REMARKABLE

7

Ahsan had been left behind as all his relatives along with his dearest mother went ahead to the wedding venue, still at the car shop, transforming his car into a bride, looking dapper in a cream thread work sherwani with sunglasses perched on his nose and his once swept hair now falling on his forehead, playing with the wind.

Ahsan pulled out the phone from his pocket to find over twenty calls from his mother and a few messages from Armineh. He ignored them, he was late but on the way and changed Armineh's contact to wife. After all why not? They were to be married in hours now.

He got into his car and smiled as he glanced at himself in the rearview mirror, admiring himself when a knock on the window interrupted him. Ahsan paid and gave a generous tip with an ever-present smile, through the rolled window before hitting the road.

'Bloody traffic!' Ahsan cursed, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel as he waited rather impatiently for the 'go' at the signal. He gunned his engine when the signal finally turned green for the second time, from 0 to 60 under a minute after turning at the curb and onto the intersection when his phone vibrated and his gaze shifted to the phone lying on the passenger sheet, flashing 'mother'.

He held onto the steering wheel with one hand as he picked up the phone and tucked it between his shoulder, 'Hello! Hello- Ahsan! Can you hear me?!'

'Yes, Mom. Yes.'

'Ahsan- Ahsan! Can't hear you betay! There's a lot of noise! Are you late? Where- Where are you?'

'Mom! It's traffic-' Ahsan said, his loud voice reverberating in the cramped space as he rolled the window up.

'Betay-Betay, Armineh's asking you to come soon.' He heard his mother and a corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk.

He continued,'-I am not-'

Ahsan never got a chance to say 'late' as his words were cut mid-sentence, his hand pressed onto the horn when he saw the four-wheeler swerving out of control at the intersection but by the time he saw it, it was too late.

The four-wheeler swerved, out of control at the intersection, the horns blared in the background as the two on-coming cars tried to avoid it - and failed. One of them hit the four-wheeler in a head-on collision. It exploded in a ball of flame and a fist of gray smoke followed by another explosion a moment later...The third car had been traveling too fast. It plowed into the burning wrecks even as he slammed on the failed brakes, his phone flying from his hand.

Ahsan's body jerked into the dashboard, his torso and head smashed against the windshield and then he fell against the window when he swerved the skidding car, ripping the driver's side of the car like opening a can, pushing it and flipped over, forcing the front end to lose control. His arms and legs flailed, searching for somewhere to hold and stop the movement of his body. The world must have flickered its figurative light switch because his vision kept flashing from bitter darkness to blinding white light as the car continued, loudly screeching along the tarmac on it's back.

The only sound that filled his ears was the crushing of glass mixed with the distinct crackles of his bones before it smashed head on to the pavement
Then suddenly, everything became light as he was thrown from the car, flying through the air, his body almost limp from the impact that occurred nanoseconds before.

He would have preferred to be unconscious rather than awake because when he was awake he was fleetingly aware of the bloody taste pooling in his mouth but he couldn't figure out what it was. His coffee strands dipped in sanguine as the red liquid oozed out of the deep gash on his hairline. At times his eyelids fluttered and he thought he must be at home in bed because it was so dark. He felt the coppery liquid grazing his teeth and soaking his tongue. He felt the aching and cracks in his bones like rocks were burrowed into his skin. Ahsan sucked in cramped air, feeling his lungs caving in on themselves. He saw the spots dancing in the corners of his vision, making his head feel like the only thing inside of it was static. He heard a buzzing noise, filling his ears. He felt like he had been there minutes-hours-years, fading and waking and fading and waking. His agony was the only thing that kept him alive but it was short-lived. His breathing staggered with weakening pulse and that's when he fell unconscious on the road, surrounded by many people but none coming to his aid as they looked at the dying groom, horrified for Ahsan's fate. Terrified if fate was a player in Hamza's game as well.