Her feet splashed on the puddles collected on the cold asphalt, but she didn't seem to pay it any heed. With a small smile on her lips, she continued to walk on the road leading to the outside of the Hospital; towards the main street.
The last hours of the night and the darkness didn't affect her pace in the least. Confident about her destination, she continued walking through the night. Until, a man cladded hidden in the darkness appeared behind Hajra and quickly pulled a cloth over her face, making her jerk back in surprise. Her hands immediately came up desperately to pull it off from her face; but before she could scream, another man appeared infront of her and roughly holding her by her shoulder, drove the knife through her gut repeatedly; until she was a lifeless mess laying in a pool of her own blood.
--------
Mateen gaped at her lifeless figure on the floor. He was vaguely aware of the hysterical cries escaping his mouth as he gawked horrified at her unmoving body sprawled face down in a puddle of her own blood.
He kept screaming her name through gasps of wails, while trying to get to her but someone was holding him back, stopping him from reaching out to her. He tried to wrench free of the strong hold around him but could do nothing except howling helplessly at the sight infront of him; until his head started spinning and the last thing he remembered before passing out was his father's terrified face in front of his eyes.
------------
"He's up." He heard some lady's voice by his bedside but before he could completely regain consciousness, the memory of Hajra's lifeless body slammed against his senses and he began to convulse uncontrollably.
"HE'S SEIZING--!" The nurse screamed and the code red team quickly gathered in his room; one of them forcibly pushing out a panicked Shahid Abbasi from the room, who desperately tried to push through the herd to get to his son, but could do nothing to save him.
------------
Barely managing to be standing on his own two feet, Mateen stood in his place glaring threateningly at his parents; whose own faces were crestfallen with shadows lining their sunken eyes. In a short period of time they had lost all of the charm and glamour which they were well known for in their social circle.
Staggering on his feet, Mateen crossed the center of the enormous Hall of his parent's Mansion and through quivering lips, he pushed hard against his father's chest, but his weakened state didn't manage to budge Shahid Abbasi even an inch from his place.
"YOU---!! YOU KILLED HER!! YOU BOTH DID THIS---I HATE YOU!!I DETEST YOU BOTH--" He screamed hysterically at the top of his lungs, until the gasps melded with his sobs, clogging his respiration and making his head spin. White flashed across the screens of his mind, before he collapsed onto himself and dropped onto the shiny marble floor.
---------------
"You have gone through a tragedy at such a young age, you are expected to lash out. You don't need to confine your feelings—"
Mateen kept staring at the ceiling's architecture, while reclining on the chaise in Dr. Farooq's office.
By now, words—anger, everything had left him. He was just exhausted.
------------
"Mateen, look Ammar and Isra are here to see you—"
He was sitting on on the window sill of his room. His one hand resting on his pulled up leg, when his mother's voice resounded outside his locked door. He barely glanced in that direction, before averting his gaze back to the bleak, colourless scenery outside his room.
-------------
Passage of time had escaped him, but the feeling of devastation and misery only intensified.
He stood in Mush's room, holding a knife to his wrist. Everything was in it's exact place as the day she killed herself in this very room. Except the blood and Mush's deadbody.
It was late at night and everyone was in bed; yet, he didn't forget to lock the room.
"Don't. This will take a long while before you bleed out and die. Too painful. I know from experience." He looked up and slowly blinked upon seeing Mush standing infront of him.
"You can't be alive. You're dead. Because of me—because, I couldn't stop you or Noman from telling Dad everything about that guy. If Dad didn't take those measures. If I stopped him—If I did--you would've been alive and--and--she---"
At the mere thought of her, Mateen felt his insides churning up in pain. Still holding onto the knife, he used his free hand to clutch at his chest in agony. But the bile rising in the back of his throat made him drop to his knees and curl over himself as he retched out his empty guts on the floor.
"It's my fault---I killed you--and her--Because of me--That's why--she died--I--I don't deserve happiness--You're right. I deserve this---I should've disappeared--I shouldn't have been born--It would've been better if I--if I had just--died--instead--"
Sobs clogged the back of his throat and tears stained his cheeks, as he looked up through pained moans at Mashal, who was now sitting infront of him and wiping away his never ceasing tears.
"It was never your fault, Mateen. I am sorry, for everything. I love you always."
He shook his head at her in disbelief, his wails echoing through the room, as he averted his gaze to the floor once more.
"I--I don't know--I don't know what to live for--anymore--Mush--I--I am dying---I can't--I--" The sound of his sobs was the only sound breaking the silence of the room, until another familiar voice resounded in his ears.
"Allah does not burden a soul beyond that it can bear. (Qur'an, 2:286)"
He looked up in shock. Mashal was nowhere in sight anymore. The room was empty once again, until he finally spotted her.
"....Hajra?" He gawked at her figure standing far ahead on the other end of the long hallway.
She kept watching him unblinking.
"Am I hallucinating? Are you...really here..?"
"Hajra...what.." He kept staring at her, who now stood infront of him; smiling at him ever so softly. Mateen only shook his head at her, tears escaping the confines of his eyes and dripping down his chin.
"Why.." A heartbreaking sob escaped his lips, as he broke down infront of her yet again.
"How...How did this happen...How did we end up here.."
"...why...why..am I so alone.." He gasped out through the pain searing his existence.
"You can't quit. This—This is not the end. Not for you. You'll stay and you'll get through this. You WILL get through this."
Hajra blinked and turned away.
"Hajra." He called her out, but she didn't turn around. He took a step closer towards her but she kept getting further out of his reach.
"HAJRA!" She was only a blur in his vision now, yet he kept screaming out her name.
Only for a split second, her eyes had found his before she looked away as abruptly and disappeared.
Hajra!
"He's waking up. Get the doctor."
He slowly pried his eyes open to have them shutting reflexively because of the blinding lights.
"Hajra." He breathed out a raspy breath finally, before falling into the sweet embrace of oblivion, once again. But this time, he had finally been set free from his nightmares.
Assalamualaikum! Just making some edits😅The special updates will be up soon InshaAllah 🙈
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