I wake up to find myself in the hospital. I try to get up but wince from the paint that shoots up my back. "Aaah!" I yelp.
"Easy, my dear. You have a few stitches on your back." It's Henry.
"Where's Isa?" I ask.
"Look to your right, my dear." Henry says.
I turn to see him and Sebastian cuddled up against each other.
"Sebastian asked his bed to be moved into this room, to be here by your side." He pauses. "I'm sorry, Ameerah, for all you had to go through. We know our apologies would never be enough to heal what's been broken, but please, accept it from us. Its all we can offer you right now." Henry says, with a tear falling from his right eye which he wipes away quickly.
He looks so broken. So lost. I've never seen him this way. He always looked so in control of everything. Of course he's been through a lot as well. His whole life turned upside down in a single day. His older son got arrested, the other son got shot by his own brother, and his wife-. Then it strikes me that I still hadn't inquired after Elizabeth. Marcus had said something that sounded like she wasn't alive anymore. I get tensed.
"It's okay, Henry. I'm okay right now. How's Elizabeth? What did the doctor say?" I ask with a worried expression.
He looks up and smiles in awe. "You're still worried about her? After all that you've been through?"
"I'm okay, Henry. Please, tell me! Is she alive?"
"Alive? Of course my dear! What made you think otherwise?" He asked incredulously.
I turn my head to the other side. "It's because of what Marcus said when he attacked me. He said I killed his grandpa and took both his brother and mother." I turn my head towards him. "What did he mean by that, Henry?"
He bows his head and lets out a sigh. "My father went to the Middle East for volunteer work. Some terrorists, apparently Muslims, publicly executed him to instill fear. Ever since that day, which was around four years back, Marcus vehemently started hating Muslims. He was very close to my father and it broke him. We tried to convince him to let go of his hate, that God wouldn't want that from him. But he refused. He said religions destroyed the world and he no longer believed in God. We feared that his hate would consume him. And it did." A tear slipped from his eye.
"I'm sorry for your loss, Henry. I wish people were not so blinded by hate. I hope we all can learn to love one another, looking beyond our differences and seeking similarities instead."
He looks up and gives a sad smile. "I hope so too. Someday."
YOU ARE READING
Transcendence (A Muslim-Christian Story)
Romance"So you approached me without being aware of my identity?" He asks me, while raising an eyebrow. To say I was shocked would be an understatement. It takes me a while to compose myself and form a sensible reply. "Yes, I wasn't aware of your identity...
