"Hi, it's me", she said. I looked at the watch, 3:05 AM.
"Hi, it's 3:05 AM Samiira. Why aren't you sleeping? "
"I know. I can't sleep. " she sounds nervous. I sprang up at that voice.
"Are you alright, baby? "
"Yes. You should sleep, Saahir. You have college tomorrow. "
"I know, baby. But it's fine. I wanna talk to you right now. "
"I can't. Suddenly I feel sleepy. God, you're like a sleeping pill! "
I can tell she's pretending. She sounds like she might cry.
"Are you crying? "
"Are you stupid? Go, sleep. Good night." she didn't wait for my reply, cancelled the call immediately and switched off her phone.
I was so irritated. Decided to send a text.
"I hate you, Samiira. Why don't you let me be there for you? "
Next day I was still mad at her. She didn't even switch on her phone. I came back from college. Should I go and check once? Is everything oh Kay?
I'll send one more text and then I'll go if she doesn't respond.
"I'm sorry. I love you. "
The message got delivered! I was about to call her when she called me.
"Hi, it's me." she sounds low.
"I know stupid! Guess what, your number is saved! " I tried to cheer her up with the lame joke.
She broke into tears. Something was seriously wrong. "Baby, what happened? You want me to come to you? "
"Ye..ees"
"I'll be right there. "
I don't know what's wrong. In the two years of our relationship, it's never been this way. We've always been having fun.
I rushed in to see her. Her mother told me she was in bed. Seemed she had been crying, too.
I ran to her room. She got up and hugged me reaally tight.
"Baby, what's wrong? "
"I.. I have a brain tumor. And the doctor said he's helpless "
I sank down to the ground. I was suddenly blank. Just two days ago we had been fighting. She was asking me if there were any chances we might get married. I said, the chances were very slim. She comes from a Hindu family, and I'm a Muslim. I couldn't see any possibilities. I told her what I thought was the truth.
This had been going on for a while, almost a year. She wanted to break up if we couldn't marry later on. How could I tell her, that I couldn't live without her. That she's my life. And we're not old enough to discuss those matters. And that we'll come up with something when the time comes. That I can't make a promise right now, but I want to spend the rest of my life with her. That I CANNOT imagine my life without her. So we ended up fighting each time.
And now, this. All that was killing her and I had no idea.
"I'm dying, baby. "
"No, we'll make it work. You can't go. We have to get married and spend our lives together. "
"Baby, please. Understand. Promise me you'll not do anything stupid or irrational. That you'll move on after me. Marry some good girl. I'll be watching over you. "
"Baby, I can't live without you. You have to stay."
"I can't, baby. I need you to be strong. We don't have much time together. Please be strong so that I can also get through. "
"I will. I'm there. Always. "
To say I was broken was an understatement. I was broken beyond repair, forever. She lived for another 15 days which we spent the way she wanted to, reading Shakespeare and watching romantic comedies. She would sometimes sleep on my shoulder and sometimes with her head in her mom's lap. I bunked college each day. We had such little time!
On the last day she said she wants a KFC bucket. I immediately went to get it. And by the time I was back, she was ready to go, to leave us all. I went to her bed, tapped on her hand and said,
"Hi, it's me. " And my throat was choked, I couldn't say anything more.
"I know stupid, your name is on my heart.! "
There was weakness in the voice, in the smile, in the eyes.
She turned to her parents.
"I love you, mom. I love you, dad. "
Then she turned back to me.
"I love you, Saahir. I'll come back to you. I can't live without you for long. Wait for me. "
There was truth in the eyes. I could say she meant it. She is my soulmate.
Nothing can separate her from me.
"You owe me a lot of things. Hundreds of KFC buckets, the trip to Eiffel, the pizza spree in Italy, one trip to Christ church. And a lot of other things. I have to come back. "
I could just nod. I couldn't hold back my tears. She smiled again. I knew this meant bye.
She died with one hand clenching mine and the other her parents'.
It's been ten years now. I've never forgotten those last words, and that last look of hers. Today I'm married, because she asked me to. And my wife just gave birth to a baby girl. I should go and see the baby, they're calling me in.
Wow, this is amazing. I took her delicately in my arms. Something stirred in her and she opened her eyes. They were shining. Like hers were when she died. She clenched my finger tightly, like she did when she died. Everything about her screamed that she's back. I could feel it was her. My soul could sense hers.
"She's back!" I shouted! I could go mad with happiness today. My soulmate is back. Samiira is back! We named her Samiira, of course.
She loves KFC buckets. She wants to go to the Eiffel, and on a pizza spree in Italy. She wants to visit Christ Church in New Zealand, because she's curious about the place as her school is also named Christ church. She's back. And life is awesome.
And you know what she says when she suddenly comes and blindfolds you with her little fingers, and you pretend you didn't recognize her?
"Hi, it's me. "
