Clueless Love

I left Ismail’s house an hour ago and I am on my way to Emma’s house to visit her with Fatima. I am driving while Fatima has been on her iPad since I picked her up from her house. I don’t know what she is doing, but whatever it is, it has her full attention.

“What are you doing? You have been using your iPad since I picked you up,” I say, but it takes Fatima minutes before she answers me.

“Oh, are you talking to me?” Fatima finally responds giving me her attention.

“Nooooo, I am talking to someone else I am in the car with,” I reply sarcastically.

“Sorry, I have my mind wrapped up with wedding stuff.”

“It’s fine and why don’t you hire a wedding planner?”

“I did, but there are a few things a wedding planner can’t do for me.”

“Like what?”

“Picking out a cake, the type of flowers to be used, the colors the hall should be decorated with, how many guests I will be expecting and so much more. Umit, the list of things I have to decide before the wedding are so much,” Fatima says sounding exhausted with the planning of the wedding.

“Oh, sorry about that, and if there is anything I can help you with don’t hesitate to ask me,” I tell her.

“I am truly lucky to have you as a best friend,” Fatima smiles.

“You should be,’ I say jokingly, “and here we are,” I drive into the underground parking lot of Emma’s new apartment complex. Emma moved in with Austin after they got back together.

“Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah) and I hope Emma has cooked because I am hungry.”

“Is there a time you are not looking for food?” I reply parking the car, grabbing my handbag and stepping out.

“You shouldn’t say that because we are the same,” Fatima says, also getting out of the car.

“Uhm mm…..” I try to say something to that, but there is nothing I can say because it’s true. We are the same when it comes to food.

“You know I am right, that’s why you can’t come up with anything to say back,” Fatima chuckles while I smile and shake my head.

We are about to enter the elevator when Fatima realizes she left her bag in the car. She walks back to the car to get it. I don’t wait for her and take the elevator up to the 7th floor to Emma’s apartment.

I arrive on the 7th floor of the apartment complex and I step out of the elevator. I walk to the last door on the right but when I get there, I find something quite unusual. Emma’s door is left ajar. I wonder why she left it open. Maybe someone came and forgot to close it when they walked in.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

I step inside but freeze in my tracks. I might have seen people shot to death, but I can never get used to the feeling. Emma’s bodyguard that she hired, because Anna has been sending death threats to her, is lying down on the floor, looking dead. What in God’s name is going on? Is he dead? Why is he on the floor? Oh Allah, what is going on?

I quickly rush over to him to check his pulse to see if he is alive or dead. I put my fingers to the side of his neck, but I am not getting anything. I place my finger on his wrist but also nothing. Ya Allah, I hope this man is not dead. I don’t give up and place my ear to his heart, praying dearly I hear a heartbeat. Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah) I got a faint beat; he is not dead. I am about to call 911 when I hear voices coming from upstairs.

“Anna, you don’t have to do this?” A voice says which sounds very similar to Emma’s.

“I have to because if I do this, Paul can finally love me, and stop loving you,” another voice says which I am guessing is Anna’s.

“Please, I am begging you, we can settle this another way, not like this,” Emma says sounding like she is on the verge of tears.

Subhan Allah (Glory be to Allah) what is going on? Is Anna trying to kill Emma? I pray that’s not what’s happening. I am about to walk upstairs when Fatima walks in, she is about to scream, but I cover her mouth with my hands before she can release the scream. I tell her to keep quiet before removing my hands from her mouth.

“What is going on” Fatima whispers to me.

“I don’t know, but I am going to find out,” I say whispering back while I begin walking up the stairs.

“Where are you going? We should call the police, what if something dangerous is happening,” Fatima says sounding scared while she pulls me back.

“That is why I need to go up to see if I can help Emma, and you should call the police while I go upstairs.”

“No, you should stay here with me while I call the police. What if something happened to you?”

“And what if something happened to Emma and I could have helped?”

“I don’t like the idea of you going upstairs, but please make sure nothing happens to both of you,” Fatima says sounding very sad like a mother would to her children.

“In Shaa Allah, we both will come back safely,” I say carefully walking up the stairs.

“Ameen,” Fatima says pulling out her phone to call the police.

I remove my shoes while walking up the stairs, not wanting to announce my arrival in case the situation is dire upstairs. Once upstairs I check the first door to my right, making sure to be very careful while opening the door, but no one is inside. I walk to the door by my left, and it’s the same thing no one is inside. I don’t even know why I bothered checking. I could not hear any voices coming from there, so that clearly stated that no one was there.

I walk a little further down the hall and stop at the third door. I don’t need to open the door because it’s already wide open. The scene in front of me is like Deja vu, but this time the person with the gun has their back to me. Without thinking twice about the idea that pops to my head, I execute it effectively. I can’t allow what happened to Udar to happen to Emma when Allah has blessed me with such good skills.

I walk towards Anna, making sure to be careful not wanting to make any sound to alert her that I am behind her. Emma can’t see me because her eyes are fixed on Anna. I don’t blame her because mine would be too if someone is pointing a gun at me. I am close enough to Anna when I execute the idea that popped into my head. I use the edge of my palm to hit a side of her carotid. I watch as Anna falls to the ground unconscious and Emma freezes in her spot, shocked to the bone with what just happened.

“Emma, are you alright? Did she harm you in any way?” I ask walking over to check she wasn’t harmed in any way.

“What just happened? Is she dead? Am I dead? Umit, is that really you?” Emma says, shaking violently.

“It’s really me Emma, Alhamdulillah, she did not harm you. It’s okay now, everything is over,” I say pulling her into a hug.

“She tried to kill me, Umit! She tried to kill me,” Emma says bursting into tears.

“She can’t harm you anymore, it’s okay now,” I say rubbing soothing patterns on her back to calm her down.

“Th-h-a-aank y-you U-umit, than-k you for saving me.”

“It’s fine, don’t cry anymore. Everything is going to be fine.”

“Umit, is she dead?” Emma asks not crying as hard as before, but she is still shaking a little.

“No, she is unconscious.”

“But Umit, how did you do that?” Emma says, staring at Anna on the floor. Anna is unconscious due to the hit I gave to her neck.

“I have training in martial arts.”

My love for action movies is what lead to my training in martial arts. I always wanted to fight like they did in the movies. So, I have been training in martial arts for a while now. I won’t lie I never imagined it to be hard work because in the movies it looked so easy. It takes a lot of hard work and determination to get a black belt in martial arts.

“Oh, that explains it, but are you sure she is not dead?” Emma asks about to touch Anna but pulls her hands back in fear.

“Yes, I am sure. She is not dead; she will wake up in a few minutes.”

“Alright, then we should call the police.”

“The police should be here anytime soon. Fatima already called them.”

“Umit and Emma are you guys okay? The police are here.” Fatima says walking in.

“Thank God, and yes we are fine,” Emma says with relief.

“Alhamdulillah, you guys are fine,” Fatima says with so much relief in her voice.

I can’t believe what would have happened if I came a second later. Alhamdulillah, I followed my instincts and acted fast. I am so happy Emma would finally be able to live free of Anna and her troubles.