My heart skipped a beat when I heard his voice on the phone. It was like a thousand
scattered beads all coming together in the string of one long thread. I could breathe again.
Once the pleasantries were over, I took no time at all to dive in to the real conversation.
"Why do you talk to me?" I asked him, in a direct manner.
"Excuse me?" He fired back, confounded as ever.
"No please, tell me -- I need to know."
"Umm - I like talking to you ..."
"Why? How could anyone like talking to someone as messed up as I am?"
"Because you are not caught up in the world like most people are; you may be broken, but you are pure from the filth people carry in the outside world. And perhaps, it is because you are broken that you are able to possess more humbleness and understanding towards other people. Unlike most people, you never judged me for the way I am (with the limp and all). You accepted me as a human-being and found me worthy of sharing your pain ... and trust me, I know, for a noble lady like you, opening up old wounds is not easy. So yeah ... I like your company."
I literally dropped down to the ground and cried as he said all of that. How could someone be so perfect? How could someone strum every chord in my heart like a fine musical composition? How could all this be true?
"Hello! Are you still there?" He said, as I did not speak for one whole minute.
"Y-yes ..." finally, I replied.
"Are you alright?"
"Can I call you back later?"
"Sure."
I put down the phone. A new world of thoughts opened up inside me. These thoughts were channeling towards a different stream -- a stream far away from still waters, into the ocean of love.
It took the elevator bell to ring and two strangers to step out of it, to break my chain of thoughts.
Wiping the tears off my face, I got up and went back into the hotel room.
"Don't tell me he made you cry now," said Daria, running towards me.
I turned away, trying to avoid any confrontation, but Daria made me sit down for a talk.
"What happened? Did he hurt you?"
"He didn't hurt me, okay? Not everyone is like Danial."
"Then why are you crying?"
"Daria, it's okay to cry sometimes, alright? You can't expect me to live like a robot all my life. I have emotions too, you know."
Daria was stunned. She blinked twice before asking another question.
"Okay ... then tell me what happened?"
"Nothing happened," I retorted, with a frustrated look. "I just ... I think I'm falling for him ... but I don't know if he feels the same way about me."
"Oh' silly ... that's not a big deal. Here, give me your phone."
Daria grabbed my phone.
"Wait ... what are you doing?" I asked her.
"Don't worry -- I won't put you in an awkward position."
"Daria no!"
Daria got up and called Rehan. While she spoke with him, I sat on the chair, frozen on the spot. I didn't know what to expect. I could never figure out who really Rehan was anyway.
Once the call was over, Daria came and sat down next to me.
"What did he say?" I asked, growing impatient now.
"I don't think he's looking for any serious commitment, dear."
"Why? Did he say that?"
"Well, not exactly. But he did say that 'these type of chance meetings happen once in a while, and it is actually Allah's way of connecting two people who dearly need each other. But where this will lead -- only Allah knows'."
"That's it?"
"I'm afraid ... yeah."
A line of concern draws upon my forehead. I wonder what he could possibly mean by that.
"O forget him!" Daria said, snapping me out of thought. "He's a mysterious guy, who's good for nothing ... that's probably why he's still a bachelor."
"He is the best person I know," I replied, not entertaining any bad talk about him.
Daria looked at me, then fell silent. She had never seen me take a stand for anyone before, this was oddly surprising to see.
Grabbing hold of my phone again, I got up from there and walked over to the room.
How could someone be so loving yet so distant at the same time? The more I thought about Rehan, the more I got dragged away from my past.
Although it was a relief to not carry the burdens of my past so much, the fears of the future still tormented me. Somehow, no matter which way my life turned (for better or worse), I wasn't able to find any peace.
But that all changed when I finally found the courage to express my inner-most feelings to Rehan - the man I loved with all my heart.
YOU ARE READING
AFTER DARK
Lãng mạnThere is no such thing as a perfect marriage, there is no such thing as perfect partners and there is certainly no such thing as a perfect life. Coming through the darkest storm in her life, Sarah finally finds a glimmer of hope to live through anot...
