Expectations and Reality

Chapter 28 | NIGHTMARES

I was thinking about something like Ramadan bonus chapter and I end up writing this long chapter. Anway, enjoy the long and complicated journey ahead.

I smile like a flower not only with my lips but with my whole being.

Rumi

☆☆☆

Now Lina smiled wholeheartedly and joyously - a thing that rarely is seen on her face. The amount of happiness lining on her lids couldn't be described. Finally she's getting back to Canada, her hometown, where she was being raised and brought up by the most amazing people to her life. Those two bunch of happiness that thousands of her memories where traced to them.

That feeling you get to feel when you're finally meeting your loved ones after an agonising week, the feeling that is being combined with happiness, ecstatic and contentment.

She'll finally be back to her old life. Although it's being mixed up with tortures, tyrants and love, she finds it kinda amazing. She'll be back to the thing she respects the most, her dignity and pride, the only thing that captures her happiness and makes her smile whenever she's in a total gloom, her job.

She'll be back to those smiley faces of Abreshmina and the nice comments of Bilaal, Radhiya, Sophia and all other colleague of her's over at work.

She'll be able to see and play around with her munchkin, her bundle of roses from a fresh garden, her one and only nephew. She'll be back to those elderly and also motherly scoldings of Labiba about feeding Ayoub with junk food. Well, she'll have to save her scoldings for other time for now because the type of welcome back surprise Lina planned for Ayoub with chocolates and biscuits, he'll have to be the one to say no to it. She'll feed him like no tomorrow.

She imagined how Ms Rayn and her father's face will lit up when they get to see her. How they'll explain how they missed her for so long, even though it was just a week.

And above all that happiness, she'll see her other half. The only woman that knows the in and out of Lina. Knows her childhood and present day. Who will struggle and worse, try to strangle her neck, exclaiming how she miss their crazy stuffs together.

But again, with the event that recently occurred and now the new job of Ommata, will she be able to see that side of her friend? Will she meet a total zombie or a depressed Ommata? Will she receive those hugs or a simple and flat 'Salam'?

She cringed at those thoughts. She don't think she'll be alright with that kind of imaginary Ommata. Yes, it's just her mere imagination but it can actually turn to reality. If so, will she be able to cope without those screams and bellowing of Ommata. Will she ever?

Much more fear consumed her as she remember Ms Amrah. A virtuous, optimistic and decent woman, full of hopes and confidence. A glint and sparkle to Lina's life, her role model. Even though the doctors are losing hope about her health, Lina could still see a glimmer and ray of hope about her in the future. She's mentally agile, will that also be loss to vain?

She adjusted her sitting position as she suppresses a yawn. It was a night flight and almost all the people inside the plane are fast asleep as everything surrounding her was dim and freezing. She fears it but actually she might catch cold.

Hours later, being asleep for a little long, she woke up due to the nonstop movement of Khaldun beside her. To her utter surprise, his left hand was boldly holding the hem of her hijab, still deep in his slumber.

'Is he that much of a bed person?' She thought to herself as she tries losing the knots he made in her hijab with his hand. She remember the other day back at their house when she saw him carelessly sleeping on his bed, when she thought he was some Kind of a vampire or werewolf.