Incandescence

Chapter 28

My cell phone was ringing incessantly when I opened my eyes the next morning. The familiar ringtone informed me that the call wasn't on GSM but on Viber, an application that connected contacts via WiFi and enabled them to text and call for free. I picked it up from the bedside table and checked the caller ID. It was Sadaf.

"Hey! You've totally forgotten your friend." I complained, while moving into a sitting position on the bed.

"Hello to you too, Alisha!" Sadaf responded cheerfully from the other end. I smiled. Her sunny disposition always made me smile.

"Hello!" I responded. "I'm not talking to you." I feigned anger.

"Oh come on! I know that you can't do that to me, ever!" She said with conviction. I laughed because she was somewhat right. I could never get angry at her, for whatever reasons. She was the sister I never had and sister's didn't stay angry for very long.

"You're right." I amended.

"See, I told you!" I could almost picture her grinning in the phone. "So, how's your trip going on?"

"It's going well. Anis took me shopping yesterday and then guess who I encountered." I said excitedly.

"Who?" She asked.

"Guess, girlie!"

"Ummmm... Sana?" Sana was an old class fellow of ours who had settled in Canada after her graduation. Sadaf must've thought that I had met her somewhere.

"No!" I responded excitedly.

"Well, I don't know then. Tell me who was it?" she asked.

"Hashim!"

There was a long silence from the other end. I knew what she was thinking because I was thinking the same as well. Why had Hashim come back into my life?

"What was he doing in Toronto? Wasn't he somewhere in that French state, what was the name I forgot?"

"Montreal. Yeah, he lives in Montreal but he was here to visit." I told her and then I related the story of how I met him and then Anis coming to fetch me. I told her about the attitude between the two men and how Anis had treated my childhood best friend.

"Wow! I missed that." Sadaf sounded sad. She always loved drama and this was something that would've piqued her curiosity all the more. She had a flair for drama and what's better than a real-life drama.

"You really did, Sadaf. It felt like I was standing between two bulls, who were ready to charge at each other and I was trying to pull them apart. Now that I think about it, the scenario was quite hilarious." I laughed and Sadaf joined in.

"I can almost picture the scene in my mind." Sadaf said between hilarity.

"Anyways, how is Shahmir and everyone back home?" I asked.

"Everyone is great. We just miss you, a lot."

"Me too, honey." There was a knock on the door just then and it swung open. Anis stood there, holding a tray with breakfast and two cups of Tim Horton's coffee. I thanked god that he hadn't tried to make coffee himself because I knew I wouldn't be able to stomach it today.

"Good Morning!" he called out as he set the breakfast tray on the nightstand and sat on the corner of the bed.

"Good Morning!" I responded, giving him a small smile.

"Put the phone on speaker, Alisha." Sadaf said from the other end. I did as she told and waited for her to sleep. Sadaf greeted Anis over the speaker, which made me laugh. She always teased him with various names.