LUCENT

38

NADIRA

I was spending time with my mother and sisters, celebrating my sisters' double pregnancies, when Junaid texted me that a driver was coming to pick me up for something urgent. I was confused and asked many questions that he refused to answer. He said that he would explain when we met.

I said goodbye to my mother and sisters and hopped into the car once the driver arrived. "Where are we going?" I ask the driver as he starts the car.

"The hospital, Ma," he replies, and my eyes widen.

"Why?" I asked nervously.

"I'm not sure Ma. I was only instructed to take you there," he answers.

Taking out my phone from my bag, I text Tayyib, Anna and Laila frantically, hoping to get some answers, but none answered. I then called them, but they didn't pick up. I tried Manal and Kausar, but that wasn't fruitful.

"What the hell is going on?" I ask aloud, my hands quivering from nervousness.

Why are they all ignoring me? If something happened, shouldn't they explain it to me instead of letting me go in blindly? Good and bad things could happen at a hospital, but it did not sound good from how Junaid spoke.

"We're here, Ma," the driver says as we pull into the parking lot.

"Thank you," I say and jump out.

Zayn, Rayan and Sa'ad were standing outside the building. Rayan was talking on the phone sombrely, while Zayn seemed to be consoling Sa'ad.

"What happened?" I asked as I rushed over.

Zayn looks at me with sad eyes and sucks in a breath. "Tayyib passed out. But he's okay. The doctors put him to sleep for a while, but he should be awake soon," he says lowly, and I gasp.

"What do you mean he passed out? Just like that? Is that normal?" I asked, my mind troubled and struggling to digest what he said.

"I was speaking to him about what you told me, and he just-" Sa'ad starts but breaks into tears before finishing.

Zayn grabs him by the shoulder and pulls him into a hug. "Go see him. Rayan will escort you," he says as he consoles Sa'ad.

Rayan motions for me to follow him into the building, and I do. We take the elevator to the fourth floor, and he leads me down the halls and points to a door.

Slowly, I grip the handle and twist, then walk into the cold room. Owais and Junaid were sitting on the settee by the door. They gave me small smiles and stood up. I walked further into the room, and my eyes fell on a sleeping Tayyib on the hospital bed.

He looked so peaceful. His eyebrows were relaxed, and his chest rose and fell steadily. It was very different to how he had looked yesterday.

"We'll be outside," Owais says, squeezing my shoulder. They exit the room, and I walk over to the bed.

I reach out my hand and gently graze it over his forehead. An act that caused his nose to twitch slightly. "What are you not telling me?" I ask, caressing his cheek.

"Please let me in, Tayyib. I just want you to be okay," I plead. "I don't want to see you lying here ever again," I add, tears brimming in my eyes.

I kiss his forehead, something he did for me very often. I put my bag on the armchair beside the bed and sit on the edge. I grab his hand and give it a slight squeeze. With his hand clasped in mine, I watched him sleep soundly.

About an hour later, I heard a commotion outside the room. "Mama, please, you'll wake him and the other patients," I hear Yasir say.

"Shut up!" She bellows. "My son has been lying on a hospital bed all day, and you didn't bother to tell me!"