Ramadhan Muslim [COMPLETED]

Epilogue

It had been a good half an hour. Yet, there was still no sign of the one they were waiting for. Imam Amir, Bella and Falisa were anxiously waiting for her arrival. Eiden was pacing here and there, clearly tensed at the situation. He was not sure if he was excited or a little scared to meet her again. It had been two weeks since their eyes fell upon each other's, and the eyes tell stories that words could not describe. 

The sound of cheap slippers brushing against the hard, cold cement caught their ears. Through the glass panel, they could see a figure walking towards them, closer and closer. The figure wore an orange outfit, with a black shawl draping around her head, covering her chest. She looked different, very different to the last time they saw her. Her cheeks were sunken, her skin lost the shine that had once radiated her face. Her cheekbones were protruding out and she had visibly lost some weight. Her steps were slow and heavy, as if she had no will to live on the face of the earth. Yet, her lips traced a wide smile on her small face. She was exhilarated to see all those who were close to her, all those whom she had considered as her family, standing in front of her. A transparent glass panel separated Farra and the rest. 

"Farra!!!" Falisa was the first one to call out to the person standing in front of her. She placed her palm on the glass panel, and Farra also did the same, at the same spot Falisa placed her own hand.  Tears streamed down Falisa's cheeks, yet Farra just kept her smile. 

"Thank you for coming," Farra said, her voice was low and rough. She probably caught a flu, or perhaps she just did not speak to anyone for the two weeks she had been around. 

"Farra, how had you been?" Imam Amir asked, his voice laced with concern. 

"Alhamdulillah, Imam. I had been good. How are you all?" Farra answered. 

"We are all good, Farra. See, we are not going to ask you what happened, nor will we judge you for what will happen next. But we are here, just to support you. Just to be there for you. We will all stand with you, no matter what happens next," Bella was the next one to speak up. 

"I appreciate it, Bella. I really do. But I do not want to be a symbol of disgrace for your family. If people know that a criminal had stayed in your house for a week, rumors will start spreading, and that will certainly ruin your family's reputation. I don't want that to happen to a family which I regard as my own. Perhaps you should not come and visit me. I do not want a respectable like yours to be associated with a killer. "

"Farra, we know, we all know you are not a criminal. You just wanted to protect your own self. It was self-defense."

"But will the society see it? Will they not immediately label me as a 'murderer', rather than looking into the backstory of the whole incident."

"Why do they need to? Do they care about you? This was the same society whom shunned you away when you made your hijrah. Let's not care about what the society thinks."

Farra kept mum, unable to respond to Bella's words. Farra turned to Falisa. 

"Falisa, how is Amma doing? Is she out of the ICU yet?"

"Do you want to see her, Farra?"

"Of course I do. Why would I not want to see her? She is my mother, after all."

"If you are ready to see her, I am ready to show her."

"What are you talking about? I-I don't understand."

Falisa turned around, and disappeared into the small crowd behind her. The crowd let her pass through. In a few seconds, Falisa reappeared, but this time, she was wheeling a woman on a wheelchair towards the glass panel.