KAMEELA and Jabal were busy laughing in the sitting room,Jabal was gisting her about his days at Saudi Arabia

"You mean the girl shouted at you?"Kameela asked bursting into laughter

"She did Kameela and I was only helping,maybe she thought black men are full of evil, anyways I had clear intention"Jabal said and Kameela nodded

"You do have bad intentions Brother Jabal,why didn't you tell any of us you were coming home?"Kameela asked

"I wanted to surprise all of you"Jabal replied and they suddenly heard a knock in the door followed by salama before their mother entered the sitting room,their mother's eyes landed on Jabal and she became speechless,she stood motionless thinking she is dreaming

"Mother!"Jabal said and his mom covered her mouth with her palm immediately a tear escaping her eyes before she engulf her only son in a big hug

"You didn't tell anyone you were coming back!"his mom said and he chuckled

"I didn't want anyone to get worried,I'm sorry mom"Jabal replied

"I'm so happy,I missed you so much"

"I miss you too"Jabal said hugging her mom again when the door suddenly opened revealing Zafurah

Zafurah was shocked looking at the manly figure in the sitting room,she has to connect the dots before her brain registered it was her elder brother

"Brother Jabal!"she suddenly squealed jumping on her elder brother who took her around before dropping her and engulfing her in a hug

"Ya Allah! I'm missed you so much"Zafurah said and Jabal laughed

"I miss you too,hmm my Zafurah is now a big girl"

"You don't expect a seventeen years old girl to look like the way she was when you left"Kameela said and Jabal nodded

"Where is Hiqmah?"he asked. The door opened revealing a very tired Hiqmah,she threw her bag on the sofa before she noticed her family in the sitting room

"You don't mean it!"she said covering her mouth and Jabal chuckled going closer to his immediate younger sister

"Brother Jabal!"Hiqmah shouted hugging him "what happened? How are you here now? We chatted last night on WhatsApp?"

"I wanted to surprise you all,ain't you happy to see me?"Jabal asked

"Masha Allah I'm more than happy to see you,I'm so glad after three good years"Hiqmah said hugging her elder brother once more

"I should get something for my son to eat"their mother said and Kameela giggles

"Already filled my bro's stomach"Kameela said and her mother frown

"You should have wait for me to cook my son's first meal on his arrival"their mother said and they all bursted into laughter

"Hiqmah you got plump"Jabal commented and Hiqmah frown

"You don't call this plump,you call it thick"Hiqmah said and Zafurah laughed

"Call it thick,plump or another thing it can't change the fact you're fat"Zafurah said running and Hiqmah ran after her and everybody laughed

The door suddenly opened revealing their dad,the sitting room became quiet immediately and Jabal step forward kneeling to greet his dad who in turn smiled brighter than the family could ever muster

"Jabal!"their father called hugging his son,it was obvious the man was happy to see his replica after a long while,Jabal and Kameela look like their dad while Hiqmah and Zafurah look like their mom,Hiqmah took her mother's plump body and average height,Jabal and Kameela took their father's height,though Zafurah look like her mom she also took her dad's height leaving Hiqmah the shortest of the siblings

"I'm sorry dad,I didn't tell any of you I was coming home, I didn't want to get anyone worried"Jabal said

"It's fine son,the most important thing is that you're here with us"Their father said and they all smiled

"I will be heading to the kitchen"their mom said and they nodded

Zafurah went inside her room changing her uniform,she wore a black jeans trouser on a white round neck top joining her mom in the kitchen while Kameela and the rest went to their room to have a refreshing shower,Kameela changed to her pyjamas and Hiqmah to her night gown

They helped their mom to set the dining table and the food prepared was more than usual,they were celebrating the arrival of the first child of the family

The dinner was served with all six members of the family seated at the dining room,they all said their bismillah before they started eating their dinner

"Jabal how was school?"their father decided to break the silence

"It was fine dad,there were the bad days but Alhamdulillah I got what I wanted"Jabal replied and his father nodded

"You were so hell bent on not taking after my company"His father said and he closed his eyes momentarily,he was tired of having this argument over and over again with his dad

"Dad you had always known right from childhood I wanted to be a doctor and now that I'm one you should be happy for me"Jabal said and the air got thick,the family knew this was a sore topic for the father and son and they always end up arguing about what's right and what's not

"Anyways Hiqmah have been a great help in the company"Their dad said changing the topic,he wasn't ready to argue with his son he saw last for the past three years "she have been taking care of the company's major projects"he added and Hiqmah smiled warily

"That's great,how is the company so far?"Jabal asked Hiqmah

"On a good shape"Hiqmah replied and Jabal nodded

"What about you Kameela,you didn't tell me why you were sacked,by dad?"Jabal asked and Kameela swallowed,she wasn't ready to go down on this with her dad

"Sack?! What do you mean by sack? Thinking of it I met Majeed's missed calls,I was so busy to call him back"their dad said and Kameela hands started shaking, sometimes she wondered why she's so afraid of her dad

"He sacked me this morning because I forgot a file at home and a meeting wasn't able to hold up"Kameela said in a very low voice and their father's mood changed immediately,he was so angry at Kameela

"Is that what I sent you there to learn? When will you ever change Kameela?! He had reported you to me several times and I'm getting tired of your negligence for your responsibilities"Her father said angrily. Kameela felt like the ground should just open up and swallow her

Today was supposed to be a day to celebrate the arrival of her elder brother,today was meant for them to laugh but as the child she is she succeeded in destroying the moment again

"Forgive me dad"she said lowering her head. The rest members of the family decided to keep quiet. They know better than interrupting the head of the family when he is angry

"I should forgive you?! Do you hear yourself,do you know how many times I have tolerated your behaviours?"her father said dropping the spoon he's holding making a clattering sound

"Dad!"Kameela said wincing

"You have to take responsibility for what you did"her father said and she nodded. Anything to escape her father's wrath

"I will do anything dad! Anything to prove my worth to you"Kameela said and the table become unendurable silent,every eyes on Kameela. It's obvious the members of her family doesn't believe she can take responsibilities.

"Prove your worth to me?"her father asked and Hiqmah shake her head in dismay. She knew how long it took her to prove to her dad she worth taking care of the company's projects and it's not like their dad is going to make it any easy for them

"Yes dad"Kameela confirmed what she said and Zafurah's mouth hung open. She's not into the family's business yet but she knows her dad very well. He's a strict man and loves everything done perfectly and when defining perfect Kameela doesn't suit that word

"Okay,I will give you one more chance to prove yourself or I will marry you out to one of my friends"Mr AbdulRasheed said and Kameela's eyes went wide. What have she signed herself into. She knows her dad not to make ordinary threat,she almost said ewww feeling disgusted marrying someone as old as her dad.

"What's my punishment?"she asked. It's better to know what you're into before digging your head inside the tunnel.

"There's this new project coming up and it's a very big project. It worth more than millions and loosing such contract is going to be a huge lost to the company"her dad stated and she swallowed "I'm handing the project over to you,let's see how skillful you're"Mr AbdulRasheed ended picking his spoon,he started devouring his food like nothing happened few second ago. Kameela's hands went cold immediately,she look at her sister giving her the pleading eyes

"Dad! I thought you said I'm going to handle the project"Hiqmah choose her word carefully

"I changed my mind,Kameela should resume work tomorrow and no more talking in the dining table,Jabal see me after the dinner"Mr AbdulRasheed said with a tone of finality

The family started eating their dinner again but Kameela lost her appetite,she had never handled a project by herself before and if she fails she's going to marry one of her dad's friends who is as old as him. She shuddered out of disgust,she can't imagine herself in the embrace of an old man. It felt like she's in a boat in the middle of the sea and crocodiles waiting to munch her if she falls over and her boat is already sinking obviously showing there's no way out of her predicament. She regretted all over again.

She should never have gave the work to her sister to handle

*****

Dinner came to an end and she slowly stood up helping Zafurah to pack the plates to the kitchen,she rarely touched her food.

"Kameela"Zafurah called concern lacing her voice

"Yeah"Kameela replied absentmindedly

"What are you going to do?"Zafurah whispered. She's busy shaking for her sister

"I don't know"Kameela replied a tear escaping her eyes

"You should try at least not to fuck this up"Zafurah said

"Just wait let dad hear you using the f word"Kameela replied and Zafurah giggles covering her mouth.

****

After arranging the kitchen Kameela went back to her room sitting on her bed,she hugs her knee thinking about her life. A tear escaped her eyes and she sniffed,she knew she's not good at anything and she's scared of doing the wrong thing. The door to her room opened and Hiqmah came inside sitting beside her in the bed

"How are you feeling?"Hiqmah asked

"I feel like shit"Kameela replied and Hiqmah went over to hug her. She let her hug her

"I know it's not easy but I will try all I can to help you,I already have insight of the project"Hiqmah said and Kameela smiled

"How will I prove myself to dad then? You can just help me to familiarise with the project,I will take the rest from there"

"You sure?"Hiqmah asked looking worried

"I'm sure"Kameela said smiling and they went into a comfortable silence