Written Among The Stars.

Chapter 33 - Awaiting miracles

Haneen sat impatiently outside the ICU. Her mother was on her left and Aaban was on her right. Yousaf and Hana were sitting on the chairs opposite to them. Everybody was continuously muttering prayers under their breaths. Her heartbeat could be heard in her ears. She gripped her mother's arm tightly with one of her hand and rested her head on her shoulder. She couldn't even fathom what her mother must be feeling right now. Aaban slid his fingers through the gaps in hers and fisted his hands, squeezing hers tightly. That was surprisingly comforting for her.

Aaban's mother arrived a few minutes later. She got up to greet her and offered her the seat. She sat with Haneen's mother and consoled her. She asked about her father's condition and Yousaf gave her the details. Aaban got up from his chair and made Haneen sit on that instead. She tried to decline him but he didn't budge. He was pacing back and forth in the hallway, just as impatient as the rest of them. The doctor came out after 5 minutes and Yousaf and Aaban rushed to him.

"How's he doing? Doc?" Aaban asked.

"I am afraid, he's not doing very well." The doctor spoke in a serious tone.

"What's the matter?" Yousaf asked impatiently.

"He needs immediate surgery otherwise the whole of his circulatory system will collapse and you know the rest of consequences. I recommend you to give the consent for the surgery right now."

And she felt like the earth just slipped away from her feet. Her mother let out a whimper and Yousaf ran his hands through his hair in frustration as Hana tried to calm his nerves.

Aaban stood beside Haneen and placed his hand on her shoulders. She had not noticed it by then that she had been trembling. It was decided that her father will undergo the surgery right now as they didn't want to delay the process. The money wasn't a problem at all and Aaban also offered all his support, saying, "If you consider me your son, then please accept my help and don't hesitate even once before asking for any."

Her mother kissed his forehead and stroked his cheek lovingly.

"Aaban beta [Son], Take Hanie to eat something. She has been here since early morning and hasn't eaten anything. It's quite late now."

His mother had already gone home by the dinner time because somebody had to be there to take care of home.

"No, I am not going anywhere. I am staying with Baba here." She quickly retorted. She was in no mood to go back.

"Hanie jaan, try to understand. It's not good to stress yourself. We'll adjust alternate days to stay here. But for now, go home. It's almost midnight. You've not eaten anything either. Atleast take some rest."

"No, I will stay here until the end of the surgery." She didn't budge and they had to give in. "I will only go there to pack my stuff."

Once they reached home, she went to the bedroom whereas Aaban parked the car. She was busy in preparing her bag when Aaban came in with a tray of food. She felt like puking even though she had not eaten anything. She scrunched up her nose and turned her back to him. He placed the tray on the night stand and held her wrist. He dragged her to the bed and sat across her. He placed the tray in the centre as she continued staring at the empty space. It became quite awkward as they didn't talk much and let the silence consume the darkness of the night. Their eyes were enough to do all the talking but right now, she didn't have time for any complains. He filled a spoon of some rice and held it in front of her face. She was facing the other side while clutching onto the bed sheet tightly. He turned her face by his free hand, so that she was facing him, and she shuddered under his touch.

"Haneen!" He sighed helplessly. "Please eat!"

She opened her mouth to protest. He grabbed it as an opportunity to shove the spoon in her mouth. After that, he kept feeding her morsel by morsel until the whole plate was empty. He handed her the glass of water and she gulped it down in one attempt.