Chapter 34-

Suddenly, two men rush to my side and pick her up, carefully placing her on the stretcher. My body instantly go numb and pale. A moment ago, she was sticking her head out the window. And now she's gone.

First, Mum.

And now, Aisha.

The memories floodp in and everything becomes blur.

Our flights, laughter. The joy that filled the house as we watched Empress Ki and gurged on chips. The happiness and laughter at the park. Her beautiful tanned skin and captivating smile that revealed her dimples. The comebacks she shot at me. The taste of her lips on mine, her presence every time I'm in need of someone. I love her.

I was scared that this feeling would consume me and make me vulnerable and hurt. But, I wasn't aware that by pushing the feelings away, by pushing Aisha away; I was hurting her. I was scared that she wouldn't reciprocate the love I had for her. I wish I can wind back the clock and tell her exactly how I feel. I wish I could tell her I loved her but now it's too late, she's dead. Time had pounced in like the cruel enemy it is, it has taken her away like it took away my mother.

The sound of the ambulance fades, sounding so far away but I knew it rested on the ground, just a few feet from me. My eyes wander around from the leaves on the trees slightly dancing as the cool air blows, to the white cat on the other side of the road. Staring at me with its gray eyes as if it sensed my sadness.

A tap on my shoulder draws me back to the situation, conscious of the ambulance blaring loudly and the blood on my hands look fresh. Another tap on my shoulder makes my eyes snap to the figure that towers over me. He's dressed in a white buttoned shirt and plain black pants. His dressing indicating that he's an officer.

He looks back at me and gives me a sad smile.

"You have to come with us Sir. Her injuries are very deep and she's on the verge of death. If we delay any further, she might not make it."

The news instantly lights up my world in happiness. She's alive. Oh God! She's alive. But, I was so sure she was dead.

"Alhamdulilah!" I exclaim and my body seems to regain strength. In one swoop, I rush into the ambulance and it drives off.

• • • •

I trail my fingers on the curve of her lips, wishing it would curl into a smile and awake me from this nightmare. Time isn't the cruel enemy, we are. I had the time but I didn't show gratitude for all that she did for me. I ended up hurting her. Time is the best friend we can ever have and now I would put it to good use. I'm grateful to Allah. I go down to my kneels and place my forehead on the floor before looking up. I thank Allah for the second chance He gave us.

"It has been two months already, why isn't she up?" The doctor with silver- gray hair looks at me through the little eyeglass resting on the bridge of his nose, as if it would fall anytime soon.

"She's still in a coma. You see, the impact of the crash knocked her out and shut down her system except for the brain and heart. The accident awfully affected the hippocampus and limbic system. By God's grace she will wake up soon. I'll leave you two." He closes the door gently.

I kneel before her bed, staring at her beautiful tanned skin. "I'm sorry." I whispered, believed that she could hear and access my words. It had been two months and even her eyelids hadn't flutter. I miss her terribly, living alone was hell. "We never know what we have until we lose it. I toyed with you, I toyed with your feelings. All in hopes not to fall in love with you. But the more I pushed you away, the more I fell deeper. I didn't want to fall in love not because I was scared of being vulnerable, but because I knew I would fall deeper, get hurt and mess things up. We made rules that I first broke. I hurt you badly because of my damn pride and stupidity. If I had the opportunity to be with you again, I wouldn't mind breaking the rules all over again. Of course, without hurting you. I'm in love with you Aisha. I want you in my life, even if it means shooting comebacks every ten seconds. I want to fix things and always be there for you, even if you might not want me in your life. I want to be your punch bag. I don't mind listening to your awful voice every morning while singing 'Woman like me' or rapping 'Killshot' at 10pm. I want you just as you are and I love you for you. I love the fact that you don't give a shit about my wealth. I love the fact that you don't throw yourself at me. I love the fact that you don't try so hard to impress me. I love the fact that you look me in the face and call me a jerk. You're always there during the tough days no matter the number of times I treated you like shit. I never appreciated you and casted you aside like some rag. I'm sorry for being a f*cking idiot! I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier about how I felt. I'm sorry I hurt you. I hope that you forgive me."

I stand up and place a kiss on her forehead before heading back home for a shower. I enter our room and unconsciously find myself playing with her brush. I walk to the bed and lay on it, imagining looking at her beautiful brown eyes. I bring her pillow to my nose and perceive her sweet strawberry smell. It still lingers on the pillow and bedsheets.

Peeling off my clothes, I shower and perform wudu. Ever since she got admitted, I never missed a prayer. I fasted every Friday and Monday. Her absence had an effect on me and I used that opportunity to be a good Muslim. Never did I stop praying to Allah for his help and thanking him for everything he has done for us.

I pack a few meals and drive back to the hospital. I want the first meal she would eat be made by me. Getting to the hospital was very hard, with Paparazzi everywhere. The news of her coma had spread to everywhere. Sometimes, disguise was the best way to escape them. Although today was Friday; a short day, I intend on checking up on Aisha before heading to the mosque to pray, then coming back to her.

I go into her room, upon entering, Aliyah casts a sad look at me then back at her friend. We greet each other and stay sit. Fortunately, she too doesn't want to engage in a conversation with me.

"I'll be back in a bit, I have some documents to handle." She excuses herself and shuts the door behind her. Taking out my phone, I play her favourite Surah. Surah Al-Maeda.

The beautiful angelic voice of Abu Bakr Ash-Shatree fills the silence, breaking a smile on my lips.

When the Surah ends, I turn on SpongeBob SquarePants, so she might listen to the voices.

I place the lily in the vase full of lilies and pick out the dead ones. It became a habit to bring her favourite flower everyday for the past two months.

The nurses come in and move her from side to side. After checkups, Karen steps into the room and sits opposite me. "Hi." She says and smiles.

"Hey, how have you been?" I smile back.

"Fine." She simply replies, not saying a word after. I'm quite grateful that she didn't. Honestly, I don't want a conversation with anyone.

Time flies fast, I leave for masjid when Aliyah returned. Yousuf that had stopped by earlier left to pray too but we went to different mosques. I drove fastly, in haste to go back to her. A second without her felt like eternity, seeing her was enough comfort I needed. In Sha Allah she will wake up and I'll fix everything. I'll declare my love to her and spend all the time I have with her by my side.

I walk into the hospital and head straight to her room. The door was opened and Yousuf sat beside her. It Kind of hurt that he got there before me. Instead of walking in as I intended to, I decide to stay by the door and watch.

"I failed you, I left you, I failed us. I was so scared that I left and I regret walking away from you. I know I hurt you deeply, I'm so sorry I did. I want you to know that I'll forever cherish you in my heart. I love you Aisha and if you wake up, I'll be by your side forever. I won't repeat the same mistake I did six months ago. I will be there for you and my arms will forever be wide open for you. I'm gonna fix things, I'm gonna be yours. I love you so much and I'm not giving up on us." He rise from the chair and smiles at her.

Son of a b*tch!

I stomp into the room and grab Yousuf by his collar. Without giving him air to breathe, I throw a punch at him. I don't let go of his collar but punch him again. "You f*cking sneak! She's mine!"

Balling my fist, I aim for his jaw but misses as he hastily shifts and hits my hand off him. A kick meets my ribs, causing an intense pain on my right. I stumble backwards but regain my position and lunge myself on Yousuf. Before I could hit him, I'm suddenly dragged as strong arms encircle my waist and pins me to the wall.

"Stop!" A feminine voice is heard in the room. My eyes meet an angry Aliyah, glaring at the both of us like dead meat. "What's wrong with you two? Aisha is in a coma and you idiots are fighting like senseless kids! Quit it."

"I'll when he stops chasing after my wife!" I snap. My head still facing the wall.

"Your wife?" Yousuf sniggers. "You treat her like shit! She deserves better than you bag of shit."

He's right but I'm going to amend things, who the hell does he think he's to invade?

"And you think you're better, you ran away on your wedding day, completely ditching her."

Now it was his time to keep shut for a while.

He slams the door as he stomps out. I manage to catch a glance of his sad expression. The doctor rushes in and drives us out.

I rested on the wall, tapping my fingers on the wall impatiently. The doctor was taking up too much time, I couldn't bare the thought of being away from her for a long time.

"She's awake!" The doctor exclaims immediately he opens the door. Happiness consumes me as I open the door widely, everyone rushing in, including Yousuf. I stay put and stare at Aisha who's now sitting. Her gentle eyes gazing at the place. It's her, it's really her. Joy explodes in me as I open my arms widely to engulf her in a hug. A hug with a million meanings. But she pulls aside right before I hug her.

I look back at her, witnessing a sudden heartbreak as she moves further away from me. Her eyes roaming the room.

"Yousuf?" She calls as she stares at him with a little smile. "Yousuf, the wedding is tomorrow. What am I doing here?"