Chapter Twenty

A KNOCK ON HER DOOR distracted Nooriya Adam from her packing. She glanced behind with creased brows to find her brother standing there.

"Yes?" she asked before turning back to her packing.

Munir hesitated at the threshold of his sister's room, his mind contemplative. With a sigh, he stepped into the room and made himself as comfortable as he could on the pillow dominated bed.

Silently, he watched as she dumped clothes after clothes into the Chanel bag on her bed without folding them. Gogo would disapprove of that, he thought but said nothing. Instead he looked around the clustered and unkempt room. Her camera and laptop bags were seated on her vanity table, packed and ready to go.

By her widow was the background she'd set up for most of her indoor shooting. It consisted of a white frilled curtain, fake flowers and fairy lights. A foldable chair leaned next to a tripod and a silver makeup box. Where a ceiling fan ought to be a chandelier made from faux glass dangled. There was a dreamcatcher on her bathroom door and under her wardrobe a variety of footwares that ranged from boot heels to sandals and heels to sneakers lived.

On her dresser, a photo of four girls huddled together with ice cream cones in their little hands caught Munir's attention. Two of them were missing a few tooth and the words The SET Queens was sprawled across the bottom of the wooden aged frame in black marker.

Munir chuckled at the picture of his sister and her friends, her glasses twice the size of her face. He looked up to find more photos of the girls as they grew older.

As Munir dragged his gaze above the mirror where Noor had tapped the pictures, one in particular caught and held his attention. It was a picture of Fatiha in a matriculation gown. She was holding a cake and smiling brightly at the photographer. Her heart shaped face more pronounced in the wine veil she'd wrapped around it.

Munir's eyes took in the ease of her pose and the happiness in her smile. He looked at the picture beside that one and this time it was Noor who was matriculating. One hand held the tilted cap on her head while the other was gripping firmly onto the neck of a wine bottle. By her side, her best friend had an arm around her and the other holding up a small cake.

Again Munir's eyes stayed longer on his sister's best friend. Her smile sent a wave of guilt and regret coursing through him.

Although he had apologized for how he'd treated her in the past, Fatiha hadn't forgiven him. He couldn't blame her. For years he and his friends had taunted her and in the process they'd ruined her self-esteem. Ruined the way she saw herself.

He could still remember her parting words to him the day her engagement had been called off. "I don't need to hear those from you. Do you want to know why? Because after everything, it is hard for me to believe them when they come from you."

Like words that felt like they had been engraved onto his mind with fire, they had hurt then and they still did.

"Do you want it?"

The question startled Munir out of his reverie. He tore his gaze from the photos to look at his sister. "What?"

She jabbed a long and slender black nailed finger towards the direction he'd been looking at. "I said do you want it? The photo." She reiterated.

He looked back at the picture. At the smile he wished was constant and not occasional. At what could have been had he not been blinded by pure arrogance and stupidity.

"No." He shook his head. Moving away from his current seat, he settled himself down at the other end of the bed which was a safe distance away from the photos.

His sister gave a shrug, mouthed "Suit yourself" then went back to her task.

"Are you seriously leaving home?" Munir inquired after a short silence.

Nooriya nodded.

"What do you think he'll say?" Her brother asked discreetly.

A frown graced the girl's tender features. "I'm leaving because of him." She pointed out.

Munir was quiet for a minute before he said, "It's his right, you know?"

Noor scoffed. "Of course I know." She said. "But this is not how he should have gone about it. After everything mommy went through for him. He should have discussed it with -"

"She knows." Her brother said, softly cutting into her argument.

She huffed. "Well, then he should have discussed it with us!"

"It is not our business," Munir tried explaining to his sister, but the hotblooded and strongheaded girl wasn't ready to listen.

"Yes, it is!" She cried exasperatedly. "How is it not when our father wants to marry someone who's the same age as his first child?"

As the first child and a boy, Munir had grown up with little to no rules and regulations unlike his sister who had been taught from a tender age what her role in the family was. Munir had been given the freewill to do whatever he wanted. Maybe it was because he was a boy and his paternal grandmother's favorite, he'd always thought back in the day whenever his sister was strictly reprimanded and he wasn't.

"Girls need more protection, more watch." His paternal grandfather always said although he'd been more lenient with his granddaughter than his wife had. Regardless of what the family uttered, it had never stopped Noor from doing as she pleased.

Having a strict father and an uneducated and old-fashioned grandmother hadn't been easy and it had only spurred Noor's rebellious actions further.

When she had graduated from secondary school, their grandmother had said, "That is enough. No more schooling for the girl. You should start preparing her for marriage. That is her duty as a woman in this family." Her son had disagreed, but of course it was only after he'd had a long argument with his wife.

That was the first time Munir had seen his parent disagree on something. Begrudgingly, their grandmother had agreed.

Then the time for Noor to further her education came. Their father had decided she would study a science course in the state poly, but Noor of course had other plans. She'd saved a lot of money and after writing all the necessary exams had applied to study Mass Communication in Bauchi.

"It is a smart move." Munir remembered having told his panic stricken mother when she'd shared the news with him. She would be close to her maternal side of the family, food and housing wouldn't be a problem. Pretty well planned, he'd thought. Except it had sparked an argument between his parent and unlike the first time when it'd ended on an easy note, this time Munir's mother had gone back to Bauchi with his sister. It was only after the end of Noor's first semester exams that Adam Bashiru granted his wife and daughter permission to return back home.

Munir couldn't blame his sister for going head to head with their father, but he wished she could understand that their current situation was something she couldn't do anything about. Not when their mother had agreed to it already.

Blowing out a breath, he tried again to convince his sister. "He's mature enough to know the responsibilities that come with having an extended family. Besides, we're all grown up so there won't be a Cinderella effect if his new wife is wicked."

"I know Gogo is behind this!" She spat deviously. "I can smell her handiwork all over this."

"Nooriya." Munir chastised. "I know Gogo hasn't always been the nicest person but you should not jump to conclusions. And like I said, it is not our business but theirs."

"Fine. Whatever you say, Favorite Grandchild. Act like you don't care." She sneered, zipping her bag with more force than it actually needed.

Annoyance surged through him, but Munir fanned it out. He shouldn't be angry at her when she was right. What would he know about being treated unjustly when he'd been the one treating people that way? His sister and Fatiha: People who should have been under his protection had been instead tormented by him.

"I know you didn't come here to debate your father's latest decision with me, so... why are you here?" Noor's sharp words brought him back from the depths of his thoughts.

He looked at her as he thought of how to ask what he wanted. He decided a random approach was as good as any to start what he knew was going to be an uncomfortable topic of discussion

"I saw Fatiha today at the mosque," he began nervously, "she escorted her father."

"So?" Noor demanded.

Munir gulped. He knew the conversation wouldn't be easy, not after he'd vexed her. "I just..." He locked his fingers together, unlocked them and repeated the action again before he looked up. "I just wanted to know how she is." He finally said.

"Did she ignore you? Avoid you?" His sister interrogated.

Munir nodded slowly.

"Well, I'm envious of her. She gets to ignore you but I can't." She tsked.

At that Munir recalled what Fatiha had told him about Noor not hating him and he thought that maybe she had been right about that after all. But what about her? Would she ever stop hating him? She said she didn't hate him, but with all that was going on he couldn't be so sure.

"Why are you asking anyway?" Noor crossed her arms together and asked. "It's partially your fault what happened to her."

Munir looked down at his folded hands guiltily. "You're right," he acknowledged. "But we made up," he said and that little bit of information seemed to be news to her.

"You did? With Fatiha?" She looked like she couldn't believe a word he was saying.

"Yes, but now that this has happened I don't know where we stand."

"Did she forgive you?" Noor asked her brother.

He hesitated before answering. "No. Not yet."

She sighed. "I knew it wouldn't be that easy." She murmured as she slumped on the bed next to him. "You should have told me about what happened between the both of you when I asked. Maybe if I'd known I would have been able to do something to stop this from happening."

Munir turned unbelieving eyes on his sister. "Did you really want her to end up with that fool?"

Noor quirked an amused brow at her brother's choice of word. "Not really." She shook her head. "I didn't really like him to be honest, but Fatiha did. And besides shouldn't that be all that mattered?" The romantic in her asked.

Munir had no answer to that so he kept quiet and let his sister continue. "Faisal made her feel special. He gave her the confidence she'd always wanted but at a price. I'm glad he broke off the engagement but I hate to think of what it would do to her."

"Then why are you leaving? Doesn't she need you now more than ever? Shouldn't you be here for her?" Munir queried confused.

"She does," she agreed. "But she needs to get over this on her own. We can only be there to guide her because at the end of the road she chooses her path herself." She gasped and clapped as inspiration struck.

Reaching out she grabbed a notepad and a pen to scribble down her idea. "Maybe my next blog will be based on this. What do you think?" she shared but Munir wasn't listening.

A contemplative frown kissed his forehead as he processed what she'd said. "You're right, but I'm afraid it might be harder than that." He confessed. "You didn't hear what that jerk said to her. It was so awful, I couldn't stand and just listen to him talk her down."

Nooriya dropped her hands to her laps and without thinking about it twice, she said, "You like her, don't you?"

Munir looked at her with wide eyes and for a moment all he did was stare at her dumbfoundedly. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it when nothing came out. This was insane! he thought. He couldn't like Fatiha... not like that at least. But how could he explain the sudden speed his heart had taken? Or his lack of words? Or the fear he was suddenly feeling?

"How could I... Why would I...?" He stammered unable to make coherent sentences.

Cackling, Noor teased, "Hello, speak English, bro. You're flustered and stuttering, what does that say?"

"I don't!" Munir shouted.

Noor snickered.

"Look, I don't like her." He tried again after taking a calming breath. "Not in that sort of way, anyway."

Noor cocked her head, her lips forming a smile. "Then why are you so worried about her?"

It took a while for her brother to produce an answer. "Because I promised I wouldn't hurt her or be the reason she got hurt again."

Noor coughed out a laugh. "You so like her." She mumbled under her breath with a grin. "Well," she began after clearing her throat, her voice higher than before. "Since you're so worried about her, why don't you do something about it? Not because you like her of course, but because you're worried about her." She amended when he gave her a look.

"You know I'm leaving Nigeria soon." He expressed.

"Oh!" Noor feigned sadness. "Oh, that's a shame. I guess it's a good thing she's going to ABJ next week then. Perhaps something good will happen to her there. Or..." She glanced at her brother from her peripheral view. "Someone, mayhaps?"

Munir's jaw clenched and his eyes darted around in indecisiveness.

Noor smirked. Gotta.

***
Asalamu alaykum folks! How are you all doing?!

Nooriya is something I tell you! One time she's leaving them to sort out their issues and the next, she's playing matchmaker?😅😂 Honestly, I can't wait to write her story and for you to read it, but of course hers comes after our lost Basmah's own. May Allah grant me the strength to write their stories.

PS. Who are you favorite sibling squad in this book?
Can't wait to read your comments. Please don't forget to like, share and comment.
Also keep praying for pur brothers and sisters in Gaza. May Allah grant them liberation. Aameen.

Stay safe
Ma salaam 😘