Chapter 109

"I know you'd never do anything to harm our baby. And I know one day, you'll forgive me and come back home to me, In Sha Allah." Dalia glared at him, feeling the anger rising more. No matter what she says to him, no matter what she did, for once he never stopped visiting her. "Aren't you tired of chasing me? Aren't you just tired? It's been two good weeks since you have been coming to this house without any progress, why won't you just give up?" Dalia didn't even know she was angry till he smiled at her. "Because I love you and.... I... I can't do anything without you. My life is crumbling down because you left, my company.... Everything. Please come back to me, please." She looks at him like the fire in her eyes has been dowsed with ice water, if anything it makes the brown in her eyes more pale. He wasn't used to it, it unnerves him. He wants her to give freely like she always did but she didn't. It was like she just crawled inside some invisible shell and no matter how hard he tried, she's unreachable. "Can you at least think about it? Not for me... for the sake of our baby." He spoke, still having his hopes up. But the moment she walked away without uttering a word, he knew keeping his hopes high would only get him hurt. With the remaining strength he has, he got into his car and left the place as it was already late in the night. The next day, he still didn't give up. He sat in his car waiting to see if she'd come out to see him. He has sent several kids to call her but she never showed up. He looked at the time on his wrist watch. It was Asr already. He stepped out of the car and locked it before going to the mosque. Dalia plop on the edge of the bed, staring at her mother. She touched her forehead again to feel her temperature but nothing really changed. "Mama, you really need to see a doctor. You keep saying it's only fever for the past few days now but your body keeps getting worse." Amina beamed softy as she stretch her hand to hold dalia's hand. "Dalia, why don't you want to go back to your husband's house?" She shook her head briskly. "Now's not the right time to talk about that, mama. Let me go and inform Uncle Jibril that you're sick. Amrah, come stay close to her in case she needs anything." Dalia rushed out of the room after she had worn her slippers. She sauntered out of the house in a hurry, completely forgetting muhsin was outside waiting for her. She rushed to her uncle's house but luck wasn't on her side that evening. He wasn't at home and the clouds were slowly turning dark. A lone tear traced down her cheek, and just like that, the floodgates opened. So many tears burst forth like water from a dam, spilling down her face. She picked up her pace as the sky got darker and any moment, the rain would fall. He gazed upon the sky as he walked calmly to his car. He sighed as he unlocked the car and opened the door. He paused, hearing his name being called and it sounded like her. It sounded like she was crying, or she was in danger. His eyes spotted her running towards him. "Dalia? What's wrong? Why are you crying? What happened?" He bombarded her with questions she needn't to answer. "Please help me, mama is really sick and I don't know what to do...." "Where's she?" He asked. She pulled his hand, dragging him into the house. They met her in a situation worse than how dalia left her in few moments ago. ** After Amina was taken to the E. R, they sat in the waiting room for more than an hour. She was near dying. The clacking keys coming from the receptionist and the constant irritating commercials from the TV was driving her insane. She wanted to know what was going on with her mother right then, not ten minutes, two hours, years later; she wanted to know before her brain shuts down. She stared at him walking over to her and plump down beside her. He looked calm, like nothing happened. "Did he tell you what's wrong with her?" She found herself asking him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, gently rubbing her arm. Despite carrying a baby in her tummy, it fluttered at the feeling of her body pressed against his. She sunk into the warmth of his side, appreciative of the simple gesture. His touch made the room warmer somehow, her future within its walls seeming a little less bleak. "She wants to talk to you," he whispered to her before gently letting her go. He accompanied her to the room and went back to the waiting room to wait for her there. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and stepped in. Dalia let out a sigh of relief when she beheld her mother's gaze. She smiled, walking closer to her before settling down on the chair beside the bed. "Mama? How are you feeling now?" She asked her, feeling pleased to meet her mother sitting on the bed. "I'm feeling much better. It wasn't something serious after all. I will be discharged in few days." Dalia nodded her head, smiling as she clasped their hands together. "What do you want to eat now, mama? I can ask Amrah to cook it for you." Amina shook her head while she tighten her hold on dalia's hand.