Beloved

8.

'Are you sure they left two hours ago?' I asked one of Haya's friends. Haya and Papa were still not home, and I was trying to call Papa's number, but I kept getting a message saying that the person I was trying to reach was unavailable. The storm was getting worse and so was my worry.

'Yes, Baji. Uncle came to pick up Haya about two hours ago. I told them to wait until the storm calms, but they left in a hurry' She told me. I ended the call and tried calling our neighbours hoping to hear some news but got no response. No one had any idea about them at all. I looked at the time and it was almost 9:30 in the evening.

I stood by the door and waited even if I couldn't see much far because of the heavy rain. I wish I had someone to talk to right now. I picked up my phone to call one of my best friends, Zoya but didn't follow through with an idea once I realized that she was out of town because she recently got married. I didn't want her to worry over me. So instead, I decided to call Karim Sir.

'Hello? Ayat?' Karim Sir sounded surprised to hear my voice over the phone. I hardly called him.

'Hello...yes...sir...I, did Papa call you?' I asked him.

'No...why? Is everything okay?' He sounded concerned.

'Yes...well actually no. Papa and Haya didn't come home. I am waiting for them, I tried calling Haya's friends and our neighbours, but no one saw them today. Papa is also not answering the phone...I don't know what to do...I think I should go outside to go look for them.' I told him everything. Papa told me if things ever go out of hands and he is not there, call Karim Sir. Papa trusted him.

'No don't go outside on your own. I will go and look around, I will call you once I get some news. Don't worry okay? Do you want to talk to Mama? You can come over and stay with her if you...' He offered.

'No...I'll wait here, in case they come here. Thank you, Karim Sir,' I was so thankful that he offered to go and look for Haya and Papa. Strange thoughts crept over my mind, but I tried to stay positive. Maybe the network was bad that's why Papa didn't get my calls or maybe they went to some store to avoid the rain on their way home, that's why they were late.

'Hello...yes, Karim Sir...did you find them...I?' I answered Karim Sir's call in a heartbeat when he called me after an hour or so.

'Ayat, I should be there in a bit' He said in a low voice and my heart sank.

'You found them, right? They are with you?' My voice cracked in between the words.

'Yes...I'll see you' With that, he ended the call.

'Where are you taking me? Why aren't you saying anything?' I kept asking Karim Sir while he was driving. He showed up at our house minutes after we last spoke over the phone and told me to come with him.

'Hospital' He finally sighed and answered the question.

'Hospital? Why? What happened?' My eyes teared up. I hope my family was okay. I prayed and prayed over and over.

'They got in an accident' He looked at me briefly before turning his attention back on the road. I pinched my skin hard to make myself believe that I wasn't dreaming. This was real. This was happening. I was living my worst nightmare.

'How bad is it?' I almost whispered, he heard it but didn't answer.

We got to the hospital and I found out and both my sister and father got in a car accident. Both were suffering from head injuries. Their injuries were both internal and external. Everything was happing so fast that I hardly got a chance to process everything. I got too busy with filling out the forms, getting the money, consulting with the surgeons and the staff that I didn't even get a proper chance to mourn or fully understand my emotions.