Raaz ( Mystery)

Chapter 10

Mihrimah :
15th April 2023
11:00 am

Mihrimah was at the grocery store when she received Anastasia's call. She called her to the headquarters and said it was something urgent which made her anxious but she tried to stay calm.

She went straight to the headquarter which was thirty minutes away. As she reached there Anastasia led her to Asher's office.

He was sitting on his office chair with his head resting at the top of it. It seemed like he was lost in his thoughts.

He gave her a perplexed look as she entered the office. He was wearing a navy blue dress shirt with black slacks.

"Assalamualaikum you wanted to see me ?" She said.

"Walaikum assalam , Have a seat." He said pointing at the chair Infront of his desk.

Mihrimah looked at his hand pointed towards the chair. It took her a minute to realize that he was talking to her. When she did she immediately took the seat. She knew something was wrong because he was being extra nice to her which made her edgy.

" Have you found any information regarding the case ?" She asked nervously. Her instincts were telling her that something was wrong.

" I want you to know that it's not as simple as it looks. This case is more serious than any of us can imagine." This statement made her go on pins and needles.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

He took a moment before he said "I think this is a kidnapping case Miss Zaidi."

In that moment Mihrimah felt her soul leaving her body. "No this is not true baba can't be kidnapped. He didn't have any enemies. Who would kidnap him ?"

"We can't assume anything yet"

Her heart came to her mouth. She didn't even realize when her fingers started trembling. Her whole childhood with her baba flashed Infront of her eyes. She was about to have a panic attack right there at the moment that's when he offered her a glass of water which brought her back to reality. She took the glass of water from his hands immediately. Mihrimah tried hiding her hands so he could not see her shivering fingers. He might have realized how vulnerable she was in that moment , she thought. She didn't want him to be sympathetic towards her. She hated sympathy and he was the last man she'd ever want to be pitied by.

She looked at him with her light brown eyes filled with sorrow and asked him one last question. "Is he alive ?" She didn't know why she was asking him a question which she already knew he can't answer.

Dark brown eyes met the light brown ones for a second before he said " We'll bring him back to you". His voice was calm as he said those reassuring words. She really wanted to believe him, she wished for his words to be true. She give him an inexplicable numb expression.

"We've tracked his phone the last signal is from Novosibirsk pervomayskiy. The authorities have sent the search team to look for him". Upon hearing those words she nodded and left the office.

She knew if she stayed there even for a second now she'll have a breakdown any moment. Mihrimah hated crying Infront of people. The only people she ever cried Infront of were Fajr and her baba because she knew they were her people. She always felt safe Infront of them.

While rushing out of the building she accidently bumped into a guy. " I'm sorry" she said and started walking quickly. " It's okay , Mihrimah is that you? Wait please stop." She heard in the background the voice sounded familiar but she didn't have the energy to go back and see who it was so she decided to move ahead and ignore it.

After coming out of the building she looked back to see if the person had followed her. She took a sigh of relief when she found no one there. It was very strange for someone to call her name like that in public especially when she didn't even recognize him.

Her vision was blurred due to the tears flooding her eyes. She felt like she had lost everything she ever had in her life. Her heart was on a sword. The pain was unbearable. It felt like her heart was being stabbed with endless blood shedding out of it. She didn't know where she was going , she moved past the parking lot where her car was parked. Mihrimah looked at sky and said "Rabbana afrigh AAalaynasabran wa tawaffana muslimeen." ( Our Lord, pour upon us patience and let us die as Muslims). Tears rolled down her cheeks as she made this dua that her father had taught her. He was the epitome of patience and tranquility.

She remembered the time she had recently started wearing the hijab and got into a fight with her classmate back in 6th grade. He called her a terrorist to which she slapped him. When the principal called her father. Mehmood asked her to apologize to him. She didn't expect him to say that she was so disappointed. She thought he would be proud of her for taking a stand for herself. She apologized to her classmate but decided not to talk to her baba in the car on their way back home.

Mehmood didn't take her home. He took her to her favorite ice cream parlor and ordered her favorite chocolate ice cream with M&Ms topping. When Mihrimah still didn't say anything "Mihri don't be so quite please say something betay" he said .

"I don't want to talk to you baba. You're the one who always taught me to take a stand and raise my voice against something that is wrong. I can't believe you asked me to apologize to someone who thinks we all are terrorists"she said disappointedly.

He smiled at her statement and said "Jaan e baba do you know why I asked you to apologize? "

"Because you wanted to be diplomatic about the situation."she replied.

"No I asked you to apologize because it was the right thing to do. Violence is never the right answer to hatred. Do you know how much our Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) had to endure at the hands of his enemies? But he never complained and taught us to remain patient and kind towards the non Muslims."

"Then how am I suppose to react to a situation like this ?" she asked in confusion.

"First of all remember that Islam is a religion of peace. Use your words don't use your hands regardless the situation or circumstances try to remain calm. Ask ALLAH SWT for patience if you're unable to find it. Even after all these efforts if the person doesn't understand your point then leave silently".

Our Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) said "I guarantee a home in paradise for the one who leaves an argument even if he is right."

Mihrimah felt embarrassed for what she did. "I'm sorry baba for letting you down and being disrespectful. I promise you not to repeat that ever again" she said.

No matter wherever you go don't forget you're a Muslim and you're the ambassador of your faith" he said with a smile on his face.

He embraced her in his arms and taught her the Dua for patience (sabr).

The sound of a car honking at her brought her back from the memory lane. She realized that she was standing in the middle of the road." DO YOU WANNA DIE ?"the driver said. She immediately wiped her eyes and went back. As she was moving back to the parking lot she felt like someone was following her. She looked back to see who it was but there was no one standing there so she thought it was her imagination. She put the car key in the ignition and headed towards Fajr's clinic.

Author's note :

Assalamualaikum guys I hope you're doing good. What do you think is going to happen now ? Who do you think Mihrimah bumped into ? Is someone following her ?