Naz and Salim (English)

9. Flee

The bus was full in no time as if everyone else was fleeing with us. When it started moving, I let out a breath that I didn't even realize I was holding! We are leaving our home.
We are leaving our parents, we are leaving our friends, we are leaving university and everything we once love in this country behind us and setting for an unknown journey to an unknown destination. We are fleeing for our own safety and leaving everything behind. It was worth it.

Salim was already starting to fall asleep after he sobbed for almost an hour.

As we paid for our fares, the bus continued running until it stopped to what I believe was a police check point. I instantly became scared and woke Salim up.

Salim: What is it? Why did we stop?

Naz: It's a police check point. Are you with your ID or passport?

Salim: Yes. It's always in my bag

Naz: Ok. Incase they ask where we are going, we just tell them we are going for a function...maybe student program in the next country. They will let us go.

Salim: Alright

The police came inside the bus as usual to do their checks and asking for ID cards. The Lady in charge skipped us for whatever reason we don't know. She didn't ask me neither Salim and we also did not bother showing her.

We continued our journey for another 3hrs when we stopped again for another check point. This was the entry check point of the country we are going to and we were asked to all get off the bus for a complete security search. That took almost 15 minutes because it was a big bus with lots of passenger belongings. The search was finally over and we all boarded again.

We finally reached the bus station in this foreign country and here is where our lives will restart. Now we are here without anyone to call to or anywhere to go seek for help from. Here we stand not knowing what to do. Salim suggested we go get something to eat but honestly, I was not hungry the least. What was in my mind was where do we go to next, what do we do and how do we do it?

All these million questions in my head all at once without an answer was definitely more than any food for me right now.
We saw a local canteen by the bus station and we decided to go there. Salim got himself a bread and a sachet of water after a long bargain of how much that will cost and how to change our currency to that country's. They almost refuse to accept it.

Salim: You should eat Naz. How can we stay strong if you don't eat? Please eat.

Naz: Salim, I can't. This is all my fault. We wouldn't be here in the first place if I hadn't sent you that text.

Salim: please don't say that. Equally we wouldn't be here right now if I had put a passcode on my phone. Don't blame yourself for anything bro.
Whatever it is, we are here and in this together. Understand that man.

Naz: I just can't stop thinking of what will happen to us here and to the ones we left behind. Salim what if something happened to my mom or yours, or to Eli and Jai. Remember they know we are friends with them.

Salim: Be at ease...nothing will happen to either my mom or yours. They are both incredibly strong and stand up to any critic. Eli and Jai will be good too...so you are not concern about Max?

Naz: Bro I do. But he's not in danger! I didn't mention his name in the text I sent you. So it would be difficult to know which man I am referring to. Besides he seems so straight, no one will ever suspect it's him.

Salim: Yea right. Well what do we do now?

Naz: (For a second I admire us in this bad situation. First it was Salim that was all paranoid and I was telling him we will be fine. And now it's the other way round! Here I know we shall make it out because we got each other's back)....I am asking you the same question Salim. What do we do now? Or where do we go to?

Salim: It's getting dark Naz and we don't even have a place to sleep. Thank God we don't have any luggage to deal with.

Naz: We looked around the whole bus station and I knew he was right. The place was getting dark and everyone has started packing to go home. Do we ask them for shelter just for the night I said out loud.

Salim: Ask who?

Naz: These people here. Someone might be generous enough to let us stay in his place.

Salim: We've heard a lot of stories about this country. Among that, they are not too generous...but we can't blame them, no one will take a complete stranger into your house for a night. Even I wouldn't do that.

Naz: Stop the talking let's just try. We went from one person to another but just as Salim predicted, no one was willing to host us. We are strangers, who no one trust!

Salim: Well now that we don't have any help, let's just say we will sleep on the street. For the first time in our lives Naz.

Naz: Seems like it. Remember that man who usually sleeps at the shop outside your house every night? We thought he was aimless and thought of all kind of attachment given to him. And today, see us here bro we are exactly like him today.

Salim: Naz, dont your compare us to him. He was a rapist that everyone termed mad. Whiles he was just there pretending and abusing our girls. We are nothing like him!

Naz: Well true. It was past 7pm and we are just here sitting on this lonely bus station talking about all that we will missed and all that is yet to come of which we have no idea about. What will come of us in the coming days? We need to act fast if we want to survive. We talked for almost 4hours that night when we suddenly started to fall asleep.

Salim got us an old mat near one of the shops and we spread that on the hard cold concrete floor to lay our spinning heads and tired body. We fell asleep in a foreign land, in an open space, at a bus station. We were inviting danger....