ICU ROOM
The room is quiet. The soft beeping of machines fills the air. Anas lies still. Zainab sits very close to him, holding his hand gently in both of hers.
Zainab: Anas… can you hear me? (softly, brushing her thumb over his fingers)
Zainab: You saved me, you know that? (voice trembling but calm)
Zainab: I had already accepted my life. Independent. Alone. Everyone calling me the strong one. The woman who does not need anyone. (leaning closer to his ear)
Zainab: I was becoming a permanent bachelorette. I convinced myself I was fine like that. (smiling faintly through tears)
Zainab: Then you came back into my life. (grip tightening slightly)
Zainab: You made my dream come true after all those years. You had no idea… no idea how much I loved you. (emotional)
Zainab: I loved you from secondary school. From the first day you stood up to defend me. From the first time you smiled at me. (lowering her forehead close to his hand)
Zainab: And now when I finally have you… when life is just beginning to feel complete… this happens? (voice cracking)
Zainab: Please wake up. Please do not leave me like this. Do not let my dream end this way. (pleading)
Zainab: Ya Allah, You are the Giver of life. You are the Healer. Please return him to us. Please restore him. Do not test us beyond what we can bear. (making dua softly)
Zainab: (lowering her hands and squeezing his fingers gently)
Zainab freezes. Her eyes widen. She looks at his hand.
Zainab: No… I am imagining it. (whispering to herself)
Zainab: (leaning closer, staring at his fingers)
The fingers move again. Slight, but clear.
Zainab: Anas? (gasping)
His hand twitches once more.
Zainab: No… no… this is not my imagination. (shaking)
Zainab: Doctor! Doctor! (half laughing, half crying, rushing toward the door)
Zainab: Nurses! Please come! He moved! He moved! (screaming loudly)
Her voice echoes down the hospital corridor as she looks back at Anas, tears streaming down her face, trembling between disbelief and overwhelming hope.
Lights hold on the slight movement of Anas’s fingers as footsteps rush toward the room.
---------
The mansion slowly began to feel like a home again, even if only for a few hours.
Haneefah poured herself into her children the moment she arrived. She fed them patiently, spoon by spoon, whispering soft reassurances. She bathed them herself, gently washing their hair, kissing their foreheads longer than usual. She dressed them in fresh nightwear and held them close as though afraid they might slip away too.
That night she lay beside them until their breathing became steady.
But sleep did not come to her.
As the children rested, she stared into the dim ceiling light, lost in thought.
What would life be without Anas?
The question haunted her.
She thought about the visa. Everything would be ready in three days. The travel documents. The arrangements. The possibility of surgery abroad. She held onto that hope tightly.
But another thought terrified her.
Without consciousness… there would be no surgery.
Doctors would not operate if he did not respond.
Her heart tightened.
She whispered silent prayers, hoping for a miracle, hoping for improvement, hoping for something to hold onto. She turned slightly and looked at her children sleeping.
Haneefah: yaa Allah, let him come back to us.
[Suddenly, the bedroom door burst open.]
[Haneefah sits up immediately hurriedly wear her khimar. Maryam and Jamil rush in, breathless.]
Maryam: Haneefah! (excited, almost crying)
Jamil: He moved! Anas moved his hands! (voice shaking with joy)
Haneefah freezes.
Haneefah: What? (jumping out of bed, tears instantly forming)
Maryam: Zainab called! The doctors are there! He moved twice!
Haneefah: Ya Allah! (crying, overwhelmed)
Her raised voice wakes Khalid, who quickly sits up and grabs her hand.
Khalid: Mummy! (holding her tightly) Where are you going again?
Haneefah kneels quickly in front of him.
Haneefah: Your dad… (pauses, emotional) Your dad moved, my baby.
Khalid: I am following you. (firm, scared)
Haneefah: No, stay here. I will come back quickly. I promise. (trying to calm him)
Khalid: No! (breaking down) You will let me follow you or something will happen?
The room goes silent.
Maryam and Jamil exchange shocked glances.
Junaid and his wife step closer, looking at each other with concern.
Junaid: (softly, decisive) Let him follow us.
Maryam: Yes. Let him come.
Haneefah looks at her son, tears streaming down her face.
Haneefah: Fine. You are coming with me. (wiping his tears quickly)
Khalid nods, holding her hand tightly.
Jamil: We need to go now.
Haneefah grabs her car key quickly, her hands trembling with excitement and fear.
They rush out together.
Outside, Haneefah increases her speed toward the car, her heart racing, her tears now filled with hope instead of despair.
For the first time in weeks, the night does not feel dark.
---------
ICU ROOM
The doctor stands beside the bed. Zainab is still holding Anas’s hand. Jamil and Junaid stand close by.
Doctor: There was definite movement. (professional but hopeful) This is a positive neurological sign.
Zainab: So he is waking up? (voice trembling with hope)
Doctor: We hope so. We need him to open his eyes. That is the next major step. Once he responds consciously, then we can talk about surgery and further procedures.
Junaid: And if he does not open his eyes? (anxious)
Doctor: For now, without eye response, there is nothing more we can proceed with. We wait. And we pray.
Jamiu: He moved twice. That means something, right? (trying to hold back tears)
Doctor: Yes. It means his brain is responding. That is hopeful.
Zainab: Alhamdulillah… (crying softly)
Doctor: Keep speaking to him. Familiar voices help.
{The doctor nods and exits with the nurses.}
Jamiu and Junaid exchange excited glances.
Junaid: He is coming back. I can feel it.
Jamiu: In sha Allah.
Footsteps rush down the corridor.
Haneefah appears, breathless, followed by Maryam and Jamil.
Haneefah: Where is he? (panicking but hopeful)
She rushes into the ICU.
Haneefah: Anas! (grabbing his hand immediately, crying) I heard he moved! They said you moved!
Zainab: Yes, he did. Twice.
Junaid: The doctor said it is a good sign.
Haneefah: Alhamdulillah! (raising her hands briefly) Ya Allah, thank You! Thank You!
She wipes her tears and bends close to Anas.
Haneefah: I am here. I am here. Please move again. Please.
The room is filled with fragile excitement.
Then suddenly, the monitor begins to shift slightly. His heart rate drops briefly before stabilizing.
Everyone freezes.
The excitement lowers instantly.
Jamiu: Is that normal? (worried)
Zainab tightens her grip.
Zainab: Stay calm. Stay calm.
They try to compose themselves, pretending not to panic.
Haneefah: It is okay. We are here. We are all here. (whispering into his ear)
She rubs his hand gently.
Five long minutes pass.
(Silence. Only the machine. Everyone gang around the room staring at Anas, Haneefah and zainab sit up close to his bed staring at him)
Then
[Anas’s eyelids flutter. Once. Twice. Slowly. He opens his eyes. He cannot speak. He simply stares, confused, weak, scanning the room.Haneefah gasps.]
Haneefah: Anas… (crying, overwhelmed)
Zainab covers her mouth in shock.
Junaid: He opened them.
Jamiu: Ya Allah…
[Anas blinks slowly, trying to focus, his eyes weak but alive.
For the first time in weeks, he is looking at them. And hope is no longer fragile.]
Anas lies weakly, eyes open but heavy. Haneefah and Zainab hold his hands.
Haneefah: Anas… we are here. (crying softly)
Zainab: You are okay. Do not be scared. (trying to smile through tears)
The monitor begins to beep faster.
Doctor: Please step back a little. (checking the screen quickly)
Anas struggles to move his lips.
Haneefah: What is it? (panicking) What is happening?
Anas slowly turns his head toward Haneefah. His breathing is uneven.
Anas: I am… sorry… (very weak, barely audible)
Haneefah freezes.
Haneefah: Sorry? No… no, do not say that.
Anas: I… lost… you… (tears falling from his eyes)
Haneefah: No! You did not lose me. I am here.
Anas: Take… care… of the kids… (struggling for breath) Take care… of my dad… take care… of everyone…
Junaid steps forward, shaking his head in fear.
Junaid: Do not talk like that. You are not going anywhere.
Anas: I wish… I could stay… longer… (voice breaking) But… it does not seem… real…
Zainab begins crying uncontrollably.
Zainab: Stop it! Please stop talking like this!
Anas looks at Haneefah deeply.
Anas: Be good… live right… there is nothing… in this dunya…
The monitor begins to spike harder.
Doctor: His heart rate is climbing. We need space.
Haneefah: No! I am not leaving him!
Anas turns his weak eyes toward Zainab.
Anas: I love you… (barely breathing) I am sorry… I could not make your dream… come true…
Zainab collapses closer to the bed.
Zainab: Do not say that. Please do not say that.
Doctors move around quickly.
Doctor: Oxygen. Increase support.
Haneefah: Anas! Look at me! Look at me!
Family members begin crying loudly.
Jamil: Anas! Stay with us!
The machine begins a long unstable rhythm.
Haneefah: No, no, no, no! (screaming)
Anas gathers the last of his strength. His hand moves slightly across the bed.
Anas: Ashhadu… an la ilaha… illallah… (weakly lifting his finger slightly in demonstration)
His hand drops.
The monitor gives a long, continuous sound.
Flat.
Silence.
Haneefah: Anas? (shaking him) Anas! Look at me!
Doctor checks quickly. Listens. Watches the monitor.
The room feels frozen.
Doctor: I am sorry… (softly) We lost him.
Everything breaks.
Haneefah screams.
Zainab: Nooooo! (falling against the bed)
Haneefah screams and suddenly collapses, fainting.
Junaid and Jamil couldn't believe their eyes, panting, struggles, shaking uncontrollably.
The machine continues its flat sound until a nurse turns it off.
Silence fills the room.
The kind of silence that changes lives forever.