Life Sentence

CHAPTER 7

A surge of anger coursed through his veins as he looked over her lifeless body. It wasn’t for himself or Yusuf or Huma or the court or even the law of his country. Saad was angry at Kubra.

Why would she do this to herself, to Huma or to Him? What gave her that right? Did she trust him so little that she preferred to die than wait? Was it that easy to drive that blade on her veins? Didn’t she know how much he loved her? Didn’t he make it clear enough that he would die before her?

And if she did have that courage, why not do it properly? At least he would’ve known what he was doing next. A rope around neck, a blade on the wrist, overdose of drugs, a car crash ___ every single one would’ve ensured that he wouldn’t live in the world without her.

But now he didn’t know if she was gonna make it through the night or not. He just wanted to carry out any of the above options and be done with it. He wouldn’t go through this pain.

But what if she did make it and he wasn’t there for her? Imagine the pain she would be in. He could never in a million years do that to her.

But why was it this easy for her to do that to him?

He saw Huma from the corner of his eye, sitting on the floor, pulling out her hair as the team of doctors tried to restart her heart.

It was the second time this night her heart had stopped. Second time she had slapped him on the face, telling him that she could leave him any time she pleases and he can’t do any fucking thing about it!

“Pulse check!” The doctor running the code said and the other stopped the compressions to check her pulse.

“We have a pulse. Weak but it’ll have to do.”

And he went soft in his knees, falling on the ground, eyes rolling back in his head and vision clouding as all senses evaded him. The last voice he heard was Huma’s in the distance as she shouted, “Bhai!”

*~*

Huma turned another page and smiled through her tears. So Kubra did remember the time when Huma had eaten her chocolates without telling her and blamed her dog. What beautiful days they were when they were just seven. Now look what they had come to.

The girl who loved life had committed suicide and the girl who hated crying didn’t knew anything else now.

She hugged the sketchbook and closed her eyes, a cry of pain leaving her lips. A hand on her shoulder had her looking up and she found the people she knew the blame lied in. They were the reason she was pushed to this extreme. If they hadn’t left and been here for her, hadn’t made her feel unwanted, she would’ve been okay and so would have his brother been! A brother who was currently unconscious before her eyes with IV bores pushing fluids into him!

“Huma, please tell me my baby is okay.” Sonia Shahbaz pleaded her.

“Your…..baby? Right.....Kubra. Yes. The one you guys left. Of course.” She wanted to say a lot of things that were far more hurtful but she didn’t want to do that to her best friend’s parents.

“Huma, I know you’re hurting but I will not tolerate such behavior towards my wife,” she used to admire Shahbaz Baig for the love he had for his partner but when she realized that the same love wasn’t for his daughter, he lost all the respect she had for him.

She smiled bitterly. “Of course, uncle. I’m sorry, auntie.”

“It’s okay, beta. Please tell me how she it.”

“Doctors aren’t able to say much, and I’m not brave enough to go and see for myself. Not anymore. I’ve seen her die and be pulled back and restrained into this life two times already. I’ll join the list of patients in this hospital like my brother if I have to watch her leave the third time.”