Ninety One

As narrated by Dee:

“Daanyaal, Dayy was right. It’s been a year already, and I regret nothing more.”

“I stayed with Amaani and her parents. I was usually by her house more often than not anyway. Financially, Uncle Rashid sorted out things like my school fees, etc.. even though I was barely ever at school. But apart from that, you could say Amz’s parents adopted me.”

“And then came the unforgettable day when fate played its part, uncaring as to how everything will change, uncaring as to how it will throw our lives upside down…”

“Amz’s parents passed away in a terrible accident. It was horrific.. that night.. it completely destroyed Amz. But life stops for no one. Everyone got back into their usual routines whilst Amz and I, two young girls, lost and heartbroken, were the problem at hand. And I say problem because that’s the way Amz’s family made it seem. She only has one Uncle and he is only after the great mass of inheritance Amz’s father left behind. He was given his share fairly, but since Amz is still young, he thought he could get away with hers too. And the other factor was her cousin. I think more than her cruel Uncle and Aunt, her cousin put her off from moving in with them. You’ve seen Amz, she’s wayyy too gorgeous, and Fuaad, her cousin, has way too many filthy ideas in his head. Uncle Rashid and Aunty Raeesah insisted I stay with them but I refused. I just couldn’t. It caused quite the uproar… Amz and I adamant in our opinion and the adults adamant in theirs. But you can’t force someone to stay with you, and we got our way eventually. It all sounds so crazy now when I talk about it, considering the situation and our age particularly. But here we are now, Amz and I live together… Uncle Rashid sees to the bigger duties like paying water and electricity bills, school fees, etc. We have a sleep in helper and Amz is quite the cook. Living on our own has made us more responsible, I’d say… considering the things that need to be taken care of.”

“So, yeah, that’s my story, I suppose. Can’t say I’m proud of it, or happy with it, but maybe one day I’ll look back and it won’t hurt as much. Maybe one day I’ll look back and I’ll see the reasoning behind it all.”

“As for you….” I sigh heavily then give him a small smile.

This is the difficult part. This is the part where I have to be extra careful with my words.

“See the thing is, I can’t tell you much about the recent memories you don’t have because.. well.. I wasn’t there.”

“Can you at least tell me why I’m here? Why Maama won’t come to -”

He stops, his breathing catching.

“Ohmygod,” he whispers.

“What?” I ask, my insides twisting as dread slowly seeps in.

“Is she.. is Maama.. alive?” he asks hesitantly.

I breath a sigh of relief and give him a small smile, glad that I can at least answer one his question without shattering his heart.

“Yeah,” I reply. “Alhamdulillah.”

But then his next question gets everything inside twisted again, tighter this time. My palms grow sweaty and I look away.

“Dee?” he presses when I don’t give him answer.

“No,” I breath out.

And just like that, all the emotions I’ve been holding together inside, slowly begin to unwind.

You failed him, Dee. You wasted your only chance. Coward! 

I wish the voice in my head would stop taunting me. I wish the pain it causes my heart to feel will just stop. Hell, I wish I did everything differently.

It’s a bit late now, isn’t it, Dee?

I drop my head, resting my forehead on the wooden table.

I need to calm down. I need to stop feeling so strongly. I need to stop this before it controls me.

I breath in deeply a few times, then lift my head, and reach for my water.

It’s cold. Ice cold. Just the way I like it.

“Dee?”

I startle slightly, having momentarily forgotten about Daanyaal.

He’s frowning, his expression puzzled.

“What.. why.. why are you.. sad?” he asks, sounding bewildered. “Isn’t it.. better.. that he’s gone?”

I smile slightly but it isn’t a smile from my heart; it’s a mere act of my lips curving upward.

Oh the innocence of ignorance. 

“I don’t know Daanyaal. It’s horrible to think like that, but sometimes I wonder too.”

“It’s only been a day..”

“Huh?” he asks.

“It’s only been a day since he’s gone. Uncle Rashid, the one who was at the hospital often, phoned me yesterday. So I don’t know.. I honestly don’t know how this is going to change things… and I’m too afraid to think about how it possibly could.”

It’s quiet for a while.. both of us deep in thought.

Then Daanyaal speaks again.

“Dee?”

“Yeah?”

“What happened? How.. How did he die?” he asks with trepidation.

Silence falls again before I take a deep breath and hope my voice comes out steady.

It doesn’t. Obviously.

“He overdosed.”

---

Hey. Hi. Hello. Salaam. Bonjour. Salut. Ciao. Ahoj. Bog. Marhaba. Ola.

I know I said the post would be up yesterday, but I couldn’t manage, and had I forced myself to write it would have come out terrible. I’m so sorry, but I hope you guys enjoyed the post nonetheless. 

Now, I need your opinions guys. 

Do you’ll want the next post to be narrated by someone else, because it’s all so down and depressing at the moment, or would that disturb the flow of current posts?

So, either the next post must once again be Dee’s narration, or another character’s narration. Comment down below your opinion and I’ll take the majority vote. If you choose another characters narration, you have to tell me which character also, please. 🙂

Right, that’s all for now. 

Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday… only two more days for the weekend! 😉

Much Love,

Troubled Illusioner. ❤