When Fate Leads

Chapter 11

She woke up from her sleep and she was in her bedroom. Salma browsed through the space in the room, she blinked her eyes to make sure it was really her room and it was. Happily, she climbed out of bed and ran to the sitting room; Nasir was sitting on the one sitter cushion, also her mother was there.

"Umma" she cried. She tried to walk to her mother but her legs were fixed to the ground, she couldn't move. "No" she screamed, she channeled all her energy in trying to move but there was no progress.
Salma wouldn't give up, she continued to struggle at a fixed position and then...

"Salma dear" Inna Gaji called "wake up, you must be having a nightmare"

Salma heard the words but she was still in her dream, fixed at one place.

"Salma" Inna Gaji shook her "Auzubillah wake up"

This time Salma woke up frantically, she took a moment to accustom her brain from her dream.

"Are you ok dear?" Inna Gaji asked wiping away the beads of sweat on Salma's forehead "that's some bad dream you were having"

"inna Gaji" Salma managed to say "I want to go home" she cried silently.

"Oh! Poor dear, shhhh now" Inna Gaji tried to console her. Salma needed the consolation, so, she allowed Inna Gaji to gather her into a motherly embrace and she cried in her arms.

At breakfast, Salma mostly toyed with her food. She had loose her appetite from her dream earlier and all she could think of was her mother.

UmarFarouq noticed her jading through breakfast and that made him uneasy.
"Is something bothering you Salma? Are you ok?" He asked to know.

Salma was devoid of words, was something bothering her? She thought, this man has such nerves for him to sit there comfortably and ask her such question. She felt an uprising rage chocking her up and she couldn't even swallow her own saliva. She lacked the exact words to address UmarFarouq at that moment and that alone was annihilating.

"Are you ok?" UmarFarouq asked again.

"I am fine" Salma swallowed a painful lump in her.

"You don't look fine" he pressed and Salma wanted to scream, she wanted to take her plate and fling it at him.

"I said I am fine" She almost snapped "Excuse me" she stood from her chair and walked out of the dining room to her room. She didn't trust herself in the same room with UmarFarouq.

    It was a busy day and Sam came in, his hands ladened with case files, he met with UmarFarouq and his entourage in the study.

UmarFarouq greeted him with a hug.

"How are you my good friend?" He asked. Sam laughed a bit before answering

"I am good, Sorry I haven't come in lately..." he apologized

"Please, please don't apologize for your absence, I know with crimes every where you must be very busy in the court..."

"Very busy indeed" Sam replied with a shake of his head.

"I hope you'll be spending the night here" UmarFarouq enquired "it's been a while since you did"

"Sadly UmarFarouq" Sam started with a sad shake of his head "I must return today. The cases I have on ground right now won't grant me the luxury of spending the night here"

"That's unfortunate" UmarFarouq commented "...but the work must be done, yes? We will catch up when we are both less busy. What do you have for us today?"

"College fight..." Sam began

"So now we settle college fights? Eh! Sam" UmarFarouq interrupted, Irrfan almost laughed from a corner.