4 AM
A faint light woke her. Kara's eyes slowly opened.
Both of them tangled with each other—one's leg on the other's.
Kara quickly got up and covered Hidoi with a blanket, and covered herself with her clothes.
A faint light came through the exit door, which quickly dimmed with the shutting of the door.
Where was she leaving? No one, including her, knew the answer.
She walked on a cold footpath, alone like a lone warrior. No cars, no noise, only the sound of footsteps echoed through the road. Each step felt heavy; each one of those steps carried the fate.
There was a faint noise that could be heard. Kara noticed it; she could recognize the sound of assault. She walked straight, wondering where the sound was echoing from.
After a few steps, she saw an alleyway which reminded her of something.
She turned left, while keeping her hands inside the pockets of her jeans she was wearing to cover the cold hands. Every step got her closer to the sound, which again and again reminded her of their first meeting. One more right through the alleyway got her to the destination, which she didn't want to see.
" Hey! Leave me alone!" A young boy said while holding a purse with stacks of money in it. Three people held him to take the purse from him. It was evident that the young boy stole the purse from one of the elderly people.
Kara just looked at the view from a distance. The boy looked at her and got even more scared than before. One of the elderly said," Hey, lady, help us... This thief stole my purse!"
Kara just stood there with no slight change in expression. She turned back while saying," Not my problem!" It was really not her problem; the boy stole and will have to pay for that, right? But there was a slight feeling in her heart that wanted to save that kid.
" Why should I help a kid who is either way going to die?" She thought in her mind, but her heart gave a different answer to the question: Why should she help? The answer was that she saw a lot of herself in that kid. What would she listen to, her brain or her heart?
There she stood, all three elderly people were on the ground, while the kid still held the purse, and his nose was bleeding. She questioned the boy," Hey, kiddo, where is your house?"
The boy just looked at her in disbelief that someone other than his family had helped him. Kara waved her hand in front of the boy to wake him from the storm of thoughts. The boy turned red," Uhh... We live in a settlement near here." He answered her.
Kara, with no change in her expression, asked," Take me there! It's not safe for a thief to go alone, that too a kid." The kid started to walk, but suddenly he felt a crack in his knee, causing him to fall on the ground, giving him a good scratch on the knee.
" Ahh!" The boy commented while on the back of Kara, who was carrying him," I am...sorry to make you a part of this trouble." The boy said with genuine concern in his mind.
Kara ignored him. In reality, she had no reply to the boy's kindness. She thought about all the reasons behind his career. Kara turned her head a bit back to ask the boy," What's your name, boy?" The boy looked at her with his cheeks red.
" Raiman! That's my name." He calmly said while trying to avoid eye contact with Kara. Kara turned her head back to front and gave a calm smile," Raiman, huh. Good name, I never saw an Islamic person in my life." Raiman's eyes widened;
"How did you?" Raiman asked her, Kara just smiled more," It's pretty obvious, kiddo."
" We... We live in an Islamic settlement, the world doesn't accept us anymore, so we have to disguise ourselves as atheists!" Raiman explained his situation to Kara, slowly.
Kara, with each sentence coming out of Raiman's words, made her think that the world is more hell than she had imagined.
They just talked for more than half an hour, and each word changed both of their views of the world.
Raiman enjoyed talking with her; she felt like a mother to him.
As they kept talking, they approached near to the settlement. Kara looked down from the small cliff to see many tents with a campfire in the centre. She proceeded to give space for Raiman to reunite.
As Raiman climbed down the cliff, a voice echoed behind Kara, calling her. She looked back as the voice felt very familiar.
She saw Hidoi panting as if he had run the whole distance to find Kara. He approached closer to Kara and proceeded to ask all the by-heart questions in his mind.
" Why the hell did you run off?" Kara looked at his face, giving a disappointed look as she saw a concerned face in front of her.
Kara tried to hide her face by looking at the ground. " I..." She said," Well, I was thinking of running away from everything." Kara looked front, still looking at the ground.
Hidoi's face showed even more confusion. His mind generated questions which was seeking answers for them.
" What do you..." he kept his hand on Kara's shoulder's which shook her. She got alerted and looked at Hidoi's eyes. He continued," What do you mean by 'Everything'?" Kara's eyes saw a determined face that was seeking answers.
Kara forced herself out of Hidoi's grasp and turned back to look at the settlement. Kara started to speak," You see this settlement?" Hidoi stepped forward; he stood beside Kara.
Was she trying to change the topic? The same question popped into Hidoi's mind.
" This settlement!" Hidoi looked keenly at it," It is here only because of 47 and Taka, do you realise that?" Hidoi denied it, but deep in his mind, he accepted her point.
" Only if he had been more responsible towards the people of this country, instead of his stupid goal, these poor people wouldn't be living in a slum area that smells, is polluted, and probably the water is contaminated." Hidoi's eyes showed acceptance; he knew and understood her, but his love towards 47 denied all the facts.
Kara looked at him, Hidoi turned towards her, and saw a face with eyes determined to complete a goal.
" What am I to you?" Kara asked. Hidoi's face turned red. " Wha..." the voice came out of his mouth. Kara repeated," What am I to you? A lover? Just a date? Best friend? A family member, what am I?"
Hidoi gulped; the sound could be heard from a distance. He calmed his mind and heart and tried to find a suitable reply to a question like that.
" You! You are everything to me! You are something which I cherish, something which I care about. You are everything that you mentioned earlier." He looked down in embarrassment," Reality is, I never had any friends, only you, Indhra, and 47."
He looked up after finishing the sentence, and at the same time, finished his embarrassment.
She was sad, like something was bothering her. Hidoi felt a presence and turned left to see a person wearing a white shirt on top with a black coat. He looked like a divorce lawyer.
Kara quickly used the time of ignorance of Hidoi to kiss him on the lips while hugging him. She stopped kissing as she realized someone was looking at them.
They both stepped back at the same movement speed. Both of them smiled like it was their last smile.
Kara's eyes shone as she asked," Hidoi! Will you..." She gulped. Hidoi's eyes widened as he started to predict the question. She continued," Will you run away with me, from everything, and get married?"
THE END