Clash Of Cultures

23. The Right Decision

Noor

How was it even possible to hurt so much?

I thought as I lay curled up on the sofa that night. Still in the clothes I had worn that morning to the fair, clutching a cushion tightly, hoping it would lessen the pressure on my heart. My tears had dried up a long time ago, but the deep stabbing pain in my chest had only grown as I replayed that day in my mind.

They say you never know what you have till you lose it. And that morning I had felt that in every fiber of my being. I thought I had a schoolgirl crush on Sal, but the prospect of never seeing him again made me realize just how much I cared about him.

I had spent two excruciating hours not knowing where he was. My mind had repeatedly gone over every detail of the scene in the parking lot, searching for something that could help the police. I had wept, prayed and then wept again. Despair and helplessness had never weighed on me as heavily as they did that morning.

But I was also foolish enough to think, that maybe, just maybe...the way his arm had pinned me behind his body, and his voice had broken when he said he was terrified for me...had meant something. For a split second I had let myself want him, only to be thrusted back to reality where he had nothing but contempt for me.

What pained me most was that I had never imagined myself to be in such a situation. I was raised to always carry myself with dignity, and to never compromise on my self-worth. Yet here I was pinning for a man who could never love me back, no matter how much I gave him of myself.

I must have fallen asleep wallowing in misery, because when I woke up sunshine was streaming in through my window blinds. Our Program Director had asked us to stay home, both to mentally recover from the events of the previous day and to not be hounded by news reporters who would have gotten wind of Sal's abduction.

Wait...reporters meant this would be in the news!

While my parents may not find out about this, Omar surely would. I knew he kept an eye on the Chicago news. My phone had died sometime last evening and I hadn't had the energy to get off the sofa and plug it in. But as I soon as I plugged it and turned it on, a barrage of messages flooded my phone.

A couple of those from yesterday were from Kimberly asking if I was ok. Then this morning I had at least 10 messages from Omar; each increasingly desperate. And then my mom's text messages started appearing.

Oh no...the news must have reported it this morning.

I quickly Googled 'resident children's hospital of Illinois abduction'. Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times, ABC Chicago...had all reported on a physician being abducted and then dumped behind the ER. CPD was asking for the public's help in identifying the abductors. The men's sketch that I had helped put together had also been released.

"If you call the police, I guarantee you....he will die", the man's threatening voice was still fresh in my mind.

What if they go after Sal because I got the police involved?

Maybe I should call him to check on him. I wonder how he is handling this.

My phone rang again, snapping me out of a world where my concern for Sal mattered to him. I looked down to see Omar's name light up my phone. He had probably told my parents as well by now.

"Hey Omar...", I answered him wearily.

"Noor? Thank God! Why weren't you picking up? I was just about to leave for Chicago", his distressed voice came through on the phone.