Whispers of Hope ✓

CHAPTER 3

"I want that list now and that file too. I want you to cancel evenings meeting as well and fix those meetings for Saturday." He said in his authoritative way of speaking to his P.A.

"Yes sir. I will arrange those file right away. Anything else?"

"Yes, please send a black coffee for me?"

"Yes sir." He said and went outside from his cabin.

He rested his head on his chair. His thumb and fingers pressing his forehead. His eyes were closed.

Just then the door opened without a knock on the door. He knows, he always knows who opens the gate without permission. He started to smile.

"Uncle Joshua" He hears a girl's chirping voice which sounds like music to his ears. He all of the sudden opens his eyes and looked at the girl with shocked eyes.

"Layad, you...you are smiling baby" He gets up from his seat and went near her and looked at her. He smiles by looking at her smiling face. There is no trace of trauma, fear, anxiety. There is a smile on her face, her eyes are sparkling, her face didn't look pale like before, and her voice is not dull as before.

He looked at the lady who is behind Layad, her mother who is also smiling by looking at them. Joshua looked at her mother and she nodded him through her eyes.

He started to focus on her.

"Baby, how are you. Are you feeling good?"

"Yes Uncle Joshua, I am feeling good. Do you know I went to a massage center? Mom took me there I was frightened when a girl entered the room. Then I started to cry. Ish di made me calm and talked with me. I told her that everyone said they understand me but no one understand me then she said about her fear and when she started to talk she makes me calm and then she started my therapy. I like her. She gave me relaxing massage and not for a minute she makes me feel uncomfortable. She was even talking with me due to therapy session." Layad started to explain everything to him, without a pause and without a single breath in between.

He was looking at her with confused eyes. Layad is an apple to his eyes. She is his niece. He knows how much she suffered in her past and how much she takes her time to recover but still the fear is in her heart.

Everyone has a past. Some could bear it and move on and some of them couldn't bear it and take some wrong steps. Layad is one of them. She is not that a big mature girl who understood everything. She fears everything. Every single thing.

She starts to shake every time someone unknown to her touches her. She quarantined herself for months. She ate so many sleeping pills. At that time Joshua saved her by admitting her a to hospital. Their Doctor suggested the psychiatrist.

Layad started to take the session. Her psychiatrist told them to make her relax by sending her to massage therapist. She is the one who told them about that massage center.

I guess they made the right decision to send her there. But who is Ish? It makes him confused.

"Wow, that's wonderful. Now listen Layad, I want you to continue your massage therapy there. If it helps you feel better, then I give you full support."

By listening to what her uncle said, she smiles ear to ear. That smile which also reached to his eyes and makes his eyes sparkle.

By looking at her, her mother wiped her tears which are now flowing from her eyes continuously because it's been years since she saw her smile.

"I was about to say the same thing Uncle. I want to go there and want to resume my therapy but I want Ish to take my therapy only." She said and requested her Uncle to accept her wish. This makes her Uncle and her mother smile in satisfaction.