After the truth

~35~

Aaron had always been the smallest among his peers, which made him an easy target for bullying. His retaliation, however, always left his bullies shocked and curious. Aaron was smart, and he used his intelligence to his advantage. But there were times when even his wit couldn't save him. And that was when his friendship with Imran began.

Imran was Aaron's best friend—the guy who’d hand over his bag just to beat up bullies, all to prove how cool and unbeatable he was. Their first meeting occurred when Aaron was being beaten by some seniors at school. At first, Aaron thought Imran had come to his rescue, but he was baffled to learn the real reason behind it.

He had initially thought Imran was a weird guy who had some strange interest in him. Imran started to follow Aaron around, run errands with him, and soon, Aaron found himself enjoying his company. They did everything together, and soon, most of the school knew not to mess with them. They had other friends, but Aaron never quite liked them. He only tolerated them because Imran did.

If Aaron were asked to describe his best friend, he’d say Imran was handsome, overly confident, bold, arrogant, short-tempered, and a little insane. Only Imran would do the wildest things and laugh them off as if they were completely normal—and, somehow, he almost never got hurt. But Aaron had never seen Imran love or cherish something, or someone, dearly—until that night. That was when Aaron realized that maybe his friend wasn’t just bold; he was also obsessive, almost to the point of madness.

If Aaron could go back to the time he’d first befriended Imran, there were things he’d change. But the one thing he wouldn’t change was meeting the lady who had stolen his heart.

A new student enrolled at their high school. Imran claimed she was his cousin, but Aaron didn’t believe him. Imran was always joking. The new girl was plain, and it was obvious she was trying hard to impress Imran. But he either didn’t notice or chose to ignore her. He’d tease her, making fun of her, but she wouldn’t back down. She never did.

A few days later, Aaron noticed someone identical to the plain new student, who started showing up just before the students were let out. She was beautiful. Aaron asked his father one evening if it was possible to marry someone he loved when the time came. He found out the beautiful girl’s name was Marwa—Zulfa’s twin sister—and, as it turned out, she was Imran’s "cousin."

Marwa was stunning. Some days, she wore the hijab; on others, she didn’t. She would tie her hair in a neat, tight bun, and her clothes remained modest. When Aaron had, almost without thinking, asked her about it one day, she explained that she was practicing for the day she could wear it fully, as her father wasn’t fond of the hijab. Marwa was smart, and she liked many of the same things Aaron liked. She was shy and rarely spoke unless necessary. But when she did laugh, she had a habit of slapping the people around her. Aaron found it endearing. He liked her. A lot.

He remembered telling Zulfa about his feelings for her sister, only for her to laugh and tease him in return. The next morning, Zulfa had mentioned it to Imran. Aaron had never seen Imran love or cherish something—or someone—dearly. But what he realized that night was that it wasn’t love. It was obsession. Imran was obsessed with Marwa.

He should have suspected something when Imran suddenly wanted to visit the library, a place he never frequented. Imran was brilliant, yes, but the library was never his thing. That night, Aaron was shocked to see Marwa coming out of the library. What was even more shocking was what happened afterward.

Imran had told him they were there to play a prank on Marwa, to scare her when she passed through the garden on her way home. Aaron agreed, curious to see her reaction when surprised. But what happened was far worse than he could have imagined.

Imran’s friends, jocks and buff from their sports activities, grabbed Aaron and held him tightly. They were stronger than him. He couldn’t help her. He cried and begged, wondering why Imran would do such a thing to his own cousin.

"Marwa is mine! You don’t lay eyes on what’s mine! You are mine! Marwa is also mine! Stay away from what’s mine!" Imran’s words echoed in Aaron’s mind before he finally let him go.

Traumatized, Aaron rushed home, hoping his mother would help him save Marwa. Instead, she called the doctor, claiming Aaron was having one of his "episodes."

It wasn’t until seven years later, when he spoke to his  father, that Aaron learned he had been put to sleep for over a week. When he finally woke up, he had no sense of time for several days, and then it hit him—a gap in his memory. His mother had been drugging him, hoping he would forget everything.

But now, he remembered.

He never touched Marwa. He was just too weak to save her.