The Power Of Calmness

Chapter 57

Regrets

Sorrows aroused by circumstances beyond one's control or power to repair can be described as regrets; the work towards forgiveness is called repentance. Forgiveness requires penitence. Man is bound to feel all sorts of emotions and expressions during this time because, it takes a lot of strength to let go of pain. And in situations whereby, there seem to be emotional imbalance, it gets rueful. On this scale of forgiveness and penitence, there's a teenager who is emotionally traumatized and knows no other way than what he has been used to, i.e. living and growing with pain and on the other end of the scale, there's a father who seems to want to go to any length to seek for his boy's remission. Both are between a rock and a hard place.

The air lacked warmth, it held a chilly reception at its core which made the hair on his skin come afire. There was almost no light when he opened his eyes again. The darkness of the night was thick and for a moment he began to panic.

"Am I dead?" He asked no one in particular. He was able to flex his limbs and crane his neck which was a relief to his apprehension but, the darkness told otherwise.

"No you are not." A voice replied. If nervousity was a person, it would have been Mahmoud. He looked aghast like he had seen a ghost, his face drained of every colour it held. "W...who i...i...is the......there?" He stammered, ever so frightened. He tried sitting from his laying position but, fell back to the bed with a groan. "Arrghh!" He screamed. Why did his head hurt so bad? It was like, there was a circus going on in it.

"Please relax," Aaliyah requested, emerging from the couch. "You are not yet strong." She added, adjusting the pillows so he could sit up straight. He tried shuffling away from the voice to get a good view of who it was. "Calm down, it's me Aaliyah." She said, turning on the bedside lamp. Mahmoud sighed on seeing her face, placing a hand on his chest as he exhaled. Aaliyah began pouring water into a glass, saying "I put off the light to ease your headache, I knew you would be having one after the fade."

She knew. She knew about the faint. "How did you know?" He drawled, suddenly picking interest on the duvet.

"Drink this first," She gently passed him the glass, placing two pills on Advil in his palm. "It will help with your head." She gave a smile, making herself comfortable beside him on the bed. Aaliyah watched as he took it without a second thought, satisfaction washing over her. She then collected the glass from him, replacing it back on the table. "How do you feel?" She asked concerned.

"It is nothing I haven't experienced before," He replied shrugging. "I guess I am used to it by now."

Aaliyah furrowed her brows in confusion. "Does it happen often? Is it like a regular thing?"

"Yes and no Aaliyah, it gets this way when it becomes unendurable for me." He beamed a sad one, looking around the room. "Where is Hanan?" He asked.

"She fell asleep, Adnan had to take her back to our room." She answered, flummoxed as to why he could be so liberal with pain. Something was definitely off with their father and, she was bound to find out what it was.

"He was in here?" He asked surprised. With the amount of hate the boy held towards him, he didn't envision him wanting them to be in a space.

"Yeah, he came looking for us after coming back from wherever he raged off to." She gritted, annoyed. When Adnan returned to the house, he searched for them all over till he found them in their father's room. Aaliyah didn't have it in her to even look at him, she was so pissed with his behaviour that if she had spoken to him, they will end up having a heated argument. He came into the room, seeing the state they were in. Their father unconscious on the bed, Hanan asleep on her lap and she, deep in thoughts. She was in wonderment and disarray as to what conspired between them that led to this. Whatever Adnan might have said to their father was justified, he was hurt. However, the fact that she called out to him, asking what the problem was when he came running down the stairs, and him leaving her abruptly with no response was what irked her the most. It was a different environment, they knew no where, they knew no one, they weren't familiar with the area, they knew not if it was safe or packed with hoodlums and, he just nonchalantly left, leaving her in worry.