YOU, ME & HER!

Our Story...

Ayah sat motionless with her eyes fixed to a baby’s spot. She stared without blinking, she is obviously spaced out until he tapped her tights and she faced him quickly with a startled face. “Yes father!” She answered sluggishly.
“You haven’t answered my question Ayah; what does love means to you?” He asked with his gaze fixed at her while he folded his arms waiting for her response.
Ayah adjusted herself on the couch; she exhaled loudly and stared at the man for a while. She nodded her head before she opened her mouth that was dry already and started speaking with a stammer. “Does love has a meaning?” She asked rhetorically with a painful smile. She sighed again and continued. “To me; love means to like and want that soul unconditionally and desperately, even if we keep hurting ourselves or others in the process; we won’t dare give up because the pain is nothing compared to our heart desires.” She answered as tears dropped on her face.
The old man who is a therapist jotted a few things on his pad as he asked her further. “What is the genesis of this pain Ayah?” He asked curiously.
Ayah stared around the room for a while before she concentrated her look to the baby’s crib; he seems to be sleeping peacefully. She stared constantly with her eyes that were worn out with tears. She slowly wiped off her face and sniffled a little. “How would you describe the punishment for betrayers in hell? Do you think it will be severe?” Ayah asked staring at him.
He giggled a little and nodded his head “I have never been to hell Ayah; I can only imagine it.” He replied.
She took a deep breath as she stood up and walked over to the baby who started crying. She picked him up from the crib and stared at him for a while. “It all started two years ago father; everything happened so quick that I could barely comprehend. It all happened in a blink of an eye like a dust, and before I could focus, the worst has already occurred.” She said staring at the baby…
TWO YEARS EARLIER…
The annoying sound of incoming call from his phone wakes her from her sleep, she hissed as she sluggishly sat up on the bed, her eyes were blurry as she stared around the room but couldn’t find him. She groaned as she slowly crawled over to the mini drawer beside the bed to silent the phone but he hurriedly jumped out of the bathroom. She sighed as she sat back and leaned on the wall while he picked up the phone and stared at the screen. “Kai Adam; you should try to keep your phone on silent. I could barely sleep last night, and now your calls wouldn’t allow me to either.” Salma said with a worried face.
He slowly bends towards her and placed a kiss on her forehead. “I am sorry for disturbing you my dear. It’s just work, they wouldn’t allow me rest.” He said as he walked over to the wardrobe while she slowly lay back on the bed. Adam got ready and picked up his briefcase. “I would send the driver later to take you to the hospital for anti-natal; I will be having a meeting.” He said as he kissed her cheeks and walked out of the room…
Adam exhaled loudly as he sits in his car and picked up his phone. He dialed the contact that has been calling him in the house. “I told you not to call me in the morning hours.” He said immediately when the recipient answered the call.
She laughed from the other end. “What? Is there something you are not telling me? You have been acting strange since when I came back from the States.” She said. “Any ways; I would want us to meet today. I am free.” She added.
Adam sighed as he tried to keep his cool. “I would pick you up later in the day. We need to talk.” He said and ended the call…
*****
A few hours later; Salma was dressed in a flowing oversized gown that feels comfortable in her condition, she was sitting on the couch waiting for the driver to take her to the hospital; she kept on staring at her wristwatch because she is running late. The door slowly opened and to her surprise, it’s her sister; Ayah. Salma frowned and looked away from her while Ayah approached her with a smile. “I am sorry sister. I know I have wronged you but here I am at your mercy.” She said as she sat beside her. “Wow, seems we would be having a baby’s cry soon.” Ayah added as she rubbed Salma’s belly.
Salma hissed and pushed her a little. “I am honestly disappointed in you. I can’t believe you could miss my wedding and still be in town for over a week and you couldn’t visit, let alone place a call on me.” She said as she continued frowning her face.
Ayah leaned on her and holds her hands tightly. “You of all people should know how things are over there; I wasn’t chanced to come over.” She said in a clingy tone. “But don’t worry; I will make it up to you at the naming ceremony.” She added as she stood up and stared around the room. “Where is your husband? Where are your wedding pictures?” Ayah asked eagerly.
Salma is about responding when the driver honk from outside. “Let’s leave that for later. I will tell you everything about him when we come back from the hospital. You should come with me for my anti natal.” She said as she walked out of the room.
Ayah followed her immediately. “I think I will pass, but I will surely come by tomorrow. I am having a date with my boyfriend.” She said smiling. Salma laughed as she stood by the car. “When are you revealing that mystery man? Is he the same person you have been dating all these while?” She asked eagerly. Ayah laughed. “Of course, it has been him all these while and we are tying the knot soon.” She said with a smile.
She walked over to her car and opened it. “You should leave or the nurses won’t attend to you. I will see you tomorrow.” Ayah added as she entered her car and drove out. Salma also entered the car and the driver drove out of the house…
******
Have you ever been in a situation where you feel entangled between two worlds and couldn’t get yourself out of any? Have you ever been stuck between the lives of two people and couldn’t make our way out of any? Have you ever been in love with two people and couldn’t help yourself to choose among them? Well; that’s Adam’s situation right now…
He was seated calmly by a corner at the restaurant he reserved, he was waiting eagerly to see the girl he has always dreamt of living with, at the same time; his heart was racing faster with the thought of cheating on his wife. He became anxious and started sweating profusely. He started exhaling and inhaling, trying to calm himself. “No, you are not cheating on Salma, you have the right to do this. Ayah was there before Salma, you are not cheating Adam.” He kept repeating in his mind till he was calm.
He slowly raised his head as an alluring scent of a soothing fragrance hits his nostrils and blended with the atmosphere, he stared at her amazing structure as she stood opposite him with a huge smile on her face. “Masha Allah!” Adam exclaimed as he stared at her beautiful face. He was stuttering when he quickly sat up and offered her a seat. Ayah smiled and sat opposite his chair as he ordered drinks for both of them.
The amazing look of excitement on her face as discouraged him from spilling his marital status to her, he couldn’t bear to think of how broken she would be considering the fact that he promised to wait for her before she leaves the country, but as fate had it; his parents found Salma through family friends and got them an arranged marriage. Adam couldn’t deny the fact that he is falling for Salma also and he can’t help the situation.
He stared at Ayah as she was telling him about her stay abroad and how she missed him with every day that passed. “I am finally happy to be back to you Adam. I am grateful that you waited for me as you promised; I don’t want to keep you waiting any longer. I think we should get married soon.” She said looking at him. He stuttered as he was trying to respond to her request. “Oh yes, I will have my family visit yours soon.” He said briefly. They talked more for a while before they left the restaurant…
******
Salma was sitting in the living room while watching a TV drama when Ayah walked into the house. She sighed as she took a seat among the couches. “Seriously don’t you have anything apart from oversized gowns?” She asked mockingly. Salma laughed. “I will reserve my comment sis; you will understand when you reached the stage.” She said concentrating on her drama while Ayah continued laughing.
“Don’t tell me your husband isn’t home today also? It’s a Saturday.” Ayah asked looking around the room. Salma groaned as she slowly stood up. “Pregnancy and unnecessary urges!” She exclaimed as she headed to her room. “Our wedding portrait is hanged at the dining, I will use the restroom.” She said as she walked in the room.
Ayah walked eagerly to the dining to check the picture. Her heart skipped a little as she saw the picture. She began sweating instantly and her legs felt numbed as she could barely raise them, she struggled and walked sluggishly closer to the wall. She stammered as she tried mentioning his name, her eyes were blurry; she scratched them and stared clearly hoping it was an illusion but it wasn’t. Her feet couldn’t carry her as she almost fell down; she quickly grabbed the edge of the dining table to avoid falling. She was panting really hard as different thoughts stroked her mind. She quickly picked her bag and leave before Salma came in…
Adam was surprised when he saw a car moving out of his house as he walked back from the gym, the car looks familiar but he couldn’t pick up where he knew it. He couldn’t take the suspense so he walked into the house to quench his curiosity. He met Salma sitting on the couch as he walked and sat beside her. “Oh, you came just in time; my sister is here to say hi.” Salma said happily. “Oh, where is she?” He asked curiously.
Salma began calling out Ayah but she was nowhere to be found. “Can you imagine? I left her right here checking out our pictures while I was in the toilet, I wonder when she left.” She said looking surprised.
Adam groaned a little as he walked to the bedroom. “Let me take a bath then.” He said as he dropped his phone and walked in. Salma picked her phone as she tried to reach Ayah but unfortunately, she was out of call credit. She hissed as she picked up Adam’s phone to make the call. She was shocked when she typed in Ayah’s contact and it appeared saved on the phone; she was even shocked more when she called and Ayah answered crying. “Stop calling me; you cheater. Your wife is my sister.” Ayah yelled over the phone.
Salma was frozen for a while before she let go of the phone from her hands and screamed loudly. She fainted instantly before Adam could rush out of the toilet. She was already bleeding when he met her and she was barely breathing. He quickly picked her up to the car and rushed her to the hospital. The doctors attended to Salma immediately and took her to the emergency room. After a while; a doctor came out demanding Adam’s approval for a surgery.
“Your wife is undergoing a premature labor and the baby is still bridged. She cannot push out because she is weak and lost a lot of blood. We need to perform a surgery to save her.” He said handing over the consent form to Adam. Adam was weeping as he signed the form and watched the doctor walked back quickly into the room. He quickly called on their families who joined him in the hospital….
BACK TO REALITY…
The therapist sighed as he watched Ayah who was still shedding tears as she paused for a while. “Why did you stop Ayah? What happened next to Salma and Adam? Why aren’t they here with you?” He asked eagerly.
Ayah wiped her tears again as she hold on to the little baby tightly. “Salma never made it out of the surgery room. I could see her face whenever I close my eyes, her last words keeps on ringing on my head every time I stared at this boy. I could hear her words whenever I sat alone. I wished I never came back from abroad to meet such tragedy. I wished I never met Adam in the first place father.” Ayah said as she continued crying.
“Do you know the most tragic part of this story? The fact that I am left alone in this world to harbor all these pain a lot; the fact that I would have to live my whole life concealing this black story alone in my heart; the fact that I will have to live every day of my life seeing the image of my sister on her sick bed as she begged me not to tell this story to the world. I wished I could explain this to someone, then the burden might lessen on my soul.” Ayah said again as she burst into tears.
He sighed as he consoled her for a while. “And what about Adam?” He asked again. She wiped off her worn eyes and giggled. “I wished the coward didn’t leave me stuck alone in this. I don’t know whether he was brave enough or being a coward by taking his life. The day we had dinner before my sister found out about us was the last time I saw his face. Adam had a stroke and gave up after Salma’s death. I still have his last letter with me.” She said as she slowly brought out the letter from her bag and handed it to the therapist…
“Dear Ayah!”
“It is with great pleasure embedded with guilt that I wrote this letter to you. I am sure that my dead body would have been cold when you would receive this letter. I don’t know whether my death would solve this whole mess but I am sure it would lessen the burning flames in my mind. There is no doubt that you are first love and would always be Ayah; but I couldn’t lie to the fact that I have fallen for Salma along the line. May be if I had come out clean to both of you, we wouldn’t have been in this mess. I had to end everything because I can’t bear living with the black fact that I caused the death of my wife. I cannot live to tell this black story to my son. The guilt has eaten me up that I could barely breathe. I feel suffocated just by thinking about it. I cannot live to tell this awful story Ayah. I am sorry if my decision hurts you but I felt this is the only way to ease the burning flame in my heart. I know this is a heard step to take but I never regret it, at least, I will count on you to take care of our little Adam. This story between YOU, ME & HER will definitely live long in the hearts of human… Till we meet again; with love from Adam Muhammad.”
Ayah giggled as she stared at him while he folded back the letter. “These past few years has been the best and worst years of my life. Luckily for me, I found the love I have always dreamt of but unfortunately, I watched that love slipped out of my life all; I watched how that beautiful love destroyed the lives of people I cherished. I do not have anyone to blame for our story turning out this way except myself. May be if I didn’t pressure Adam to wait for me in the first place, maybe if I had let him go; all these wouldn’t have happened and Salma would have been living happily with him.” She said still shedding tears.
“I have learned a lot of lessons from the story of my life, and I am sure you would believe me that not all love stories have a happy ending, enjoy it while it still lasts, you will never know what the next turn might bring.” She added looking at little Adam in her arms…
THE END!