Fickle

Chapter 10

He shifted and stretched a little, cracking his head the opposite ways. He turned his head to the side, but the person he was expecting to see was nowhere to be found. He sat up immediately and called her name out loud, but no response came back. He checked the bathroom and the balcony, and then it dawned on him.

It was a dream.

He dreamt that his wife and children were living with him, and it felt so real that he almost believed it himself. However, the realisation that it was just a dream made his throat tighten. He felt that pang again. That same pang he felt the first time his father sent Kulthum home. It was almost unbearable for him because he couldn't focus nor eat for two days. That same pain he felt the first time he realised that he loved her and had messed up real bad but there was nothing he could do, that was the kind of pain he was currently going through now.

"Kulthum.." he whispered slowly. The tightness in his throat was not helping either, and his eyes were burning with dried tears. He wanted to call her badly so bad that he was about to dial her number, and he almost did, but then a call came through saving his ass.

"Tell me, General..." he said as soon as he answered. When he was done, he pushed his emotions to the back of his heart, got dressed, and came out to have his dinner.

"Good evening master, did you rest well?" Sam asked, serving his food. He took it upon himself to take care of Abdullah personally until he was sure he was back to his old healthy self again.

"I am doing fine, Sam, thank you." he was debating with himself on whether to ask him or not, but the latter won, and he bluttered out. "Did any woman come eailer today? Maybe with two kids?" He asked, and he immediately regretted it. Sam scrutinised him for a moment before replying

"No sir, are you expecting someone?" He asked. Abdullah cleared his throat and shook his head negatively, and then Sam decided to leave him be. When he was done, he gulped down his drug and decided to take a little stroll in his neighbourhood.

"Sam?" He called,

"Yes master?" He appeared as if he was wasting for him to call him any second.

"I am going out for a little stroll, tell General not to come looking for me, I want to be alone for a little while,"

"I will convey your message master" Abdullah nodded and went out. As soon as he made contact with the fresh air outside his home, his mind wandered off to the day he went out, strolling with Kulthum back at the Palace. He showed her every inch and corner in his quarters, and she couldn't believe how big and enormous the place was. As they were walking, he remembered that one conversation they once had under the cool evening breeze and that he could never forget.

"Darling?" She had called him. Playing with his fingers. He turned to her and flashed her a smile, pulling her closer to him. She chuckled and kissed his knuckles. "No matter how angry I am with you, no matter how much I would say I hate you, just know that deep down somewhere, my love for you will never fade nor wiver no matter how much I push you away." He cocked his head to the side to have a better view of her face.

"What are you saying, angel? Are you leaving me?" He asked, and she laughed.

"I can never dream of leaving you even if I want to. You are my lifeline. Do you know how an asthmatic patient relies on his inhaler?" She asked, and he nodded. "That is how you are to me. Just the way they can't do without their inhaler, I can't also without you. You are my like my inhaler, anywhere I go, I go with you wether you are present or not because your love is already engraved in my heart like an asthma disease. I love you so much, to the moon and back" she detangled her hands from his and wrapped her arms around his shoulder while he wrapped his around her waist and ever so slowly, she pressed her lips to his. She kissed him so sensually and passionately, and it led to them making love on the terrace under the dim night sky.