FAREWELL

t was an arranged marriage. He couldn’t honestly say that he loved her. All the same, Abdul couldn’t believe it. He knew he had to concentrate on the task at hand, but it kept haunting him. When they said goodbye, he had too much on his mind. He couldn’t tell her the truth anyway.

He felt guilty. She didn’t even know that it was the last time. He wondered how long it would be before she realised. At least she was safe back home. He wasn’t. His partner’s question forced reality back on him. He had to request a repeat, “Sorry Mohammed, what did you ask?” 
“Are you concentrating?” He sounded a little irritated and very much on edge. Abdul wondered if he was struggling with similar conflicts of interest. “Dead on, no pun intended,” he answered smoothly. Mohammed stared at him with a blank face for a while. The movement was barely noticeable as he shook his head twice and looked away.

Abdul followed his gaze and saw the picturesque view on the horizon. It was beautiful. In a way he wished she were here. If things worked out, they would never see each other again. Like a good Muslim wife, she bode him a safe and enjoyable journey when they said goodbye. He wondered if she would have said anything different had she known. Probably not. It wasn’t the Islamic way.

“There it is.” Mohammed made the statement in an empty voice. Abdul saw it too. He still couldn’t believe it. Suddenly he could picture her perfectly, her face a little sad but totally brave. Standing in the doorway, waving as they drove off to the airport. Mohammed had said it even before she was out of view, “The final goodbye.” 

Suddenly chaos broke loose behind them. They could hear it through the locked door. 

Commands were barked, but the screaming only got worse. Women were crying, pulling out their hair. The faces of most men displayed vacant and immense surprise. “Put that away!” came the forceful instruction, as a man next to the window took his cell phone from his coat pocket. The man ignored it flatly. He waited for a signal and dialed. When he got an answer, he spoke in a sad voice. “Baby, I have to say farewell.” He listened briefly and explained, “Our plane has been hi-jacked and it looks like they are going to fly it into the World Trade Center.”

© Chris Smal – 10 June 2005