TAUHIDA ✔️

Chapter 38

~°°~At the end of every tunnel~°°~

Eight (8) months later

Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, Nigeria.
21st November, 2022.
3:18pm
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The sun was radiant with the cold and heat of early winter, its rays splashed to every part of the region providing warmth to the surface. He took silent but authorative steps out of the arrival section of the airport while wheeling his luggage with him.

Unaware of the person running towards his side, he bumped into her and she fell with a thud causing attention towards her. She groaned in pain and also embarrassment from the many eyes that were on her.

Even so, she knew it was her fault for running in the crowd which guaranteed that she was the one who bumped into him and not the other way round. But he didn't know that because he was also absent-minded so, was not sure who bumped into who.

"You okay?" He asked in a rather concerned tone, her eyes were still closed though as she kept feeling embarrassed.

"Yes I am" She said before opening her eyes to meet his. "I am sorry I bumped into you, I wasn't being careful enough because I am excited to be finally home. Don't comment on my apology though, it would make it less embarrassing for me and as you might have noticed, I'm not someone who usually gets embarrassed and....." She kept ranting until he cut her off with his sentence.

"You, might want to get off the floor first, that way it will be less embarrassing for the both of us" He voiced. "Oh yes" She said before standing up on her feet while she dragged her suitcase close to her standing figure.

"Sorry once again. I go by the name Jasmin, what do they call you mister?" She introduced and asked simultaneously. "It's Sh....."

"Maheen, right here" A lady called her from afar making her plan to flop. She intended to know his name without him knowing hers. In a way, she wanted to remember him but she didn't want him to remember her.

"I have to go" She quickly said without making eye contact as she dragged her suitcase away from him to the direction of the lady that called her earlier. She knew she had embarrassed herself more than required in just mere minutes.

But even as she left him standing there while she ran to hug her sister who came to welcome her, she wondered what his name could be. "Sheriff? Shamsu? Shamil? Shaban? Shuaibu? Shurayh? Shameem? He wouldn't be Sheikh right? Since he looked nothing like an Arab" That was how Maheen's mind kept traveling back to what his name would be.

"Shafiq is what they call me" Meanwhile, he was whispering to himself with a smile as he watched her walk away with the other girl. He sighed before walking away with his suitcase too.

He was finally back, after nine(9) months, not to visit but to find a new reason to live.

Running was all he did in his life so he thought it was finally time for him to make something out of his life. His parents though returned back to Nigeria a month after they went to Italy and because Shafiq was not ready to face the truth about his life, he decided not to follow them back.

So there he was, ready to face and embrace his life no matter how bad it would be, it was all about courage after all.

And luck seemed to be on his side because the first person he got into a conversation with didn't leave a bad impression. In fact, she gave him hope, that there is light at the end of every tunnel and so he wouldn't back out.