TWENTY ONE

❝How dare you fall sick?❞

Ifrah was on the verge of insanity.

Half of the day had gone by her trying to get his temperature down to normal and she'd been somewhat successful but the disappointing part was that Aayan still hadn't opened his eyes. She had made at least eight trips to the river to fill up the water bottle again and again, and now her body was giving up on her despite her constant tries to keep it upright.

She hated it all.

She hated this island, and the fact that they were stranded here.

Most of all, she hated herself. If she didn't ask Aayan to go on that stupid tour, they'd have been in their hotel right now and...

They'd have been fighting.

Her breath stuttered when the thought hit her and she blinked back her tears for the hundredth time that day before picking the damp napkin from her husband's forehead and wetting it again with fresh water from the bottle.

The misunderstanding would've been still there if they didn't get stuck here.

Ifrah gulped and moved forward to grab Aayan's head and placed it in her lap.

Everything happens for a reason. We just get so overwhelmed with the bigger things that we don't notice the smaller stuff which has gone right.

With that new belief, she swallowed all the negativity which was burning inside her and said 'alhamdullilah' under her breath.

They were still alive. And they were going to stay alive, no matter what.

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The campfire was slowly burning out. Ifrah's head lolled forward while she was dozing off and it made her head snap up; the action pulling a vein in her neck and she hissed.

She blinked the haze from her eyes and stared at her husband's face before feeling his forehead. Relief washed over her when she realized that the temperature has come down and she pressed her lips to his head ever so softly.

“Wake up, now.” she mumbled, her lips lingering at the spot before she moved back. “Please... ”

No movement or reply.

She inhaled deeply before her eyes fell on the fire which was nearing its end and they widened. Her head whipped to the window and she saw that the sun has already set.

“Oh no.” she whispered before carefully placing his head back on the floor and stood up. Ifrah grabbed her phone and was going to run out to look for some dry branches but another thought made her turn and she picked up Aayan's water bottle before storming out of there.

He'd need the water when he wakes up. His body is dehydrated.

She knew some basic stuff about fevers, so she decided to pick some blueberries too. But she stopped abruptly in front of the thick woods as fear took over her.

The bushes were so far away from here and it was already dark! She can't leave him alone like this.

And she can't go in there alone either.

I should've collected them in the morning!

The option to go back and just keep him hydrated was very tempting but she couldn't act on it. He needed some food too, only water wouldn't help him. The fever can come back in full force and what would happen if it doesn't go by just sponging?

No. She can't take that risk.

So, she threw away the blanket of fear and went in the woods to get those blueberries.

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It took her an hour to return to the hut and when she entered it, the fire was already burned out.

She'd collected the blueberries, though. So, that was a good thing.

But she'd also screamed all the way in and out of the woods. Every little snap of twig or rustle in the leaves had made her hair stand up and there was a moment when she'd felt like crying out in such a loud voice that her desperation could be heard out of the island. She'd never felt so helpless.

Not a single moment in her life had broken Ifrah Raheem like this.

Not even when Aayan proposed Sarah.

It was a miracle that she hadn't fainted there because right now, she'd give anything to just lie down and close her eyes to escape this horrible reality, even for a fleeting second.

But she couldn't. Because Aayan was still unconscious and she loved him too much to leave him like that and focus on her own well being.

Ifrah sniffled and put the banana leaf in the corner which contained the berries before making her way to the window. She placed the few dry branches she'd found by mere luck to the spot and took out Aayan's lighter from his bag before flicking it on.

She'd seen him use the coconut skin to start the fire and mirrored his actions but a yelp escaped her lips when she accidentally burnt her finger.

“Jahanum mein jaye ye sab!” (Go to hell, all of this!) she exclaimed with a thick voice as it became difficult to breathe due to the knot of tears in her throat and quickly tried again. The fire started and she exhaled a huge breath.

This was the worst day in the history of her existence.

A sudden groaning sound made her head whip around and she shot up to her feet when she saw Aayan clutching his head with his eyes still closed.

“Oh thank God!” she cried out in relief before grabbing the water bottle and sitting down beside his lying self. Aayan was constantly blinking to make sense of his surroundings as Ifrah placed his head in her lap and pressed the bottle to his lips.

He accepted it like he was parched for weeks and the tears finally fell out of her hazel eyes after seeing him like this.

Aayan's eyes focused on her face when a tear landed on his cheek and he tried to sit up.

“Ifrah?” he called while she forced him back down. “Why the fück are you crying?”

Her blood boiled.

“I'm crying because of you.” she told him, making him frown harder. “How dare you fall sick?”

The poor guy was has barely woken up and his wife was already ready with the tanks.

“Zra khyal nahi hai tumhy mera,” (You don't care about me at all,) she sobbed. “I was so scared of you not waking up ever again.”

The most comical part was that as she complained, her hand was brushing the hair out of his eyes lovingly. Like she wasn't mad at him at all.

Her condition made Aayan's heart break and he sat up despite her protests before pulling her to his chest. He didn't say anything and let her cry it all out. Aayan was fücking tired of seeing her break down.

Because it broke him.

He just wanted to get out of this shïtty island, it was enough now.

When Ifrah stopped crying after some moments, she pulled away from him and told him to lie back down. Aayan shook his head at first but when she gave him a look which was enough to make any sane man dig his own grave, he complied and she placed his head on her lap once again.

“I— ” he started but Ifrah placed her hand on his lips.

“Just— don't say anything. Please.” her voice was very desperate and although Aayan's chest tightened painfully, he only nodded his head.

Ifrah gave him some more water before telling him to rest while she ran her hand through his hair in a soothing manner.

And she stayed in that position for the rest of the night.

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N O T E

*mood rn*

It's really a miracle that I updated toady because chances were only 10% 😶

Writing is finally taking a toll on me but I'll complete this story before taking a break *sighs*

Anyways, I'm so proud of Ifrah like, she actually went in the woods all alone to pick those berries for Aayan 🤧

Love can make you do crazy things, for real :'(

Have a nice day ❤