70 Days; Chapter 11

Day #48;

It's almost been a month ever since Fawaz broke the news to me.

Nothing has ever broken my heart more than the fact that Rashed's on the verge of death.

On the edge of dropping his life.

His life would be crushed.

Crushed into million little pieces.

I haven't spoken to my dear beloved ever since, either.

Not talking to him kills me, though.

I have not.

I could not.

And I will not face him.

And I will not answer his phone calls.

I'm too scared his last words would exit it, would capture the attention of my ear's, and would cause the destruction of my fragile heart.

I don't want to say goodbye.

Why aren't we both called 'Nothing'?

I bet he's thinking the exact same thing, in between the tubes and the needles, he might be wondering why aren't we called 'Nothing', since that seems to be the only thing that lasts forever.

-

It was a typical day at university.

Nothing special occurred in class, nothing new.

I think you could've guess my inability to focus in my classes due to my mind's visit to a world of utter pain and agony.

But I attended them anyway, just incase I decided to pay attention.

As soon as I was done with my classes of the day, I was asked, by my dear friend Charlotte, to go grab a snack to eat.

As much as I didn't want to, I tagged along, I felt I needed to change my lifestyle a bit, nowadays.

-

"Jade, what do you want to eat?" she asked.

Coldly, I replied, "Just a chicken sandwich,"

I grabbed us a seat, and waited for Charlotte's return.

As we ate, I think she noticed my slow consumption.

"What's the matter?" she questioned, worriedly.

"Nothing," I answered.

"Come on, Jade, you know you can't keep something from me, you suck at lying!" she said.

"Just not feeling myself lately," I replied.

"That isn't a good enough reason," she said once again, "Spill."

And I, with a sad heart, confessed.

Yes, it takes a while to gain someone's trust, but she has opened up to me quite a few times before, and I think I've known her long enough.

Plus, to whom am I afraid she would tell?

-

After my little outing, I felt grateful.

I felt grateful at least was there someone here with me whom I can shed my heart out to.

I picked up my phone and dialed.

I dialed the phone number of my divine mother's.

And within seconds, I could hear myself pour out how badly I needed to see her.

How badly I needed to feel the embrace she gave me before I left.

I admit, my mother is greatly missed.

I clarified my reason to why she must visit.

-

Day #50;

I heard a quick knock at the door.

My mother, yes, it was my mother.

I was expecting her.

"How are you?" she asked after we were both released from the tight hug, indicating how much we've missed each other.

"Not completely well, but-"

"Jade, you're my daughter, and I thank God every day that you are mine," she interrupted, releasing the most random words.

It took me quite a while to ponder my further, next words.

It was a hard, yet helpful decision to make and to make official.

"I've been thinking..." I began speaking.

She was all ears, ready for my following words.

"This isn't very easy to speak upon,"

"Jade, just say it," she ordered, interrupting, once again.

"I want to donate one of my kidneys to Rashed."

"What?!?!" she said, shocked and startled.

"I want to help him out a bit, you know..." I replied.

"Jade, you're crazy! You're young, you're only 18!" she shouted.

"But I love him!" I responded, raising my voice.

"It doesn't matter if you love him!"

"But why?!" I asked, angrily.

"Because you've got a whole life ahead of you! How could you make such an insane decision?!" she began screaming.

I teared, teared at the rejection of what my heart truly wanted.

"You're making such a big deal about this, Jade!"

Was I? Was I, really?

I teared quite a bit more.

"There is no way I am letting you donate your kidney,"

I then spoke, as frustration took over me, "Well, if you don't allow me, I'm going to tell Baba that I found love letters written by you that were meant for some man named Khalifa!"

Her eyes grew larger by the second.

Ashamed, yet furious, she spoke, "How do you know about them?!"

"A few months ago, I found them placed in one of the drawers of your bedside table," I answered.

"Why would you look through my stuff, Jade?" she questioned.

"Well excuse me for wanting to remind myself of my youth. I was looking for the photographs!" angrily, I said.

She stood up from her seat, adjusted her bag strap, and remained quiet.

70 Days; Chapter 10

Jade's perspective:

University is one of the most wonderful experiences, up to date.

So many things to do.

So many people to meet.

So many places to go!

Thank God I've chosen the correct, joyful road.

No more drama.

No more problems.

Just a sweet escape from reality!

But.

Rashed was the only one who hasn't escaped my thoughts yet.

Though I've met many guys here, they weren't even half as amazing as he was.

He's different, I tell you, unusual, maybe...

I tried not to bother him a few days before his leaving, since he might have been under pressure with the whole packing thing, I completely understand.

He's supposed to be in Australia, at the moment, just landed, actually.

I'm going to give him some space, and wait for him. 

Rashed's perspective;

Australia, I'm here!

I just exited the plane.

The plane where I've experienced the longest flight ever.

Finally, I'm starting university in a few days.

I've gotten here early to settle in and get all comfortable.

I've tried to forget all my troubles.

But, one, one trouble was incapable of being forgotten.

My illness.

I still remember my mother's reaction.

My own reaction.

Indescribable, it was.

My heart breaks every time I remember my mother collapse, break down, cry, unstoppably.

It breaks every time I remember the clueless mind of Jade's. The way she has absolutely no idea why I haven't spoken to her the past few days.

The reason to that was because of the worry, the concern, the carefulness of accidentally spilling out my flaw, spilling out my sick future.

What would be her reaction?

How would she feel if her ears witnessed my true self, now?

Or if her eyes read the most shocking news ever?

However, those weren't the main questions wandering about my head.

The primary question was, would she leave me?

Would she abandon me, leaving me unwell and incapable?

I can't let that happen.

She's all of I've got.

The woman I truly love is my only strength keeping me hopeful.

But yet again, why would I place myself in that position, when I know the results? The awful results?

At last, a solution was found.

Jade will never know.

Well, I hope she won't.

-

I pulled out my phone as soon as I entered the taxi, on my way to my destination.

And instead of speaking to Jade, I began to talk to my dear brother, Fawaz.

He's the only one I can trust from my entire family.

Though he's only two years younger than me, his mind is as wide as the biggest Egyptian pyramid.

His maturity amuses me.

He tears every time I bring up the topic about my health.

He was the last one in the house to find out.

He was just as sorrowful as my divine mother.

She insisted I stay home, and she'll speak to the university about my very late arrival.

But no.

I persisted in leaving, in enjoying the life I was given.

My life would be taken away, either way, whether it was staying at home watching T.V. or pursuing what I've always wanted to become. At least if I haven't reached that stage of my specific wish, I would die reaching for it.

And that is what matters most.

Anyway... Fawaz knows everything. He knows about how uncomfortable I feel whenever I visit my friends where smoke occupies my nostrils.

He knows about my true, deep feelings towards Jade. They both speak, actually, once in a while.

I use his phone to communicate with her sometimes whenever mine runs out of battery.

I spoke to him, explaining the beauty of this country, explaining the remarkably great weather.

He was extremely happy for me.

Jade's perspective;

As I approached my dorm wooden door, thinking about the dream I had of Rashed last night, I felt vibration coming from my right pocket.

A very strange dream, it was indeed.

I tend to receive dreams that often mean something.

Rashed and I were walking down the hallways of a hospital, holding hands. The walls were white, the floor was white, and so were our clothes. We both were wearing white hospital dresses.

We were both very frightened, worried, petrified.

As I gazed at him, his eyes were filled with water.

We kept on hearing some types of echoes.

"Poor thing!"

"Rashed!"

Someone unclear was chasing after him, although we were steadily walking, unable to run, for some odd reason.

I'll believe that one of us is trying to run away from something that's bothersome.

Let's just hope, this time, it means absolutely nothing.

I pulled out my phone and all of a sudden, I felt numb.

No reason.

Just numb.

I did not even feel my phone fall out of my hand hitting the cold, hard, marble floor.

Shock, it was.

It was definitely shock which caused this.

As much as I wanted to cry, I couldn't.

I couldn't tear.

I couldn't speak.

I couldn't feel.

I couldn't tell whether Fawaz was lying or not...

70 Days; Chapter 9

Rashed's perspective;

And she's gone..

We are no longer in the same local area.

I miss her, already...

-

"Mr. *****, you may come in,"

I approached the golden door knob, twisted it, extended my right foot, and entered the white room.

Sat in the black leathered chair in front of a wooden desk was an old-looking man. His facial features grew much more, according to age. I haven't seen him in a while.

"Now, what seems to be the problem this time?" asked the doctor.

"Usual leg and chest pains, sleepless nights, nausea, loss of appetite, and shortness in breath."

"The last time you came was a year and a half ago, I'm surprised many things have developed in your system," he responded, with a frown.

"Have you taken the tablets I've prescribed for you?" he said, additionally.

"Yes, I have," I replied, "I took it every time I received any type of pain,"

"That's good. But the symptoms to your issue may be more serious than ever, you might have to leave the country," he told me.

I was so worried, so afraid of the results.

I don't want to leave the country.

I don't want Jade to be worried, either.

"But I'm leaving to university in five days.." I reassured.

"I think we should examine your blood, first. We'll get back to you in two days."

I walked to the examination room and waited for the nurse to come.

She entered holding a metal plate, in it consisted of two cotton pieces, two bandages, and the blood-sucker needle.

She approached me, holding the needle upright and held it against my inner elbow vein. I winced as I observed my own blood flowing through the tube.

"How is this so?" she asked herself, confused.

"What seems to be the matter?" I questioned.

"There seems to be not enough of your blood, please wait," and she exited the laboratory.

Anxiety hit me.

Why am I so careful of myself, all of a sudden?

I'm worried, worried about multiple things.

I haven't heard of Jade, yet.

I decided to reach for my phone from the nearby side table. With no strength, I saw a message pop up the screen.

Thankfully, my inner prayers were answered.

The most beautiful girl on the face of this planet finally wrote to me, after two days of silence.

In spite of the slight pain my weak arm released, I was unable to reply to her text.

Though I really wanted to, I was incapable of doing so, I was slimly aching.

-

"Mr. *****, we're afraid that you must place this on your other arm, in order for the blood to flow back," the nurse said as she tied a warm bag, filled with an unknown substance inside, around my other inner elbow.

After ten minutes of experiencing the warmth the bag gave me, the nurse returned and untied it.

She once again brought her equipment back and re-did the whole process.

Also, I observed.

A bit more blood followed through the tube, but I could tell it was still not enough.

She then explained to me that she will find out the reason behind the lack of my blood flow.

I've spent three hours, in total, in the hospital, starting and ending each examination. Eventually, the right amount of blood was enable to escape.

It was horrible. I absolutely hate blood tests.

-

Two days later:

I have answered to Jade's messages and she has told me every single detail about her school. It really looks like she's having a ton of fun, and it also looks like I'm missing her a bit too much.

We try to make communication work, in spite of the time differences.

While I was in the middle of packing the majority of my things, I heard my name being called by my daring mother, all the way from downstairs.

I kissed her head and asked what she needed.

"Oh, nothing, I just wanted to remind you that you need to visit the doctor today, your blood results are coming in this afternoon," she told me.

"Can you come with me?" I asked.

I watched her lips grow a breathtaking smile, "Of course."

-

"Dr. ***** is waiting inside," spoke the nurse as she drew near to us.

I once again joined the doctor in his office. I sat beside my mother, holding her hand, petrified.

His facial expressions looked odd today, they were unusually strange.

He greeted my mother, since he didn't really give us a welcoming grin, and then pulled out the results.

My heart was pounding.

My stomach was growling.

My head was spinning.

For a second, the nausea I felt that day at the restaurant began to hit me, all over again.

"Us, as doctors of the one of the most successful hospitals of the country, we tend to give the best treatments for those who are curable. But sometimes, the case may reach the extent where we are helpless, and may need to send some of our patients abroad. Though we put our full potential and devotion into our work, we apologize for any inconvenience."

We both were extremely terrified.

I watched my mother shed a tear.

I felt her utter pain.

My heart was slowly growing a fracture.

My eyes were slowly closing.

But, my ears were vigorously alarmed.

"I'm sorry, but you have been diagnosed with kidney failure."