Author's Note: In the previous chapter, Saria's first sleepover in Adia's house turned disastrous when Masood's illness caused him to fall down the stairs and collapse. Things became even more tense when Faraya and Javid, in their panic, left the girls behind, leading to Saria needing to phone her parents for help. It is now the next morning, and we find Saria after a restless night's sleep...
Once again, thank you so much to everyone who takes the time to read and review my work; I appreciate all comments that I receive from my readers. The Kite Runner and any characters, plots or dialogue from such remain the property of Khaled Hosseini. I however own my OCs, and any plot points of my own creation.
Please be aware, as always, that I do not condone the actions, feelings, opinions, or behaviours that are displayed by the character's in this story. This is entirely a work of fiction and should be taken as such. And with that said, please enjoy this next venture into Saria's life...
Spooning another bit of porridge into my mouth, I glanced around at the faces of my parents and brother, sitting with me around the kitchen table. There was an awkward, quiet tension that filled the room, the kind in which one might have heard a pin drop. This, of course, wasn't new for us - dining in the Ahmed household was always an uncomfortable endeavour, regardless of what meal we were eating. But, perhaps for the first time, the uncomfortable feeling that hung in the air was the fault of an outside party.
All throughout the previous night, I had suffered a restless sleep, tossing and turning from right to left as my mind continued to replay the events that had transpired within the Kalahari's home. It wasn't so much the incident with Masood that bothered me so much - though I'd be remiss if I said that Faraya's animalistic screams didn't perturb me somewhat. Rather, as I had attempted to lull myself into slumber, I couldn't help the boiling fury that coursed through my veins at the memory of being forgotten. Such was my ire that, as we had been travelling home, I half-hoped that Mahmood would take a detour, follow Faraya to the hospital, and give the woman and her husband a piece of his mind.
I reached for the glass of orange juice that stood beside my bowl of porridge. As I took a sip, I noticed Tanya staring at me. She had been uncharacteristically quiet ever since we'd returned home last night. Indeed, she'd hardly bothered to scrutinise my outfit this morning, instead, simply looking me up and down for a brief moment before turning her attention back on the slice of toast she was eating. I watched her for a moment, then glanced at Mahmood, who was sipping on his usual black coffee, wondering if it might come down to me to break this uncomfortable silence.
Right before I could open my mouth, however, a sudden, sharp noise interrupted the monotony. I turned instantly towards the source of the noise, the incessant ringing coming from Mahmood's office. The telephone. Just who the fuck would be calling at this hour, and on a weekend? One of Mahmood's work friends, perhaps? His boss from the airport where he worked? Somebody else entirely? I had no clue, but they were quite persistent as the ringing continued to the point where I had to fight the urge to clamp my hands over my ears.
"Go and get that, would you, Tanya?" Mahmood asked, or, I should more accurately say, demanded. Those were the first words that I'd heard my parents speak to one another this morning, and as Tanya rose to her feet and stood there, leaning against the table, taking her sweet time chewing and swallowing the remaining piece of toast that she'd been eating, I could tell that she wasn't best pleased at being addressed in such a dismissive manner. I'll admit, a part of me almost wanted this to be the crux that began an argument between my parents. Anything to break up the monotony of this tiresome day, right?
But, of course, that didn't happen. Instead, Tanya merely nodded once, turned on her heel and made her way to Mahmood's office. Moments later, the ringing finally stopped. Part of me wanted to follow after my mother, to press my ear up against the door and listen in to her conversation, to know just who she was talking to, and what about. I found myself wondering if perhaps Mahmood and Tanya might end up taking off for the day, away on some other business venture. How I yearned for the freedom that this would give my brother and I.
Heaven's knows that we could use that, right? Turning my attention back to my soulmate, I intertwined our fingers together. Assef lifted my hand to his lips, pressing a tender kiss to the back of it. On the other end of the table, Mahmood let out a noise that appeared to be both scoff and grunt. I could feel his eyes on the back of my head, could hear him mumbling under his breath, though whether about my interactions with my brother, or something else entirely, I had no clue. Nor did I really care to. It mattered not to me what my asshole father thought.
"You two done?" Mahmood asked, gesturing to the empty plates in front of my brother and I. Without waiting for an answer, he rose to his feet, gathered up the cutlery, and brought it over to the sink. Odd, I must admit, that he didn't just command us to get up and put away our own plates. He might just have wanted something to do. All the same, I offered a sweet smile and a few polite words of gratitude as he did so. Assef, on the other hand, simply nodded, but made no other effort to speak or acknowledge our father at all. He had eyes solely for me.
Then, the kitchen door opened again, and Tanya re-entered. Mahmood turned from his place at the sink to face her, and before he could open his mouth to ask who had been on the phone, she cut in. "I need to speak with you, Mahmood," she said, before casting a glance towards my brother and I. "Preferably out in the hall, if you please. And the sooner the better." She crossed to where he stood and whispered in his ear, her gaze never leaving me as she did so. It was a tad unsettling, her constant staring. I wanted to flip her the bird and tell both her and Mahmood to go the fuck away. It was only through a sense of wanting to protect my rear end from the whipping I'd get if I did so that I managed to refrain from doing so.
Mahmood and Tanya made their way out into the hall, finally allowing my brother and I the tiniest moment of respite from them. If only it had lasted! I was the first one to break the silence. "Wonder what that's about?" I asked in German, "who could've been calling on a weekend? You think they're going to be leaving to some other business function?"
"Chance would be a fine thing, Liebchen," Assef mused, his eyes darting back and forth between my face and the door through which our parents had exited. "If they are, though, then I suppose you and I had best find some way with which to occupy our time, wouldn't you agree?" He grinned at me, and I sensed the mischief in his ethereal blue eyes, much akin to my own as we both shared in this quiet reflection, thinking of what we might do when our parents left.
Another Just Because, perhaps? It had been some time now since we'd last gone on one, since the day where we'd left young Mojdeh bleeding, battered and broken in the dirt. The adrenaline that so often came with causing such violence had long since worn off, and now, given all of the stress that I'd had to deal with lately, I would have enjoyed the opportunity to cause some more pain and strife. Who knows, perhaps if luck was on my side, I'd be able to pick off all of Ahtrai's little Posse of Dipshits, shatter them into tiny bits one by one, until only Ahtrai herself remained. And then... well... what harm would it do to allow myself the fantasy of brutally murdering Ahtrai, just as I had done Zainab? To picture the look on her face as I slashed her throat, or beat her into a bloody pulp, or slowly and methodically flayed her alive.
Yet, that wasn't going to happen. At least... not today, it seemed. Tanya and Mahmood re-entered the kitchen, and the moment that I looked at their faces, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that whatever plans I might have wanted to put in place would have to take a back seat. Tanya cleared her throat. "That was Faraya Kalahari," she informed us. Assef and I both looked at each other, neither one having expected that. "She wishes to express her deepest regret for the event that took place last night." Event wasn't how I'd refer to being completely abandoned, left to fend not only for myself but also to care for a traumatised Adia, too. Faraya had a lot of nerve to be calling here.
"She also.." Here, Tanya needed to pause for a moment. "She... She also... Uhm... Also told me just about how poorly young Masood is. Apparently, he's been suffering with this illness for quite a while now, and it has been getting steadily worse with each passing day." Tanya crossed the length of the room and squatted down in front of me, placing a hand on my knee. "Masood's illness is terminal, Saria. Do you know what that word means, sweetheart?"
Of course I know what it means, you patronising fucking bitch! How stupid do you think I am? Honestly! I wanted to reach out, seize Tanya's lips within my fingers and rip them from off of her mouth. Wanted to take the most blunt knife I could find and use it to cut her throat, then watch as she bled out on the kitchen floor. How dare she think it fitting to address me as though I were some fucking simpleton? Assef placed a hand on my back, rubbing little circles into it as he took it upon himself to answer Tanya's question, clearly attempting to keep his cool as he did so.
"We know what that word means, Mother." He leaned down to press a kiss to the back of my head, as I leaned ever closer to him. Tanya removed her hand from off of my leg, moved back, and straightened up, cleaning away an invisible piece of dust on her skirt.
It was Mahmood who spoke up next, in that no-nonsense way of his. "This afternoon," he said, "the four of us will be going to the hospital to visit with Masood and his family. Your mother and I feel that it is our solemn duty not only to express our regret for what they are going through, but also to offer whatever moral support and help that they might need." And what about the regret that Faraya and Javid should feel for what they had put me through? Was anyone going to mention that?
Apparently not, as Tanya quickly ordered Assef and I to go upstairs and fetch our coats. "And be quick about it," she ordered. "We will be waiting for you in the car."
Getting to our feet, Assef and I both made our way to our respective rooms to grab our jackets. "I fucking hate this," I grumbled, bending down to adjust the buckles on my shoes. "You know for a damn fact the only reason they want to visit Masood is because they don't want to lose whatever fucking business acquaintance they've got going on with the Kalahari's." I stamped the carpet in frustration. "Waste of time, that's what this is. A complete waste of our time!"
Assef hummed in sympathy, taking my hand in his. "I know, Liebchen. Believe me, I want this as much as you do. Which is to say, not at all. But we really have no choice in the matter. We'll just have to get on with it, and hope the visit won't last too long." He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear and cupped my cheek, offering me a small modicum of reassurance. "Now come, we'd best get a move on before our parents decide to come looking for us."
We could both do without the lecture that would come with such, after all. Hand in hand, my darling and I made our way out to the car, where Mahmood and Tanya were already waiting for us. As I slid into the back seat, I noticed that Tanya had the car's visor pulled down and was fixing her lipstick, preening as she attempted to ensure she looked as perfect as she could. She then turned to face me, and I knew that she was inspecting my appearance. Ensuring that not a hair was out of place. Ensuring that the black button up coat I'd selected matched my pinafore. Because of course, we couldn't even go visit a family friend in the hospital without looking our absolute best, now could we?
"Everybody ready to go?" Mahmood asked, in tones that made it clear he was not all that impressed with Tanya's narcissistic beautification. Not even giving us a chance to respond, he put the car into reverse and backed out of the driveway. Then, we were on our way, driving down the winding roads in our journey to the hospital. I looked out the window at all of the buildings and streets that appeared to blur into one as we sped past them, resting my chin in my hand as I absently began to doodle random shapes in the condensation.
My mind was working overtime, filled with thoughts of what I would find upon entering the hospital. What kind of state would Masood be in now? Had the doctor's managed to get him back to some level of coherence once more, or would I get the chance to bear witness to his demise? I had never seen a person die before - at least, not anyone that had not been dispatched by mine own hand - and thus there was a little part of me that was somewhat curious as to what that might be like. Only a little bit, though, for in truth, I felt nothing for Masood, or what state he might or might not have been in.
If I had any sort of compassion for the Kalahari family and the trauma they were all dealing with, it'd been slowly dissolved after they'd left me behind yesterday. It was only for Adia that my limited level of empathy was reserved. Closing my eyes, I pictured her red-rimmed eyes, her tear-stained little face, pleading with me to help her. I felt a surge of shame as I remembered how helpless I had been. What must Adia think of me now, I wondered? Was she grateful that I had taken charge in this dire situation? Or did a part of her resent me for having kept her from going to save her brother? I tried to imagine what I might feel if our situations were reversed. But doing so would be to imagine something happening to my other half, and I just... I couldn't do it. No matter how much Adia might have loved her brother, my feelings for Assef were a billion times stronger.
Noticing my distress, my beloved took my hand in his and squeezed it twice. The only way that we were able to communicate with one another, given our close proximity to Mahmood and Tanya. But this action, small though it had been, was enough to let me know that Assef understood how I felt. That he recognised I would need his support now more than ever. I turned from the window and faced my brother with the loving smile only ever reserved for him.
"Stop there, Mahmood." Tanya pointed up ahead. I looked at what she was gesturing towards, and saw a florist's boutique. "I want to go in and purchase a bouquet for the Kalahari's." No, allow me to rephrase that. 'I want to show off what a kind and generous person I am'. That had always been my mother's way of showing her sympathy for others; to ensure that this reflected her kindness back onto her. All the same, she was adamant as she once more gesticulated for my father to stop the car which he did, though not without a few choice words that we all opted to ignore.
Tanya quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and exited the car, making her way inside the florist's. Minutes later, she emerged, her arms laden down with a giant bouquet of flowers, each of varying types and colours. She walked around to my side of the car and fumbled for a moment with the door before getting it open. "Saria, hold these," she ordered, and thrust the flowers into my lap before I even had the chance to blink. "Good girl. And do make sure not to drop them, okay?" She walked back to the passenger's seat, and once she was buckled in again, we were off.
I looked down at the flowers in my lap, lip curling in disdain. Not because they were in any way ugly to look at, no, quite the opposite actually. These were some of the most expertly picked and organised flowers that I'd ever seen. And that made my ire even worse. Do you think for a damn second that the Kalahari's deserved to be given such a lovely gift after what they'd done? Absolutely not! It should have been the other way around! I should have been the one to be fussed over, to be deferred to and honoured. Me, the girl that they had treated so callously. Who gives one fuck about their dying son, I was the one who had to suffer the most last night!
But despite my frustrations, this was really no big surprise to me. What mattered more to my parents, defending their little girl's honour, or keeping in the good graces of a family that they wanted to acquire future business ties with? Three guesses on that one, and the first two don't count. So predictable, aren't you? I thought, glaring at the backs of my parent's heads, as the large, imposing building of Wazir-Akbhar-Khan National hospital came into view. After an hour's drive, we were finally here. For better or for worse.
Mahmood drove into the guest's parking area and stopped the car. I hesitated, not knowing whether Tanya wanted me to carry the flowers inside or not. Fortunately, however, she quickly opened my door once again and retrieved the bouquet from out of my arms. Whatever the point was of having me hold onto them in the first place, I had no clue. But I was relieved to be free of the damn things. I left the car and went to stand with my brother, who wrapped his arm around my shoulder and leaned down to kiss my temple.
"Best behaviour from the two of you," Mahmood commanded. "Not a toe out of line, no running or mucking about in the halls, none of it. Do I make myself clear?" Ah yes, because my sixteen-year-old brother and I, at twelve, were known for gallivanting through hospital corridors, weren't we? Yet we both responded in the affirmative and with that, the Ahmed family were making our way through the large, sliding glass doors and into the hospital entrance.
Tanya, Assef and I followed Mahmood as he strode over to the receptionist. She was a tall and slender young woman of about twenty or so, with dark hair and a face caked in makeup. Obviously someone who cared about her appearance. She had been reading some magazine when we entered, but was quick to put it away as my father neared the desk behind which she was seated. "Yes, can I help you?" the woman asked in a tone that was almost... flirtatious.
"Uhm..." said Mahmood, in a rather out-of-character fashion. He scratched the back of his head. "Yes, uhm... we're here to see Masood Kalahari. He's supposedly staying at this hospital. We're family friends. So if you could tell us what room he's in that would be, uhm, well it would be very appreciated." He smiled at the woman, and I found myself turning away in disgust. Was now really the time for flirting, and when his own wife was stood right beside him? Not that I cared for Tanya's feelings one jot, but it was the principle of the thing, was it not?
The elevator doors opened and two young doctors emerged. They were in discussion about something. Normally, I wouldn't have not been all that interested, but as I caught the tail end of that conversation, I immediately perked up. "I'll need you to check up on young Mojdeh in room 207."
Mojdeh? The girl that I had beaten all those weeks ago? She was here? She was still in this hospital? Now I was utterly intrigued, craving to know more. What kind of state was she in? Had she woken from the coma that my dearest and I had knocked her into? I strained to hear more of what the doctors were saying, but before either of them could get another word out, the receptionist gave Mahmood the room number for Masood, and he was striding towards the elevator, beckoning the rest of us to follow.
With my shoulders slumped in dejection, I trudged along behind my parents and brother. The four of us stepped into the elevator and Mahmood hit the button, sending us moving upwards. First, second, and then the third floor. There was a loud "ping" as the elevator slowed to a stop, and the doors opened. We all exited, with Tanya taking an extra few moments to adjust the flowers in her arms. And then, with that, we began to walk down the corridor until we reached Room 310.
"Remember your manners," Tanya warned my brother and I, with a stern finger pointed in both of our faces. She didn't even give us a chance to respond, gesturing for Mahmood to knock and open the door, which he did. We entered the room, where all four of the Kalahari's waited for us.
Masood was sitting up in bed, the covers pulled up to his waist. He was hooked up to an IV drip, machines beeping in the corner. Surprisingly, he appeared to be in much better spirits than he had been last night. The life had returned to his eyes, and while he still looked somewhat poorly, the hospital staff had obviously managed to fix whatever had gone wrong with him. This, I'll admit, caused a bit of disappointment for me, as I had been hoping to see him in much worse condition.
But I didn't have time to wax poetic on this, as Tanya immediately stepped towards Faraya, extending the flowers out to her. "This is for you, Faraya jan," she said, placing a hand upon the other woman's shoulder. "A little piece of beauty to brighten up what I know must be a very tremulous time." Yes, she would know all about the pain of having a child in hospital, now wouldn't she? In the back of my mind, I wondered if anybody had taken it upon themselves to buy flowers for my family after the death of Sami. I shook the thought from out of my psyche. I had enough to deal with being here without reflecting on the short life and death of my secret big brother.
Faraya covered her mouth with one hand, the other coming up to fan at her eyes which were shimmering with tears. She took the flowers from out of Tanya's arms and brought them up to her nose, breathing in their sweet scent. "Thank you," she whispered, "thank you so much for this. You don't know what it means to all of us to know that you've taken the time to come and visit. And these flowers, so beautiful, you really didn't have to do this!" Javid came to stand beside his wife, drawing an arm around her shoulder and kissing her head. It seemed the problems they were facing would ultimately bring their marriage closer together, which was more than I could say for my own parents.
"It really is no trouble at all," Tanya replied. "We want you all to know that we're here for you, whatever you need. Anything, you need only call on us." What a change from the harsh tone she had used when chastising Faraya for leaving me behind. I should have known that wouldn't last. Tanya obviously didn't have it in her to be a decent mother for very long, did she?
I watched from the doorway as Faraya set the flowers down on a cabinet next to Masood's bed. She took this moment to whisper something to her son, who nodded and grinned. I wondered what they might have been talking about, but obviously, it was not my place to ask. All I could do was just hope that this visit would be over and done with quickly so we could get the heck out of this place. Then, Faraya turned her attention to me, and things escalated from 'slightly awkward' to 'very fucking awkward indeed'.
She strode across the room, dropped to her knees, and pulled me into an embrace before I had a chance to register. A squeak of bewilderment escaped my lips as I froze, unable to do or say anything. Faraya pulled back, with tears welling in her dark eyes once more. How many tears had she cried, I wondered, and were these reserved solely for me as they all should have been? She kept a firm grip on my upper arms, preventing me from going anywhere.
"Saria," she breathed, in a rather wispy manner. "Sweetheart... Javid and I... we can't begin to tell you how sorry we are for what happened last night. That was absolutely not how we wanted your first sleepover with Adia to go. And we promise, nothing like this will ever, ever happen again." So you say, I thought. Faraya embraced me again, then squeezed my hands. "You were such a brave little girl, dear, taking care of Adia the way that you did. Javid and I are so very grateful that our daughter has such a wonderful, caring friend."
I felt a hand digging into my shoulder, and glanced up to see Tanya directly behind me. Her eyes boring into mine. "Please, Khala Faraya, Kaka Javid, there is no apology necessary," I lied. "I'm only happy to see that Masood has recovered. And that I was able to be there for Adia when she needed me most. She is my dearest friend, after all." I offered a charming smile in Adia's direction. She turned from where she was seated next to her brother and looked at me with tear-stained eyes.
An expression of overwhelming love and gratitude appeared on her countenance, worshipful adoration that I knew was directed entirely towards me. "Thank you for everything, Saria," she gushed, placing her hands under her chin. "You're my best friend in the whole wide world!" This caused the adults in the room to coo over how precious and adorable we both were. If only they knew of how close I'd come to knocking Adia's teeth in yesterday after she'd scratched me.
Javid clapped his hands together. "Well, now that we've got that out of the way, please, take a seat, all of you." He pointed to several chairs positioned throughout the room. I wondered if they'd had them brought in specifically for us. Or had they be in there already? Whatever the case, we all moved to sit down. Mahmood and Tanya on one side of the room, Assef and I on the other. I took off my coat and placed it over the back of my chair, which I then moved as near to my soulmate's as it would possibly go, so close in fact that I was almost in his lap. He reached over to take my hand in his, kissing my fingertips as he did so. I leaned my cheek down on the back of his palm and basked in the glory of this moment between us.
From the corner of my eye, I watched as Tanya's motherly affections zoned like a honing beacon in on Masood. "And how are you feeling, Masood jan?" she asked. "We were all so terribly sad to hear about how poorly you've been lately. But I'm glad to see that you're looking a little better, dear."
Masood sniffed, wiped a line of drool from off of his chin. "Thank you, Khala Tanya," he said, in a sluggish manner. "I... I am feeling... better. I hope I can... that I can go home in a few days..."
I doubt that's going to happen, I thought, scrutinising the boy. He looks like he's about to collapse at any minute. Like it's taking all of the strength he has within to just sit up and converse with us. Yes, they might have been able to heal him from whatever went wrong last night, but even they're not able to perform miracles and save him from the slow and agonising death that waits for him at the end of this journey, no matter how long it takes.
How much time had Masood spent within these hospital walls? How often had he been taken from the comfort of his own home, poked and prodded by doctors and nurses, injected with foreign medicines and hooked up to machines? Was he a regular here, someone that was to be expected to arrive sooner rather than later? And what did he feel, every time he ended up in here? Did it terrify him, every time he got wheeled through those front doors? Was he to believe that every night he stayed here might be the one from which he would never return home?
Part of me wanted to ask him those questions. To pick his brain apart and get his feelings on the matter of his upcoming death. But I knew I wouldn't be able to do so without causing great offence, and I needed to protect myself from the trouble that doing so would get me into. So instead, I just sidled ever closer to my beloved Assef, soaking up his love and devotion for me as I zoned out from the conversation that was taking place between the adults in the room. In the back of my mind, approaching ever closer to the forefront, was something of far greater importance than that of the sickly young boy for whom we were all here to visit.
That was, obviously, the girl in room 207. Mojdeh. My latest victim, indeed, my luckiest victim if one compared her to Zainab - for she at least got to keep her life, though what state she was in now remained a mystery. Closing my eyes, I thought of how, just two floors below me now, lay someone that had been put into this hospital because of me. What would she think, I ask you, if she knew that I was here? Would she remember me, remember what I had done? Or had the beating that I'd imparted upon her been so severe that she'd been rendered unable to recall just who had put her in that situation in the first place?
As time went on, I found it increasingly harder to sit here and play the role of obedient, sweet little Saria. All I could think of was Mojdeh, as if she had entirely taken over my life and was dictating my every thought. I began to dig my heels into the ground, scraping the floor with my shoe, wishing more than anything that I had the power to see into Mojdeh's room, to see what was going on with her. What if she did remember who we were, and what if she blabbed the secret of her attack to the doctors? Dear God, what if my brother and I had walked into a trap just by being here? What then?
I felt a hand on my knee, and looked over to see my darling staring at me with an expression of concern. He leaned over, whispering in my ear. "I'll get us out of here, yeah?" he said, in German, inaudible to anyone but me. Oh, how I loved that he was able to gauge what I needed, without me even having to breathe a word to him. Just another way that my brother was utterly and truly amazing. I nodded, and Assef patted my knee, before turning away from me and rising to his feet.
He addressed the adults in the room, all of whom had turned their heads towards him the moment he stood up. "I've been thinking," he said, in a voice dripping with honeyed sweetness, one that he used whenever he wanted to charm grown-ups into doing or giving him what he wanted. "There's a canteen a few floors down, isn't there?" Not waiting for a response, he continued. "Well... I think we could all do with some snacks or maybe just a few cups of tea or coffee. So why don't I take everyone's order, and then Saria and I can make our way down to fetch what you all would like?"
I chewed on the inside of my lip, praying, wishing, hoping that my parents and the Kalaharis would concede to what my brother had suggested. That they were hungry enough to agree that it was a good idea for him and I to go down to the canteen. And, of course, that they would deem it acceptable for us to go down there on our own. The plan would be shot to shit if one of the adults chose to travel down there with us, now wouldn't it? Crossing my legs one over the other, I looked at my parent's faces, wishing to know what they were thinking. But it was Javid who spoke up next.
"Well... I mean, I can't deny that I wouldn't enjoy a slice of cake and a hot coffee," he said, patting his stomach as he did so. "And I know that little Adia here would love one of her favorite strawberry doughnuts, wouldn't you?" He sent a teasing wink to his daughter, who giggled and nodded so rapidly it was like her head was on a spring. "But... are you sure, Assef jan? I mean... I know there can sometimes be quite a bit of a wait to be served down in that canteen. Would you and Saria be okay with that?"
"Oh, our children know how to be patient, Javid," Mahmood responded, brushing a wild strand of hair from out of his face. Yes, we did, didn't we? The fact that we'd been scolded or beaten for expressing any form of impatience in our youth was a great way of ensuring that. If it weren't for the fact that I needed to keep my parents on side right now, I might have shown a modicum of disdain for my father in that moment. But instead, all I could do was quietly nod in agreement, slowly getting to my feet and moving to my soulmate as he began backing towards the door. "You know what, Assef jan?" Mahmood continued. "That does sound like a good idea. You have the money to pay for this, I'm sure?" At this, he sent my brother a look that said 'because I hope you've not made this suggestion and then expect me to pay for it?'
Assef placed a hand into the pocket of his coat, in which he always held some cash. He felt around in there for a moment, confirming that yes, indeed, the money was still there. Once he was certain that he had enough to pay for everything, he nodded. "Yep, plenty. Now, what can I get for everyone?" Upon saying so, he waited for everyone to give him their orders, which Tanya took it upon herself to scribble down on a notepad that she had within a pocket of her handbag. She ripped the paper from out of the notebook and folded it over, handing it to my brother.
He shoved the paper into his coat pocket, alongside the cash with which he would be paying for the food. "We won't be too long," he said, resting a hand on my lower back as he did so. "Now, come on, Saria. Let's get going." He needn't have told me twice. I wanted nothing more than to get out of there, and fast, before they changed their minds and demanded us to stay where we were. Taking my beloved's hand, I allowed him to lead me out the door and into the halls. We began to walk down the corridor, which was mercifully empty of anyone else but the two of us. Once we had gotten far enough away from Masood's room that we would not be overheard by anyone in there, Assef turned to me.
"Okay, Sar," he said in German, "where are we actually going?" The look on my face must have displayed my confusion, for he laughed and drew an arm around my shoulders, pulling me in for an embrace as he kissed the side of my head. "Oh, I know you, Liebchen. I know your pretty, cunning mind as well as I know my own. And I know that it's not snacks for which you wanted to leave that room, now is it? You've got a plan in that head of yours, and I think it's only fair that you tell me what it is."
I couldn't help the mischievous grin that spread across my lips as I let my brother in on the plan that was beginning to formulate within my head. "Mojdeh is here," I told him. His bright blue eyes lit up as I said this, and he mouthed the words 'the girl we-'. I nodded. "Yeah, that same little bitch that we left in the dirt on our last Just Because. I overheard some of the doctors talking about it when we were waiting down at reception. I haven't been able to stop thinking about her ever since. So I've been thinking... given that we're here already... why don't we make our way down to Room 207 and pay our friend a visit?"
Assef quirked a brow, and I could see the gears beginning to turn in his mind. "Is that so, Liebchen?" he asked, looking towards the elevator. He tapped a finger against his chin. "I'll admit, Mojdeh has crossed my mind every now and then, as I'm certain she has done yours. And I agree, it would be remiss of us to be in this hospital and not stop by to say hello to her. Especially given that we're the reason she's here in the first place. What would be the harm in popping in for a quick visit? Just to make sure that we're all three on the same page when it comes to, you know, her running her big mouth about what happened. So come now, let's get a move on. I think the queue in the canteen is going to be a bit longer than anticipated."
Oh, how I wanted to throw my arms around my soulmate and sing his praises to the very heavens. To thank him profusely for understanding what I wanted, and for being on my side. Assef understood just what I needed, without me even having to breathe a single word. He had known from the beginning that I'd had a darker intent for leaving the room than I was able to state, and thus, he had done what was necessary to ensure my cruel side was able to come out and play. This, right here, was just one of the reasons that he was the best friend I ever had, and the person that I loved more than anything or anyone in the entire world. We just got each other, in a way that nobody else ever had or ever would.
"I knew you'd be on my side, Assef jan," I told him, interlocking our fingers together. "I just hope that we can get there without any pesky hospital staff stopping us to ask what we're doing."
"If they do, then we all need to say is that we've taken a wrong turn," Assef reassured me, before turning me gently to face the elevator, which stood at the end of the hallway, just waiting for the two of us to enter. Not wanting to delay a second further, we briskly walked down the corridor, and my brother pressed the button that would tell the elevator that someone on floor three needed its services. For what felt like an eternity we stood there, waiting, waiting, waiting. Then came the unmistakable 'ding' that told us the elevator had arrived on our floor, a noise only drowned out by my darling's voice as he spoke again.
His words remained in German - this would be the only language that we spoke on this endeavour, for more than obvious reasons, I should hope! "I'm anticipating there's not going to be anyone else with us," he told me, as the doors began to slowly open, "but if there is, then I'll just hit the button for the ground floor, where the cafeteria is, and we can circle back around afterwards. Okay?" I nodded, knowing that this would be our best option if we happened to discover we were not alone on the elevator. But as the doors became fully ajar, I was relieved to see that nobody else had chosen to move up to the third floor.
I let out an audible sigh of relief, practically dragging my brother into the metal box, not wanting to waste another second. Assef chuckled at my enthusiasm, playfully poking my nose with one finger. "Well, now, isn't Mojdeh very lucky that you're so excited to go and see her, Liebchen?" he teased. His fingers hovered over the buttons, a look of confusion passing briefly over his face. "Uhm... you said she's on the second floor, right?"
"Yes, second floor. Room 207 to be exact." Assef gave his thanks to me for delivering this information, then pressed the button for the second floor. And then we were moving, my stomach lurching, little acrobats doing tiny flips inside my body. Was it from the motion of the elevator or from the apprehension of what I might find upon entering Mojdeh's room? Even to this day, I am not entirely sure of the answer. Regardless, I moved closer to my soulmate and waited for us to arrive at our destination. Which didn't take long, though to my impatient mind, each second was more like an hour, with more and more 'what if' scenarios running through my brain, the most ludicrous of those being the idea that the elevator might decide now would be a good time to malfunction, leaving Assef and I trapped within.
But luckily, that didn't happen and we made it to the second floor without incident. I let go of Assef's hand and began hurrying down the corridor. Looking at all of the closed doors. 201, 202, 203... We turned a corner onto which I hoped room 207 was located. 204... 205... 206... yes, there it was! Room 207, the room in which young Mojdeh lay, unaware that she was about to get the biggest surprise of her life. I strode forward, ready to fling open the door and pounce upon the unsuspecting little girl, to hear her sob in terror as she had done all that time ago. Yet before I could make it even two steps down the hall, Assef flung out an arm to intercept my path, catching me in the chest and moving me back.
Placing a finger to his lips, he continued to guide me away from where we'd been intending to go. "What...?" I began to ask, but Assef just shook his head and pointed to the room at the end of the corridor, the door to which had opened when I wasn't paying attention. A man and woman stepped out into the corridor, the woman silently closing the door behind her. They were both dressed in jeans and long-sleeved shirts and the woman had her dark hair tied back in a plait, but there was nothing on either of their persons to determine if they had a position on the medical staff. Though from the pained look upon their faces, it didn't take a genius to deduce who these people were.
Mojdeh's parents! I thought, oh fuck! Damn it, Saria, you almost walked right into them! How the fuck would you have gotten out of this one, hmm? You're damn lucky that Assef's here and was able to spot that, otherwise things might have gone to absolute shit! I chastised myself as Assef took charge of the situation at hand and lead me down another corridor, moving to where the emergency exit was located. "Come on," he muttered, looking out to where Mojdeh's mother and father were making their way back to the elevator. I glanced up at him, but he wasn't speaking to me. "Go the fuck away, you pieces of shit, so that we can visit your little cunt of a daughter in peace."
"My sentiments exactly!" I echoed, punctuated with a nervous little giggle. My darling and I remained just out of sight, though Assef had selected a hiding place that gave him a vantage point where he was able to see when Mojdeh's parents finally ventured towards the elevator. We waited until they had gotten on and were now absolutely certain not to return, before hurrying back to room 207. Hesitating outside the door, I eyed up the handle, my tiny fingers reaching for it, but staying in midair, as though my brain might have been telling me to just turn the handle and walk inside, but my body was unable to perform said actions.
Why are you being such a coward, Saria? I chastised myself. Are you really afraid of Mojdeh, of all fucking people? Come on now, she's the one who ought to be quaking in fear of YOU! Not the other way around! Did you come here just to freeze up like some pathetic recreant? Just open the fucking door, come on! Open the FUCKING door!
Before my courage was able to leave me, I grabbed onto the door handle. A sharp stinging sensation made its way through my fingertips as I did so, almost like an electric shock. I flinched, but battled through the urge to remove my hand again as I pushed the door open. Slowly, ever so slowly, it came ajar, permitting my dearest and I the ability to walk into the room. Assef quietly closed the door behind him once again, before the two of us focused our attention upon the injured girl laying in the bed.
She had woken from the coma that we'd placed her into, but there was a long, long way for her to go before she was fully healed. Several yellowing bruises had formed upon her face and neck. Her forehead appeared to be dripping in sweat, strands of matted hair sticking to it. Both of her wrists were wrapped in plaster-cast - the sight of them made me remember how Assef had trodden on her until they broke on the day that we'd attacked her. My lips curled upwards in a malicious grin; oh, how great it was to see this representation of the pain and misery that I could cause to an enemy of mine. It almost made me feel as great as I had when I'd stood watch over Zainab's lifeless, bloodied corpse.
Mojdeh's eyes were half-closed, a thin sliver of light being all that she could see at this moment. But the instant the door clicked shut behind Assef and I, she began to slowly rouse from whatever little slumber she'd been in. She let out a tiny little whine, rolling her head from left to right as she tried to come to her senses. My brother and I just stood in the doorway, waiting for her to notice us. To finally realise that she was not alone, that guests had come to visit her.
Eventually, her eyes blinked away the sleep and adjusted to the light. It was then that she noticed my brother and I. Her eyes widened to the size of two large saucers, a terrified whimper escaping her lips. "Y-Y-Y..." she stuttered, closing her eyes up tight for a few seconds, before opening them again. "Y-Y-You..." She closed and opened her eyes again and again, becoming more and more dejected as she did so. Perhaps she was hoping that if she closed her eyes often enough, she would be able to make us disappear. Well, there was a fat damn chance of that happening.
"Hello, Mojdeh jan," I said, my tone so friendly that one might have believed she and I to have been bosom buddies. Mojdeh turned her head to face the wall, away from where my darling and I were standing. I began to walk towards her, placing one foot methodically in front of the other, no noise but the clicking of my shoes against the linoleum floor. Mojdeh's mouth parted, a gasp escaping from her lips as she looked back and forth from myself to Assef, no doubt wanting to cry out for help, for someone to swoop in like a knight in shining armour and rescue her from the fire-breathing dragons that were now threatening her.
Before she could say a word, though, Assef raised a finger to his lip and narrowed his eyes at her, causing her to fall silent out of complete and utter terror. "We won't be long, Mojdeh," he said, "we've only just come to have a nice, quick little chat with you. We're not going to hurt you, are we, Saria?" I shook my head, and Assef grinned at Mojdeh, before continuing to speak. "See? You have nothing to fear from us, provided that you behave yourself and keep your mouth shut. I mean... you can try to scream for help if you'd like to... but if that happens, I promise you, you won't be alive to see who comes to your defence."
Whether or not there was any truth to his words, I did not know, and nor did Mojdeh. Would we really have been able to kill her if she cried out for help? Maybe - I looked quizzically at the pillow under her head, wondering if I'd be able to smother her if necessary. But whatever the case, the seriousness in my brother's tone obviously convinced Mojdeh to keep quiet, for by the time I reached her bedside, she had pulled the covers up over her head and was silently whimpering, as if hoping that I might have some pity upon her. But I would not be moved.
I reached out and gripped the duvet that covered Mojdeh's head, pulling it off of her so that her head was once more exposed and she couldn't look away from us. My eyes darted to the monitor that was taking note of Mojdeh's heartbeat. It appeared to have spiked upon our entrance to the room and was beeping incessantly. Alas, it just wouldn't do for the monitor to alert someone to the issue and cause a nurse or doctor to rush in. I had to take it upon myself to ensure this did not happen.
Lifting Mojdeh's hand up, I removed the monitor from off of her finger, and quickly clipped it onto my own. The machine then began to read my steady heartbeat, returned to a far calmer level than that of the quivering wretch before me. "There we go," I cooed, stroking her hair with my other hand, brushing the sweat-covered strands away from her forehead. "Isn't that so much better, hmm? Now we can talk without any silly little interruptions."
Another low whine escaped from Mojdeh's mouth. She blinked up at me with tear-stained eyes, lashes almost glued together. "What..." she stuttered. "What... what..." I continued to stroke her hair, the same way that one might do for a loyal dog or any other type of pet. "Oh God... what... what do you want from me? What do you want?"
"Well, Mojdeh," Assef said, moving ever closer to the girl, though keeping a bit of distance from her at the same time. "Saria and I were here visiting a friend of ours, and my sister happened to overhear that you were staying in this very same hospital. Hence, we decided to drop by and check up on how you were doing. Give you a bit of company, see how you were feeling after your... shall we say... accident." A surge of white-hot anger flashed in Mojdeh's eyes as he said this, and I knew that she wanted to lash out at him for that, for being so dismissive of what we both had done to her. But rage was overshadowed by terror and she just continued to whimper and cower from us both. Assef grinned. "You seem to be healing quite well, am I correct in saying that?"
No answer. I tapped Mojdeh on the cheek - not too hard, but enough for her to flinch. "Answer him, please," I ordered, like a parent disciplining their unruly child.
"Yes..." she gulped, "y-yes.. I am healing... I'm getting better. But... but it still hurts a lot." Was she trying to elicit some pity from us with those words? Trying to make us feel remorse or guilt for having done this to her? The very idea made both Assef and I laugh aloud, and I turned to my other half with a sadistic mirth glistening in my eyes and reflected back in his own. Mojdeh flinched, her whimpers mingling with the sounds of our laughter. Such a pathetic little bitch, I thought, jeering down at her.
I moved my hand away from her face and down to her wrists. I began to tap one of her casts, a slow, repetitive rhythm, over and over. "This must have really hurt," I mused, turning her wrist over in my hand, noticing how her eyes watered even more when I did so. Turning to my brother, I mockingly waved Mojdeh's casted arm at him. "You remember doing this to her, Assef jan? Stomping on her wrists? Remember how they felt when they cracked? How it sounded?"
"I do, Liebchen." Assef beamed in my direction, and took another step closer to Mojdeh, causing the worthless bitch to sob. Was she afraid that he might hurt her again? Afraid that the two of us had come to 'finish the job', and that she would not be alive when we left the room? I stroked her hair again, hushing her. Assef lifted her other wrist, held it for about ten seconds or so, then let it drop once more. It hit the side of the bed with a dull thud, and Mojdeh whined in pain. "But I think that Mojdeh here will remember for far longer than us," he quipped.
"Speaking of re-mem-ber-ing," I sing-songed, looking pointedly down at Mojdeh, my face cold and expressionless. "Have the police spoken to you about, you know, about the events that transpired between the three of us?" There. Now the cat was out of the bag. This was it. The real reason for me being here. The reason that I wanted to put the fear of God into this little girl. I had to know whether or not she had breathed a word to anyone, police or parents or anybody in between, about who had done this to her. Though I was almost confident in knowing that she would be too afraid to do so, there was still a minuscule bit of me that feared what might happen if she had said something.
But if she had, I reminded myself, then there would have been an investigation into it, you know that. The police would have been in contact by now, would have... would have taken you and Assef into custody long before this. She's kept quiet - you're in the clear. Now all you need to do is ensure that it stays that way. Which shouldn't be an issue - the girl is absolutely terrified of you, as well she should be. Just remind her of the fate that shall befall her should she fail to keep that bruised little mouth of hers shut. If she fails to show you the respect and reverence that you are owed.
Mojdeh nodded. "Uh-huh. They asked me... wh-when I woke up... who had d-d-done this to me... and I told them... I told them that I d-didn't remember..." She sniffed, her eyes never leaving my face as she said those words. I kept a neutral expression, not wanting her to read a single emotion that I was feeling. "I... I'm not g-gonna tell, I promise... Not a single word, not to anyone... I won't... I won't... I swear... I swear..." She said that last word as a drawn out, frightened moan and buried her face in her pillow. I breathed a sigh of relief, grinning across the bed at my soulmate. We were in the clear! We were safe!
But I spoke too soon, way too fucking soon. Just as I had placed my fingers underneath Mojdeh's chin, turning her none-too-gently to look me directly in the eye, ready to impart my warning to her of what would happen if she ever went back on her word, I heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps approaching. Getting louder and louder as they came ever closer down the hallway. Please, I begged internally, please go away. Please be going to another room, or... or turn around and leave... anything, just go! But my prayers went unanswered as the footsteps continued to grow louder and louder, and with a sinking feeling in my gut, I realised that they were heading straight for this very room.
There was no time to beat around the bush. No moment for wringing my hands in a panic or throwing myself to the edges of despair. I needed to figure out a plan, and I needed to figure one out now. Scanning the room, I noticed that the door to the bathroom was on the same side of the room where Assef was sitting. I pointed a shakily finger towards it, giving him a look. "Go hide in there," I ordered him in German. He stood, and extended his hand for me, but I shook my head. The footsteps were gaining on us, and I knew that I would have no time to get around the bed and into the bathroom with him. "I'll be fine and better for knowing you're safe, so please, just go!" The words expelled from my mouth all at once, garbled and hard to comprehend. But Assef must have seen something in my eyes that made him understand me regardless, for he quickly turned on his heel, speed-walked to the bathroom door, opened it and slipped inside, disappearing from view.
Once I was sure he was okay, I hurriedly removed the finger monitor and placed it back into Mojdeh's hand - once more causing a spike in the beeping. She stared at me, chewing on the inside of her lip, her eyes darting back and forth between me and the door. I pulled up the sleeve of my shirt and gently wiped the tears from off of her face. "Calm down," I hissed, "calm down, and listen to me. Hear me well." When I was sure she'd gotten her emotions under control, I continued. "Do not, under any circumstances, breathe a word about the fact that you are not alone in this room. Do not behave in a way that may rouse suspicion." She nodded rapidly, like her head was on a spring. I brushed the hair from off of her forehead and smoothed the bedspread down, then leapt to my feet.
As if in slow motion, the door handle began to turn. There wasn't a nanosecond to spare, for if I waited any longer, I'd be caught. I knew I wouldn't be able to run to hide with my brother, and thus, I opted for the only hiding place left to me - under the bed. It wasn't the hiding place I would have chosen if I'd had any other option, but since I didn't, I knew that I would have to make the best of what I had. Placing a finger to my lips in warning to Mojdeh, I dropped to my knees, lifted up the sheets, and crawled underneath, before dropping the covers down again to hide myself. Just as I did, the doors opened, and I heard a female voice addressing Mojdeh.
"Good afternoon, dear," she said, in a voice that was far too chipper for someone who worked in a hospital. Even though I wasn't able to see her, my mind's eye envisioned a plump, homely sort of woman. Not all that different from Belourine, the woman that owned the cafe my dearest and I sometimes frequented. Yet whatever this nurse might have looked like, and regardless of what a sweet demeanour she might have had, in my eyes, she was still a great risk, not only to me, but to Assef, too. For the longer she stayed within this room, the more time she spent talking to Mojdeh, the higher the possibility that she might discover that she and her patient were not alone.
I rolled onto my back and placed my arms tightly against my sides, my knees drawn up so as to make myself as tiny as possible. My heart was thudding over and over, I could hear it so loud in my chest that part of me feared that it would be audible to the nurse. I dared not make a sound, dared not even breathe. The nurse stepped closer to the bed, making even more small-talk with the girl lying within it. What do you want? What do you want, damn you?! I wanted to scream, to hit and kick and pitch the biggest fit in the world until the nurse became so disturbed by my behaviour that she left the room and never came back. But of course, I could never do that; I had an imagine to maintain, after all, and it wasn't for my own sake that I was hiding, now was it?
Mojdeh answered the nurse's questions in a shy, barely audible tone. I had to strain to hear what she was saying, not daring even to breathe in fear that I might not be able to gauge the topic of conversation, to determine if Mojdeh was holding up to her promise and keeping her mouth shut about what was going on. Honestly, it wouldn't have taken much for her to put paid to mine and my Assef's entire operation, would it? She would just have to say the words "there's someone under my bed" and the nurse would be duty-bound to check. Imagine her surprise, then, if she found me lying there. How she would reach down, grab me by the ankles, and drag me from under there. The barrage of questions as she demanded to know what I was doing. Being hauled down the corridor and forced back to Masood's room - to explain to my parents what I was up to. My parents coming to the realisation that I was the one who had attacked Mojdeh. The fallout of that, the bloody, violent fallout.
Tears of frustration and terror welled in my eyes, stinging as I refused to wipe them away, just letting them drip down my face. The glory of the moment had faded away, leaving merely the horrors of what might happen if I were discovered. Stupid! I chastised myself, the sobs catching in my throat, painful, as I forced them back down. Stupid, stupid, STUPID Saria! Why did you have to come down here? You didn't think for a damn second that maybe, just maybe, somebody else would be coming in to check on Mojdeh? For crying out loud, you foolish girl, you're in a fucking HOSPITAL! Have you no common sense, or are you just an idiot that acts entirely on impulse? Well, the one good thing about this is that if you are caught here, they'll be focused entirely on you and not think that anybody else is here. And if you are found out, you can state that you are alone - there is no need for Assef to get into trouble for a decision that is entirely your own!
Whilst berating myself, I overheard Mojdeh let out a small whimper. The nurse obviously heard it too, for the next thing I knew, her concerned voice echoed, "what's wrong, dear? Are you hurt?" Oh shit, oh shit, oh SHIT! Damn woman, why did she have to be so observant? Mojdeh left out a few more scared whimpers - clearly she wanted to let the truth out, but was too frightened to do so. Of course, there was no way in hell that I'd permit her to speak of what was actually going on. Not a chance! I lifted my knee, digging it into the underside of the bed, to the point where I knew that she would be able to feel it in her back. I pressed hard, not wanting to hurt her, but wanting the pressure she felt to remind her of what should befall her if she dared to speak out.
"I... I'm fine..." Mojdeh finally said, after what felt like an eternity of waiting. I'm not entirely sure that the nurse believed her, though, for she asked again if the girl was hurt. Mojdeh sniffed audibly. "Yes, really. I... I've just been having awful nightmares lately and I took a nap earlier and... and had one again. That's all." Nightmares... what a childish explanation for the way she was behaving. But all the same, the nurse did seem to buy into Mojdeh's excuse. I listened to more of her explanation. "I... I keep dreaming that I'm bein' chased through a forest and I can't see what's runnin' after me, but I know it's bad and I know it's real fast and I know... I know that I won't be able to outrun it, and... and I always wake up before it can grab me but then the next time I have that nightmare I know it's gonna be even closer and I'm s-scared of wh-what'll happen when it finally does catch up to me..."
The nurse clicked her tongue in that patronising way that adults have when a child is frightened. Damn, how I hated her even more for that. "You poor dear," she cooed. "Nightmares can be so frightening and upsetting, can't they? Especially when you've gone through such an awful ordeal. But you're perfectly safe here, sweetheart, I promise you that. You're in the best hands, and we all want nothing more than for you to heal from everything that you've gone through. Okay? So you push those horrid dreams right out of your mind, you got that? You think only of happy things... like, oh... I don't know... the special party that your parents have promised to throw you when you go home? Think of seeing all your friends again, of all the fun that you'll have. I'm sure that'll take your mind off of those dreams, now won't it?"
Her words must have calmed Mojdeh down quite a bit, or perhaps she was just pretending out of fear of what my brother and I would do if she aroused anymore suspicion. But whatever the case, I was relieved to hear the conversation between her and the busybody nurse finally begin to wind down. This had clearly just been a routine checkup, a call-in to ensure that her young patient was okay. Which... she was. Physically at least. "Now, I must go, dear, but I will be back a little later with your dinner. And I tell you what, how about I bring you some of that yummy apple pie that you like so much? As a special treat, does that sound good?" Mojdeh responded in the affirmative, and with that, the nurse took her leave, slipping out of the room with not another word.
I listened to the door open and shut once more, heard the sound of her footsteps as they faded away down the corridor. Once I was certain that she was gone, and that nobody else would be entering, I dragged myself out from under the bed. As I was doing so, I heard the bathroom door creak open, and my other half step out. I rose to my feet, dusting off the front of my pinafore. Then, I approached Mojdeh, who looked entirely dazed, as if she still couldn't believe that this was happening to her. Well, fortunately for her, I knew that our time together would have to come to an end. I brushed another lock of hair from off of her cheeks and tucked it behind her ear.
"You've done well, keeping our secret," I whispered. "That little story about the nightmares was very convincing. Unless of course... it's not just a story..." My lips curled as I said this, my anxiety trickling away as I revelled in the power of being able to cause such visceral fear to this girl that her subconscious created a monstrous version of me to chase and haunt her even in slumber. "Whatever the case, it certainly worked out in your favour, I must say. Now, we'll leave you to get some rest. But before we go, I need to be sure. Are you going to tell anyone about this? About the fact we were in here? Or about what we did to you?"
She shook her head. "I'm so glad to hear that, I really am. And what about in school? When you return? Are you going to be treating me with more respect? You know this whole mess all started because you've let that Ahtrai lead you astray, really. I mean... if you hadn't bumped into me and laughed about it that day, well then, none of us would be in this room, you know that as well as I do. And you'd best remember it if you want to keep the rest of your bones from breaking, if you catch my drift. So you'll be keeping well clear of me and not laughing or poking fun or joining in with any mean things that your friends are doing, yes?" A nod this time. "And what about Adia? Will you leave her alone, too? She is my best friend, after all, and I'd hate to see her bullied." Another nod. I patted Mojdeh's hand. "Good girl. You get some sleep now, Mojdeh jan, and do try not to have any bad dreams."
With those parting words, I extended my hand out to my brother, who approached, took it, and squeezed my fingers gently. We said not another word to Mojdeh as we slipped from the room, closing the door behind us, as if we had never even been there in the first place. Assef looked down the corridor, determining whether or not it was safe for us to make our way back to the elevator. After determining that it was, he ushered me along the hall. "Well, that was fun, wasn't it, Liebchen?" he asked, grinning at me. "The look in her eyes, how plainly terrified she is of us. Of you, in particular, my brilliant and beautiful little sister." I beamed up at him and he pulled me close, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. "That was one of the best ideas that you've had, Saria, really it was. Made my day. Now, we'd better go down to the cafeteria and get everyone what they ordered."
I nodded. "Would be a bit suspicious if we turned up with nothing, I guess. Not that you should have to spend your money on our asshole parents and those stupid Kalaharis, but-"
Assef chuckled as we reached the elevator, a hand on my lower back. "Nor do I, Liebchen, but it seemed like the best excuse to use to get us both out of that room. Besides, even if I do have to spend some money on them, it'll be worth it to have spent this time with you. That made this day a whole lot better." He hit the button to signal the elevator, and we waited for its doors to open. As we did so, I glanced nervously from left to right, hoping that our luck would not run out and that nobody else would want to use it. Fortunately, it seemed that we were in the clear, for the doors slid open and we were greeted with an empty space for us both to step into.
This time, I was the one to hit the button for the ground floor, as my brother reached across me and hit the one that would shut the doors immediately. They slid closed, and then we were moving downwards. As we did so, a frightening thought came unbidden from deep within my psyche. I relayed this fear to my brother, sidling closer to him as I did so, hoping that he might offer me some protection from the terrors of my own mind. "Assef?" He looked down at me, and I continued in a rapid, fast-paced tone. "I... I'm... We've been gone for quite a while, and... and I'm worried cause... cause what if our parents or one of the Kalaharis got concerned about us not coming back or annoyed that we've not brought them their food and they decide to come down to the cafeteria to find us and then they see we're not there so they know that we're lying and then-"
And then we'll get the third degree about where we were and it doesn't matter what excuse we give to them, neither Mahmood nor Tanya will be happy about the fact that we lied to them. If we're lucky, the worst thing that'll happen to us is a lecture, but given how much we've already been warned to be on our best behaviour, I highly doubt that this'll be the case. What if we step out of the elevator and see our parents waiting for us? What excuse can we come up with? What lies can we tell? Is there any lie that could save us? What if...
My other half's reassuring words cut into my panicked thoughts. "That won't be happening, Saria. I understand your fears, little sister, but I can say with certainty that nobody has been sent down to look for us. Doing so would imply that either of our parents gave a shit, and we both know that the less said about that, the better. And you know that Tanya would find it embarrassing to suggest anyone go looking for her children, implying that we're unable to complete such a simple task as this one. Besides, Javid even said that there's often a queue here. So don't worry, alright? Everything is going to be fine, you can trust me on that."
I wanted to trust him, oh, how badly did I yearn for it. Wanted his words to settle the terror that I felt, to believe with every inch of me that he was telling the truth. That all would be well. But I just couldn't silence the little voice in my head that told me there was no way my brother could truly know what would await us as the elevator doors slid open. Couldn't stop myself from asking, over and over, 'what if he's wrong?' The mere idea of the whipping that we would receive made me want to throw up. No. Not we. The whipping that I would receive. I had been the one who wanted to go visit Mojdeh, and I would be the one to suffer any consequences that came from that decision. Of that I was more certain than anything else in my life.
But as we reached our destination and stepped out onto the ground floor, I quickly scanned the area near where the cafeteria was, and breathed a deep sight of relief. Not a parent in sight. We were in the clear. Unless... they had already gone down here earlier, realised we weren't there and had now convened back up in Masood's room to figure out what to do with us... But that was too far fetched an idea, even for me to entertain, and so I decided not to breathe another word about these fears to my darling as he escorted me across the hallway and over to the cafeteria queue - which was just as long as Javid said it might be.
Assef reached into his coat pocket, removing from it the scrap of paper on which Tanya had written down everybody's snack order. He unfolded it and held it out in front of him, reading what she had transcribed upon it. As always, Tanya had taken great pains to ensure her handwriting was as neat and perfect as always - dotting her 'i's' and crossing her 't's'. We made our way to the back of the queue, which moved along at a snail's pace. Looking ahead, I saw that there was only one person actually working the till - probably a huge part of the reason why everything took so damn long. But eventually we reached the counter and my brother gave the order for what we wanted to the youth working behind it.
She was a tall, dark-haired teen of about seventeen or so, with short hair cropped into a bob. She leaned against the counter-top, drumming her fingernails against it. The look on her face screamed 'I am so bored and I do not want to be here'. Her eyes darted back and forth from my brother to me, before finally settling on him. "What c'n I get'cha?" she asked, around a mouthful of chewing gum.
I could sense the loathing my brother had for this troglodyte as he read from off of the list that Tanya had given to us. The teen continued to drum her nails against the counter-top, to the point where I wanted nothing more than to break every single one of those fingers and shove them down her throat. When my other half had finished speaking, she looked at him with that same bored expression on her face and said, "yeah, I'll get that for ya" in a tone that implied she was doing him some huge favour. She told him the total - almost all of his money, excuse me, and Assef removed the change from out of his pocket and slid it over to her. Once it was in the till, she turned and began to fetch everything that we'd ordered.
Bouncing on my heels, I tried to shake of the anxiety that I was feeling, though I knew it probably wouldn't fully go away until we were safely back in the room. The barista, who was at this point laying out a tray with all of the items that my brother had ordered, stopped what she was doing and gesticulated in my direction. "That girl there," she said, "she with you?"
Assef nodded. "Yes." He extended an arm to me, and I settled into his embrace, while he pressed his lips to the top of my head. "My sister."
"Your sister..." the barista mused, placing the strawberry doughnut that Adia had wanted onto the tray. "Thought so. You do look alike." She may not have known this, but she had offered such a beautiful compliment with those words. I was always so touched whenever someone said I resembled my brother - as if our similar physical appearance was a representation of the linked, twin souls that lived within us. But her next words dragged my opinion of her right back down. "Just make sure she doesn't make a mess or break anythin', okay? Cause it's on me if toddlers or little kids mess this place up so..."
I could feel the rage building, boiling. Toddler? TODDLER?! What the FUCK?! The visceral urge to haul her across the counter, smash her head into the ground, and shove a fork into her throat, before leaving her to bleed out. Assef rubbed my shoulder. "Fucking cunt," he said in German, looking directly at the barista as he did so. "Don't worry, Liebchen, we won't have to stay here for too long, she's almost done." Then, to the barista, he said, switching back to Farsi, "my sister is not a toddler, and I can assure you, she's not going to run amok or cause any trouble. Now, can you please get on with fetching what I've paid for?"
He kissed my head again, and I leaned close to him, close enough to burrow into his warmth and love if I'd wanted to. The barista arched an eyebrow at us, then turned to continue her work. As she did so, I heard her mutter "siblings..." in a voice that I wasn't quite sure what to think of. God, how I wanted to be done with her. And after what felt like forever, she had retrieved all the snacks that my brother ordered, as well as the coffees and teas. She slid the tray towards him and he picked it up without a word of thanks, then turned on his heel and walked away, with me following close behind.
We made our way back up to the floor where Masood's room was, my stomach churning in knots as we stood outside the door. "Do you mind, Sar?" Assef asked, gesturing to it. "My hands are kinda full right now." I nodded, and pushed open the door for him, allowing us to step inside. The minute that we entered, I looked at the faces of my parents, trying to gauge whether or not they were irritated with us for having taken so long. But there was nothing that I could read. My beloved soulmate addressed the room, in the most charming voice he had, "Sincerest apologies for the delay; the queue down there was something else, and for some reason they only have one person working there so it took longer than we'd expected. But I hope I've managed to get what everyone wanted."
"We had been wondering where you two'd run off to," said Mahmood, and I froze, although his tone was far more jovial than I'd ever heard from him - for the Kalahari's benefit more than ours, I am sure - "but we figured it was the line that held you up."
Faraya took the tray from my brother's hands and placed it on a cabinet beside Masood's bed; where I noted that they'd placed the flowers into a vase. "Thank you, Assef jan." She and Tanya then started to dispense the snacks and drinks to everyone. As they did so, I sat back into the seat that I'd vacated earlier, placing my chin in my hands. The room became engaged in lively conversation once more, with the adults all talking amongst themselves. Even Masood seemed to be in far brighter spirits than he'd ever been. But I paid them no heed.
We were in the clear, of that I was now entirely certain. Not only for wandering off, but also, more importantly, for the violence that we'd done to Mojdeh. She would keep her side of the bargain, remaining silent about who had hurt her. Of that I was certain; I could feel it in my bones. I looked over at Adia, who was chatting animatedly with her mother and brother. I smiled, knowing for a fact that Mojdeh would be treating us with the respect that we both deserved - that I had performed a selfless act by ensuring that there was one less person who would bother her.
Assef took my hand in his, rubbing his thumb along the back of it. "Everything okay, Liebchen?" he whispered.
Not taking my eyes off of Adia, I leaned towards my darling, as a surge of power flowed through my veins, an electric current of divinity that made me feel like I could take on and conquer not only the world, but the heavens and cosmos above. "Yes," I said, and smiled. "Yes, I think everything's going to be alright..."
Thank you all for reading! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! Please feel free to leave any reviews, comments, or feedback that you may have; I would really appreciate it.
In the next chapter, a typical school morning takes a turn when the police show up to speak to the girls about Zainab's murder. Can Saria charm them into sharing the information they have, or will suspicion fall upon her? Look for that, coming soon!
Thank you again! Have a good day!
