A man like khalid

20

Khalid tossed and turned in bed, unable to shake off the encounter with his mother during when Nadeen was in yola. The words she had hurled at him still rang in his ears, each syllable cutting deeper than the last. He could hardly believe it had happened, yet the tension in his chest was a constant reminder of the reality he now faced.

Flashback
It had started as a regular evening. He had just returned from a long shift at the hospital, the exhaustion settling in his bones as he barely managed to pull on a T-shirt before the doorbell rang. He wasn't expecting anyone, and as he walked down the stairs, adjusting his shirt, he tried to push aside the unease that crept up his spine. But the moment he opened the door and saw Hajiya's face, he knew something was very wrong.

"Hajiya, it's you," Khalid said, trying to mask his surprise. "Come inside."

Without a word, Hajiya stormed past him, her silence heavy with anger. Behind her, Farhana trailed in, her expression mirroring Khalid's confusion. She shrugged her shoulders, signaling she was just as clueless as him.

The tension in the room was palpable. Khalid felt his heart pounding as he closed the door, every instinct telling him that whatever had brought his mother here at this hour was going to shatter the fragile peace he had tried so hard to maintain.

"Good evening, Mom," he greeted her, his voice uncertain, hoping for some explanation.

But Hajiya didn't return the greeting. Instead, she turned to him, her eyes blazing with anger and disappointment. "So, Khalid," she began, her tone sharp as a knife, "how could you be so selfish, letting a girl manipulate you into marrying her? Tell me, is it true that Hanif is not your child?"

Khalid felt the world tilt beneath him. He could barely process what she was saying. Farhana gasped beside him, her hands flying to her mouth in shock. The room seemed to close in on him, the walls tightening as the implications of his mother's words sank in.

"Hajiya," he stammered, "who told you all this?"

But she didn't need to answer for him to know the truth was out, and it was far worse than he could have imagined. "Oh, so it is true," Hajiya continued, her voice trembling with fury. "You let that girl bring another man's child into our home and lied to everyone that it was yours? Has she bewitched you, Khalid?"

Khalid's mind raced, struggling to find the right words, the right explanation that could calm his mother down. But nothing came. All he could think of was Nadeen. His heart ached at the thought of her finding out, of her being dragged into this nightmare.

"Hajiya, it's not like that," he tried to defend Nadeen, his voice strained. "Ishaq did assault her, and he threatened her not to tell anyone."

"Then why didn't she go to the police?" Hajiya shot back, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. "I know you would have suggested that to her."

Khalid's frustration boiled over. "Hajiya, who told you all this? Who has been feeding you these lies?"

"Who told me is none of your concern," she snapped. "I had my doubts, so I did my own research. The results were clear—99% accurate, in fact. Hanif is not your son." She pulled a piece of paper from her bag and flung it at him, the weight of it like a physical blow.

Khalid stared at the test results in disbelief, his mind numb. "When did you do this?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Hajiya's voice softened slightly, but the anger remained. "I can't talk much more about this, Khalid. It's hurting me too much. But I want you to know that I won't allow that girl to stay in this house, tell her not to bother coming back. And since you claim Hanif is Ishaq's son, I will have a paternity test done."

Her words were final, leaving no room for argument. Khalid watched helplessly as she turned on her heel heading for the door. But before she left, she ordered him to bring Hanif's comb so she could collect the hair for the test.

Khalid hesitated, his mind a whirlwind of fear, regret, and helplessness. He knew this was spiraling out of control, but he couldn't think of a way to stop it. Numbly, he walked upstairs to retrieve the comb, his footsteps heavy as if each step was dragging him deeper into a pit he could never climb out of.

When he returned, Hajiya snatched the comb from him without a word and left the house, leaving Khalid and Farhana standing in stunned silence. The moment the door closed, Farhana turned to him, tears pooling in her eyes. "Yaya Khalid, is this true?" she asked, her voice trembling. "Is Hanif really not your son?"

Khalid couldn't bring himself to answer. He felt as though his world was crumbling around him, and he was powerless to stop it. The guilt, the fear, the regret—it was all too much. Without another word, Farhana stormed out of the house, too overwhelmed to process what she had just learned.

Khalid texted her repeatedly, begging her not to say anything to Nadeen. Each message was more desperate than the last, but Farhana didn't reply. It was only after what felt like hours that she finally returned, her face pale and her eyes red from crying.

"Thank goodness you came back," Khalid said, relief washing over him. "Please, Farhana, don't tell Nadeen anything. I promise I'll explain everything to you. Just trust me."

Farhana's love for her brother won out. She knew Khalid better than anyone, and though she was hurt and confused, she couldn't bring herself to betray him. She nodded, though her heart was heavy with doubt and fear for what was to come.

Khalid sat with Farhana in the living room and told her everything. He told her about Nadeen's situation, about how she had been cornered by Ishaq and how he had felt compelled to protect her. But as he spoke, he could see the worry deepening in Farhana's eyes.

"Yaya, you should have known that a day like this would come," she said, her voice breaking. "You should have done something—reported it, told someone from her family, anything. Instead, you kept quiet and married her."

Khalid hung his head, the weight of his mistakes pressing down on him. "I didn't expect her to get pregnant," he whispered, almost to himself.

Farhana wiped at her tears, her heart aching for both her brother and Nadeen. "Khalid, I love Nadeen. She's been a true friend to me, the best I've ever had. She helped me when no one else would. I can't bear the thought of anything happening to her."

Khalid felt a lump in his throat as he looked at his sister, her tears mirroring the despair he felt inside. He reached out, pulling her into a hug, trying to offer comfort he didn't feel himself. "Nothing is going to happen to her," he murmured, more to convince himself than Farhana. "I won't let anything happen to her. I promise."

Reality
As he lay in bed that night, watching Nadeen sleep peacefully, he felt the crushing weight of the promises he had made. He had confessed his feelings for her, had finally allowed himself to love her, but now it felt like it was all slipping away. The fear gnawed at him, kept him awake as the hours ticked by, and he found himself praying, seeking help and guidance in the darkness.

He had to protect Nadeen, had to find a way out of this mess before it destroyed them both. But the road ahead seemed impossibly steep, and he couldn't shake the feeling that no matter what he did, the worst was yet to come.