A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed
1007 Words
Aqdas could feel her heart race with terror. She had just confessed to her only companion at the moment about a certain fact she was keeping from him. It was terrifying to be alone and now that she had basically given him an idea of what had occured, she was positive he would no longer want to remain her friend and she would once again be all alone.
That made her burst into tears. He was going to find her just as despicable as the others did.
All she wanted to do was talk to someone. The memory of her parents and her family, the scream filled nights of agony and affliction, the nightmare of dealing with pregnancy, the frightening nights of loneliness and the lack of attachment was making her insides crumble with hopelessness.
She was broken beyond repair, shattered to the bits and she could feel one of her pieces pricking into her soul and draining out her energy and life.
As for Aryeh, he remained frozen at the spot, his mouth slightly ajar and his eyes bulging out.
"Y...ou.... —"
He stuttered out, raked a hand through his hair and chuckled nervously.
"You're kidding right?"
The tears which had stopped for a minute returned back just as forcefully. She wished too that this was all a sick joke. That all of it was a bad dream and she only needed to wake up.
"It's not. It's not Aryeh."
She murmured, shutting her eyes tight to prevent the rush of visions playing right in front of her.
There was another silence.
For minutes she cried to herself. She did not think she had those many tears still left to be drained out. She was assured that her heart had died with the ache and torture it went through for months.
But no.
It was still living.
Interesting it was. How a human heart was capable of living on and still feeling the pain, the torment, the fights even when the years rolled by. Fascinating it was at how it still didn't lose the power of loving. Compulsive it was, on how people could rip it off yet it would manage to heal. Captivating it was at how it would be ready to go through all that ache again after rehealing. Miraculous it was how it would still live.
"Okay okay, hey, calm down."
He was now sitting by her legs on his knees, holding his hands up and trying to mutter words of sympathy and consolation.
She glimpsed at him through her tears every once in a while and he would flash her a huge smile. For minutes he did that patiently and she steadily found herself calming down with his smiles and words.
It felt really good to cry when someone was there to console.
It felt nice to know that her tears were still as valuable to someone.
It brought ease to her heart to know that she did have someone to make her hush down and whisper words of encouragement.
"You feel better now?"
He asked her softly. After looking him in the eyes, she nodded gently.
"Okay, so how about we first go have something to eat?"
He suggested cheerfully and she wrinkled her nose in disagreement.
"I.....wouldn't.....be able to....pay — "
"Aw c'mon! Don't be serious. What are friends for? Don't you dare be bothered by it even for a bit."
He snapped in a scolding tone and stood up to his full height. She craned her neck up to watch him gather her backpack along with his own, swing it over his shoulder and extend his free hand towards her.
"Let's go. You're not going to be alone anymore."
~~
Aryeh was stunned at her revelation.
He never even imagined that behind those vibrant eyes and sweet voice lay a person as broke as he had witnessed a few moments ago.
She looked weak and fragile. He glanced at her every minute and observed how forceful her strides were. They didn't hold any strength and it greatly affected him. He was beyond worried that she was on the edge of collapsing with fatigue.
Only God knew for how long she was left alone. For how much she cried. How much she craved for a friend.
If he had known that any earlier, he would've already found her a safe place to rest at.
If he had cared to sneak a little more into her eyes, he would have perceived the ache she was suffering from.
Presently he could feel her arm brush against his a little too much and when he turned to face her, he followed her gaze and shockingly understood what was happening. She was being scrutinized shamelessly by a group of boys at a corner.
It would be rather uncomfortable for her but he did it anyway. He snaked an arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to his side.
She did seem too shocked to even breathe. When her neck craned up to meet his gaze, he blinked his eyes in reassurance and hers wrinkled slightly.
After that, she let her head hang low and occasionally smiled up in response to his attempts of brightening up her mood.
She wasn't a bad person.
And whoever did harm her wouldn't be resting in peace.
"I'm...sorry.....—"
"God, stop it already. Trust me, I'm honoured to be of assistance."
He turned to face her fully, grabbed her by her shoulders, stared deep into her eyes and spoke effortlessly.
"You're my friend. Infact, I'm so sorry to not have seen those streaks of lifelessness in your eyes. It was my mistake and don't you dare go about apologizing again. We're going to find you a warm and a safe place and you're going to go through this."
A few tears pooled into her eyes and before he knew it, she was softly crying again.
"What would I do without you?"
She whispered and he smiled with a soft shake of his head.
"What would I do without you?"
- Writer
