Madawa

14

Maher didn't go back to Islamabad. He couldn't. It was late and all flights were cancelled because Karachi decided to unexpectedly pour. Well, not entirely unexpected. The rainstorm had been on the forecast for days but Maher didn't take that into account before jumping on a plane to get there. He had called Umair who arranged for him to stay at his place but before heading there he stopped at a cash and carry to get a bottle of water a pack of cigarettes. He couldn't find the brand he always smoked but anything would work at the moment. He couldn't believe it but he hadn't smoked for the past 8 hours which was a personal record. He drove to Umair's place and his watchman let him in. Maher went straight to Umair's guest bedroom that was located on the ground floor. He had been awake for over twenty-four hours and he could fall asleep standing up. He plopped himself on the bed and he was asleep before he even hit the pillow.

He was awoken by his phone ringing nonstop. He felt like it had been going on since forever. He picked it up and with still sleepy eyes looked at the screen. It was Hareem. It was 5 in the morning and he was in no mood to talk to her right now. He intentionally missed the call and slid down the notification panel to find out 45 missed calls from Hareem and Ayla and dozens of messages. Ayla. His eyes shot open. He had forgotten to let her know that he was coming here. She must be losing her mind. He sat up on the bed and answered the call.

"Hey," he said.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!?!?" She practically yelled from the other side of the line.

"Karachi," he replied and he was ready for her reaction.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!?!" She was frantic. "Why are you in Karachi, Maher?!" She asked; her tone now resembling that of a sane person.

"I needed to take care of something," he quietly answered.

"You didn't even bother letting me know?" She sounded genuinely disappointed.

"I'm sorry, Ayla. Our lunch totally slipped my mind," Maher truthfully spoke. He really didn't remember their plans when he made the last minute decision.

"You don't just up and leave like this, Maher. I was worried sick!" Her tone was completely different from how it not even five minutes ago. She sounded concerned. "I was going to file a missing persons report," she added and Maher let out a dry chuckle.

"Well, you don't have to do that now. I'll be back as soon as the weather clears up here," he informed her.

"Maher, what happened?" She asked.

"I'm fine," he replied.

"I didn't ask you how you were, but now I know for sure that you're not fine," she stated. "You know you can talk to me, right?" she added.

"I'm fine, Ayla. I have to be somewhere, talk to you later," he replied. He didn't wait for her to reply and ended the call. He loved Ayla but he didn't want to engage in any conversation at the moment, let alone one that discussed how he was feeling at the time.

He turned his phone off silent and dropped it on the other side of the bed and laid down again, sinking his head further into the pillow. He closed his eyes for a moment but opened them again as he heard the call to prayer. Umair's house was a couple blocks from the local mosque so it sounded loud and clear. He picked up his phone again and looked for Saman's contact.

Can we talk?

He hit send and placed the phone on top of his steadily rising and falling chest. He needed to make things right with Saman. He wouldn't tell her a thing about his father's connection with everything she's been through. He knew it wouldn't do anyone any good and would only bring more pain. Maher knew he couldn't hurt her any more. He had decided he'd take her to Australia with him. He had even planned to give her brother a position at his firm. Pakistan had zero opportunities for people in prime health, a paraplegic had no future in this country but in Australia? People that worked despite their challenges were celebrated. Both Saman and her brother would have the perfect life and a happy future would hopefully overshadow their painful past. Maher's chain of thoughts was interrupted by his phone vibrating on his chest. It was a message from Saman.