Updated FanFiction - Part 7 page 7! - Page 2

Zain heard faint whispers and cries around him. He could hear his father console his mother in hushed whispers and after a few tries, he manages to lift his eyelids. He feels dizzy and out of focus. His mother quickly reaches and grabs his hand while Zain tries hard to focus his vision on the blurry image of his mother.
"Abh kaise lag raha hai?" his mother asks in a soft voice. Zain tries to answer but his dry throat couldn't form the words. He begins to cough and his father quickly intervenes and hands him a glass of water while gently pulling his mother away. Zain gulps the water and closes his eyes. His vision gets better and the dizziness in his heads begins to fade. He rests his head against the bed rest while his eyes remain close and tries to remember what had occured. He slowly recalls being in the car and wandering aimlessly. He then remembers the vomitting and then the dizziness. He remembers how helpless he felt when he began to lose consciousness in the moving car. He remembers feeling terrified, defenceless and entirely vulnerable when the car skidded out of control and he lost consciousness.
"What.. how?" he began unable to form words or coherent thoughts. He opened his eyes to find his worried father attentively listening.
"You were in an accident son. You've had a surgery and so far, the doctors are saying that you're recovering just fine" his father spoke with reassurance.
"How long have I been.."
"It's been a week. You've gained and lost consciousness but the doctors have said that it's the medicines and you're doing fine" Zain smiled faintly at the concern in his father's voice. He wasn't sure who his father was heartening; Zain or himself.
"Dad"
"Shh, everything can wait. We need to inform the doctors" Zain's father went to the buzzer and finally he turned to his mother. She looked tired with teary eyes and pale face. Zain guessed his mother hadn't left his bed side for a long time.
"Maa"
"If you ever do this again Zain, I will never forgive you" Zain heard the finality in his mother's voice and began to tear up a bit himself. She looked so vulnerable, sitting in the hospital chair beside his bed. His ever immaculate and pristine mother, for the first time, looked untidy. Her hair was out of place and her sari was spoiled while her eyes were filled with tears.
"I'm sorry"
"Oh you will be Zain Abdullah! When you step out of his hospital, I will make sure that you are very sorry for this!" his mother finally smiled through the tears.
"Looking forward to it" Zain replied with his usual boyish smile.

***

Aliyah woke up as the bus reached her home finally. She smiled as she saw the exterior of her home. After a long while, she was finally home. She hadn't informed her parents she was arriving, mainly because she didn't want them insisting they pick her up from the hospital itself and then accidentally find out that their daughter had donated a liver. The doctors in the hospital had cautioned her to take it easy for a few days. They had warned her that travelling or doing heavy task might endanger her health so she must rest. Being a doctor, Aliyah knew the risks of leaving the hospital early but it was important; her cousin was getting married and she didn't have a valid excuse for staying back. Aliyah enters the house and sees the entire place being turned into a garden. She spots her father speaking with her teenage brother who was otherwise engaged in his phone. Her father shakes his head and leaves.

"What's that you got there, Walid?" Aliyah asks from behind him.
"Alie! Arey its my new smart phone! Guess what! You will not believe it but I will still you, its water proof!" he says with clear excitement in his voice.

"Really? A waterproof smartphone? They make those?" Aliyah asks as takes the phone in her hand to examine it.

"Yeah! It's not out in the market but I got it through pre-booking. You can buy it online from the online store before they launch it into our local market" he says as they walk into the kitchen. He dips it in a glass of water in front of her and smiles victoriously when he takes it out while it still works. Aliyah smiles and takes it from him.
"Pretty cool" she smiles as she takes the phone and drops into a pot of boiling water.

"What the hell!" Walid shouts as he goes to the shelf to grab a utensil to pick his phone out of the boiling water, except it's too late.

"Well, I guess it wasn't heat proof" Aliyah says in a dismissive tone from behind him.

"What the hell Aliyah! You boiled my brand new phone! Do you even know I paid a higher price than the market one to get it earlier! It was a pre-launched version!" he says in an angry tone.

"When you're father speaks to you, you listen" Aliyah says seriously.

"What!"

"When father was earlier speaking to you, you were too busy on your phone. I just want it to be clear in your mind that when your parents speak to you, you do not shamelessly lend them your ear while your phone gets your eyes! I want you to listen to them attentively even if it's something you already know" she says with a smile while her brother sulks.

"You could have just told me. Why ruin my phone?" he asks in a pitiful tone.

"I wanted the lesson to be memorable one. A lesson that you will not forget for your remaining days" she says with a smile and her brother shakes his head at his slightly demented sister.

***

"Bas maa! Main sumo wrestling ke liye nahin jaane wala hoon!" Zain exclaims as he mother forcefully shoves another bite into his mouth.

"The doctor just told me that your weight had drastically decreased to a below average! Do you know how unhealthy that is?"

"Yes and the obvious solution of that is to turn me obese" Zain says with an eyeroll.

"Please finish the plate Zain. It's very important that you get done with your meals" Zain forces himself to swallow another bite just to ease his mother's tension a bit.

"Mom... I need to speak with the doctor" Zain says as he washes the food down with water.

"Yes, he's coming here to meet you in a while to clear your doubts" the doctor walks in as his mother finishes the statement.

"Oh there he is! I will just go home to freshen up and come back before you know it" his mother says as she gathers her belongings.

"Maa you don't have to come back. You haven't slept an entire night. It's alright. Send Faizan or someone" he argues knowing how tired his mother might have been.

"No. I am coming back" when she used her authoritative tone, Zain knew it's no use arguing to he bid his mother goodbye and smiled at the doctor.

"How are you feeling Zain?" the doctor asks with a smile as he goes through his medical file.

"A lot better, thank you"

"Zain I have a few questions to ask"

"Go ahead"

"Did you experience any sort of discomfort prior to the accident? Any symptoms that may require medical assistance?" the doctor asked tentatively.

"Dizziness from time to time. A few blackouts and I would vomit pretty frequently" Zain replies honestly, now realizing that the situation was a lot more serious that he initially assumed.

"Hmm.. And you didn't seek any medical help even after the frequent vomitting?"

"I thought it was because of hangovers and alcohol" Zain replied uneasily.

"Did you also experience a loss of apetite?"

"Yes"

"And your alcohol consumption has been uncontrollable in the last few months, I gather?" the doctor asks with apparent disapproval.

"Yes" Zain replies feeling close to shame.

"Do you realize that you have been through a liver transplant?" the doctor asks as he focuses on Zain whose head immediately shoots up.

"A liver.. transplant?" Zain asks in complete shock.

"Your alcoholism and disregard for seeking proper medical help landed you in a hospital in the middle of nowhere with very limited resources. I cannot explain to you the gravity of the situation had you not been lucky enough to find a donor when you did" Zain sits still in complete shock. His parents had informed him about the accident and his broken bones but so far nothing had been said about a liver tranplant. Zain in a state of disbelief picks up his shirt and sure enough there were obvious signs of a transplant glaring at him. He puts his shirt down as he absorbs the news.

"The transplant didn't occur here?"

"No, it happened in a charitable hospital where you had been taken to after the accident. You were brought in here once your parents were contacted. They demanded that you receive the best medical treatement and you were shifted here"

"What about the donor?" Zain asks as he faces the doctor.

"It was an anonymous donation. Her/his identity is protected by the hospital. We don't know who or in what state, the donor donated you. I assume that the most possible scenario could be that the donor was dying or fatally ill otherwise an anonymous donation to a stranger makes no sense" the doctor says thoughtfully.

Zain thought about it. He thought about what state he'd be in if he did pass away. He didn't disbelieve in God, he felt that there was a God up there but he didn't have the patience to look for God. Zain didn't disbelieve in religion but was detached from it. Living in a family that treated religion similar to culture, Zain had said his goodbyes to both religion and culture. He lived all his life without God and the thought of returning to God frightened him. So it would be fair to say that Zain wasn't didn't know God but he knew of His existence.
"But there's something surprising"

"What?" Zain asked pulling himself out of his stupor.

"The nameless donor left you a note" the doctor replied with a smile.

"A note? Where is it?" Zain asked.

"I received it in the morning" the doctor said as he handed Zain a folded note withdrawn from his file.

"Thanks, doc" Zain replied with a smile.

"Welcome. I think your parents have arrived and I should speak to them about your treatment" the doctor said as he got up to leave.

"Thanks again, doc"

"Thank me when I get rid of all your problems, especially the alcohol ones" Zain smiled sheepishly at his family doctor. Zain proceeded to open the rumpled piece of paper, it seemed whoever wrote it was in a hurry. He began reading the scribbled words,

'To my LiverMate,

God gave me a liver; I shared it with you. Don't treat this as a favor, treat it as a loan. Everytime you feeling like abusing it with alcohol and cigarrettes, remember that it's my liver that you're safeguarding now. It was by God's mercy that he let you have another liver through my worship. Don't forget the Lord that brought you to existence and then sustained you when you were hell-bent on returning to Him in a miserable state.

On a side note, my liver is pretty pampered with water and fresh juices, it wont be able to tolerate alcohol and other abusive substances so take care of it for me until the next life.

Your LiverMate.'

Zain's mother walked into the room but he didn't notice. He kept flipping the paper over but that was it. There was no name or address. He stared at the paper unable to comprehend the meaning of it. How could donating a liver be a form of worship? Whoever this person was, loved the God he/she worshipped. Zain was baffled by the devotion to God, it was clear to him that the person who donated the liver was a worshipper and Zain wanted to meet him, not because he was experiencing an awakening of faith but because he wanted to meet someone with such to devotion to a God they haven't even met. He was amazed by the kindness that sprang out of the person's worship and wanted to ask questions except Zain didn't know how. How do you find someone who doesn't wish to be found?

"Mom which direction is the Qiblah?" His mother's hands froze and she looked up, completely abandoning the fruits.

"The Qiblah?"

"I want to pray" Zain simply replied as his mother pointed the direction. Zain got out of bed with the sheer power of will and performed ablution. He came back in the room and his mother handed him the towel still not sure of her son's intentions.

Zain went to pray but turned to his mother again.

"How does Fatiha begin? Haven't prayed in a long time" Zain said sheepishly. His mother recited the verse and he turned towards the Qiblah and began his prayer. In between, he forget many verses, some he skipped and some he swapped the surah with an easier one. Upon finally finishing, Zain waits to feel something but feels nothing; no feeling of elation or enlightment. He stares at his prayer mat in confusion but decides to lift his hands anyways and make a duaa.

"God.." he began but then felt it was inappropriate.

"Dear God" he tried again but felt like he was writing a letter.

"My God" and this time he felt better about it. He liked the word of referral so continued.

"My Lord, thank you for saving my life. I was not prepared to meet you yet and you probably know why but let's not dwell on that. I want to meet your worshipper, the one who donated me a liver. Make a path for me to meet the person" Zain completes his duaa. Then in a faint and embarrassed whisper he adds, "Help me with the alcohol problem"

Originally posted by: Neha07

Wow!!!This is a competely different kind of FF I am reading and I must say its very good. Please excuse me as I am not good at words, at expressing how beautiful this FF is. As @AnotherAdmirer suggested please do give ur FF a name. I don't know how I missed this one among all the OSs n FFs on the forum. I am eagerly waiting for the next update. It has surely made its place in my favourites list :)

Originally posted by: AnotherAdmirer

I like this Fanfiction in bits and it has never happened before, Either I write off a work or love it completely.

Aliya's liver transplant. She just volunteered for it and was a perfect match, there are many complications involved, it's very difficult to get the perfect match. And Well what tops above all is that in Islam organ transplant is not allowed. So I don't know how Aliya who goes around boiling her cousin's expensive cell phone,doesn't think of this matter. And destroying a phone her cousin had spend some good bucks for, now isn't that a waste? Was it truly the way? She is too confident with her Deen, while truly i think the character needs to learn to be humble while she preaches.

I Loved the note. and I Loved Zain's reaction to it. Touched by the devotion of a worshiper, a curious thing to him. I Love this aspect of the fanfiction that he wishes to meet the donor for this reason. And he decides to bow down in prayer.

Now coming to the prayer, Namaz is a way to communicate with our Lord, it's our private talk. He hasn't attained faith, he has been touched by it, now it's on him to reach to it and embrace it...when he will know the true meaning and purpose of Salah, the Surah's and their meaning well, only then will he attain Khushoo in prayer. That elation and enlightenment, he was hoping for. I Liked the Dua he made. And that shameful Help me with the alcohol problem. Today Zain felt human to me. Otherwise he was trash in the first two chapters, wasted.

As for your earlier reply to my review. I agree about glamorizing the drunken bit, I have never appreciated the same.

I am curious to know how you have planned the plot in future chapters. Also I think I didn't mention but I kinda like Suraiyyah in this FF. Nice work!

Originally posted by: preity_d

omg very good. it feels like i'm reading durjoy dutta's till the last breath.

Originally posted by: Dsntmatter

Hello! Good to have you back. Now I'm glad you like it in bits. Like I said earlier I don't want Aliyah or Zain to be perfect. I want them to have flaws so that they'd be human.

Aliyah and Walid are really close. In my mind I had they're relaationship in place before Zain and Aliyah's but completely forgot to slowly introduce the audience to their banter and jumped right into it. That's a glitch on my part but you're right about Aliyah being too headstrong as a person. I'm not gonna amend that bit of her character until later in the story. So just giving you a head start about what's coming.

Coming to the organ transplant, I know a perfect match is difficult but again I needed this in the story so put it there, I know it makes it unrealistic but I'm not creative enough to think of something else lol. Now about it being impermissible then there is a huge difference of opinion. Indo-Pak scholars hold the view that it's impermissible under any circumstances while the majority of Arab scholars and some contemporary Indo-Pak believe that it's permissible if the case is of life and death which in Zain's case was. I should have mentioned Aliyah's beliefs clearly but then it didn't come into my mind until I read your comment.

And yeah I want Zain to experience faith in his own way. Slowly but surely.

Thanks for the review! Its nice to have odd points of the story pointed out, I appreciate it :)