BANE

CHAPTER SIXTEEN (TWO)

Sabiha was in the bathroom when she heard footsteps and voices. She got scared and decided to stay in the bathroom. She heard some more footsteps, and then the door was opened and closed again.
She came out cautiously and saw three people in the room; just then Zaid’s eyes met hers.

"Zaid?” she thought she was looking at a ghost.

“Sabiha?” Mubarak and Ibrahim started at her. She went closer to Zaid and threw her arms around him, hugging him furiously, after releasing him, she whispered. “Who are they?”

“Don’t worry, they are our friends.” She nodded towards the two . Before sitting next to Zaid. God! She missed him.

“What are you doing here and where is Banan?” She asked looking around.
Zaid stared at her for some minutes before he put his face in his hands.

“Zaid, where is she? What happened to her? Please don’t tell me they got her too.” what if Banan was in trouble because of her?

“She’s well.” He couldn’t bring himself to tell her just yet. He couldn’t even accept it himself; that his own twin betrayed him and her best friend. How could he tell her that Banan had something to do with her kidnapping?

“Does she know you are here? I do hope she is okay. We need to get out of here Zaid, this people are not nice.“ Banan knew better. He thought bitterly.

“How have you been Sabiha?” I’ve missed you. I really did. He touched her face lightly.

“I’ve been okay, but Zaid, how did you end up here? She asked. “How is my dad? God! I missed you guys.“ She choked on her words. ”It’s all my fault. If I didn’t end up getting kidnapped, you wouldn’t have ended up here.” Typical of Sabiha, always blaming herself for things beyond her control.

“Sabiha, I am sorry that this happened to you.  Your dad is well. You didn’t wish to be kidnapped, so, how’s anything your fault?” Fair point. She had no reply whatsoever.

“God! I want to feel happy but I can’t, Zaid, this cannot happen to you too. Tell me how you ended up here. Banan, is she okay?”
Zaid recollected himself and starting recounting the story, from the very beginning. He is bound to say it soone ror later.

************
“Let me call Banan to get it for me.” Mrs Anwar said to Nadine.

“Her phone is switched off. Let me try Zaid’s” she dailed his number ,but to her greatest disappointment he was unavailable too.

“Same thing,what could have happened?” she wondered.

“Oh please sis, nothing happened. Their battery could have died down or something. They are old enough to take care of themselves. Chill sis.” Nadine advised.

“Maybe.” Nadine had a point.

*****************
“Oh God! This cannot be true. Something is not right Zaid. She would never betray us.” There must be some kind of explanation.

“How do you think I felt when I saw my own twin and best friend pointing a gun at me? She was smiling after betraying me. I felt like I had been stabbed multiple times in the heart.”

“Banan is just eighteen. There is a bigger brain behind it I believe. What if she is equally a victim?” Sabiha defended her. She didn’t want to believe what Zaid told her.

“Stop defending her. She isn’t the Banan we know anymore.”

Sabiha couldn’t even cry anymore, she’d had enough share of tears for the last few weeks. “So, no one knows we are here?“ her heart sank lower into her stomach.

“She had me fooled.” Zaid said bitterly.

Ibrahim and Mubarak were speechless. They couldn’t believe what was happening. Everything moved too fast.

***********
“Good work Banan, good work.” Fadil said to Banan as they were sharing a cup of tea in the garden. ”So what are you going to do now?”

“You don’t expect me to go home, do you? What would I tell my mother? I can’t bear to hurt her; at least I need more time to be able to face her.”

“I have that figured out.” Fadil smiled. ”Do not worry, by tomorrow, we would have a dramatic ending. No one would ever suspect you. You would be the strong girl who managed to escape.”
Banan laughed at the last sentence.

“You know when I met you; I thought you couldn’t do it.” Fadil confessed.

“Never judge a book by its cover.”

“It’s true, you proved it.” He said with a wide grin on his face.