Searching

Chapter 15

Searching
Katibah Elle
Chapter 15

Aaliyah laughed so loud, that it made Zuhair want to smother her mouth with his leather jacket.

Her loud and crazy personality kept Zuhair constantly on edge, his nerves wrecked.
While he obviously loved her for who she was, however occasionally he found her high functioning energy to be completely draining.
She definitely did not allow any moment to turn dull, and sometimes it was an effort for him to keep up with her.

He could hear her shouting in the distance, her voice delirious by whatever she saw, that got her so excited.
What in the world was that crazy girl up to now? He wondered.

“Come on, Zuhair. Don’t be so boring! How much longer are you going to just stare at the sky?!” she coaxed him with that tiny taunt, while her steps could be heard, running off in the distance.
Hearing her call out for him, Zuhair sighed and went in search for her.

Aaliyah possessed the spirit of a dare devil. She always wanted to try the most ridiculous things, and somehow always roping Zuhair into it.
Zuhair preferred it, to be honest. In that way he could keep a good eye on her. She was dangerously unpredictable, and he needed to be her safety net.
He cared for her, and if it meant keeping up with her demanding nature, then so be it.

Aaliyah was petite, a little on the short side, with brown curly locks, that went all the way down her shoulders and bright blue eyes.
Her facial features were an unusual combination of fire and sweet, sharp and thick eyebrows paired with a button nose, Aaliyah was unique.

The best way Zuhair felt to describe her, would be a life-size doll.
She was not exactly a Barbie nor an Annabelle, Aaliyah was just special in the most quirky insane way, her looks as well as her character,  and nothing ever stood in her way, she made sure of that.

Zuhair jogged in search for her, right pass the lake and through the willow trees. The light breeze tousled his hair, lifting up the musty and earthy scents of the lake.

Breathing in deeply, Zuhair felt a moment of calm.
He loved this place, it held the memories of warmth and peace. This was his home away from home, the perfect place to reflect, to soul search and to find his center.

He usually came out here alone, about every six months, but this time it was different. Having Aaliyah here with him, well, that was another story on its own.

Walking through the dense bushes, he could finally make out her silhouette near the lake house, however the second she heard the crunch of his shoes on the dry autumn leaves, she went sprinting off, right up the porch stairs.

Zuhair shook his head, Aaliyah loved the chase. For as long as he’d known, she loved the thrill of having someone hot on her heels.

He grinned, if there was anyone that knew how to handle that firecracker girl, it was him. Taking up the challenge of chasing her, Zuhair used a smarter way to get to her. Instead of dashing up the stairs, as Aaliyah would have expected, with the creak of the red oak wood, Zuhair began to climb up the piping on the east side of the lake house.

Zuhair knew for a fact that Aaliyah had made a beeline for the balcony.
He hoisted himself over the railing, and once he reached the top, he knew well that he’d find her here.

Zuhair turned around, anticipating Aaliyah to be standing there, smirking back at him, but there was no one there.

That was strange, he could have sworn he saw the faint yellow ends of her dress just a moment ago.

Where did she go?

He walked through the entire balcony, calling out her name, “Aaliyah, OK. This time you win. I couldn’t get to you fast enough."

Silence.

That was odd, not even a giggle out of her.

“Aaliyah? Where are you?” Zuhair called out again.

He decided to open the sliding door leading into the guest bedroom. Perhaps she’d gone inside, and there wasn’t anywhere she could run from there.

Zuhair stepped inside the room and fell into utter darkness.

Panic seized him, all he could think about was getting to Aaliyah.
He couldn’t see her, he couldn’t hear her.

“AALIYAH!” he yelled out.

Nothing.

“AALIYAH, WHERE ARE YOU?!”  Zuhair frantically called out for her, as he blindly walked through the darkness.
Zuhair could feel his body temperature drop as the darkness overcame him.
It shrouded his body like a cold curse, his chest tight with fear as he fought hard to breathe.

Aaliyah!
He needed to get to Aaliyah.

Aaliyah!

Zuhair gasped and sat up abruptly in his bed. He was drenched in his sweat, his heart thundering in his chest.
With shaky hands Zuhair wiped his face, pushing the hair out of his eyes.
It was a bad dream, it was just a bad dream.
A nightmare that had surfaced after so many years, but that’s all it was, it was not reality.

Zuhair could feel his throat closing up again to the panic, grabbing his throat, he slumped against the pillows, a desperate need for water.

With an effort, Zuhair pushed the duvet covers off of him, and he stumbled across the room to the bathroom.
Not bothering to switch on the light, he fell heavily against the shower door.

With laboured breaths, he gingerly slid the door across and fell inside the shower.
Zuhair painfully dragged himself to an upright position and leaned against the cold tiles. He slowly lifted his hand to turn on the tap.
Zuhair hung his head and rubbed his eyes, as the warm water washed over him. His body shuddered with memories that he’d rather have buried deep inside.
Every second of time he spent with her, he kept locked away, only for it to emerge in a dream.

He felt haunted by Aaliyah, haunted by what she did, haunted by the pain, the ripping agony that only she left behind.
It’s been years since the last breakdown over Aaliyah, and Zuhair assumed that by now, he had it all under control.

Now he knew, that just with the mention of her name by his mother, he was reduced to pathetic shambles as the day the heartache began.

Aaliyah broke him, but he will be not allow her to haunt him at the peak of his happiness with Tahseen.

Tahseen is his light, and that is all he needs in his life.