“Venera? Care to explain?” Anar prompted for the second time.
“Okay, I will but let’s at least secure the school grounds first. Our witch kins are securing the forest as we speak now. The Qakkirs must not cross over into the land of kiths,” Venera replied.
Anar showed a sign of disapproval on his face but quickly hid it when he got Zola to look at him and said, “I have to go now. I need to help them but I will bring you to the infirmary first.”
Zola nodded weakly. There was not much that she could do anyway.
“Come follow me,” Anar said gently.
Zola hesitated. Anar seemed to have understood her instantly when he said while pointing towards the nearest stairwell, “It’s okay. We’ll take the stairs down. The staircase is right next to the corner there.”
Zola felt immensely relieved that she did not have to disappear into thin air like Afif and Johnson did.
She quietly followed Anar, who measured his stride to suit Zola. She was suddenly overcome by a sense of appreciation she never had for him. The guy who chaired the computer club at her high school… The guy whom she found to be boring… The guy who had been her friend for some good years….
However, her wandering mind was jolted when Anar suddenly turned to her to say, “We’re here.”
Anar opened the door to a very spacious room filled with many occupied beds. There were a few students whose faces she had seen before. She had not have the luxury of knowing everyone yet given that school had just started for them. Unfortunately, it seemed that she might not be able to get to know them for a long time.
Anar placed his left hand on her right shoulder and said, ” Come on. Have a seat over there.”
He led her to a corner with a sofa set. They sat together on the three-seater couch.
“Just rest here, okay? You can lie down if you want to. I need to help the school now,” Anar said gently before standing up to leave the room.
Zola remained quiet as Anar left the infirmary using the door. Zola found it comforting that he did not vanish in front of her.
Perhaps he chose not to?
Zola did not know what to think anymore. She decided to take up Anar’s suggestion and positioned her body to lie fully on the couch she was sitting on. She was quite surprised to find that the light above was not glaring at all. In fact, the light felt extremely soothing and calming. In a matter of moments, Zola dozed off, unaware that Anar too had disappeared outside the infirmary.
Metropolitan Muslimah 