"Manal, can I send you to Idris?" Ya Salim said as soon as I appeared before him. He had interrupted my conference call with Hilwah, Zulaiha and Na'imah. I wasn't happy but by the mentioning of Idris, I smiled. "This one that you're smiling, I hope everything is okey?"

"Yes!" I winked at him.

"Okey," He cleared his throat and continued. "Tell Idris to give you what he promised me"

"Huh?" I wrinkled a brow.

"Yes, just tell him that" He said.

"Okey" I said about turning when he halted me.

"Use my car, the key is on the bedside table and please don't drive recklessly, okey?" He uttered.

"Okey" I said with a gritted teeth and left to the room he shared with Ya Hauwa. After getting the key, I headed to the car and sped away.

Immediately I parked in front of Idris' house, I called him to come and open the gate for me. Yes, that was far better than knocking his hard gate. I wondered what he was securing in his house with such an armoured gate he had..

"Good Morning, Manal" His voice intercepted my thought. He was in a shorts and singlet.

"Morning" I glanced at him from head to toe.

"Why that look?" He asked smiling.

"Is your body also armoured that you are not feeling the harshness of the weather?" I asked.

"Hahaha, I am about to wash my clothes that's why you see me this way. Come in" He uttered.

"Okey" I hummed and trailed him inside.

"Salim sent you, right?" He said as soon as we stepped into his sitting room. It was so warm.

"Yeah, he said I should..." I said as he cut in.

"I know already" He winked and huffed.

I'm sorry to say but his wink made me to feel a prickling sensation in my spine. I didn't even know when I turned my face away from him and sat in an armchair. "Okey, go and bring it"

"Alright" I heard him said.

Thus, I turned and looked at him as he walked towards a room, probably his and stormed in. He was a tall beard guy and I liked how he used to smile every now and then. Like, you hardly see him wearing a sad or angry face.

In a minute or so, just as I was chatting with some of my friends on WhatsApp, Idris came back with something in a black leather and handed it to me. "Don't open it!" He warned.

"Alright" I gave him a - don't trust me - look.

"So, when will we be seeing each other again?" He queried as soon as I withdrew to my feet.

"Can you come for dinner tomorrow?" I said.

"Well," He cleared his throat. "Since tomorrow is Saturday and I would be free, I think I could"

"Okey then" I gave him a smile.

He escorted me to the car outside and thus I drove away in speed. Just as I reached home, I opened the black leather and saw some tablets in it. I couldn't even pronounce their names.

"The cure is hard but use these and see" Says a paper I found together with the hard tablets.

My mind began beating fast. What cure was Ya Salim looking for? Was something wrong with him or something? I mulled over breaking a sweat. Just then, Ya Salim came out of the house walking towards me in haste. I quickly sealed the leather and stormed out of the car with a gritted teeth. "I am back" I said to him.

"Yes, I know you are back - I can see you, right?" He said frowning his beard face.

"Ye...es" I stuttered handing over the leather to him. Perhaps he knew I was going through it.

"Nonsense!" He hissed and left.

He didn't even allow me to implore him. Well, I shouldn't have went through his thing, I really shouldn't have done that. I mulled over trailing him to the flat. Thus, I went to the parlor and began watching an ongoing TV series on air.

•••••

Later in the afternoon, I was cooking lunch in the kitchen when Ya Salim came in with a Salaam. We greeted and he told me he was sorry for acting coldly towards me earlier.

"No, it was my fault. I shouldn't have went through your stuffs, Ya Salim..." I uttered.

"Yes, but that didn't give me the right to shout at you. And by the way, it's not for me" He said.

"Whose is it?" I asked.

"You don't have to know" He said and left.

That moment, the thought of the paper I saw in the leather together with the tablets shocked me. It meant that whoever the drugs belonged to might be suffering from something but who could that be? Ya Hauwa was the only person I could suspect because she was very pregnant.

After cooking lunch, we ate and thus I cleared the dining table and washed the dishes. After having done that, I went to my room to rest.

"The cure is hard but use these and see"

I kept remembering the words I read in that paper. What cure was it talking about and for who? I really didn't know. Thus, I quickly dialed Idris' number to confirm from him. He was the one that prescribed the drugs, right? Then he must be acquainted with everything!

"Hello" I said as soon as he picked the call.

"Hi" He responded through the phone. "Hope you arrived back safe and sound, Manal?"

"Yes, Idris" I gulped and continued. "The drugs, please what is it for and who does it belongs..."

"I can't tell you this, Manal" He cut in.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because Salim wants it to be confidential. And by the way, didn't I warned you not to open the leather? Why would you do that?" He queried.

"I am so sorry but please just tell me who it belongs to and what is it for" I implored him.

"Manal, please..."

"Just tell me!" I thundered.

He remained silent for a moment before saying, "Okey lets make a deal, can we?"

"What deal?" I queried.

"You would escort me to my mother to get my daughter back tomorrow, are you in?" He said.

"Will you tell me everything after that?" I said.

"Yes" He uttered.

"Deal!" I exclaimed.

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