32~Eye sore #3
"Daddy!"
She clung to him, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Please... open your eyes."
The nurses gently tried pulling her away.
"No!"
She struggled against them.
"Please... just let me stay with him a little longer."
"These are our last moments together."
The nurses looked helpless.
Finally, Amina turned desperately to Najib.
"Ya Najib..."
"Please tell them."
"They'll listen to you."
He simply stared at her.
His own tears silently falling.
"Najib!" She cried.
"Please!"
With a broken voice, he finally answered.
"Let him rest."
He gently held her hand and led her out of the room.
Outside, he stopped before Hanan.
"Please... Take care of my sister."
Without waiting for a reply, he turned and walked away.
Hanan immediately caught his wrist.
"Najib."
"Where are you going?"
"And why are you talking like this?"
He slowly turned to face her.
His eyes were hollow.
Filled with grief.
Filled with guilt.
"I'm the reason my father died."
"My stubbornness..."
"My hatred..."
"It broke his heart."
He gave a bitter laugh.
"Don't I deserve to be punished?"
And with that he turned and walked off.
Hanan silently watched him leave till something in her snapped.
"Najib." She whispered.
And the next minute she found herself hurrying after him.
"Najib! Stop, don't do anything stupid!" Hanan shouted, but he ignored her and kept walking until he disappeared out of the hospital.
Fear tightened around her chest. She knew how unpredictable Najib could be. In his current state, he could do anything.
Without thinking, she ran after him, calling his name.
She chased him all the way to the parking lot, only to find him getting into his car.
"Najib!"
She hurried to him before he could drive away, pulled the car door open, and grabbed his arm, forcing him to step out.
"What are you trying to do?" She asked, breathing heavily. "Where are you going? You're supposed to be preparing for Alhaji's burial."
"I'm going to get punished..." His voice cracked. "For being a miserable son... for being the son who killed his father."
"No, Najib!" She snapped, cutting him off.
"You didn't kill Alhaji."
She stepped closer, looking into his grief stricken eyes.
Slowly, she stood on her toes and wiped away the tears rolling down his cheeks.
For a brief second, she hesitated.
Then she gave in.
She wrapped her arms around him.
Najib stood frozen.
A second later...
His walls crumbled.
He held her just as tightly, his trembling arms slowly wrapping her into his arms, he buried his face against her shoulder as the weight of his father's death finally broke him.
"Dad... Mom... I just saw Hanan." Faruk said excitedly. "She was by the window."
"Hanan?" His father frowned.
"I told her to go home. There's no one there."
"There isn't." His mother agreed after glancing toward the window. "You're probably imagining things."
"No." Faruk shook his head firmly.
"I saw her."
Ignoring the pain shooting through his body, he tried to sit up.
"Where are you going?" His father asked.
"To see her. I'm sure she came to see me."
"Have you lost your mind? You just came out of surgery!"
"Please, Dad..."
His mother sighed.
"I'll get a wheelchair."
His father stared at her.
"Seriously? You're encouraging this?"
"He is my son." She replied quietly. "And I know him, he will keep insisting."
Moments later, she returned with a nurse pushing a wheelchair.
The nurse carefully helped Faruk into it.
"I'm coming with you." His mother said as she adjusted his IV drip. "But the moment you see her, you're coming straight back to your room. No arguments."
"Thank you, Mom."
His father could only shake his head.
"I've never seen anyone spoil a grown man this much."
Faruk simply smiled.
With the nurse pushing the wheelchair, they began searching for Hanan.
They checked the reception, the corridors, and every waiting area, but she was nowhere to be found.
Just as they were about to turn back...
"There she is!" Faruk pointed.
Hanan was hurrying toward the hospital exit.
"Please... take me outside."
His mother frowned.
"We agreed to stay inside."
"Please."
After a brief pause, she nodded.
"Fine."
The nurse wheeled him outside.
Faruk's heartbeat quickened the moment he spotted Hanan.
A smile spread across his face.
He was about to call her name...
When he saw her run to Najib's car.
His smile faded instantly.
He watched Hanan pull Najib out of the car.
He watched them stand close.
Then...
She embraced him.
Faruk's fingers slowly curled into tight fists on the armrests of the wheelchair.
The excitement that had filled his heart moments ago vanished without a trace.
For the first time since waking up, the pain in his chest hurt far more than the wound beneath his bandages.
He slowly lowered his gaze.
"What an eyesore." He chuckled.
"Take me back to my room."
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
Without another word, the nurse quietly turned the wheelchair around.
Faruk never looked back.
.
.
.
***