Searching

Chapter 30

Searching
Katibah Elle
Chapter 30

Zuhair rode with Tahseen in the ambulance, gently stroking her hand.

Her hand was so cold, why was it so cold?
Zuhair obsessed over this, while continuously running his fingers over her icy skin.

Back at the Valli’s residence, during his outburst outside, the paramedics were quick with their work and just managed to stabilise Tahseen.

Sitting next to her now, his hands clasped together with hers in between his palms, his forehead resting on it, he prayed fervently for her, “Please Ya Shafi! Heal my wife, give her life... Please...”

Eventually with some courage he looked up to see her face.
The dried blood stained her collar bones and shoulders, standing out from a her pale body, making for a gruesome sight.

Zuhair gasped at what he saw and when the sharp realisation hit him, he practically shook at the smell of her sickly sweet blood, making him want to howl in agony.

He couldn’t bare to look at her ghost like face anymore, and so he simply stared at her wedding ring.
He watched as the diamond reflected off of the blue and red ambulance lights, that peeked in through the window and imagined the beautiful day of their Nikah.
The tears began to well up in his eyes again, as he whispered against her fingertips, “Oh my Tahseen. I need you. You need to be OK... Baby please.”

***

As soon as the ambulance reached the hospital, Eric pulled Zuhair aside as the medical team wheeled her away, “Zuhair, I’ve got this. This is my job. You need to be calm and rational, make all the necessary phone calls to her family and yours, and wait in the waiting room. I will be out with information regarding her injuries, and you’ve got to trust me, OK?”

Zuhair nodded in jerky movements and the next thing he knew, he was all alone.
He made the phone calls, swift and to the point, with his heart lodged in his throat, “Asalamu alay kum. Uncle Ebrahim..uh dad. There’s been an accident at the Valli’s. Tahseen, she’s hurt. We’re at the hospital right now. You need to be here. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Zuhair cut the call, pressing his palms to his eyes. He didn’t know what else to say,  his shocked father in law.
How do you tell the parents of a beautiful girl, that their only daughter might be dying?
That there is absolutely nothing you can do?

Zuhair paced the hospital floors, thrusting his hands through his hair in distress, leaving it a tousled mess. The buttons on the top of his shirt came undone, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

What if she doesn’t make it?
She took a really bad hit, and all that blood? She lost so much of blood, that can’t be good. What if she goes into a coma, and doesn’t wake up? Why didn’t Kaju Khala phone her parents beforehand? Ebrahim took the news as if he just heard it. What was going on? What if Kaju Khala had something to do with this?

The ‘what if thoughts’ only served in driving Zuhair crazy. The man looked completely broken and distraught, and it was only until the family came rushing in, did he snap out of his slow descend towards depression, and straightened his back.

He needed to show that he was strong, for them, for Tahseen.
Fahmida ran towards him and grabbed him in a tight hug, sobbing against his forearms, “Oh Zuhair! My little girl! Where is my darling girl? My Tahseen... ”

After holding Fahmida in a comforting hug, Zuhair sighed roughly and pulled away, just enough to look Aunty Fahmida, he managed to dredge up a smile and teased, “Aw mother in law, what’s all these tears? You know your daughter better than anyone. She’s a fighter, and I know she is in there fighting. You’d think she would leave us? Not when she promised to cook us her version of chicken tikka masala, braai style. Like either of us will let her get out of that! Come sit. Let me get you a bottled water.”

Fahmida patted him on the shoulder, then wiped away her tears. She looked at him and with a soft smile instructed, “You don’t need to take care of me. I’ll be alright. Why don’t you back to your hotel room and take a shower, Ebrahim and I have brought you something to eat. We will be right here. Come now Zuhair, you look drained out. Allow me to take care of you.”

Zuhair shook his head stubbornly, and refused, “No, I will never leave Tahseen. I need to hear from the doctors first. I appreciate it, I do. But.. I just can’t leave her.”

Ebrahim finally spoke, “It’s OK son.”

Before Zuhair could reply, he saw his parents making their way to him.

His mother pulled him into a hug and whispered, “ Just keep praying OK. Don’t stop.”
Zuhair held onto his mother a little longer, the nightmare of losing another person he loved sat on the edge of his throat, it was only the support of family that kept him from roaring into insanity.

***

Eric found Zuhair and the family and ushered them into an empty office.

“Zuhair, Mr and Mrs Hassim, Tahseen has been operated on, I have the clear to ensure that in this delicate situation she receives the best treatment. She has suffered from a herniated disc injury, three of her vertebrae have ruptured, as well as nerve damage, the result of the her flying backwards. Her back took the biggest hit. The recovery process could take longer than the expected six weeks, however with spinal injections and medication, Tahseen will get better. Then there’s the blunt trauma and internal bleeding in the chest and knee joints, all have been taken care of. Her head injury, in medical terms was a damn lucky one. She hit her head hard, and it had caused a concussion. There hasn’t been any internal injuries in the brain, from the scans done, but we will continue to monitor her. With regards to the very delicate situation I was referring too....”

Zuhair interrupted Eric impatiently, “What is it Eric ? Is she awake? Can we see her?”

Eric looked straight at Zuhair and replied, “We found an additional, faint little heartbeat. Tahseen is eight weeks pregnant.”