26~Youre mine #2
Then she looked around.
"Where the heck is Faruk?"
Her brows furrowed.
There was no sign of him.
"I'll call him."
She dialed his number.
A second later...
His ringtone echoed nearby.
She turned.
His phone was still lying on the picnic mat.
"He left it?"
She sighed.
Just as she went back to pick it up...
Movement near the shoreline caught her attention.
A crowd had gathered.
People whispered.
Some laughed.
Others simply held up their phones, recording.
"What is going on?"
She hurried towards them.
The moment she reached the front lime...
Her heart dropped.
Najib.
He was slowly walking into the sea.
"What are you doing?"
Her voice came out barely above a whisper as she stepped closer to the water.
Najib glanced over his shoulder.
A smile curved on his lips. "You told me to get lost, this is me doing that."
"Or does it suddenly bother you?" He chuckled.
"Stop this." She frowned
Her breathing grew uneven.
"Come out."
"I don't want to." He smiled before taking another step deeper into the water.
"Najib! Get your feet out of the water!"
He laughed. "Watch me do the opposite."
Without another word, he continued walking farther into the sea.
He wasn't swimming.
Just walking.
The water climbed steadily up his legs...
To his waist...
Then his chest...
Until it reached halfway across his shoulders.
Yet he never stopped.
He simply kept going, completely unbothered by the danger that loomed ahead.
"He's insane." A man nearby laughed.
"Does he want to kill himself or something?"
The remark made Hanan even more anxious.
"Shut up!" She snapped, glaring at him. "Instead of standing there blabbering nonsense, why don't you help him?"
The man shrugged.
"Because I'm not stupid enough to risk my own life. I've got a family waiting for me at home."
"So does he..." Hanan whispered, Grandma's face flashing through her mind.
She turned back to the sea.
"Najib!"
Her voice cracked.
"Why are you doing this? Please... come out of the water! At this rate, you're going to drown!"
Najib merely laughed.
Then he took another step farther into the sea.
The waves now reached above his shoulders.
If one strong wave crashed over him... He would disappear beneath the water.
Yet he didn't seem frightened.
If anything... He looked as though he was enjoying himself.
Why?
Has he completely lost his mind?
Or is he drunk?
"Najib!"
She cupped her hands around her mouth.
"Please! For Grandma's sake... come out!"
Her heartbeat pounded violently against her ribs.
Fear tightened around her chest.
She looked around frantically.
"Isn't there a rescue team anywhere?!"
Her trembling voice rose above the growing crowd.
Nobody answered.
Instead...
"Ma'am." The same man scoffed. "f you're that worried, why don't you go after him? Stop making a scene."
Hanan froze. "Go... into the sea?"
Her gaze shifted to the endless stretch of the dark water.
It wasn't a swimming pool.
It wasn't a shallow lake.
It was the same ocean...
The same ocean that had nearly claimed her life three years ago.
Her breathing slowed.
Her body refused to move.
One step.
That was all she needed.
Just one step.
But horrifying memories crashed into her mind without warning.
Cold water.
Darkness.
The desperate struggle to breathe.
The burning sensation in her lungs.
The helplessness.
And then...
Najib.
He didn't hesitate for even a second before diving in to save her that night.
Her trembling gaze returned to him.
The water had swallowed almost his entire body now.
Only part of his head remained visible.
"He has to be drunk..."
She whispered shakily.
"Or completely out of his mind."
If he went any farther, he wouldn't make it back alive.
"No."
She clenched her fists.
"No..."
Her voice grew firmer.
"I survived this once."
She swallowed hard.
"I'll survive it again."
Slowly... She forced one foot into the freezing water.
The icy waves instantly wrapped around her ankles.
Her entire body shivered.
The cold spread upward so quickly that her legs felt numb.
Heavy.
Almost impossible to lift.
Still... She took another step.
Then another.
She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing herself deeper despite every instinct screaming at her to run.
Every breath became harder than the last.
Yet she kept moving.
Because if she stopped... Najib might die.
As Hanan struggled farther into the sea, Najib continued moving away from her.
This time he wasn't merely walking.
He had begun swimming farther into the dark water.
Now, only his head remained visible above the surface.
"Najib!"
She cried.
"Please stop!"
"Please... don't do this!"
"Come back!"
The words had barely left her lips when he disappeared.
His head slipped beneath the water.
Gone.
A chorus of horrified screams erupted from the shore.
Hanan stopped breathing.
"Najib...?"
Her voice came out as little more than a whisper.
Silence.
No answer.
"Najib..."
She tried again.
"Please..."
The rest of the words became trapped in her throat.
She couldn't speak.
She couldn't breathe.
Suddenly, every breath came in short, painful gasps.
Her chest tightened violently.
Pain spread through her lungs.
Hot tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.
She wanted to scream.
To call for help.
To do something.
Anything.
But fear had stolen her voice.
She clutched desperately at her chest as the pain intensified.
Still... She forced herself forward.
Her body trembled violently.
The freezing water numbed her limbs.
Every stroke became weaker than the last.
Cold. Fear. Pain. Every emotion was written across her face.
Inside her mind, she screamed endlessly.
Help him.
Someone... please...
Help him.
But no sound escaped her lips.
She finally reached the spot where she last see him disappear.
She looked around frantically.
Left.
Right.
Behind her.
Nothing.
He was nowhere.
Panic swallowed her whole.
She fought to keep herself afloat, her exhausted arms barely managing to push against the waves.
Her head jerked wildly from side to side.
Then... With every ounce of strength she had left...
She screamed.
"PLEASE!"
Her voice finally returned.
But the pain in her chest became unbearable.
She clutched at it instinctively.
"Someone..."
She gasped between broken breaths.
"Please... Help."
The plea came out so faint it was almost carried away by the wind.
Her strength abandoned her.
Her legs gave way beneath the water.
She began to sink.
"HANAN!"
Faruk's voice tore through the chaos.
Without hesitation, he rushed into the sea.
Fighting against the waves, he reached her just before she drowned completely.
He wrapped both arms around her and struggled back toward the shore.
By the time they reached the sand, both of them were breathless.
Faruk immediately lowered her onto the beach.
Her body was freezing.
Her lips trembled violently.
Her eyes remained half open, clouded with tears.
"Everyone, back away!"
Faruk roared at the crowd gathering around them.
Disgust burned in his eyes.
How did they all stood there...
Watching...
Recording...
While she risked her life?
"Move!"
His voice thundered across the beach.
The crowd slowly scattered.
He carefully lifted Hanan into his arms and carried her back to their picnic mat, pulling her close against his chest, desperately trying to warm her trembling body.
"Hanan..."