A Corpse from the Airport

Everyone was taken aback by Zain's reaction, the reason for which none of them knew except for the one who stood at a distance watching them and waiting for someone to speak and prove her feeling wrong that some harm had befallen her son. Yes, it was a mother's heart. Wafa looked at them with a pleading gaze for someone to reassure her.

Layl: "What's wrong, Zain?"

Zain in shock: "It's a disaster, Layl."

Layl angrily: "What disaster? Spit it out!"

Zain went on, swallowing his lump: "Salem... someone from the airport is telling me that... that Salem's body has arrived at the Airport Hospital and they want someone from his family to come and claim it..."

The news fell upon everyone like a thunderbolt, and some were stunned and some could not believe it and thought it was just a joke.

Layl: "What are you saying..." but he did not finish his sentence before they heard the sound of something falling to the ground.

Everyone looked toward the source of the sound, only for their shock to deepen when they found Wafa collapsed on the floor, unconscious after the news of the death of her eldest son, whom she had not seen in years.

Yasmin, in tears and fear: "Mama... Mama, no, no, someone get me a doctor, quickly!"

Layl: "Call the doctor immediately, Zain." Then Layl carried her and went up with her to her room to try to revive her.

Meanwhile, Malik was busy calming Yasmin and Malika from the state they were in, which was unenviable.

Malik in a sorrowful tone: "Calm down, Yasmin, this is fate and it is written, and God willing your aunt will get up and be fine. Pray for her and pray for Salem, May God grant him mercy..."

Then he looked at Malika: "And you, Malika, calm down, habibti, this is the time you have to stand together, not all fall apart and collapse like this. Your aunt needs you beside her now until we go to the airport and find out what's going on."

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And at Wafa's side, the doctor arrived and examined her.

Layl: "Well, Doctor?"

The doctor calmly: "Don't worry, Mr. Layl, everything is fine. She just had a drop in circulation due to a shock or bad news, and I gave her a sedative, and God willing in a few hours she will be up safe and sound."

Layl steadily: "Alright." Then he looked at Zain and added: "See the doctor out, Zain."

Zain: "Yes, this way, Doctor."

Layl went downstairs and said steadily, completely contrary to what was inside him: "Zain, Malik and I are going to the airport to find out what happened, and Malika and Yasmin, you are not to move from her side and no one is to cry around her when she wakes up so her condition doesn't worsen."

Yasmin and Malika sorrowfully: "Okay."

Then Layl looked at Zain and Malik as a signal to go out with him to leave.

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(At the Hospital)

And indeed, after not much time, the young men arrived at the address of the hospital that the caller from the airport had given them.

Layl said to the woman sitting at the reception desk: "A case arrived here about an hour ago from the airport."

The secretary: "One second... Yes, sir, one case arrived via the airport... His name is Salem Mahmoud Al-Ameri, sir..."

The news fell upon them like a thunderbolt.

Layl steadily (yes, steadily, for we are talking about Layl Al-Ameri, who could never appear weak even when in the depths of his grief)

Layl: "In which room?"

The secretary: "Pardon, sir?"

Layl in a booming voice: "I said,"

"Which room is the case in?"

The secretary in fright: "Yes, sir... Room number 302..."

Layl paid her no attention and went straight to the room...

All of this under the gaze of Zain and Malik, who were still in complete shock from that news...

Layl reached the room to find it empty, but wait, there was someone sitting on the floor weeping profusely like a child who had lost his family in one of the wars or something similar, and before he could look closely at her, the doctor entered at that moment.

The doctor said nervously at Layl's reaction (yes, for everyone knew Layl Al-Ameri all too well): "Ustaz Layl, it's good you arrived," then he continued sorrowfully: "To claim the case. He has been washed now, all that remains is for you to complete the procedures for claiming the case. May God grant him mercy once again."

Layl with eyes like a hawk: "I want to see him." And indeed he did not wait for the doctor's reply and went immediately, accompanied by the young men, to the room where he was, to see a lifeless body lying on the bed covered with a white sheet, and as soon as Layl removed that sheet, he heard Malik and Zain gasp.

But Layl looked at them immediately

angrily and added: "No one cries. I didn't bring Malika and Yasmin with me." Then he looked at his brother Salem with a feeling mixed with sorrow and longing and a certain steadiness and continued: "Whoever loves him, pray 'May God grant him mercy'..."

Then he looked at Zain: "Call the doctor, Zain, so we can finish the remaining procedures for claiming and burial."

Malik in a sorrowful tone: "Yes, Layl, but shouldn't we first find out how this happened and where his wife and son are?"

Layl: "We will certainly find out from the hospital whether there was anyone with him or not, and from them we will find out what happened..."

The doctor's entrance cut their conversation short and he added: "The papers are ready, Ustaz Layl."

Layl: "Alright, was there anyone with the deceased?"

The doctor, recalling: "Yes, Ustaz Layl, there was a woman with him and I think she is his wife. I honestly don't know because her condition didn't allow anyone to talk to her or ask her anything and she fainted... Ah, and there was a child with her, the nurse took him until his mother recovers."

Layl: "And where is she now?"

The doctor: "She was in the patient's room, room number 302..."

Layl, looking at Malik: "Go, Malik, check on her and the child and bring them here until I finish the paperwork."

Malik sorrowfully: "Okay." And he indeed went.

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(In room number 302)

She sat like a body without a soul in a pitiable state, her eyes had become like embers of blood from crying, lying on the bed like the dead, IV drips attached to her veins, staring only into emptiness and weeping in silence, for her beloved and the father of her son had gone, gone forever... Could this be real? She was dazed, remembering only the events, and her heart wrung with pain.

(Flashback in London)

Salem: "Nour... Nour, come on, love, so we won't be late."

Nour, laughing: "Nour has been ready for an hour, it's your turn now, you and your son, Faris Bey."

Salem added with a smile as he embraced her: "So that's how it is, now it's me and Faris who are to blame..." Then he looked at that child who was not yet a year old and who was laughing at their conversation without understanding a thing...

Salem, still holding her: "Oh, Nour, you wouldn't believe how happy I am that finally I will introduce you to my family, my mother and my siblings, and what's more my little bride has grown up and her katb al-kitab is going to be done, and to whom? To Malik, our cousin, who has loved her his whole life."

Nour with a beautiful smile: "My love, may God keep you happy always. And I am also very happy, first because you are happy and second because I will finally meet your family whom I have always wanted to meet from how you talk about them."

Salem: "This time I will finally go back and wrap up all my work here and we will live in Egypt for good because I don't want Faris to grow up away from his family, I want him to grow up among them." Then he continued in a strange tone, "And also so that if anything happens to me, I will die and be buried in my country and among my family and I will be at peace about you."

Nour in panic and sorrow: "Don't say that, Salem, a thousand times God forbid, may God grant you a long life and keep you for me and Faris and you raise him yourself."

Salem, laughing: "And raise you too while I'm at it, I have two children at home."

Nour shyly and laughing: "Why would you say that, you Limby, what did I do? I swear you are an unjust man, I am an angel 😇"

Salem, laughing: "Okay, my most beautiful angel, until you and Faris get ready I will go finish some paperwork at the company and come right back, an hour and we will leave, God willing."

Nour with a beautiful smile: "Okay, love, go safely..."

And he indeed left, but after a short while a call came bearing what no one had expected.

Nour: "Hello, who is this?"

Unknown person: "Are you Mrs. Nour, wife of Ustaz Salem Mahmoud Al-Ameri?"

Nour in surprise: "Yes, it's me, who are you?"

Unknown person: "May God grant him mercy, madam, Ustaz Salem had an accident as he was leaving the company and was taken to the hospital but unfortunately they couldn't save him, be strong..."

And finally Malik's voice came to pull her out of this painful nightmare.

Malik: "Are you Mrs. Nour, wife of Salem Al-Ameri?"

Nour wept after hearing that sentence, then she only nodded her head yes without uttering a word.

Malik sorrowfully and understanding her condition: "I am Malik Al-Ameri, Salem's cousin. May God grant him mercy..."

All of Nour's defenses collapsed after that word and she broke down weeping.

Malik: "I am sorry, could you please calm down? He will surely be in a better place, it is better to pray for mercy for him..."

Nour, trying to compose herself and trying to get up: "May God have mercy on him, may God have mercy on him, I want to see him, where is he, please take me to him."

Malik, understanding her situation: "I feel for you, I swear, but unfortunately it is not possible right now because they are finishing the procedures for claiming him."

Nour, weeping: "No, please, I want to see him."

Malik: "Okay, just calm down and you will surely see him, but please calm down because your son needs you very much right now, and surely if Salem were here he would not want to see you like this."

Nour, remembering: "Where is my son Faris?"

Malik: "Don't worry, he is with the nurse, when you got sick they took him to calm him down, try to hold yourself together and I will take you to him."

~~~~~~(On the other side)~~~~~~

And the procedures were indeed completed.

Zain: "What will we do now, Layl?"

Layl: "We will bury him."

Zain: "How without Mama seeing him?"

Layl: "If your mother sees him she will die on the spot, have you forgotten she has a heart condition?"

Zain: "Yes, Layl, but..."

Layl, interrupting: "There is no 'but,' what I say will be done."

Zain: "Okay... but when will we bury him then?"

Layl: "I've already called the turabi and he'll prepare everything. Honoring the dead is to bury him promptly."

Zain sadly: "Alright, and what about his wife and his son?"

Layl: "Malik already let her see him. Now we'll bury him and then we'll bring her, because a driver can't be the one to take her while she's in this state, and besides the doctor says she's still having a nervous breakdown."

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And indeed the burial took place at the Al-Ameri Family Cemetery...

And the young men returned to the hospital once again, in a state of deep grief.

Malik: "Excuse me, Doctor, does Mrs. Nour's condition allow us to take her home with us today?"

The doctor: "Right now she is under sedation from the tranquilizer injection and you can take her."

Malik: "Alright, thank you so much, Doctor."

... Malik entered to see Nour after they had given him Faris... Malik, while holding Faris: "Are you ready, Mrs. Nour, so we can go?"

Nour in bewilderment: "Go where? Are we going to bury Salem?"

Malik nervously: "No, we're going home. Salem has already been buried."

Nour, uncomprehending and angry: "What are you saying? How could he be buried without me seeing him, how..." And she did not finish her sentence as she collapsed to the ground in a faint, due to those sedatives now coursing through her body.

Malik in a loud voice: "Layl... Zaaaain!"

Each of them rushed in, panicked: "What is it?"

Malik: "Help me, Layl, she fainted again..." Layl immediately stepped in and carried her.

Layl in a loud voice: "Call the doctor, Zain!"

The doctor entered: "Calm down, everyone, don't worry. The tranquilizer injection she took is what made her sleep like this, and that's better for her."

Malik: "So how will we take her home like this?" And before he could finish his sentence, Layl was already moving toward the outside, carrying Nour in his arms.

Layl seriously: "Bring Faris and follow me, you and Zain, Malik."

Zain and Malik looked at each other, then replied: "Alright."

~~~~~(At the Palace)~~~~~

And indeed they headed back to the palace.

And after a short while the young men arrived, and Layl entered carrying Nour, who was still under the effect of the sedative.

Malika and Yasmin stood up, bewildered at who it was that Layl was carrying.

Yasmin in bewilderment: "Who is she, Zain, and why are you so late, what did you do, and where is Salem?"

Zain replied, trying to calm Yasmin: "Calm down, Yasmin, and you'll understand... This is Nour, your brother Salem's wife, May God grant him mercy, and this is Faris, her son."

Yasmin, understanding: "Okay, what's wrong with her, and where is Salem?"

Malik: "We finished the burial procedures for Salem and buried him, and as for Nour, she fainted and had a nervous breakdown, and the doctor gave her a tranquilizer injection that is making her sleep like this."

Yasmin in shock: "How could you bury him without even letting us see him and say goodbye?... So what will Mama do when she finds out?"

Malik: "Calm down, habibti, this is better for you and for Amto and for Salem too, honoring the dead is to bury him promptly."

Malika sadly: "So didn't you find out how this happened?"

Malik replied to his sister: "Of course I found out, Nour told me everything. Just calm down a little and I'll tell you everything."

~~~~~(Meanwhile, Upstairs)~~~~~

Layl took Nour to Yasmin's room, but his attention was caught by those words she was uttering as she clutched his hand due to the sedative injection, for she was delirious with some words.

Nour: "Don't leave me, please don't leave me, Faris and I have no one but you, don't leave us, Salem..." Layl laid her on the bed, then placed his hand on her forehead to check her temperature, and indeed her temperature was very high, so he covered her, then called for Yasmin.

Yasmin: "Yes, Layl?"

Layl: "She looks very sick and feverish. Stay beside her and tell Dada to make her cold compresses until her temperature goes down a bit."

Yasmin, saddened by Nour's condition: "Okay."

Layl: "How is Mama now?"

Yasmin: "Ever since the doctor left, she's been sleeping because of the sedative he gave her."

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(Nour) was the wife of Salem Al-Ameri and had a child named Faris who was not yet a year old. She was 25 years old, with eyes blue as the color of the sea, very kind but somewhat stubborn, her hair brown as the color of coffee, short in stature, and she loved fun and joking. She was a graduate of the Faculty of Commerce, English Section, and her parents were deceased.

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And so the day passed for everyone with all its exhausting and sorrowful events.

(And on a new morning)

Layl, in his mother Wafa's room: "Good morning, are you feeling better now?"

Wafa sadly: "How could you, Layl, how could you bury your brother without letting me see him? Was it so easy for you?"

Layl: "This is better, believe me. If you had been in my place, you would have done the same and shown him mercy and buried him. Pray for mercy for him. And besides, haven't you seen Faris, his son, yet?"

Wafa: "A thousand mercies and light upon him... Where is he, Layl? I long to see him and Salem's wife, they carry the scent of my beloved."

Layl: "Malika went to get them from their room..."

And indeed not much time passed before they heard a soft knock on the door.

Nour with a faint smile: "Good morning, how are you, Mama Wafa?"

Wafa joyfully: "Come here, Nour, come here, habibti, God has willed it."

Nour, feeling somewhat reassured, came forward and sat beside Wafa.

Layl: "Alright, I'm leaving now. If anything happens, call me."

The mother: "Okay, habibi."

Wafa to Nour: "God has willed it, Nour... I know you're sad and broken by what happened, but what can we say, it is fate and destiny." Then she continued sadly: "Maybe God gave me patience through you and Faris."

Nour: "Salem always used to tell me about you and I so wanted to meet you, I wanted to meet all of you, but in better circumstances than these. Praise be to God in any case, may God have mercy on him."

Wafa: "May God have mercy on him, habibti, may God have mercy on him. By the way, where is Faris? I'm dying to see him." She had not finished speaking when she heard Malika's voice laughing with someone.

Malika, carrying Faris: "So you're really naughty, aren't you, Faris? Pulling my hair like that the first time we meet..." Then she looked at them.

And she continued: "Good morning, Nour, good morning, Auntie. Of course you don't know me, Nour, I'm Malika, the daughter of Salem's uncle—may God have mercy on him—and Malik's sister who was with you at the hospital."

Nour with a smile: "Good morning, pleased to meet you, Miss Malika."

Malika in shock: "Miss Malika? Come on, honestly, you'll be the death of me! I'm not used to all this respect—just call me Malika, girl!"

Nour with a smile: "Honestly, you're so sweet and kind, Malika."

Malika laughing: "May God lift your spirits, girl, they've always told me, 'Malika, that heart of yours is pure white'—anyway, I don't like to talk about myself too much!"

~~~~~(And downstairs with the young men)~~~~~

Zain: "What are we going to do, Layl, about the people who want to pay their condolences? Are we holding a mourning gathering?"

Layl: "No mourning gathering, given the situation the country is in and the spreading epidemic, except for one day only—that's best to avoid gatherings."

And indeed events moved on and the condolences were held, and three months passed for everyone with events not free of sorrow and pain over the loss of the son, the brother, the husband, and the father, Salem Al-Ameri, and yet those months were also not without getting to know one another and everyone trying to adapt to the new situation.