[He wipes his eyes roughly, but more tears fall. His shoulders shake as he begins to sob openly.]
junaid: (leans back, swallowing hard) Jamiu…
jamil: (voice low) He… he was always there for us… for everyone…
jamiu: (clutching his hands together, trembling) He… he never judged… he never turned anyone away… (voice breaks completely) He helped everyone, gave advice… guided… protected… and… and now… (sobs) now I can’t even hear his voice…
[He buries his face in his hands, body shaking like he’s carrying the weight of the world.]
junaid: (softly, almost whispering) We… we have to stay strong.
jamil: (quietly) We need to protect him… for now.
jamiu: (head still in hands, sobbing) Protect him? I… I can’t… I can’t protect him from this… this is… too much…
[He leans back slightly, still crying openly, shoulders heaving. His face is red and wet. Every breath ragged.]
junaid: (voice low, trembling) So… we don’t tell chief tonight?
jamil: (firm) Not tonight. Wait for the doctor’s next update.
jamiu: (still crying, voice breaking) Yes… yes… but how… how do you live with this? How do you… see your brother like this… and do nothing?
[He wipes his face roughly, shaking his head, tears still streaming.]
jamiu: (quietly, almost to himself) Always thinking ahead.
jamil: (conflicted smile) Wise beyond his age.
junaid: (voice breaking slightly) People listened when he spoke… even without preparation.
[Silence. Heavy. Memories pressing.]
jamiu: (staring at nothing) His presence… just walking into a room… you feel it.
jamil: (voice low, remembering) Authority. Calm. Confidence.
junaid: (softly) Chief was proud of him.
jamiu: (quiet, almost a whisper) Still is.
[They sit in the weight of that truth. The distant hospital speaker hums.]
junaid: (almost broken) He cannot end like this…
jamiu: (quiet, firm) He won’t.
jamil: (steady) We have to believe that.
[Long silence. Each man fights private tears.]
junaid: (voice faltering) If chief sees him like that… all those machines…
jamiu: (places hand on knees) We protect him first. We protect chief too.
jamil: (nods slowly) Yes.
junaid: (looks at both, voice low) So… we don’t tell him tonight?
jamiu: (quietly) Not tonight.
jamil: (firm) Wait for the doctor’s next update.
junaid: (slowly nods) Alright.
[Each man sinks further into thought, memories of anas: laughing, advising, leading. The reception feels emptier without his presence. Lights dim slowly.]
-------------
LATE NIGHT
[The room is dimly lit. Machines beep steadily. The faint smell of antiseptic hangs in the air. Haneefah enters from the mosque, her body exhausted.]
Haneefah: (enters, dragging her feet, eyes swollen and barely open, each step heavy as if life is draining out of her) …
[Her head hangs low, shoulders slumped. Every step shakes her knees slightly. Her face is pale, dark circles under her eyes, tears still streaking her cheeks.]
Haneefah: (reaches the ICU door, voice breaking, collapsing slightly) Anas… this shouldn’t be you… ahhhhhhh… (shaking, sobbing) you are too good for me… how can I live without you…
Zainab: (approaches silently, tears streaming, moves slowly to Haneefah’s side, places a hand on her back to support her) …
[Haneefah allows Zainab to help her sit closer to Anas’ bed, her hands gripping the edge of the mattress, body trembling.]
Haneefah: (staring at Anas, voice trembling) I wish he would just… just open his eyes… and call my name again…
[Her lips quiver. Tears gush down uncontrollably. She leans slightly toward Anas, as if trying to feel him respond.]
Zainab: (sits silently beside her, holding her hand lightly, rocking her gently) …
Haneefah: (soft sobs, clutching his hand, shaking violently) Anas… please… don’t leave me…
[Haneefah rests her forehead on Anas’ hand, body trembling, completely consumed by sorrow. The machines continue their steady rhythm. Lights dim slowly, leaving the two women in grief beside the lifeless-looking yet breathing body of Anas.]
----------
DOCTOR’S OFFICE – LATE NIGHT
[The office is quiet. A desk lamp casts a soft glow. Medical files are spread across the table. The air feels tight. Jamiu, Junaid, and Jamil sit opposite the Doctor. Their faces are drained, eyes red from crying.]
Jamiu: (leans forward slightly, voice heavy but respectful) Doctor, we are sorry for disturbing you again at this hour.
Junaid: (nodding quickly) Please forgive us. We just need clarity.
Jamil: (hands clasped tightly together) We are begging you. Please, is there anything more we can do?
Doctor: (calm but serious) It is not a disturbance. I understand your concern.
Jamiu: (voice shaking) We can travel abroad if necessary. Europe, America, anywhere. If surgery is needed, we will arrange it. Just tell us what to do.
Junaid: (leaning forward urgently) Or experimental treatment. Anything. We just want our brother back.
Jamil: (eyes moist) Money is not the issue. Please help us save him.
[The Doctor takes a slow breath, choosing his words carefully.]
Doctor: Right now, your focus should not be surgery.
[The brothers exchange confused looks.]
Jamiu: Not surgery?
Doctor: Your brother is in a deep coma. Before we discuss traveling abroad or removing the tumor, we must first see if he regains consciousness.
[Silence fills the room.]
Junaid: (barely audible) If he regains?
Doctor: We are not certain he will wake up.
[The statement lands heavily.]
Jamil: (staring blankly) What do you mean not certain?
Jamiu: (shaking his head slowly) No, Doctor. You said he was stable.
Doctor: He is medically stable. But stability does not guarantee neurological recovery.
Junaid: (voice rising slightly) Are you saying he might never wake up?
Doctor: It is a possibility.
[The room goes still. Jamiu’s breathing becomes uneven. Jamil lowers his head. Junaid presses his palm against his forehead.]
Jamiu: (voice breaking) No. That cannot be it. He was fine. He was talking. He was working. How does someone just collapse like that?
Jamil: (grief turning to frustration) He never complained of severe headaches. No seizures. Nothing serious. How can a tumor grow for years and he did not know?
Junaid: There must have been signs. Something we missed.
Doctor: Brain tumors can grow silently. Especially slow growing ones. The brain adapts. Symptoms can be subtle. Mild headaches. Fatigue. Occasional dizziness. Things most people ignore.
Jamiu: (whispers painfully) He always said he was just tired from work.
Doctor: The tumor likely reached a critical size recently. The sudden collapse was probably due to increased pressure in the brain.
Jamil: (voice trembling) So all these years, it was there?
Doctor: Most likely, yes.
Junaid: (tears falling now) And none of us knew.
Jamiu: (gripping the chair tightly) So what are you saying now, Doctor? That we just sit and wait?
Doctor: For now, we monitor him closely. We reduce the brain swelling. We watch for neurological response. If he wakes up and stabilizes further, then we can discuss surgery options, whether locally or abroad.
Jamil: (broken voice) And if he does not wake up?
[The Doctor hesitates.]
Doctor: Then the situation becomes more complicated.[The words shatter what little hope remained.]
Junaid: (stands abruptly, pacing) This cannot be happening.
Jamil: (covers his face, shoulders shaking slightly) Ya Allah.
Jamiu: (remains seated, tears rolling silently) He is the strongest among us. He cannot just disappear like this.
Doctor: I know this is painful. But hope is not gone. Coma recovery can be unpredictable. Some patients surprise us.
Junaid: So there is hope?
Doctor: There is hope. But there is uncertainty.
[Silence again. Shock. Fear. Grief.]
Jamiu: (voice low, trembling) We are not ready to lose him, Doctor. Not Anas.
Jamil: Chief will not survive this news.
Junaid: And Haneefah.
Doctor: For now, be strong for him. Speak to him. Sometimes the brain responds to familiar voices.
[Jamiu nods slowly, wiping his tears.]
Jamiu: Then we will speak to him until he hears us again.
[The brothers slowly stand. Their legs feel weak. Their world feels unstable.]
[Lights dim as they exit the office, shattered but still holding onto a fragile thread of hope.]
_______________
ICU ROOM – VERY LATE NIGHT
[The room is dim. The machines continue their steady rhythm. The night feels endless. Anas lies unconscious. Haneefah sits beside him, weak but upright, staring at her husband’s face, fingers wrapped around his hand. Her lips move in silent prayer. Tears fall without sound.]
[Zainab sits a little distance away, giving them space. She watches them quietly. Her eyes are swollen from crying. Her body is still, but her heart is restless.]
Haneefah: (whispering through tears, eyes fixed on Anas) Ya Allah… return him to me… do not take him from me… please…
[She wipes her tears and continues praying softly.]
[Zainab lowers her head. Her fingers twist the edge of her scarf. Her breathing becomes unsteady.]
Zainab: (soft whisper to herself) If I had known… if I had known this was how You would test me…
[Her voice breaks. She covers her mouth to suppress a sob.]
Zainab: (tears flowing freely) I would not have married him… I would not have let him carry my burden too…
[She looks toward Anas with deep sorrow.]
Zainab: (whispers) He was too good for me… too kind… too honest…
[She shakes her head slowly, grief tightening her chest.]
Zainab: (crying quietly) After all the rejection… the deceit… the broken promises… I finally found a real man… a man who feared Allah… a man who respected me…
[Her shoulders begin to shake.]
Zainab: (voice trembling) And when he came to rescue me… to make me a wife… to make me a mother… this is what happens?
[She presses her hand against her chest as if to calm the pain.]
Zainab: (through tears) He did not even enjoy the reward of his kindness… he did not even enjoy his home… his new bride…
[She glances at Haneefah, who continues praying silently, then back at Anas.]
Zainab: (bitter sob) I just entered this family… they welcomed me with love… they treated me with honor… and now I enter sorrow instead of joy…
[Her tears fall faster now. She bends forward slightly, crying more openly.]
Zainab: (broken whisper) Was I never meant to enjoy marriage? Was I never meant to taste happiness?
[She wipes her face but the tears keep coming.]
Zainab: (voice shaking) After so many disappointments… I thought Allah finally answered me… I thought He finally sent the man who would protect me…
[She looks at Anas again, her face full of fear.]
Zainab: (almost inaudible) And now death is standing at the door…
[The machines continue their steady beeping. The sound fills the silence.]
[Haneefah leans closer to Anas, resting her forehead near his hand, still praying softly.]
[Zainab slowly slides down in her chair, covering her face with both hands, crying bitterly but quietly, not wanting to disturb them.]
[The night stretches on. Three hearts breaking in the same room. One man lying between life and death.]
[Lights dim slowly, leaving only the faint sound of the machines.]