THE TALE OF SARAH

Chapter Twenty One

"Ninety nine." She heard the crowd chorus as the whipper raised the whip one more time.

"Hundred." They chorused one last time. She saw a bloodied Hamad fall off his only support lifelessly. She felt shivers throughout her body. She closed her eyes and gripped the curtain she was holding onto. Tears started to flow down her cheeks. Why was she crying?

She opened her eyes and looked outside through the window again. She saw the crowd of witnesses disperse as AbdulHaseeb and one other man she couldn't recognize carry Hamad off the ground towards an ambulance. She looked away again and swallowed.

The door opened and Umm Hakeem strode in. She could here Munirah's wails loud and clear and she could see Maymunah and one other woman trying to keep her under control through the open door space.

She suddenly felt very light headed. She put her head in her hands as everything came back in dark pictures.

Umm Hakeem walked up to her and held her by her arms. "Sarah, what's wrong? Don't tell me you watched everything." She said with concern.

In response, Sarah started sobbing, and then it became uncontrollable.

"Come and sit. Come." Umm Hakeem helped her to the bed.

Once they sat down, she raised her head. "Umm Hakeem what have I done? Look what I did to Hamad. Look at Madam Munirah, everybody's not happy."

Umm Hakeem shook her head in sympathy and hugged her. "Shhh." She tried to calm her down. "Sarah, you haven't done anything. Hamad's just facing the consequences of his foolish acts."

"But," she sobbed, "what if he dies?"

"Then it'll be Allah's decree. Now you really need to get some rest. Lie down." She tapped the empty bed space, urging Sarah to lay on the bed.

She helped her tuck in her blanket and arrange the pillows. She then released the curtains and put on the air conditioning. She would have read from the Holy Quran, but she knew Munirah would need her as well, so she gently walked out of the room leaving an extremely horrified Sarah behind.

She couldn't close her eyes and at the same time, she couldn't leave them open. She resolved to offering some Nawafil in broad daylight.

**********

AbdulHaseeb had arrived at the entrance of the main building at exactly 12 noon on Sunday. He had been very unhappy with the news of what his younger brother had done. He had to cancel his plans for the next few days to be with his family and offer assistance.

It was the same case for Salim's wife. She originally planned to spend the first month of Salim's absence with her parents and the second with Munirah and Sa'ad.

Today, Tuesday, AbdulHaseeb returned from the hospital from the hospital in his Camry Toyota. He had been in the hospital with Hamad since yesterday.

He entered the main building and walked into the living room. He surprisingly met Sa'ad seating on one of the sofas. "Assalamu alaykum dad." He said as he himself settled on a sofa across from Sa'ad.

"Wa'alaykumus salam." He replied gloomily. He wanted to ask about Hamad but he just couldn't bring himself to.

"Why are you at home?" AbdulHaseeb asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sa'ad sighed. "I took a two day leave because, you know, this issue on ground."

"Yeah, I get it. Where's mum?" He asked looking around.

"She's actually gone to see a psychiatrist."

"A psychiatrist?!" He sat forward tensed.

"I think she's fallen into depression."

AbdulHaseeb sat back with a thud. Everything was so twisted.

"What of the victim?" He asked after a while.

"She's been taken care of." Sa'ad answered.

The living room was then quiet for a while, both of them in their own thoughts.

"How's Hamad?" Sa'ad blurted suddenly, unable to keep it in anymore.

AbdulHaseeb sighed tiredly. "The doctor said he's fallen into coma. He's been admitted in the ICU." The atmosphere became so quiet with the exception of the whirling of the ceiling fan.

The door at the main entrance opened, revealing a tired looking  Munirah alongside Salim's wife. Sa'ad quickly stood up and took his wife to their room, while AbdulHaseeb retired to his room, and Salim's wife went to meet her new friends; the female workers.

***********

"After the incident, she wasn't normal again." Yusra testified.

"Yeah, she became something else and there has been barely anything we could do to help her." Fa'iza added.

Salim's wife had asked the female workers about Sarah. They had told her that Yusra and Fa'iza would be able to tell more, so here she was with them. They had told her that she was an orphan, who Munirah brought in. That Sarah was very friendly and innocent. And that, they couldn't lay their hand on the reason why Hamad raped her.

"Why couldn't you do anything? I thought you were her friends." She questioned.

Yusra and Fa'iza looked at themselves. Then Fa'iza spoke. "She wouldn't allow us, she's become very cold. She'll just cry and cry and keep things to herself. That had been happening especially when she was moved to that room. God knows what else she's facing." She reasoned.

"How were things like before she moved there?"

"They were better." Yusra answered. "Then, we could at least talk to her, we could help her to sleep. But then, she couldn't sleep for long because of these nightmares that would wake her."

Salim's wife heaved a deep sigh in thought. "For how long has everything been going on?" She asked using hand gestures.

"For almost two months now." Yusra replied.

"Two months?!"

"Yes, why?" Fa'iza asked.

"Don't you think she's suffering from PTSD?" She asked horrifically.

"What's that?" They asked in unison, both confused.

"Posttraumatic stress disorder." She murmured in reply, her eyes having faraway looks in thought.

"What does it-" Yusra  started but was cut off by Salim's wife, Jameela dashing out of the garden with the speed of lightening.

She ran to the main building, intending to see Sa'ad to speak to him. Luckily for her, she spotted him in the hallway leading to the flight of stairs.

"Dad, dad!" She called out panting slightly, as he stepped on the first stair.

Sa'ad turned back, a little bit alarmed. "Yes my dear?"

"Dad, please I want to talk to you. Its very important."

He climbed down to be on the same level with her. "Okay, let's go to the living room."

They walked to the living room and sat beside themselves on a sofa.

Then, Jameela, Salim's wife started. "Dad, I think Sarah's suffering from PTSD."

"Posttraumatic stress disorder?"

"Yeah, that."

"Okay, carry on."

"I... You know, the treatment is therapy."

"Oh, you want her to get therapy?"

"Yes."

"Oh." He relaxed a bit. "I'll speak to my doctor then."

Jameela's face lit up in delight. "Thank you papa." She threw her hands around him.

He mirrored her and hugged her too, and they stayed like that for a little while. "Okay, I think Munirah will need me now." He said releasing her.

She released him too and stood up, happy that she could help Sarah too.