A Twist of Fate (Dhoombros included) under MAJOR editing

A Day of Promises

EDITED

My phone buzzed as I tried to cover my ears and sleep. It was worthless, the Fajr alarm wouldn't stop ringing. I couldn't pray, and this alarm was ruining my sleep, how amazing was that? I finally reached over the bed and grabbed my phone, only to find the alarm being of getting to work and not Fajr!

My eyes widened and I jumped out of bed. It was 5:30 AM already! I had a surgery early at 8, but needed to get to the hospital by 6.

I hurriedly got my butt into the bathroom, took a speedy shower, fixed up my hair and put a decent hijab and outfit on before running out of the bathroom, not bothering to have any breakfast. I am a safe driver, but it is at times like these when my safety skills are overshadowed by time limits. As I pulled into the parking lot, I saw a familiar Mercedes parked in the space two cars down. I ignored it, knowing that I was probably imagining things and rushed into the hospital, swiping my badge in. The receptionist, Martha greeted me with a smile to which I hurriedly responded to and ran into the elevator to the Pediatric Surgery floor.

 I prayed to Allah during the elevator ride, please give the patient we are going to operate on a lot of strength and hayaat. He needed a liver transplant, as his liver was badly damaged and cirrhosis was a serious consequence that it was facing. There was a lot of danger as he was only 4, and he might not withstand the blood loss and the anesthesia. The elevator dinged open and I checked in the nurses station and got the paperwork ready. Max was already admitted into the hospital and had finally a donor. I greeted the nurses and walked into the waiting room where the parents were.

My eyes widened at the sight in front of me and my knees weakened. Rehan, along with his entire family were in the waiting room. Aunty and Fatima Bhabi were in tears, and Sajal sat on her Maamu's lap asking him what was wrong. In Rehan's eyes, there was a storm brewing and I couldn't stand to see that. My heart tore apart at the sight of them crying. I didn't see Max's parents anywhere, so I walked over to Aunty and said Salam.

She looked at me with tears in her eyes, and she hugged me. "Zakariyya.. please keep him safe.. p-please bring him back to me." She sobbed and I rubbed her back soothingly as my eyes met with Rehan's. I smiled at him and he looked away, his eyes tearing up.

My eyes teared up at the sight. Zakariyya was the one Rehan came to the hospital the first time I met him. He was having his surgery today too. I assured Aunty that he would come back, safe and healthy before looking at the entrance where my patient's parents were coming in.

I told Aunty I would be back and walked towards them in my scrubs, smiling at them. I led them to the sofas in front of Rehan's family.

"Will he be okay after this? Will he come back healthy? Is the anesthesia going to hurt him?" His parents asked me and I answered their questions with the most honesty, and Dr. Maher, the surgeon and a good friend of mine, joined me. However, I didn't have the strength in me to answer the anesthesia question. I didn't want to break their hearts by telling them there was a very low chance he would survive. When Max's mother asked the same question again, I faltered and my eyes met Maher's hazel green ones. I silently begged him to do something. He also seemed reluctant to answer this question, but he silently put his hand on my arm rest and shook his head. I closed my eyes for a quick second before opening them and started to speak. Maher squeezed my hand in support as I chose my words carefully.

 "The anesthesia that we will be inducing him with will be matched to his needs, however we will refrain from long-time anesthesia because of his age. If all goes well, we shall see him wake up a few hours after surgery, and he would have successfully extubated from the anesthesia." Dr. Maher's eyes shined with pride and I smiled wobbly at him, while the parents sighed and closed their eyes, unable to hide the pain.