“Salamu Alaikum”, My dad’s voice interuppted
my thoughts.
“Wa alaika salam”, I answered, standing
“Na’imah”, he called
“Na’am Baba (hausa meaning of Yes, father)”,
I answered trying hard to smile.
“How is he?”, he asked
“He is still unconscious but the Doctor said
they hope he regains consciousness within the
next 24 hours”, I answered looking at Basheer.
“Yes, I have met him, he is also on his way”,
he explained.
There was a moment of silence as Dr. Imran
came in, greeted me and checked on Basheer.
“I think we should run down to the station,
it’s not faraway from here”, he said turning to
my Dad and reached for the door.
“That’ll be alright”, he answered and then
turning back to me he said,” We won’t take
long and what would you like for breakfast as
your Mum is coming over too?”
“I don’t have appetite for anything and I am
not even hungry”, I answered.
“You have to eat something”, he said looking
at me while reaching for the door.
“How on earth can I eat with Basheer lying
unconscious?” I asked myself
About an hour later, my parents came in, I
was now sitting on the sofa. My mum looked
worried as she dropped a basket on the locker
by the bedside. She looked at Basheer and
shook her head.
“I wish him a very quick recovery”, she said
sitting by my side.
We went over to the police station and
collected the remaining of his valuables”, My
Dad said
“I know you could make use of this to contact
his family”, he added handing Basheer’s
phone to me.
I took the phone, switched it on and waited
while it rebooted. Messages from BBM,
Watsapp, Facebook came tropping the
moment the service came up. I knew Basheer
to be a social networker. I didn’t bothered
going through the messages but rather went
through his contacts, found his Mum’s
number and dialed.
“Hello”, she answered at first ring. She
sounded anxious.
“Salamu Alaikum”, I greeted her.
“Wa alaiki salam, Na’imah is that you?”, she
asked
“Yes mum”, I confirmed
“Where is Basheer? We have been trying to
reach him since yesterday but all efforts
proved abortive, is he alright?” she sounded
really worried.
I couldn’t answer any of her questions. How
can I tell her Basheer is lying unconscious on
a hospital bed? Tears rolled down my cheeks.
“Na’imah, speak to me, where is Basheer?”,
she asked once more.
I couldn’t bear it anymore, I handed the phone
to my Mum as I burst into tears.
I could hear my Mum telling her Basheer is
not well but it’s nothing serious. She wanted
to talk to him but my Mum told her he was
asleep.
She ended the call after saying she would call
later when he is awake.
My Mum consoled me assuring that everything
will be alright soon. But how soon? I asked
myself. Basheer was still unconscious and the
Doctors can’t do anything to regain him, we
just have to wait, But for how long? I asked
myself once more
“That only Allah knows”, a small voice inside
me said.
I managed to eat little of the food my Mum
had brought because I was now starving.
It was past noon when my parents got up
ready to leave as they had to go back to work.
My Mum promised to come back later in the
evening. They were about to leave when Dr.
Imran came in.
“Are you leaving already?”, he asked
“Yes”, my Dad answered smiling
He checked on Basheer once more, nodded his
head as he felt his pulse.
“His breathing is still normal” he explained
“Alhamdulillah”, my dad exclaimed, smiling
(Alhamdulillah=Thanks be to Allah).
“We should be on our way now”, he continued
Dr. Imran looked towards me for the first time
since he came in.
“Aren’t you going with them” he asked
“No”, I answered resting my head on the sofa.
“Why not?, He’ll be fine. You can go home and
relax a bit then come back later. Lets hope he
is awake before then”, he said.
“I want to be here when he gets back”, I answered
“But…..”, he started
“Let her be”, my Dad interrupted. He knew too
well how stubborn I could be.
“Okay, Dr. Imran said smiling and continued, I
hope Basheer Loves you as much as you do”.
“He does”, I said to myself as they all went
out of the room.
I went over to Basheer, said a silent prayer
over him and sq££zed his hand. There was no
response.
I went back to the sofa and few
minutes later I was fast asleep.
