RUWAIDA ✔️

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

She had been crying, but eventually, she felt better as if the tears gushing out her eyes had washed her worries too. Her eyes became so red and her throat hurt due to how miserably she kept trying to shrink the tears back. The stupid tears. But now, she felt better, even warmer too as it was broad daylight. The sun had rose, and its rays had prickled through the clouds and descended down her windows, brightening the room of hers, along with her dampened mood. 

She could hear the distant clatter of bowls and the basin from the kitchen downstairs, and the sound of running water from across her, in the bathroom. The bathroom door swung open and Ruwaida walked out, smiling broadly at Zarah who had both her legs atop the bed while her back rested comfortably over the headboard.

"You're awake,"

"Yeah...," Zarah said a little fretfully, but Ruwaida seemed to not notice.

"Are you hungry? You haven't eaten dinner yesterday..., you don't look your normal self I must say," Ruwaida started cheerfully. "Let me get you something to eat, okay?," Ruwaida smiled one more time before sauntering out the room, leaving Zarah feeling downright unlike her typical self. 

Ruwaida helped by staying back with her, without asking anything about the events. Mama was also yet to ask her what happened, and Muhammad, he didn't even care to call and ask his wife why she'd not returned home, how's she doing or the usual questions about her medicines. And Zarah felt like because of her, Muhammad and Ruwaida could have a misunderstanding. She wouldn't like that.

She was about to descend down from the bed to go take a shower when her eyes caught a glance of something on the bedside drawer, but she was fast to dismiss the thoughts, shaking her head in an attempt. 'No Zarah...don't do it," Her eyes snapped again towards the phone and she was tempted to pick it up. But for a while, she kept contemplating up until she found her self sending a message through Ruwaida's mobile.

"Assalamu Alaikum. Abdallah, it's Zarah. Can we meet later please? The usual cafe? Don't text my phone. Meet me by 2 sharp. I'll be waiting...I love you,"  The moment the messages went through, she immediately deleted them. She felt her heart in her mouth, hearing the door of the room closed and she looked up, watching as Ruwaida walk in with the tray, containing the promised breakfast staring at anything but her. And she understood that Ruwaida did not notice the phone.

"The food is ready Zarah," she finally glanced up and a confused look smeared across her face at Zarah's frozen expression, clutching the phone tightly between her two hands. "Is something wrong? Why are you standing there like that," Ruwaida released a small chuckle placing the tray on the small stool, still not a bit suspicious. "Come on! Have a sit," Ruwaida took Zarah's hand in an attempt to sit her on the bed and the phone fell out of Zarah's hands, thankfully, the screen seemingly intact.

"My phone...you want to break it?," Ruwaida cluelessly raised it up and placed it back on the bedside drawer turning squarely to face Zarah.

Zarah gave her a quaky smile before she went on to serve herself the hot breakfast of boiled chicken in soup and white rice. Ruwaida sat in silence while Zarah ate. She wanted to go home so she could take her drugs, but after what Dr Zainab said, she did not want to stress over the medications, not when they'll have zero effects.

Her heart moved in pain at the thought and she felt her smile slowly fade away. How she wished...how she only wished! she'd a thousand dreams which eventually would die to pass.

"Won't you pick the call," Zarah held the spoon up and pointed at the phone which kept shrilling unbeknownst to Ruwaida, then her eyes moved back to stare at her. Ruwaida had been stuck in her trance of dreams and wishes and unluckily, it involved the very caller whom her worries now seemed to revolve around.