Chapter 92: Hoor

He had managed to keep the whole thing in control and it was to say, that even though they weren't able to save the mother from the hands of Big Boss men, they were able to come back alive and just one person was badly wounded. They were at the hospital and after Na'im made sure that everything was under control and he had forced Hafiz to go home, take a hot shower and sleep even though he knew-from Mammi-how Saima had spent the whole night crying and he knew it was because of him, he asked him to sleep.
They both were stubborn, that's what Na'im had concluded even though from the snippets he got from Hafiz, the words that he managed to force out of his mouth, he had tried his best to make sure it worked but Saima seemed to have gotten the wrong idea and she was so stubborn to even give him a chance to say his mind. If it was painful enough, they would both find themselves back to each other.
He was seated in the corridor of his chamber as he thought about what was in hand, how terrible he had felt after they had prayed for the body of Asta and he was the one that delicately put her body deep into the soil. He felt anxious, grievous, and it was too pain to bear. He thought about how everything about the life of the little girl that had forcefully being snatched away from her was unfair and maybe, death would only be best for her, that's why Allah took her life.
He thought about the baby that had moved in the stomach of that lady-Maryam she said, right? Yes. How emotional he had felt and if this child really turned out to be his, even though deep down Na'im knew he needed no more proof that it was his, how would he feel to have it painfully killed when he loved the child so much like he was certain Sadeeq loved his baby?
He didn't know someone was standing right beside him until he slightly moved on his chair and he caught a glimpse of her hijab and there she stood, staring at him with so much anger, too much pain in those eyes. He wondered what had happened and then he remembered what it was, he had nearly killed her yesterday and if for anything, like any gentle man would have, he ought to apologize.
He was trying to speak when she beat him at it, "I know what you're going to say, that I should get out of your sight, right? Don't worry, I will. You won't have to see me ever again since you don't want to." She was angry, and there was no sign of tears in her eyes today.
"What are you talking about? Didn't you say you're my wife?" He was now considering the possibility of that and the need to take up his responsibility because of the baby in her womb. Now that he had seen how a dead baby looked like, Na'im knew he would be willing to sacrifice his whole life for the child in her womb.
She scoffed and stared at him unbelievably, had it been he had spoken to her in a way that showed he wanted her not just because she had said she was his wife, Maryam would have been even elated. But no, he acted as though she was a painful responsibility he had to take care of. She rolled her eyes at him and that seemed to catch Na'im's eyes.
"I'm not here to prove to you any longer that I'm your wife or not. I don't care even if you want me as a wife or not, because believe me, what had happened yesterday was evident enough that you no longer want me in your life, and I'm ready to accept that." She kept talking in a manner that showed how angry she was with him, how deeply hurt she had been for the past month he was back and still he wasn't able to remember.
Maryam thought that she would be able to stop herself from crying, but it turned out she wasn't as strong as she thought she was when it came to him. She had been talking for some minutes now, but even though he had his eyes fixed on her, he wasn't willing to speak. She thought maybe he wanted her out of his sight before he shot her again and she wiped at her tears.
"I get it now, Na'im. You badly want me out of your life, I know that you wanted initially to divorce me when I turned 18 and that's in a few months to come and that's why you're doing this now to me so I won't be deeply hurt when you're ready to divorce me, right?" She wiped at her tears with a painful smile before she stared right into his eyes, "Just wait and see, I'll give birth to your child, hand him or her over to you and you'd never see me again." She was walking back to her apartment in a flash and he just sat there, wondering where all those words came from, wondering how they lived as a husband and wife to have her this deeply hurt because she was being treated like by him.
He sighed and closed his eyes, feeling the way his heart ached because of the words she had uttered, the way her tears were running down to her cheeks in utter anguish, and he wished he was able to comfort her, but he couldn't. He had to set his head and heart straight. To see if he was willing to just continue living with her as a wife, even though he had zero memories or feelings for her.
He looked up at the sky and there were dark clouds over the evening sky, he smiled at himself. He didn't know why this was the first time he knew it might rain, yet he wasn't feeling the expected fear of loosing someone that meant the world to him. He didn't know whether it was because deep within, Na'im felt as though he had had the biggest loss of his life, even though he couldn't point out who that person he had lost was.
He was about to walk to the mosque because he had heard the adzhan being called when he heard a notification coming through his phone and he lifted it to his eyes. It was a notification from his phone's reminder with the title 'Hoor's EDD.' He slightly gasped and wondered who Hoor was? He knew it meant fairy and just as he thought about the meaning of the name, something flashed into his eyes. A brisk memory of Maryam, devoid of that protruding stomach as she smiled and ran towards him. Her hands were beautified with henna and so as her legs and her hair was looking so shiny and beautiful.
He felt a pang in his heart and had to sit back to calm the raging storm that now weren't in the sky but his heart. He wanted to remember, the kind of life he had lived with her for her to fill each and everything in his life. He had seen the gold coins he had in his wardrobe and instantly, he knew they belonged to her along with the gold jewelry set. What did that mean? Did he love her enough to be doing all these things to her?
He walked out of the corridor and he was about to go to the apartment when the imam in the mosque started the prayer and he thought that he'd go there when he was back. He had to check something, ask her a few things about their life and maybe, if he was lucky, since he was able to have some snippets about her, he might be able to remember if not all, then a huge bunch of their moments with her.
"Na'im Abubakar Bolori!" He heard his name being screamed out and when he turned, she had thrown a very huge stone at him that while dodging it, he fell on the ground. He looked up at her and saw her hatred filled eyes before she walked away, maybe to her little and innocent mind, that would be her revenge.
He almost laughed when his head rang and the way she had screamed out his name echoed in his brain. This wasn't the first time she had ever called his full name. He closed his eyes, feeling such a searing headache threatening to divide his head into two. He had images of her standing in front fo his house in Damboa road, staring at him while he was trying to drive away when she screamed his name.
And at the same time, he heard her voice echoing through the walls of his head. He groaned in pain as she held his head with both hands. He didn't want all this pain, she was everywhere and everything she did reminded him of something she had done, but the remembrance was filled with pain for his entire being. "Are you alright?" Someone gasped and that was when he realized he was still on the floor, clutching his head as tightly as he could.
He squinted his pain stricken eyes and laid them on a forlorn Saima while she tried to take his arm in an attempt to lift him up. "I can stand up, Gimbiya." He managed to utter but still held her outstretched hand towards him. He dusted his body off the sand before he looked at her.
"You're being too hard on yourself, Yarima. Take it easy, okay? One moment at a time and I'm sure you'd remember everything about her." He smiled at her before he fondled her head. How did she know that this was about Maryam.
"You're so smart, Saima," he said softly, even though his head was still banging with pain. "And you should take things easily on yourself as well, okay? Think whether you want him or not and then go on strictly on that choice of yours."
She nodded her head and her tears were already brimming in her eyes, "It's just too hard, Yarima. I'm even confused."
He gently pulled her to his body and hugged her. Partly because she appeared that she needed the embrace and he, too, wanted someone to comfort him. "Be true to yourself and have your happiness as the first priority, then you'd make a choice." She lifted her head and stared at him while he nodded at her, "And in case he hasn't picked or replied your message or missed call; he's fine, just sleeping tiredly in his house."
She blushed at that and wondered how he was able to know that she had called and texted him but with no response. "I'll sleep in the apartment tonight, make sure you call him over, please? I think I've already made a decision."
Na'im chuckled and nodded his head at her, he wished it was that easy for him as well. But everything was hard, his brain was threatening to burst out if he tried so hard. "I'll make sure he comes over, Gimbiya. I need to go to the mosque," he said and stayed silent a bit, "Make sure you comfort her for me, please."
Saima stood there after nodding her head at him until he walked out of the chamber and she smiled before she walked to the apartment. Maybe it was time she gave him a chance, as much as it would hurt if she loved him and be together with him, she was certain it would hurt tenfold more painful if she was away from him. She wanted him, she thought, and so she was going to have him.
She saw the door opened and the sound of Maryam's cry coming from her room. She was sure all the three ladies were there as they tried to comfort her but she wasn't listening to them. Even though amidst her tears Saima thought she heard her saying she had thrown a stone at him and Intisar was scolding her for doing that. They all heard Saima's laughter, which forced them to turn to the door.
She walked inside with her hands lifted up and palms out as she smiled happily. Happy at the decision she had finally taken now, she was amazed by what Maryam did and wished she had had the idea since, but then it was too late because she had decided to love him now. And glad because it looked like the stone had worked wonders to his head.
"I'm so proud of what you did, my darling," she said as she outstretched her hand towards Maryam for a shake, "And guess what? It seems like your stone did magic to his head. Do you know what he had said to me before he left for mosque?" Maryam quickly shook her head at her. Because even though she was angry at him, she still wanted him back and all her words were nothing but a threat to him.
Saima found a space beside her and sat down while Intisar shook her head with a grin on her lips as she saw the eagerness in Maryam's eyes and the way she had moved. As if she wasn't the one that was angrily saying that she could kill him if a gun was given to her!
"He said that I should comfort you for him, he looked so worried, confused and in pain even though I doubted if he hadn't dodged the stone, albeit I saw him on the ground." Maryam was staring at her as if she couldn't believe what Saima had just told her, but she knew she would never lie to her even if she wanted to console her pain.
She felt her heart opening a bit and then she was smiling softly. Maybe what she's doing is finally working and they stayed for the remaining of the night talking about him and Saima ended up telling her that she had decided she was going to give Hafiz a chance. They ate dinner together, even though Saima kept staring at her phone, expecting a reply and she had sent Na'im a message to ask him if he was able to reach him but there was no response and when it was time to sleep, she went to Intisar's room because Maryam couldn't sleep together with anyone apart from Na'im.
?
The rain splattered peacefully, if not for the thunderstorms that were so loud they made her squirmed on the bed. She had pulled the blanket over her body and a small smile graced her lips when she remembered what he had told Saima about her. Then she felt it, the quickness of someone picking her up into his arms, it wasn't the soft arms she was expecting and when she looked up, she couldn't make up the face of whoever it was. Her heart lost a beat and the rain poured down in loud thunderstrikes.
"Who are you?" She managed to utter, but when he walked out of the living room, she found Intisar crying alongside Bilkisu and there was a gun pointed to their heads. Well, maybe it was time they died, Maryam thought.
But she wasn't going to cry. Even if he had forgotten about her, she was sure he was going to save her, he had to and he would. "Bring them out, let's leave!" When she heard the voice, she instantly knew who it was and she kept wriggling, even though with so much fear in her mind until he placed her down and she wasn't even settled on her feet when he gave her a very sound slap.
He pulled her roughly when she was about to fall and said, "I would've killed you this instant, but I'll have to make sure he feels how it feels to loose a child. I won't be the only one to experience this pain!" Her veil fell and he took a churn of her hair, which caused her to scream at the pitch of her voice! He shouldn't touch her hair!
"Please let her go!" Intisar begged with her entire body shaking with the trauma she had gone through, but it didn't look that they were willing to listen to her. He pulled her outside, where the rain was pouring harshly and thunderstorms were soaring and there was a very strong wind, it seemed like the perfect atmosphere for a crime like this.
"Na'im, you have to come and save me this one last time." She cried, placing her hand on her stomach as she felt the way her lower abdomen began to move with an excruciating pain she had never experience.
He laughed, but it was a humorless laughter that was filled with so much pain and quest for revenge that made her shivered, and the forced he had used in dragging her out of the living room was what made her fell on her knees as the pain extended in her lower abdomen. She was crying not because of what he was doing or what she clearly knew he was about to do, but because of the pain she was feeling in her body.
"I'm in so much pain, please let me go." She groaned and cried, begging him when he took a churn of her hair again. When Maryam looked up, they were just two guys, but she knew even if it was just Captain Bolori, they wouldn't be able to fight with him, especially not when he held a gun.
"That's exactly what I want you to feel; pain. Before I wait for the baby to come..." He punched mercilessly on her stomach and she was sure no matter the rain that was pouring, her scream would be heard from all angles of the palace. "And I'd kill you both!"