Feb 21, 2019

Sideeqah's POV
I wake up with a start. The pain on my arm reminds me to raise my body up carefully. I look around the little room I am in.  There's a small light bulb hanging from the ceiling. The room isn't very tidy but it isn't dirty. It doesn't have much things in the room except for a table and a chair and the bed.

"You're awake," I whip my head to the direction of the voice that startles me.

"Oh, am sorry. Did I startle you?"

An elderly woman in her late thirties stands by the open door. I didn't notice the open door.

"Hello, am Sasha," she introduces herself.

I watch her carefully as she drags the chair close to the bed am lying on.
She wipes imaginary dust from the chair, arranges her skirt before sitting down on the chair.
She tries to touch me but I shift backward. She smiles in return.

"Where am I?" I ask, not recognizing my raspy voice.

"This is my other house. I brought you here so my family wouldn't question your presence. You were in such a bad condition when I saw you. You were barely alive. But it seems you are okay now," she explains.

"Thank you," I tell her.

She smiles in return.

"So where am I?"

"Oak town," she simply says.

Oak town is a little far from the river. Like two towns from the river and Zainab's town. That means the police won't suspect am here. That's good.

"Where did you find me?"

"At the river bank. I thought you had drowned but then I saw your chest going up and down slowly. So I knew you were still alive. I was able to stop the bleeding and remove the bullet," she explains.

"How did you remove the bullet and stop the bleeding?" I question.

"Am a nurse. You feel a little pain now but it will stop soon."

"Okay."

"I will bring some soup for you later," she says as she looks at my wound.

"Okay."

"Your wound is healing pretty fast. That's good news. You should be up and moving very soon. But now you need to rest so you don't stress yourself. You haven't told me your name yet?" she questions as she pins the bandage again.

My name. My name. My name.
What do I tell her? I can't tell her my real name. I can't tell her my name is Sideeqah Ubaid. She'll know immediately that am a criminal. That am wanted. What do I tell her?

"Hello? What are you thinking?" she snaps a finger in front of my face.

"Aliyah. Aliyah is my name," I quickly reply.

I am scared she will know immediately that am lying. I hope she doesn't find out. My heart begins to beat fast.

"Aliyah?"

"Yes, Aliyah."

"What about your surname?"

"Sodiq. Aliyah Sodiq."

The name feels alien on my tongue.

"Aliyah Sodiq?" she questions, as if to confirm the truth from me.

"Yes, my name is Aliyah Sodiq."

I better get used to calling myself that name.

"Okay. Well, how did you get shot? Who shot you?"

What do I tell her now? Shit!

"Well, I-I was shot."

"By who?"

"By my fiance's killers. They killed him when he refused to give them money. I saw it and they chased me," I quickly tell her.

"That's so cruel!" she utters, shock evident on her face.

"I was running from them when they shot me. I jumped into the river to escape from them but I couldn't swim because of the wound. I fell unconscious afterwards," I say, pretending to cry.

"Oh my! Poor child!" she mutters and embraces me.

"I loved him! I loved him so much and they killed him. They took him away from me. They killed him!" I cry out.

"Shhhhh, it's alright, dear. It's alright," she says soothingly.

"I loved him so much."

"We have to report this to the police," she begins but I stop her.

"No!"

"But why?"

"Because if I do so, then his killers will come after me. They will kill me too."

I can tell she's not buying what I just said. I needed to convince her the more.

"When the time is right, I'll tell them. I have to get well first."

"Are you sure? I still think we should inform the police," she presses.

What kind of woman is this!

"No, I am scared," I place my face in my palms and shed crocodile tears, "I'm all alone now. I have nobody."

She hugs me again, "Don't say that! You have me. I'm here for you."

I sniff, "Thank you, Sasha."

I smirk as she starts rubbing my back. She's so naive and easy to fool. But I have to eacape from here. She seems like a stubborn woman. It's only a matter of time before she informs the police about the death of my fake fiance and his fake killers. If only she knew she was hugging a murderer right now.

"You have to rest now. I have to go but I'll bring you some food later," she tells me as she stands up.

She dusts her skirt and walks to the door.

"Thank you, Sasha."

She smiles at me, steps out and closes the door.

I have to get out of here. The last thing I want is the police finding me and sending me to jail. I have to think of a plan.

I hope you like this chapter.
So what do you think? Do you think Sasha will inform the police? Do you think Sideeqah will escape before Sasha informs the police?
Don't forget to leave your comments.
Updates come in weekly. See ya.

Note: Sideeqah's name will change to Aliyah as from the next chapter.