BANE

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"Banan! Zaid!" Their mother called from her room.

"Yes Mother!" They chorused in unison.

"Your Aunt Nadine was admitted in the hospital last night. Zaid, come drive us to the hospital.''

"What's wrong with her?" She was their mother's youngest sister and also their favourite aunt.

"I don't know, Nayyara just told me, though I do remember that the day before yesterday, she mentioned she wasn't feeling well but I didn't realize it would become serious."

"Let me get the car keys."

"Let's take my car. I have the keys here." Looking through her bag. "Here it is." Zaid collected the bunch and led the way, Banan followed behind. Their mom ran back to get something she had forgotten.

"I just hope she's alright." Banan said.

"By God's grace she is."

****************
"Do you know any reason why he may possibly run away?'' The policeman asked deliberately.

"No! The hospital has a good security system, besides; I don't think he ran away, he was sick for God's sake." Hafsy replied.

"So he simply disappeared?" The police man asked.

"Everything is possible." She glanced at her watch impatiently.

"You have things to do?"

"Yes I have patients that I have to see today, can we please speed things up? If you don't mind" she asked.

"Sure, but do you mind if I ask you to give me his file?"

"His file? Sorry, but I do mind."

"May I ask why?"

"I took an oath to protect the secret of my patients. By the way, I don't keep files on Ibrahim."

"I don't know much about your profession, but this guy could have been kidnapped."

"Kidnapped?"

"What other explanation is there?"

"Not much, I am afraid."

"You and I both agree that mad people can't run away or hide for a long time."

"He's not mad, he's just someone who has gone through a lot, someone who needs help."She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever you say Ma'am. You may leave now. Thank you."
She nodded and left.

************
"Daddy, look at what I found by the sea." A five year old Sabiha said excitedly.

"That's really beautiful princess, fit for an angel like you." She smiled sweetly. Her mother came behind her and signalled at him to remain silent as she covered Sabiha's eyes softly.

"Mummy?" She brought down her mother's hands down gently and leaned on her legs. ''I want you to have it." Her mother collected it and placed it to her heart.

"And I will treasure it forever."

He felt tears roll down his face as he watched the video. After that, they had taken pictures and had later gone out for dinner.

He recalled how Sabiha had stained her pretty white frock with soup and how much she cried because she thought the stain would never come off. She had been a funny, handful lot as a child. Always asking too many questions and always hyperactive.

...but then, she changed a little when she got older.

*************

Aunt Nadine looked haggard, although, she managed to smile weakly when she saw them.

"Oh here are my babies, come to me dear children." They found that funny because she was a pretty young woman herself.

"Aunt Nadine. " Banan ran to her and hugged her carefully. Nadine tried to sit up on her bed but she was too weak to. "Seriously, Aunt, don't bother."

Zaid came to her and put his hand on hers, giving her a peck on the cheek. "Hope you are feeling better?''

"I feel better already now that I have seen you guys. It's been a long time since I last saw you both, look at you, you have all grown up". She teased.

"Are you sure you are okay?" Zaid said.

"I am." She argued stubbornly. They had forgotten about their mother who watched them affectionately, waiting for a chance to speak though throwing questioning glances at Nadine, which Nadine saw but chose to ignore.

"Sorry mom." Zaid said after she cleared her throat. "We got carried away.''

"Hey sis, I didn't notice you there, I was too busy with my kids."

"I can see that, how are you feeling?" she said dropping her bag. She looked tired.

"Haven't you ever heard of something called rest?" Nadine asked studying her features." You look like a troll."

"Nadine, you are the one who needs rest, not me, do yourself a favour and stop struggling to get out of bed."

"Yes Ma'am." She jokingly saluted.

"Kids, can you please give me a moment with your aunt?" At that, they reluctantly went outside.

"I wonder what they are talking about." Zaid said dreamily as they waited at the corridor.

"What do you care? They are sisters. Sisters talk about a lot of things."

"Oh! How I wish I had a sister." Zaid teased and Banan playfully elbowed him and he chuckled, and for a moment, everything seemed fine. A lot had happened lately, they needed the break.

*********
He missed the rain. He loved the sound of raindrops on rooftops and the beautiful green colours that comes with the season. He loved the chilly wind after every rainfall and the way the weather turned romantic, making him hungry for a walk.

He had loved sitting by the hospital window and watching the world outside after a rainy day; especially in the evening. That was one of the few things that remained constant in his life after Sakinah's death.