A SILENT VOICE

★★★★★

An imperious look appeared in his eyes the moment they bored into mine and without a second thought I instantly averted my gaze from his. I have seen that cold look before, the night when I ran into him in the hallway. Why did he always wear that dreadful expression?

My instincts told me that his eyes were still on me as I stared down at my sweaty palms on my lap. Just that moment I realized how much I needed to get away from there, away from him, away from the boss, and away from my embarrassment. I just wanted to escape from them before we had another inauspicious encounter.

Thankfully, my interview was over. I heard the boss talking to me but I wasn't paying much attention to his words. It was easier to look him in the eye when I didn't know who he was. Kulthum told me beforehand that Prince Khalifa was the CEO of the Bremin Tech Industry but honestly, I didn't believe anything she said that day.

Now seated in front of him, talking to him like every other normal person, who would have thought that an Instagram celebrity would turn out to be this nice in person? For an unnatural reason, I felt like I was out of place there. I started to gather up my files, my spirit and my soul were already outside the office door.

"I'd like to take my leave now," I said to the boss as I stood up intending to leave.

"Alright, Miss Hannan. You will hear from us once the results are ready." He replied, piling up the files on his desk. I walked to the door clutching my stuff as I sauntered past Zayn who was heading to boss Khalifa's desk.

"Have a nice day sir," I said, unlatching the door knob. I walked out of the room and sighed in relief as I closed the door behind me.

The moment I stepped away from the door I saw a tall black man with the body of a gymnast, marching towards my direction. One could mistake him for the Hollywood superstar, Idris Elba. Only that he was a bit more Muscular than Idris. I bet he even had more muscles than the boss himself. He looked like a mafia Lord!

He wore black leather pants and boots with an army green undershirt that showed off his strong arms. He had a scorpion tattooed on the left side of his shoulder. His haircut was very low, making him look like someone in the military. My eyes scanned his face and saw that there was a small tattoo of Saint Peter's cross under his left eye, just above his cheek.

He took off his black-shaded glasses as he approached the door, more like he was trying to intimidate me with his appearance so I gently stepped aside. If I recall correctly, I think I might have seen him in that office earlier. He had accompanied that villain into the room during my interview.

Kulthum was waiting for me in the lobby. The moment she saw me walking up to her, she came to me in a hurry.

"So how did it go?" She asked and I gave her a tired look with a frustrating sigh.

"Alhamdulillah! It went well." I huffed wearily.

"Are you sure? I was wondering what kept you so long." She squinted her eyes at me with a suspicious look.

"Do you want me to tell you what went down in detail or we should kindly go home and chill out?" I stepped around her, heading for the elevator. I was starving. I hadn't eaten anything since that morning.

Now that our interviews were as good as over I could finally get some rest while I wait for the results. Luckily for me, It was fun talking to the boss. Although the questions he threw at me were a little tougher than I expected. I was lucky it hadn't been any of those written exams I was dreading. I was a little disappointed when he asked me to state the date on which the industry was established. How the hell should I know that? And how is that even a job interview question? I was only able to answer that because I looked it up online some days back. Oh yes! I did my research before getting my head into this thing. I came prepared as always.

As we walked side by side along the corridor I saw a packet of chocolate sticking out from Keilah's purse so I moved swiftly and snatched it from her before she realized it.

"Hey! Give it back," she screamed as I made away with it.

"Sorry dear, Finders keepers," I smirked, running into the elevator. She soon cut up on me but unfortunately for her, I had everything stuffed in my mouth already.

"You animal! That was my lunch!" She glared at me.

"Really? You wanted to have a small bar of chocolate for lunch?' I raise an eyebrow. " I haven't eaten since morning. Thanks for the sadaqah (Charity)"

"You do realize that was stealing, right?"

"Who decides that? Show me the ruling."A loud laugh escaped my mouth. "I'm starving. Do you have more chocolates in there?" I asked, snaking my tongue over my lips to leak up the particles of chocolate there.

She brought out a packet of crackers from her bag and handed it to me. I snatched it greedily and just tore it open, not minding my manners I stuffed two out of the five biscuits in my mouth.

Not that I forgot to thank her or something but we were in the twenty-first century where people didn't show their best friends gratitude for every kind act. She knew I was grateful even if I didn't show it.

As we descended in the lift I suddenly remembered what I wanted to talk to Kulthum about when I got out of the boss's office. I was still feeling somewhat funny from my experience with him.

"So Prince Khalifa is his name, right? I take back everything I said about him. After my encounter with him today, somehow I feel that he's nothing like those regular celebrities." I admitted and watched as a sheepish grin formed on her lips. She was silly, I could die from it.

"I thought I'd have to wait for eternity to hear those words from you. Finally, you can see what I've been talking about." She couldn't contain her excitement about the fact that I just made a remarkable comment on her celebrity crush. I didn't know how come she had a huge crush on someone she hardly even knew. Sometimes I wondered how I was still friends with Kulthum. She was my polar opposite.

"Don't get me wrong, kulthum. He is just nice, that's all." I couldn't be more honest.

"Oh! Did I tell you? He offered me an instant job. That I can work with him as his personal assistant." Kulthum spluttered with glee in her expression. "He said I can start working from tomorrow." She informed me and my jaw dropped to the floor, and my eyes widened in surprise.

"So you're telling me that you are officially employed?"

"Yes, baby and I'm starting work tomorrow." She squealed thrillingly and I mused. Why did she get to be so lucky? I couldn't just believe what she said because it sounded so incredible.

"Keilah wait! Are you lying to me to make me jealous?" I blurted with a frown, flickering my lashes at her. I didn't mind how stupid the words sounded in my head. I know she was an amazing liar but I didn't think it would get to that point where she would lie just to make me envious of her. Like what the hell?

"What do you mean Jealous? How can you even assume that?" She snapped. She seemed infuriated.

"I don't know. Look, if you're joking about this job, stop it right now."

"Wait! Hanny, are you jealous?"

"Are you lying?" I returned her question.

"Wow! I can't believe this. You're intentionally calling me a liar again." She blinked a couple of times before turning her back against me.

"Look, I'm sorry!" I huffed weakly. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Well sorry for yourself Hannan. I can't be around you right now." She exclaimed with a deep furrow of her brows, an indication that she was pissed off by my unholy attitude. We stayed mute for a while before the elevator virtually came to a halt.

We went out of there and she walked away from me as fast as she could, leaving me behind in the lift. She was obviously angry at me. I didn't mean to ruin her mood. I just wasn't thinking back then, coupled with the fact that the news was somewhat incredible.

"Keilah wait!" I called after her but she increased her pace, making me run after her. We headed past the receptionist's counter. For an insane reason, I wanted to raise a middle finger at the lady for the cheeky attitude she had given me earlier. I made an enemy on my first day, what a day!

"Keilah! I'm sorry." I yelled behind her as we approached the exit. I looked around to see if anyone was looking at us. I didn't do too well when too many eyes were on me. Luckily for me, the people around me were too busy minding their own businesses.

She suddenly halted somewhere near the parking lot and turned around. "Would you stop stalking me?"Reading her expression there was no sign of anger, just that stupid frown that didn't even get to her eyes.

"Fine, I'll stop." I held my hands up in defense. "By the way, you can trek home. I have Salma's car keys with me." I threatened, toying with the keys as I held them out in front of her. She would have no choice but to follow me now because she couldn't risk wasting her money on transportation, especially now that it was mid-afternoon it would be hard to board a taxi from here.

I got in the car and as soon as I had my feet on the brake, I was surprised to see her slim figure seated on the passenger's seat.

"Oh! Look who decided to join me." I said in a mocking tone.

"Just shut up and drive." She shot me a warning glare and almost immediately I pulled out of the parking lot onto the driveway. We drove quietly for a while before you knew who decided to talk to me.

"I'm going to start work tomorrow." Her expression was neutral.

"What about Yusuf? You've got to stay with him at the hospital."

"My mum has everything under control and besides Yusuf is currently under observation. We are not allowed to interact with him or come anywhere near him."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know." She shrugged.

"That's alright. By the way, congratulations on your new job." I gave her a small smile, taking a turn onto the major road.

"Thanks. I can't believe I have a new life now and a career. I feel like a totally new person now that I'm finally getting what I deserve." She was going nuts over her success and decided to rub it all in my face. I mentally sighed.

There you go Keilah. You got the job and I'm not even sure of my fate. My life in the mud.

I stayed mute for God knows how long listening to her going on and on about her new job and of course the boss. She shamelessly talked to me about how she would impress him the next day which would be her first day on the job. I wished I could just tell her at that moment that she was a waste of space.

I had to listen to her garbage talk for over an hour until our apartment came into view. As I was about to park the car in its place a call came into my phone. Alhamdulillah! It was Ahmad, my sister's husband. Finally, Keilah could just shut up already. I gently parked the car before I unhesitatingly picked up the call before the phone stopped ringing.

"Assalaam Alaikum." I greeted.

"Wa Alaikum Salaam, Munchkin!" He replied. Normally I would be squealing in excitement as always whenever he called but I didn't just have the energy to do anything. "How have you been?"

"Alhamdulillah! I'm fine."

"It took you forever to answer the phone?" Came his husky voice and I shifted the phone to the other ear and released the key from the ignition.

"Oh I didn't mean to, I just was busy with something." I cleared the air as I glanced over at Kulthum who was about to get off the car. She slammed the door behind her and walked across the grass onto the porch of our front door.

"Okay, how are your sister and the kids?" I heard him asking and I raised a brow at his words. Your Sister? Usually, it was 'How is my baby?' When did he become so unromantic?

"Teslim and the kids are doing perfectly okay," I announced with a little exaggeration. My sister looked anything but perfectly okay because of the gloomy attitude she had been giving off lately. I couldn't say the same about the kids because they remained as lively as ever.

"Alright, could you tell her to pick up her phone? I've been calling her line for the past thirty minutes and she has not answered any of my calls." His voice was firm but not harsh. I could tell he was suppressing his annoyance.

"Okay, but I'm not inside the house right now. I just got back from a job interview. I'll do that once I get inside." I told him and waited for his reply. He asked how the interview went and we talked lightly about my academics and progress. He advised me against bad company as always before proceeding to ask after my mother.

"Mother is fine, alhamdulillah. If I guessed correctly she should be with the kids by now. They are always together. Fahad has taken my place with Umma as the last born of the family." I heard him chuckling in the background at what I said and I smiled. My eyes flickered to the front door to see Kulthum lingering around there. It seemed like she was waiting for me.

"I thought today was Monday. Shouldn't Umma be in the hospital by now?" He inquired as I alighted from the car.

"Yeah, she is on a night shift. She has been having more night shifts than ever." I said, walking across the lawn as I headed towards Kulthum's direction.

"Oh okay, Barak Allahu Feeki (may God bless you). And my regards to your mother and the kids."

"Alright, they'll hear. Thanks for the abayas." I thanked him for the abayas that he bought for me even though I hadn't seen them. Teslim had not had the chance to unpack her luggage since that day.

"Oh it's nothing, you're welcome dear." He said plainly and I was a little taken aback by his reply. It was unusual for him to talk with me in such a manner. There wasn't this usual excitement in his tone.

"Assalaam Alaikum," I said to him before opening the front door and he replied politely before we hung up on each other.

*****

"HANAMY!" Was the first thing I heard the moment I opened the front door. Who called me that? I instantly detested the sound of whatever I just heard. Nobody had called me that in a while. That was because I didn't like it when people called me by my full name. On the contrary, the last person to call me by that name was my late father. That was what he used to call me before he passed on.

"Yay! Hanamy is home." My sister's kids screamed and I saw Salma laughing like a maniac at something my mother said.

"Hanamy is your full name?" She couldn't contain her laughter as she approached me, holding a photograph of some sort. I wonder what was so funny. Was it the name? I guess so.

"What's so funny?" I hissed

"Your name is Hanamy. It's so funny. It sounds like one of those manga characters." She held her hands to her stomach, laughing like a hen that had just committed an abortion.

Kulthum walked past me and went on to greet my mother who had an amusing smile lingering on her lips. Kudos to her! She was having a great time telling them about my childhood stories. It was irritating how she only told embarrassing stories about me. And it hurts because Teslim didn't get that kind of stinking treatment from her.

"Hanamy, look at you in this picture. You look like shit. You were fat!" Salma told me in between laughs as she held an old picture of me. I was taken aback when my mother burst out laughing. It was my seven-year-old picture with my father and Teslim. We went on vacation to Lekki Beach, Lagos. That was the only time I had been to Lagos all my life. My mum wasn't there because she had been working on her master's degree at some college in Ilorin.

"Cut it out, Salma. Now give me that." I said with clenched teeth, casting a wicked glare at my mother. I saw so many of my childhood photos and albums all spread out on the center table.

Well done mum. Telling them my history was not enough. You had to go show them our old pictures.

"Keilah, come take a look at this. I don't even know how to describe her appearance in this photo." Salma picked a random one from the table.

"Let me see. Oh my God, you look awful. That spiky hair, bulging eyes. You were fat!" Kulthum emphasized. The drama queen had joined in and the moronic people couldn't stop laughing at me. I glared at my mother again with the corners of my eyes and I caught her suppressing a laugh.

"Cut it out you two...now hand that picture over," I yelled at them in abashment. I was infuriated by the way they were mocking me.

"Wait! Is that who I think it is?" Kulthum gasped. It looked like she had seen something entirely different and interesting.

"It has to be him. This is Prince Khalifa, our boss." She exclaimed, looking over at me and I had to go take a look.

It was obviously him. He was much younger in the photo. My eyes scanned everyone's face and I immediately spotted Imran. He was standing behind me and I was under... wait! Zayn's armpit. Oh no! I looked terrible. Where did this picture come from and how come I had never seen it before? And why the heck was I under a shirtless Zayn's armpit?

I suddenly realized something. All these people used to be part of our lives; Prince Khalifa was Cousin Ahmad's old friend and he used to go by the name Omar. Zayn was Ahmad's best friend, I didn't forget about that. Yasmeen, Aliya, and Teslim were childhood friends. I remembered them from my preschool and primary school. What a small world!

"Wait! Who's this guy? Oh my God, he's so handsome." Kulthum spotted Zayn.

"That jinn in the form of a man is Imran's elder brother," I told them. It was upsetting that in the picture I was the only one that looked like an orphan without a home. Tattered clothes, bad hair. Like why did my mother allow me to get into this picture in such an unkempt appearance?

"Wow! Imran's older brother is so beautiful," Salma exclaimed.

"Well, yeah. I told you guys before. Now give me that photo."

"You come to catch me." She took the picture and ran off to my mum's room. Keilah joined her.

"I hate both of you," I yelled and just started to head to my room.

*****

I swung my bedroom door open and rushed inside with a strong desire to just collapse on my bed. Just when I was about to fling my things on the floor, I saw my sister standing in front of my bed. I hadn't spoken to her in days so I wondered what she was doing in my room.

"What are you doing here?" I came whispering, "Alone in my room." I completed, placing my bags on the dresser, then went on to lay my shoes on the shelf where they belonged.

She turned around to look at me."I see you've turned your room into a mini Library." Her expression was simply neutral. Although there was this look in her eyes, it was masked with a glint of blue. For the past few days each time I looked into her eyes, I always saw that same expression. She, just like my mother, was notorious for keeping things to herself, so I couldn't really figure her out even if I wanted to.

"What to do. It's not like I have anything interesting going on in my life outside my academics." I asserted and my sister remained silent. I took off my sheila, then untamed my hair. I felt a huge level of relief the moment my hair fell loose upon my shoulders. It felt like a huge load was lifted off of my head.

Teslim sat on the bed. Her eyes followed my movements as I went about the room trying to change into something casual. She must be mentally laughing at me right now because of how clumsy I was acting out of tiredness. I didn't have the energy to do anything or even fix a meal for myself. Once done I decided to head downstairs to figure myself out because I was starving to death.

"Hey, can I have a word with you?" She said to me the moment I turned around to exit the room.

"You mean now?" I needed to get downstairs and eat before I probably died of starvation. I could feel my intestine tangling up already.

"Yes, if you don't mind. Or we could talk later."

"Oh okay then. So what do you want to talk to me about?" I inquired curiously as I walked over to take my seat beside her. I was interested in hearing what she had to say. It was not like we got to talk every day though.

"So, how was your interview?" She inquired with a smile at me. I was disappointed because I thought she wanted to talk to me about something else. I tried to hide the small frown that threatened to form on my face.

"It was fine, alhamdulillah." I managed and I saw her smiling down at her fingernails on her lap. The smile didn't reach her eyes. Memories of the interview and how my entire day went flickered in my mind. It wasn't a bad day and neither was it a good day. Almost immediately I remembered that her husband had called me.

"That reminds me, your husband called me earlier."

"He did?" I saw her expression change into one that I didn't recognize.

"Yes!"

"What did he say? Did he tell you anything?"

"Nothing really. He asked about the children and said he had been calling but you didn't pick up."

"What else did he say?" She demanded and I arched my brows in surprise.

"Nothing, was he supposed to say anything else?"

" Oh okay." She looked away from me. Her voice was low and her face was masked with a glint of sadness. I hated to think about it but I knew definitely that something was wrong with my sister's marriage. Maybe she had a little quarrel with her husband judging from the way Ahmad had spoken to me on the phone, at least that was the only reason I could come up with.

"Hey, what's wrong? Are you okay?" I inquired, moving closer to wrap an arm around her. I just needed to feel that tranquil warmth exuding from her. And if possible she would share her worries with me because that's what sisters do. I just wanted to have a heart-to-heart interaction with her. We hadn't done that in a long time, since she got married to be precise.

"Nothing, why did you ask?" She furrowed her brows in confusion.

"You haven't been yourself lately. Ever since you returned." I snuggled her lightly from behind and she wrapped an arm above mine.

"Hannan, I don't know what is wrong with my husband." She said with a shaking voice. She was quiet for a while. I saw her wiping a sad tear from the corners of her eyes with her thumb.

"Hey, talk to me! You can always Share your problems with me. It's the reason we are sisters right?" I gestured, moving a hand back and forth between her and me.

"I don't know where to start from. It's a long story. Where should I start from?" Her voice came out gruff, but she managed to clear her throat so she could speak clearly.

"Starts from anywhere," I said and she nodded in agreement. She tightened up her expression and then paused before opening her mouth to speak.

"Ahmad and I are getting a divorce." She said and I jerked away from her in shock. My head was blank for a moment as I tried to pretend like I didn't just hear that.

The tears had reappeared in her eyes. I saw it streaming down her face and she brought her hands to her mouth, covering her lips before bursting into loud sobs. I felt my lips trembling, I wanted to cry too but the tears wouldn't just come out.

I pulled her into a tight hug, burying her head into my chest. Loud sobs escaped her lips. I could feel the warmth of her tears and breath on the fabric of my clothes. My shirt was literally soaked in her tears.

After she had sobbed for what felt like forever, she was finally able to pull herself together before I released her. Though I was cut up in my feelings too, I couldn't help but notice the blankness on her face. There was this aura of emptiness I couldn't possibly explain that her face gave away. Of course, she was getting a divorce why wouldn't she be empty? I just needed to hear what she had to say before I began to pass judgment. What could possibly happen that would warrant a divorce? This was a delicate matter and needed to be treated as such.

I gave her time to recollect herself before I decided to push the questions that were burning inside me. Was she already regretting the decision she made four years ago, dropping out of college just because she wanted to be with the love of her life? I knew it. My mother and I warned her against her decisions but she wouldn't listen to anyone. Especially not me, because you know, I was too young to give advice.

"I was once young too, rather frivolous as well as naive, even now I have quite a few regrets. You should know that one day you could regret this." Those were my mother's words if I could remember correctly.

"I'd still like to be unsure of things. I'm not done making mistakes yet." That was her reply after the intense warning she got from Mother and me on that day she made the decision. She was in her first year at university. She was an eighteen-year-old fresher who quit school for marriage. Even though I was way younger than she was, I was mature in the head to know that her decision was a terrible mistake.

"It is not easy as a young woman to stand on your own and speak up for yourself." My sister's words sounded distant. Her face was devoid of tears and she had a straight expression like she didn't just cry. "Not every young girl of your age has the guts to face the world and strive for independence. But you did and I'm very proud of you for that because that means that you can stand up for yourself anytime, anywhere. That means you're growing up."

"Where are those words coming from? What do you mean?"

"Look here, Hannan" She held my face in her hands. "Do whatever you want to do with your life but don't end up like me." I had heard those words before. They sounded just like my mother's words. Why did they always talk about me not ending up like them? I was not sure about my mother but my sister had her regrets. She couldn't handle her depths.

"I shouldn't end up like you, how?"

"You can't understand someone until you've been in their shoes." She said in a low voice with a wistful smile. Her expression was clad in sadness. Just looking at her you could see a haunted soul.

For goodness sake stop speaking parables and talk to me in a way that I would understand, my empty head is too weak to make out the meaning of those words.

"My marriage is crumbling today because of the wrong decisions that I've made in the past." I saw streams of tears flowing down her cheek. I knew it all along. Instead of blaming her pain on her, I felt an excruciating ache of pity in my chest.

Please don't make me cry, Teslim.

"It's okay that you messed up sometimes. We all do." I said and I was momentarily lost in my thoughts—If there was ever anything that would make me consider marriage a beautiful thing, it was because of my sister's and Ahmad's relationship, it was so adorable. Sometimes I did feel like telling them to go get a room whenever they were around each other. The way he looked at my sister, a gaze so delicate that it could melt an iceberg. One of those looks that wouldn't stop you from smiling even if there was nothing really funny.

"So, what happened?" I asked, bringing myself out of my thoughts.

"Ahmad happened," she wiped her eyes. "He is taking a second wife."

"What?" I flinched. Another heart-aching news. How many more did she have up her sleeves? I heard her chuckle in a way that made me want to ask her what was so funny.

"He is getting married to Hanifah next month." She dropped another bomb!

"Hanifah?" My eyes widened in surprise. "What! That snake?" So she finally had her way with him? Wallah! I hated her guts.

"Did mum know about this?" Hanifah was one of our distant relatives, more like a family friend from an aristocratic home. She had been in love with Ahmad for a very long time now. He never wanted to marry her back then and because he loved Teslim so dearly he had to marry her at a very young age before his father pushed him into settling down with someone he felt no affection for.

"No, I haven't told her about it yet. Please promise me you won't tell her." She pleaded

"But why? She has to know about this. She could help you fix this."

"You don't understand, there is no way this can be fixed. You know how petty mum can be."

"Oh, you finally acknowledge that for yourself. I thought you always took her side each time I stressed her attitude."

"Yes, but this is different."

"What is different, that you are having problems in your marriage and you don't want her help?"

"It's not like that. I don't want to fix it. I just want a divorce."

"Oh! Wait a second! Are you the one instigating the divorce?"

"Yes! I want to go back to school to complete my degree."

"Why now? Teslim you have children. Your place is with the kids and their father. You have to fulfill your duty as a mother and a wife." I stressed and saw my sister staring wide-eyed at me.

"Wait, since when did you believe in marriage and responsibilities?"

"What do you mean by that, I don't believe in whatever. All I want is what is best for you. Look, this might come off as a warning rather than a bit of advice, I'm not asking you not to go back to school. Of course, you should because it's a necessity but leaving your marriage for college isn't worth it." I explained, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You cannot leave your marriage now. Please don't do that. You made a mistake the first time. Don't repeat the same mistake in reverse."

"But Ahmad, he is getting married to another woman. I can't share my husband with anyone." She blurted.

"Remind me again, how many wives did the Rasul (SAW) have in his lifetime?" I couldn't believe I was saying this. It was not like I would encourage polygamy in any way. I was just looking out for my sister because if she mistakenly left her husband, she might live the rest of her life under her shadow. I knew how much she loved that man. She couldn't live without him. She felt she could handle the divorce because of her clouded mind but I was afraid she might not be able to cope without him.

"Leave the Prophet out of this, besides that was in the ancient days. Nobody can be compared to the Prophet (SAW). Men of nowadays are just wolves in sheep's clothing."

"I get your point. But Ahmad loves you. That's what matters. I see the way he looks at you with undivided attention. He'd never turn his back on you."

"Wow! Hannan, just wow! Since when did you know this much about my husband to the point that you are even defending him? Did he send you to talk to me?" She expressed inquisitively and I suppressed a small smile because I didn't know why she was acting like a bitch all of a sudden. What happened to my sister?

"I know you're intimidated by that brat with her stupid American degree. You can go back to school in your marriage. Trust me, it's way better than getting a divorce."

"I knew it was a bad idea to talk to you about this. Your premature mind couldn't see past the obvious, that Ahmad doesn't want me anymore. He doesn't love me anymore, Hannan." She exclaimed, stifling a cry. "His father called me an uneducated illiterate before his eyes and he just stood there like a woe. He couldn't even defend me."

"What was he supposed to do? Curse at his father to defend you? Would you do that if Mum was the person in question?" I saw my sister shrinking back in dismay as though she couldn't believe that I just said that.

"You know what." She gave a huge huff. " I was right all along, you can't understand someone until you've been in their shoes." She stood up and headed for the door.

"Teslim wait!"I called after her, trailing behind her. She halted and turned to face me, there was a dark look in her eyes.

"It was nice talking to you by the way. Please don't tell Mother about any of this. If you do, you are no longer my sister." She warned, then opened the door and disappeared out of sight. I wished she could just calm down, sit down, and ponder on this whole issue right then she would know that she was making a grave mistake.

★★★★★

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