Chapter Thirty One – A Stranger’s Visit

“I’ll go and get it for you in a jiffy. Just wait for me little bit.” Zayaan told her as he caressed her cheeks and said ‘Love you’ before kissing her forehead and getting up to go.

Saba managed to smile at those small gestures, though she had gone through a severe crying episode just a little while ago. She almost forgot that she is had just been saved from a suicide attempt. That was the magic of his love, Saba thought as her smile widened when he gave her one last smile before leaving the room.

She sighed when she found herself on her own and tried to align her thoughts according to what Zayaan had told her. He was right. Even though she was having a hard time and none of her thoughts were making sense, this too will pass. She just needs to be patient through it until she gets some help.

Saba sat on the bed for a little while trying to silence her thoughts before she decided to lie down. As she was fixing her blanket, she heard the door of the room sliding which compelled her to look in that direction.

“Why are you back too soo-…” Saba began to speak with a smile assuming it must be Zayaan. But her voice caught in her throat when she saw a woman standing at the door.

“Mother?” Saba said as a shiver ran down her spine when she saw Zeenath coming towards her. Even though her mother-in-law gave approval for her to be married to Zayaan, Saba still felt distant from her. Not once did Saba feel accepted by her. Rather she always felt intimidated in her mother-in-law’s presence. It was the same even at that moment when she came by and sat on the chair near her bed with a smile.

“How are you, Saba?” Zeenath asked in a calm voice.

“I….um..good. Absolutely fine.” Saba said hesitantly to which Zeenath chuckled, leaving her confused.

“There is no way someone who just attempted a suicide could be absolutely fine within a few hours…” Zeenath said mockingly.

“You’re right. I may still need to see a psychiatrist. Had been doing well all these years until I was reminded of….. my past. But I will try to get better as soon as I can In Sha Allah. Zayaan encouraged me just now and I feel better now because of him. I don’t want him to worry too much because of me..-“

“Exactly! This is the reason why you should be out of his life! You are draining him with your all-awful life while all you do is get the emotional support you need from him. My son has been miserable ever since you came into his life. He doesn’t listen to us neither does he spend time with us because he has your problems to deal with. Our reputation among our friends have hit an all time low because you bewitched our son into marrying you. And now one of your criminal brothers is after him and God Knows what he will end up doing to him!”

Zeenath’s harsh words brought tears to Saba’s eyes. Saba couldn’t bring herself to even look up, until she heard the last sentence. With tears flowing down her cheeks, she looked at Zeenath in fear.

“How did you know about my brother? What did he say?” Saba asked in a unsteady voice.

“He has been blackmailing us for over a week now. Saying he will kill Zayaan if he doesn’t stop writing articles about them. We even informed the police but they haven’t caught him yet..”

“Wh…where is Zayaan right now? Please tell him-….”

Saba had to pause when they heard a siren of an ambulance from near the hospital. Zeenath said a cuss word and got up to go as if she was waiting for something like that to occur.

Saba felt breathless as she saw Zeenath opening the door and leaving abruptly. She quickly pulled the IV syringe out of her hand before getting of the bed and walking out of the room trying hard to get over the exhaustion that had overtaken her body.

Not long after she got out of her room, she saw a hospital bed being rushed towards the theater. As it passed by her, she saw Zayaan’s face and his head lying on a pillow red with blood. Not being able to believe what she saw, she shouted out his name and ran to catch up with the bed. But before she could reach, the bed was pushed through the doors of the theater and she came to a stop as the doors closed.

The next few hours were a complete blur for Saba. All she did was stand at the door of the operation theater, shedding tears for the pain her husband was in. The pain was made worse with the harsh words Zeenath was saying every then and now.

You did this to him!

What if he dies?

Thanks to your brother that now my son is close to death!

How are you going to pay for this?

Saba didn’t have a response to any of those statements. Rather she had agreed with most of those words in that state of helplessness. Once again, she was going to lose someone she loved because she said ‘no’ to what her brothers wanted. It was because of her that Zayaan was in such a condition. She hoped Zayaan would survive, unlike her mother. She desperately wished she would be able to at least apologize for what ‘she had done’ though she would never be able to forgive herself after this day.

After a 3-hour long surgery, Saba heard the news that Zayaan had gone into a coma and it was hard to say when or if he might wake up.

Saba began to weep when she heard the news. Her tears didn’t dry for days. She would beg to see Zayaan but Zeenath simply didn’t allow it hence even her father stopped her for even trying for the harsh words she was having to face just to see her husband.

She had only gotten a hang of herself a few months later with the help of a psychiatrist, medication, and lots of dua with the remembrance of Allah. She came to terms with the fact that Zayaan was in a coma and she couldn’t see him. She told herself that even in this decree of Allah, there might be something good though she couldn’t make sense of it. She made dua for Zayaan to wake up and his good health every single chance she got, and she would cry silently every time she remembered him. She knew somewhere deep in her heart that everything was going to fall into place. And that was exactly what was going to happen, though she didn’t realize.

It was a Saturday evening when there was a knock on the door of her father’s house. When Saba opened the door, it was an elegant looking young lady with a hijab.

“Hi, my name is Aleesha. And….. you must be Saba, if I’m not wrong.” the young lady said, as she held out her hand for Saba to shake.