The Siege of Haniya [ONC2024] ✔

13. University of Haniya's Library

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: UNIVERSITY OF HANIYA'S LIBRARY

"Hamza, you don't have to come with me. I'll be fine," I said for the umpteenth time as I drove towards the University of Haniya, glancing from time to time at Hamza, who sat in the passenger's seat. 

During the last glance, I caught his eyes rolling at my words. "Salwa," he sighed. "I think you're forgetting that no one else should know you've escaped Akkadiyah. How are you going to enter the university alone? You can't just barge into your office like you usually do."

"But you haven't healed. What if you hurt your shoulder and the stitches open?" I tried to argue. But both of us know that once he decided on something, he would always stick by his decision.

"I will be fine. Trust me, Salwa. It's alright."

I sighed at his stubbornness. "At least, put on the clutch."

"No, it will bring more attention to us."

"But—"

"No. I'm fine. See, I can move my arm," he said when I stopped the car at the red light. He moved his left arm up and down while trying to hide the grimace from the pain. It was bold of him to think I didn't know the difference between his normal face and the look he makes when he's in pain. 

I narrowed my eyes on him. "Hamza, stop."

He put his arm down before rubbing the sore spot. "I'm just trying to prove my point."

Shaking my head, I hit the pedal when the traffic light turned green. "Well, it's clear where Salam got her stubbornness from."

He didn't reply to that remark; instead, he reached over and pinched my cheek. "I think she got it equally from us."

"Ow," I groaned, rubbing the spot where he pinched my cheek. "But more from you since you're her biological uncle."

He dropped the argument since we had reached the entrance of the university. The new academic year had just started after being postponed for more than a month because of the siege. The car went past the entrance with ease, but the real challenge was not how we entered the university. It was how to get into the restricted area of the university's library without raising any suspicion.

We had dropped by our house to get my identity card as a researcher at the university, since it's the only way we could get into the restricted area. My only hope was that no one was around the restricted area and we could slip inside without any problem.

Hamza glanced at his watch. "It's lunchtime. So, hopefully, the students will flock to the cafeteria instead of the library."

"Let's go," I said, after wearing a black face mask and a pair of sunglasses for disguise. It's not like I was a well-known person at the university, but still, it's better if no one caught a glimpse of me. I locked the car after we had stepped out of the vehicle and looked at the three-story building of the library. 

Taking a deep breath, I felt Hamza's fingers intertwine with mine as we walked towards the library. The warmth of his hand brought comfort to my heart, easing the tension of the situation. "Let's do it."

As we entered the building, tens of bookshelves lined up against the wall, and multiple rows of a table and four chairs spread in the middle of the building. The glass walls brought the sunlight inside the building as a natural source of light. The students filled most of the ground floor, but it's not as crowded as I imagined. 

I led Hamza to the stairs, where we took flight to the upper floor. The restricted area was deep inside the first floor, and it was usually empty at this time of the day since most lecturers were staying in their offices. We reached a wooden double door with a lock on the wall beside the door.