother. As if he actually heard Yazdan's thoughts, Kayan stirred awake and looked up to Yazdan. The older brother let out a sigh of relief and stood up. He walked over to Yazdan and bent down, touching his forehead.

"You want water?" he questioned and Yazdan merely nodded, still staring at his brother. Kayan pressed the small button on the bed causing it to elevate and let Yazdan sit up. He then placed the glass of water in front of his face for him to drink it. Since both of Yazdan's hands were plugged via IV's, it would be hard for him to use them.

"Why did you do it?" Kayan questioned as Yazdan took a sip of water. I knew this was coming. His brother sounded hurt and this hurt him more. Once Yazdan was done, Kayan placed the glass of water on the table and turned to him. "It is fine if you cannot talk" Yazdan merely nodded at him. What do I tell him?

"I wanted to thank Allah" Yazdan's voice was soft and hoarse. Kayan stared at him for a long time before sighing.

"Why? You could just pray and thank him"

"Allah blessed me. I thought this was the best way"

"By putting yourself in danger? Do you know that Health of the believers is the most important thing to Allah?"

"I know" Kayan pulled his younger brother in an embrace and stayed there. He ran his hands through the lose locks of Yazdan.

"I am glad you are safe, Yaz" he whispered and Yazdan knew his older brother was crying. Tears slipped out of his eyes too and he tried his best to stop it.

"I am sorry bhai. It won't happen again"

"Sleep" Kayan told him before letting him go. He pressed the small white button on the bed causing it to go down and let Yazdan lie down. Yazdan smiled at Kayan before letting sleep take over once again. I should not have done such a thing on impulse. I have a family waiting for me to return home, healthy and happy. What was I thinking?

-

Aanabia stared at her hands. She was still at the hospital. She watched people come and go.

"Lets head home" she looked up to see Yahyah giving her a small smile. She shook her head.

"Can- Can I see him? Just once?" Yahyah looked at her with a sad smile. His eyes were bloodshot, indicating he has been crying too.

"No one is allowed to see him except for a few people. The last one was Kayan Bhai and he stayed back. He is the only one allowed in the room. Yazdan has been shifted to the monitoring room. He is out of danger for now"

"I- I saw him-"Yahyah watched tears fall out of her eyes like a waterfall and shook his head.

"You both are something else" he muttered, letting out a small laugh. Aanabia looked up to him, wiping away her eyes. Yahyah knelt down to her level, in front of her and gave her a small smile.

"He will be fine, okay? You look like you will pass out any moment. Lets head home, alright?"

"I- I can't leave him" she whispered, rubbing her face. Just then, Nahal walked into the hall. The sight infront of her made her heart hurt.

"Coffee" she handed the cup to Aanabia who took it and sipped it. Yahyah looked at her who gave a small smile.

"I am dropping you both home. Let's go. You can come tomorrow"

With that, the three of them left the hospital. Aanabia sent out a silent prayer that he wakes up soon.

Once she reached home, she instantly entered the bathroom. She took a long bath, in warm water trying to calm herself down. He is fine. He is fine. He is fi- she broke down crying again. She knew she would feel restless until she saw him. Her heart was agonizing and it was something she was unfamiliar with. She did not know what happened with him, or why it happened. All she knew was that he lost conscious in her arms and that was enough to have her shaking. The purples bubbles splashed out of the bathtub as she got up and stood out of it. She dried herself and got dressed in a long t-shirt and sweats before doing whudu. A silent, serene salaat can calm me down.

She stood up in salaat and she found herself at peace. Trust Allah. That is the key. Come on Aanabia. Trust Allah.

By the time she was done praying, it was around 3am. Instead of going back to her bed to sleep, she set by the balcony and stared outside. The lights of the Rashad house were on and she watched as Zaiha walked around outside in the front yard. She knew by the looks of it that no one was sleeping. A knock interrupted her peace and she called out a yes. Nahal entered and smiled at her.

"We are preparing food. You want to join?"

"Sure"

The two sisters walked downstairs to see Hifzah at the kitchen island. Hifzah smiled at them brightly.

"Salaam"

"Wa alaikum mus salaam" the girls replied, much to the astonishment of Hifzah, who was used to her daughter's replies of 'was salaam'.

"What do you two want to eat today?" Aanabia shrugged and Nahal offered a list. Two hours later, they were standing outside the house to go over at Zaiha's place for Suhoor. Aanabia felt nauseous about meeting his family in this situation. She had gotten dressed in a long black dress and a navy blue Hijab, bearing no other accessory than her watch. Yet, she felt conscious of herself.

"Come in" Zaiha invited them and Hifzah walked into the house. The girls greeted and hugged Zaiha before dispersing. Aanabia took the containers out of her mother's hand and walked into the kitchen. She placed the container of food on the counter and turned to leave. She walked out of the kitchen, straight out of the house. The house gave her nausea and she didn't want to go over the memories again of how he fainted. She walked out of the house and stood in front of the verandah. Tears filled her eyes as she remembered the encounter that occurred here.

I came to leave a rose, instead it feels like he left me. Why do I feel so sad? I like him, don't I? Shouldn't I be able to be over him? This shouldn't bother me so much but it does. It hurts like hell. It hurts my heart. Its like I am being crushed from the inside and no one understands. Why is this happening?

Amongst all the thoughts, she remembered her dream. She had offered Istikharah on the night of Shab-e-Baraat. Ruqayyah had told her about it and she decided to offer it. The following night, her dream was one of the most beautiful ones. She unconsciously smiled at it.

"Aanabia?" she turned around to see familiar gray eyes. She could not comprehend where they were. It was a bright day and there was a unique scent lingering in the air. Other than that, she didn't know where this was.

"Yazdan!"she let out a small smile.

"Salaam"

"What are you even doing here?"she questioned him. Wasn't he gone?

"I came back"

"For?"

"You? I don't want to lose you. I pray each day, Aanabia, that I don't lose you"

And that was where the dream ended. Aanabia only understood that this was Allah telling her that he was the one for her. He looked beautiful in her dream and that was all that mattered. Maybe that is why she hurt so much? Because he was her destined and she was.......in love. With him. 

****

Now tell me dear readers, Is the story getting interesting or boring? 

Update! Sorry for a late one, I have been sleeping alot lately. 

I wanted to say, I APPRECIATE YOU ALL ALOT. (And love you guys haha) 

| R - C - V |

xx, 

-aalihha.