Operation: Dard and Devotion

5 | Confidant & Cruel

Ahsan tightly grasped me by the elbow and led me down a dark corridor on the left; only one gas lamp hung from the ceiling of the grim hallway. I was still sobbing as he dragged me down the passageway, but I noticed he loosened his grip on me as soon as we were distanced from the others.

He fetched a key from one of the many pockets in his combat vest, and unlocked the farthest door on the left.

A furnished door in a cave?

Ahsan opened the metal door and motioned me to go inside. It was only then I realized that my clothes were still wet and my sandals were beginning to wear out. With every step I took, drops of water fell from the hem of my dress as I examined the room.

It was a bland, but somewhat spacious room surrounded by four grey slabs of concrete walls. A rustic metal cot was aligned in the center of the wall in front of me. A well-bucket stood off on the floor on the left side, nearby a small wooden table. The space was dimly lit with a few gas lamps.

A bit of the sunset blaze shone through via a drilled hole in the corner of wall above the cot.

Apart from all this, the room was empty.

My soaked clothes did not help to give me warmth, especially since the room was absolutely freezing. I crossed my arms as tightly as I could, trying to keep in as much heat to myself as possible. My teeth chattered so loudly but I couldn't help it. The air was frigid and I felt as though I had just stepped into an igloo.

"Sit," Ahsan ordered, not caring that I was on the verge of freezing to death.

Sit where? There wasn't a chair anywhere!

I stared at him, utterly confused.

Then again, I certainly wasn't subject to five-star treatment here. I should not be surprised if there wasn't a chair in sight.

The floor, then?

"On the cot," Ahsan told me sternly. He eyed me intently with his glinting black eyes as I sat near the head of the cot. It only had a wired sleeping surface without a mattress, a pillow or a bed sheet. The criss-crossed wire that I was sitting on felt icy and frigid.

"Now stay here. Don't move." He suddenly exited the room, leaving me alone for a few minutes. I wondered what grave sin I had committed to deserve this. I saw two children get brutally murdered less than half an hour ago.

Just why?

Then, hot tears streamed down my face beyond my control, as most things were, and I couldn't seem to stop them; even my nose began to drip. I furiously wiped at my face with my sleeve when a strange scent filled my nose.

Damp blood from Sadah.

I looked down in horror; her blood was stained on my sleeves and it had not yet dried. I rubbed my face with my hands, hoping to wipe away any remnant of blood on my face, when a bundle of black cloth was swiftly thrown at my face. An abaya?

"Take off your jilbaab."

No!

When I didn't budge, I noticed Ahsan's jaw tighten under the balaclava.

Maybe it isn't a good idea to get this guy angry...

But should I strip in front of him just to save myself from being killed?

He inhaled deeply and inspected my tear-stained face. "I meant, I'll stand outside while you hand me the jilbaab through the door so I can dry it over a fire. Then I'll give it back to you and you can wear the jilbaab under the abaya to keep warm."