"Where are you, Anas?" I muttered to myself as I stood under the dimly lit street lamp.
I had been waiting for hours for him to show up, the park was nearly deserted, and the fact that it was a very chilling night and the constant cold wind made me shiver.
I glanced at my phone and noticed that it was way past eleven pm, it was almost midnight. He was late, Anas was incredibly late.
"Anas, where are you? I have been waiting at the spot you asked. I have been waiting for hours, please if you get this message call me back" I said over the phone as I left him the Hundredths voice note.
"He will be here, Anas loves you he will be here," I said trying not to let negative thoughts swarm my head.
I can still remember the look on his face the way he stared at me assuring me that I was the one for him of course he was going to make it.
I picked up my phone again to call him and finally, he picked up.
I breathed a sigh of relief as it felt I had not been breathing all this although I had been waiting for him for hours I was sure something happened that was why he refused to pick up my call.
"Oh my god, Anas was worried sick I thought something bad would happen to you, where are you? I am still waiting for the pack, are you okay? What happened?" I asked, sounding worried as I bombarded him with many questions.
All I heard was silence. I could hear his breathing but nothing, he said nothing.
"Anas?" I called but I got no response from him.
"Zoya," he said, his voice calming all my worries.
"Anas" I scolded, "For a second there I was so worried, you are playing your usual prank on me again aren't you?" I joked.
"I am sorry Zoya, I will not be able to make it. I have thought about it thoroughly and I think it is a bad idea for us to elope after all, I am still young. I don't want to tie myself down to a relationship that will likely not work" he said.
I could not believe what I heard, to be more specific I refused to believe what I just heard.
" Anas, what are you saying? Have you forgotten you would be here, all this was your idea. You promised to always be by my side. What sudden change?" I asked in despair. " Did my father threaten you, is that why you are backing off?" I asked because it is possible he was having cold feet.
"This is not just going to work, I have a life and I don't want to destroy it, being with you might tarnish my family reputation as you are older than me. I don't plan on getting married anytime soon Anas, I am sure you understand" he said.
Each word felt like glass piercing my skin. "I will take care of you, if you are worried about the finances, I have some money saved up. We won't have to struggle and I am very skilled. I am sure I can get a job quickly," I said. "Please don't leave me Anas you are all I have" I pleaded.
"Go back to your home Anas, your father does not accept our union and today he has already planned your marriage with someone else. I do not love you anymore and want nothing to do with you. You are a girl with no dignity, no man would want you anyway. If I were you I would marry the man my father chose for me" he said before hanging up the call.
My whole world felt like it came crumbling down on me, I betrayed my family, running away on the day that was meant to be my wedding day just so I could. be with this man all for him to throw me away like trash.
A single tear fell from my eyes before I fell down on the ground as my legs could not seem to support me anymore. I had never felt such emotional pain all my life. I was finding it hard to breathe normally as it felt like the world was closing up on me.
I cried for myself, how naive I was to believe he would ever abandon me. I was a fool, a fool who was in love thinking that if I was willing to risk it all he would also do that for me.
Here I was all alone in an empty pack, crying over a land that just shattered my trust.
I don't know how long I had been sitting on the ground crying but the sound of a group of men, walking towards my direction quickly brought me back to reality.
I had nowhere to go, there was no way I could go back to my father's house. It was a disappointment, my actions must have hurt him greatly.
I grabbed the travel bag on the ground and swung over my shoulder hoping to avoid the group of men who seemed likely drunk. It was not safe out here.
"Hey, beautiful?" one of them called but I refused to answer, walking as fast as I can. I could hear their footsteps behind me.
Suddenly my arm was grabbed and I spun around quickly shoving the arm away from my body, an indescribable fear gripped me at that moment.
"We are calling you beautiful, you know it is rude not to answer when you are called," the man said. His breath reeked of school, it was a clear indication that he was drunk.
"I am sorry I am in a hurry," I said, turning around to walk away when another grabbed my shoulder and pushed me to a wall.
"Not so fast beautiful, a fine girl like you would not be out here alone why don't we escort you home" he offers, grinning widely with his brown teeth in full display.
I shivered in disgust. "Thank you, I can go home by myself," I said, trying to maneuver the space between them when they pushed me to the ground.
"We can't just let you go like that, it would be fun to have a little bit of fun" another offered.
The three men surrounded me while I backed up against the walls. My heart was pounding fast due to fear.
There was no one around to help me. I was all alone, I pleaded for them to let me go but they only snickered and laughed.
"Come on, it's just a little bit of fun, you will enjoy it as well," they said.
"Help, someone help me" I screamed at the top of my voice.
"You can scream all you want but nobody is going to help you"
They started unbuckling their pants. I tried to escape but was dragged back by one of them, tears streamed down my face.
I placed myself in this situation assuming I did not trust Anas I would not be in this situation.
Just when I thought all hope was gone there was no way I would be able to fight off three men by myself.
"Hey stop there" A voice resounded from the darkness before a tall, handsome man emerged from the darkness running towards me.
Could this person be my helper?