Liquidated

Chapter 8

Hey people! I am back with yet another chapter.

Listen to Coldplay's 'Everglow' for this chapter.

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Mirha was quickly writing on her laptop. She was preparing the manuscript of Hamza's biography. They had finally finished with the story, yet she felt an unsettling emptiness inside of her. She knew that she was not seeing him everyday now and this little fact made her feel more dejected.

She looked out of the window where the sky was pouring endlessly. The weather was terrible and it was a bad day to go out anywhere. But yet she still got up and put her laptop in her bag and walked out of her office.

Mirha stopped at her secretary's cabin and informed her. "Candice, I am going out. If anybody comes to my office asking for me, tell them I went home as I was not feeling well."

"Yes Ma'am." Candice answered obediently.

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Earlier that morning.

The sound of the alarm woke him up and he sat up straight. It was 7 am and he had to leave for work. Hamza grabbed his crutch went to the kitchen and put the kettle on the stove. He was feeling incredibly lazy and his head was throbbing with pain.

He came back to his room and opened the cupboards, taking his clothes out when suddenly his phone began to ring. It was his mother from Peshawar, Pakistan.

"Assalam O Alaikum Ammi. How are you?" Hamza's voice suddenly became cheery.

"I am fine meri jaan. How are you?" His mother replied from the other side of the phone.

"I am completely okay. How is Baba?"

"He...he is not okay Hamza. He is sick." His mother's voice started to break.

"Is everything okay? What happened?" Hamza became concerned.

"He has a tumor Hamza. Your father is admitted in the hospital. The doctors are saying that its last stage. Surgery can also cause his death." Tayyaba started crying.

Hamza felt numb. His father whom he loved dearly and was the closest to, was counting his days. After a few moments, he finally composed himself and spoke up.

"Ammi please don't cry. Baba will be ok. He is a fighter." He tried to comfort his mother.

"You have to come to Pakistan Hamza. I can not deal with this alone." She kept crying.

"I coming as soon as possible. You don't worry. Take care of yourself of Baba. Allah Hafiz." He hung up.

It was one of the many times in Hamza's life that he felt completely helpless against fate. Fate. It is such a strange thing. It can be the complete  opposite of our plans. His father was dying and he had to be there with him. Hamza decided to take a day off from work. He had to.

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12 pm.

Mirha tried to call Hamza but his phone went straight to voice mail. They had exchanged numbers and adresses the day they ate dinner together. She decided to go to his appartment.