RAABTA

EK TARFA ISHQ

My story began with a tragedy; my brother's kidneys failed.

They say stress causes more trouble than any other perpetrator, and in our case, it's true.

We lost our parents at a very young age. Stuck in this world with a small baby Sahil, my brother Hamza and I swam through oceanic currents of trials to survive, to breathe.

Taking charge as a parent wasn't easy, and it certainly took a toll on Hamza. He matured far more than his age, took extra loads of jobs to keep the food on our plates. In between taking care of his siblings, he forgot to take care of himself. And soon enough, just when he got a nice job that paid well, he fell sick.

His sickness wasn't normal, it broke us in ways one can seldom heal from. He was our anchor, our everything.

You could have heard about illnesses that aren't treatable and it is good when it is just a passing fact, not the fact that determines your reality. When this particular cyclone hits your family do you realize how badly it uproots everything you gathered?

Anyway, I will come to the main subject of this discussion. The discussion of my heartbreak.

I am a firm believer that no matter how many doors close on your face, how many blessings turn into trials, there is always some help-constant help coming from our Creator, Allah. He doesn't leave us to suffer alone. While testing us with difficulties he surely paves the way for us to overcome it.

In my situation, my brother's job was our lottery. The insurance that it provided became the help we desperately needed to treat him. There are only two options for a person whose kidneys fail to work: lifelong sessions of dialysis or an organ transplant.

I met him during these four-hour-long dialysis sessions Hamza undergoes thrice a week.

Talha is a nurse.

At first, I was too dissolved in my grief to notice him. It took me two months to come to terms with all those who worked in the dialysis department. He is one among the six others.

It's his kindness that attracted my attention towards him. On a serious note, he wasn't even as good-looking as the life partner I have always dreamed of. He was average. He was not at all like the person I usually would one day fall for. But he was the person I fell for.

I remember vividly the first time my eyes recognized him. The evening was filled with mellow breezes as me and Hamza along with Sahil walked toward the hospital from our home. Hamza always went to the bathroom before going in for dialysis because if he wanted to pass urine in between the sessions, he wouldn't be able to do so. Once connected to the machine, it ends only after four hours.

Hamza asked me to move forward to the lobby and ask the dialysis department if his turn was ready. I agreed with him and taking my seven-year-old brother Sahil's hand, I walked towards our destination. I helped Sahil sit outside in a chair and opened the door to the dialysis department.

Talha was straight in front of me, talking to one of the attendees and as his eyes met mine, I put forth, "Is there an empty bed?"

"Yes. Come in."

"Okay! Two minutes later, my brother went to the restroom."

He nodded and continued his conversation while I stepped out.

It was casual and it wasn't the time my heart felt treacherous reactions. It was when I went back to the waiting area because I could not provide Hamza with my entire attention and had to keep my eyes on Sahil instead. That was the reason why we chose to come to dialysis when Sahil had school except on Saturdays.