Iturned over in the bed and tightened the comforter around me. I could hear the constant ringing of my cell phone.

“Is it morning already?” I muttered groggily.

Groping around in the darkness, I grabbed my cell phone off my side table. Squinting in the darkness, I realised that it was not the alarm going off, but an incoming call from an unknown number.

“Um ... Hmm,” I said sleepily.

“May I speak to Miss Ahmed,” the man on the other side had a very professional tone.

“Yeah, it’s me,” I replied.

“I am speaking from the Charing Cross Hospital. Your brother has been brought here in a very severe condition. Please arrive at the hospital as soon as possible.” The voice was expressionless, almost robotic.

I felt the blood drain from my face and sat bolt upright in the bed. A sudden lump formed in my throat as I moistened my dry lips, “Wwwhat!” but the line went dead.

It took me a moment to understand what actually had happened. When the matter dawned upon me, I threw aside the covers and raced to my parents’ bedroom. Without bothering to knock, I barged inside and shook my mother’s shoulder with all my might.

Her eyes flew open and ten minutes later, my dad was speeding the car on the almost empty roads. I could hear my mum sobbing and sniffing in the passenger seat and my dad’s quick, shallow breaths as he tried to stay calm.

As soon as the car skidded to a halt, I threw open the back door and rushed to the hospital’s reception.

“I am Miss Ahmed. My brother, Zaid Ahmed, was brought here in emergency. Where is he? I spluttered.

The receptionist bent down over her computer screen and pressed a few keys. She raised her head confusedly and said,

“We have no patient in emergency by the name of Zaid Ahmed. Are you sure it was this hospital?” I glared at her through my red and swollen eyes.

“Of course it was this one. Go and check and let me know where my brother is right now!” I screamed hysterically.

The poor receptionist rushed away and returned a couple of minutes later, with that confused look still on her face.

“What happened? Did you find him? Is he severely injured?” I bombarded her with questions.

Before she could reply, I glanced casually behind the receptionist and stopped dead, my eyes getting wide. My brother was strolling through the main entrance, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

“Why did you all come here? Is everything all right? You could at least have knocked my door too,” he said suppressing a yawn.

My jaw dropped as I stared unblinkingly at him.

“Why are you here son?” My dad asked him calmly.

“Well I heard all of you rushing out of the house in the middle of the night and of course I followed,” he replied rolling his eyes.

I couldn’t take it anymore, rushing forward I hugged my brother tightly.

“Oh my God! You are alright!” I whispered.

“Um, you okay sis? Is something wrong with her brain?” he questioned my mother while patting my back.

All three of us started laughing with relief as I silently prayed for that stranger that the hospital had mistaken for my brother.

Published in Dawn, Young World, August 22nd, 2020