The Hooded Hijabi

Who Are You, Azan?

I stand there, completely stunned, unaware of anything around me. A second later I realise that Azan isn't with me anymore.

I see him running to his car, looking inside the window as he hurriedly leans in. "Fatima?", he cries out.

I finally come back to my senses and rush to Fatima who is huddled in the passenger seat, her face hidden in her hands.

Azan opens the door and holds Fatima by her shoulders, looking straight into her eyes,"Fatima? You okay?", he says worriedly, his eyes running all over her.

She looks back at him, her jaw dropped and eyes wide open as her gaze slowly moves from Azan's eyes to his right.

We follow her gaze and find a man dressed in black standing a few meters away in dark. My whole body freezes as I recognise him from the restroom.

Before I realise, Azan runs to the man and horror strikes me as I remember how strong that man was. "Azan! No! Azan!", I yell as I run after him. The man in black rushes into the bushes behind him and Azan follows. "Azan, please just come back! Please!", I shout, almost at the verge of crying.

Azan and 'Blackmailer' disappear from my view and I struggle through the bushes, finding myself surrounded by nothing but bushes and trees.

I prowl on the leafy ground, breathing as quietly as humanly possible in order to catch any sound of them. "Azan?", I whisper as I take a step forward.

I hear a faint sound of footsteps and as I get closer to the source of the it, I hear someone punching and kicking. I run, my heart racing, and I find Azan half lying on the ground, his back against the trunk of a tree and blackmailer bent over him.

I stop midway and stare in shock. "You, get up! Show me what you've got!", encourages Blackmailer as he throws another punch at Azan.

I lunge forward and grab him from his back, pulling him with all the strength I had. "WHAT... THE... HECK...IS...WRONG with you! Blackmailer staggers a little, almost falling to the ground but gains his balance. He puffs a little air out of his nose and snorts at me.

"Here to help your love, huh?", he asks mockingly. He begins to walk but I hear Azan struggling to get back on his feet. I rush to him, my eyes searching for blood or any physical harm but before I could ask if Azan's okay I feel a hand grab my arm and lift me up.

I find myself face to face with Blackmailer, his eyes piercing through mine as if searching for my soul to destroy it. I saw bloodlust in those cold, blue eyes. "What do you want from me? What did I ever do to you.", I say pleadingly, almost giving up on fighting him. I wasn't strong enough to protect myself or Azan. I hate vulnerability. I hate weaknesses. I hate myself so much right now, I wouldn't even mind if kills me.

"Get. Your. Hands. OFF HER!", Azan threatens at the top of his lungs as he grabs Blackmailer and pounds at his chest. Azan moves forward and pulls Blackmailer to his feet, headbutting him hard. Blackmailer falls back down for a moment but gets back on his feet in a flash with a knife in his hand.

He raises his knife slightly back, putting it in the position for a perfect attack and rushes into Azan. Everything suddenly comes to halt as both look right into each other's eyes, their faces only a few inches away.

I struggle to stand up, grabbing a tree nearby for some support as I stare at them wide-mouthed. "Azan", I mutter as I try to move my feet. "Azan."

Azan's lips now curve and form a smile, he snickers at the blue eyes and scoffs at him. "You'd need a lot more than that to get me.", he whispers, still snickering.

The man that I saw at a mosque for the first time, wasn't the man that I was looking at right now. He wasn't the man who gave me peace and hope with his voice when I needed it the most. This. Wasn't Azan.

Before I could even process this new side of the man that I secretly loved, Blackmailer begins to laugh like a mad man. No, a possessed man. His laugh was so scary I could already hear it in the nightmares I'll be having.

Azan grabs Blackmailer from his neck, twisting his wrist and turns him around in a whirlwind. Blackmailer stands there bound by a neck lock and suddenly I notice his knife plunged in the far left of his abdomen. How'd that happen?

I take a brave step towards them but right then I hear the sirens of a police car. Blackmailer's body tenses and he breaks free from Azan's hold in a swift moment, disappearing into the dark before the armed men in uniform get there.

Azan simply stands there gazing into the dark, the path the Blackmailer took. "Bhai! Are you okay?", Fatima comes in behind the policemen and runs to her brother.

Azan blinks back into the reality and transforms into the man I knew. He gently holds Fatima and nods at her, smiling. His eyes divert to me as I stand there, flabbergasted.

He moves past Fatima and comes to me, his eyes locked with mine. "Are you okay?", he asks softly. Unable to think of an answer, I simply respond with a blink and look away. To my relief, Fatima comes and holds me asking if I'm hurt anywhere, walking me to my home. Azan, meanwhile, follows us quietly as the policemen search the area for Blackmailer after a quick word with Azan.

We get to the car and I convince Azan and Fatima not to tell anything to my family since I didn't want to worry them. But really, that's just not what it was all about. Telling them about this incident would mean I'd have to tell them everything. Getting them involved in this mess was the last thing on my mind. Also, because they would eventually turn to the police and I can't turn deaf ear to Blackmailer's threat, especially not after tonight.

Luckily, Ma was deep asleep when I got in and Ali wasn't home so I go for a long, warm bath thinking about all that just happened. What was that in Azan's eyes and his voice? That snicker. Everything about him..was so..was so..different. So cold. Grim. Aloof.

Who are you, Azan? What are your secrets?

<End of Chapter 22>