The Halaal Way

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"O you who have believed, seek help through patience and prayer. Indeed, Allah is with the patient" (Q2:153)

One could say that life was bitter sweet, it was in order.
When one was on the good side of life, things go on so smoothly that one begins to think that all his achievements are because of his capabilities; that he is happy or has what he has because he worked hard or better said, he deserved to be happy. But when life turns around and gives one a dose of its other side, it reminds him that he is nothing but a servant of his Creator, the Controller of all affairs; that without the mercy of his Lord, he could not even have peace of mind.

These were Kamal's thoughts as he drove home from hill station. His chest was tight. He was depressed, so depressed that he began to wish he was the one lying unconscious on that hospital bed. Things were not going on well and he felt like saying he was tired. The whole situation was taking a hard toll on him. It was almost unbearable that he felt like running  away from life if it were possible, even if it was just for one minute. It was that bad.

The day that came after the night he received that text message was horrible. Yeah, Dr Fred was found lying dead along the hospital premises.
He had come back around 1am to give Kamal a new prescription sheet as he promised and after reminding him again to get the drugs first thing the next morning, he had taken his leave. Kamal suspected the killer must have killed him after then.
He had returned from the pharmacy with the drugs the next morning only to hear the sad news. He became scared. It had always bothered him how the security system of the hospital was loose but he didn't know what to do. Since they did their job very well, he decided to just manage till she recovered. But Dr Fred's murder made him have a change of mind. He had begin to process for transfer to another hospital with immediate effect.

The transfer was not granted immediately as  the hospital mounted tight security within its premises to investigate the murder case. There was no cut or injury on Dr Fred, just signs of strangulation. Kamal didn't know how far they went but three days later, he was able to move his wife to another hospital.

Kamal had thought hard about who the possible killer could be and he was able to come to one conclusion. Even though he was not hundred percent certain about the whole situation of someone wanting to kill his wife, he was seventy percent sure. Dr Fred's murder revolved around them. He had a hunch that whoever claimed to be his brother that night was most likely the killer but he couldn't say what he knew because he had no evidence. He was yet to meet whoever it was that sent him that text message. Yeah, he made up his mind to see that person. And so at lost of what to do, he had simply went to the security agencies and told them that the doctor who treated his wife in the previous hospital was murdered and he was scared. He needed additional securities to guard his wife. After following due protocols, some security officers were assigned to him 24/7.

Today, being the day he was supposed to meet the sender of that message, he left the hospital around 3:15pm, prayed Asr at the masjid around that axis and by 4:00pm dot, he was standing at the entrance of Hill Station in the company of his security officers. He had barely spent a minute when a lady dressed in a black abaya walked up to him and said,

“Good thing you came Kamal. Follow me” and he watched her walk back to her car.

For a moment, he stood in a daze, watching her take one step after another. He felt the voice sounded familiar. Even the way she walked was familiar, just that the face was different. It was when she turned back and looked at him with raised brows that he remembered he was supposed to follow her.
He signalled the security men to drive after them and began to walk towards the car. He took the passenger seat and without saying a word, she drove through the gate giving the security guards a familiar wave of her hand.