CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE OMARION

"No....",she backed away from me in disbelief.

"Yes.....she lives here too.....Prim.....Cass is Luen!", I hoped I had said it in a much nicer way that will make her understand. She looked at me in awe and I knew her soul was obstinately waging in the path of the wrong. She walked away from me and onto the bed. I could tell she wished she could leave but I couldn't let her go at this hour and in her condition. I told her I'll drop her at home the next day and she agreed. In fact she just said I should go with her to her work place. I wouldn't say No. As sat on the bed, she leaned against the wall and looked outside the window. "Prim.....it's not what you think it is. Nothing has gone wrong and nothing will go wrong....she changed. She's Cassandra now. Luen is gone. After her parents resolved their differences they took her home and decided to change her identity for security purposes after she told them about life at the orphanage. They might have been looking for her....",I tried to make her understand. Cass had been through a lot. A big lot and sometimes I would pity her. Sir Marco couldn't just let us go and after all the years we feasted on his food. Losing us was like losing money and he wanted to get it at any cost. I don't know how he was getting on track with us but as they say...if you want to catch the mice, follow the breadcrumbs. They always leave a trail of breadcrumbs as they run away and that very trail leads them to their doom. Fortunately for me, I had already left when they finally found Luen and Ma'am Violet. Before they could go to their house, ma'am violet let Luen escape and she was caught and killed by them because she couldn't reveal Luen's whereabouts. Sir Marco was worried that he would get exposed and lose all his deals with all those traffickers he had already talked to. He couldn't risk one soul out there that knew about his secret being alive and hence he sent out his men to find her. Luen ran to the police station she found and after telling them her story, they filed it up and she lived with one of the police in charge until her case was brought to court. Fortunate enough, her parents had just resolved their issues and wanted to go back to the orphanage to get her when the police man that kept her got to be one that was in court that day and explained everything to them. Later in the week, they brought her to court and resolved the issue. On the day of trial however, they both submitted their affidavits rather than appearing to testify in court. It was really heart breaking and shocking but what else? Luen stayed with the police officer for another week and then was transfered to her parents. In fear of her security, they took her to the countries register and with the courts approval, they were granted the permission to name her Cassandra Morgan.

".....that's what happened to her", I explained it to Prim. "Sometimes when she gets mad and mean I just know it's not her fault. She's been deprived of what a child really needs. She wasn't nursed the right way and to learn that she was illegitimate was too much to handle. How would you think she'd view everything and everyone then? Worst still changing her identity was something even more aggressive on such a small girl", I continued narrating the story.

"You've never met your parents before. You don't even have a picture or an inkling of what they looked like...why are you not mean then? She can't keep using that as an excuse...she can't!!!",she lectured me and I stayed quiet not knowing what to say. She wasn't understanding me or the situation here. All she wanted was for me to somehow turn away from Cass. She thought I still considered Cass as Luen and I bet it made her feel insecure.

"Prim...you have to trust me...I don't see Luen anymore...she is Cass....Cassandra Morgan...",

"It doesn't matter to me what you see when you look at her....what matters to me is that I got all the answers to my question and I know she's going to kill me one day",Prim told me point blank and with no hint of irony. She just said it straightforward without even evidence. This was a serious claim she was making and things would get out of hand. This wasn't a trivial matter. It was radical and needed fundamental facts to prove what she was saying. I know Cass said she wouldn't mind being the villain but I believe she wouldn't go as far as killing someone. What made Prim to even think of that?

"Prim....what makes you say that? Why are you against her so much? She's not as bad as you think....", I defended Cass. She really wasn't wrong in this one. She surely wasn't in the wrong. I don't know if it's just my affection toward her but I believed she wasn't wrong. Prim was wrong here. She was levelling accusations against Cass and I couldn't stand for that.

".... Wow....you're surely defending her right? Well go ahead. I won't come in between. She's your forever friend after all. She grew up with you all the way from childhood to where you are now. You where always by her side...always....she couldn't even blink without you Omar. Do you understand that? She would do nothing without you. You where like her other leg, her other hand, eye, ear...you where who she was! I can understand her pain when she sees you go away from her. Seeing you with another person tears her apart. I am a woman Omar and I completely understand her. Do you think she won't kill me then to have her revenge on me?", she asked. Prim was calculating things that I couldn't even understand. Most of it was true but I didn't see how it was linked to her thoughts of Cass wanting to murder her.

"One.... months ago....she spilled coffee all over my hand. Cass is never careless with her food making me realise it wasn't an accident. Two, spilled my coffee when I bragged about Disneyland and the Eiffel tower, later she breaks my vase and then locks me up in the bathroom...all because I have something that she wants", She explained with a heart full of anger. I could see it express it self all over her face. She wrinkled her forehead and brought her eyebrows together as though they want to meet. She widened her nostrils and popped her lips out as well as her cheeks. She was breathing heavily and I could tell a lot was happening in her whole being.

"Prim....Cass has Liam", I still chose to disagree hoping she'd follow my lead.

"She's using him as bait. She's just using him to get close to you....",

"Prim! Don't say stuff like that!",I shouted at her. She had crossed the line. The water must have gone to her brain and jeopardized her thinking. She was thinking wrongly and I didn't like it. She was making fun of Liam and Cass's love and I didn't like it. I didn't go well with it. I disapproved. She didn't know them as much as I did. She had no idea of where they've come from and it wasn't good for her to be saying all these things.

"Hurt? It's okay....I've heard the truth hurts so this wasn't a first. It's really such a bummer you know. I've just met Cass like a breath ago and yet I completely see through her.....unlike you who sees what she wants you to see", She crawled to where I was. She must have seen my anger and how frustrated I was. She just insulted me and I really got disappointed. I didn't expect that from her. She let me down.

".... I had a dream Omar....and in the dream,I ran into a Chisel...", she said leaning on my arm and I got alarmed. I've had this dream before. It was the very same dream that led me right to Prim. It was the dream that drove me crazy some days back. It was the dream....THE dream! She had it too?

"It was near a railway.....",I added. She raised her head and looked at me. She narrowed her eyes wondering how I read her mind.

"....how did you know?",

"I've had the dream a couple of times before. Mostly...before I even met you",I clarified so that she understood that I just didn't make it up.

"That's why you ran away from me that day at the Palace...", she calculated it and I nodded confirming her answer. She was right. I really did ran away because I freaked out when I saw her right in front of me after seeing her die in a dream the previous night. Worst of all I didn't know her...yet! I didn't know her yet. The fact that she also had the dream awoke the suspicion in me. I wasn't superstitious to believe in cosmic powers and go as far as studying the stars and visiting the fortune tellers all for this but I knew it wasn't just a mere dream. This can't just be a coincidence. It just can't. Someone really is plotting something against me and Prim. Could she be saying the truth? Was it Cass? Really?!

"Believe me now....Omary....before it's too late... I don't want you to regret when am on my death bed. There's no cure for regrets....",she uttered each word separately with emotional trauma. Tears running down her cheeks and Her sight gave me a feeling of dread and I was really scared. Lily loved talking about death too. She loved talking about when she dies or when I die, mostly when she dies and it's the same thing that Prim is doing. Why was I cursed with such women?

"Please don't say that.....",I quickly spread my arms around her. Maybe she'd stop thinking about all the horrid things she was thinking of. Also, I was trying to hide the tears in my eyes. I didn't want her to see me cry. I wiped them while facing behind her and she didn't hint a thing. On the other hand, she cried behind me and I could feel her heart pounding fast against my body. I didn't understand her.... We seemed to have been talking of different things and I couldn't understand the points she had raised. Or maybe I chose not to understand. Cass wouldn't ever do that. Would she ever kill?

"We can change our fate Omar....",She began while facing me. She really looked worn out and weary. Her eyes where red and she couldn't stop crying. She was speaking properly but they kept running down her cheeks. How did she do that? "We can change our way of talking, our cloths and names....but one thing is for sure...we can never change the heart....", she sniffed and left....left me in suspense!

*****

"You know...there's such a thing as coincidence", Cass said while bitting on her coconut biscuit. Prim had made us breakfast and it was day number eight and I had just the surprise for Prim. I wanted to help her look at the face of her father. I didn't want her to be like me. I didn't want her to forget the face of her dad. How will she even recognize him when she sees him in heaven? Impossible right? So today....I was going to help her see his face....for the very first time! I just had to find a way of making it a surprise and making sure she doesn't say No. I wanted to rid her of the guilt she was feeling each time she thought of him. It wasn't her fault. As she said, it had to happen that way. It just had to happen like that....no one was at fault.

Some situations we face are as bad but their intention is not really for us to feel the pain in vain. It's for us to learn through the pain and become better people! I was a better person today thanks to all the bruises and cuts. In the same way, I believed it for her. Her bruises paid off and I am glad for the woman she is today. I chewed on my orange and brought my mind to listen to the conversation on the table.

"....coincidence? How dare you?", Prim replied, getting angrier. Nowadays she was getting angry over petty issues and it was beginning to irritate me.

"....What other explanation is there? Prim probably had the dream because Omar told her about it.....", Cass shrugged her shoulders just like how Luen used to do it. I remembered what Prim said...we can't ever change the heart. Well that's what she believed in. I believed you can. This girl wasn't Luen. She was Cass. I convinced myself that she was Cass. Someone totally different from Luen. Completely different. And so am finding it difficult to believe Prim's claims. I know what to do! Whoever gives me a reason to doubt her will be the one I don't believe.

"..... Fate. That's another explanation", Prim defended herself. She didn't want to give up and give up to Cass.

"... Oh really? Okay....then can I be the Godmother that brings the dream to reality?", Cass asked. What did she mean by that? She was actually supporting Prim's claims by saying that.

"...Don't sweat it, you already are as it is", Prim took off immediately after what just happened. I was confused too and I followed her. She went into the room she slept in and was tying her hair in a ponytail. She fixed her lipstick and turned around to look at me the moment she sensed my presence.

"...You know what....I just didn't fall into the water....someone pushed me...", she said looking right at me. She crossed her hands across her chest and leaned on the table still maintaining the gaze. She was as cold as ice and her eyes where dry. She didn't want to cry one bit. I took in deep breaths and wiped my nose and mouth. It started feeling warmer and warmer with each passing second. She was pushed?? Who pushed her??

"I saw the person but not clearly...it was blurred from the bottom of the water....and I saw him throw my box in the bin....",she gestured after swaying her head to the left and to the right.

"So....so that I assume you'd gone somewhere and I won't end up looking for you in the water.....", I finished the statement for her. That made sense. When I got out of the water, I looked around for Prim but I couldn't find her. Her box wasn't even where she sat and when I saw it in the bin, I assumed she had thrown it in and had left for some other thing; maybe the lavatory or any other place. I followed her to the other edge of the pool where we got when we first came but when I saw her shoes on the stairs and where unmarked meaning the owner hadn't gotten them yet, my heart skipped a bit when I realised Prim hadn't left. I went back to where she sat and looked at the scene of the crime trying to find clues on the disappearance of my good good girlfriend. I looked at the bin again and when I turned around to look into the water....I saw her! She was lying at the bottom of the pool. Lifeless! What on earth will I explain to her father when he comes?!

I quickly rang the lifeguard alarm summoning him to come instantly. A minute later, I got so weary as he was taking long and I decided to just jump in and save her myself. I swam all the way to the bottom and of course it was deep. I was running out of breath and I didn't know if I'd manage to carry her but I did. I dragged her all the way up and fortunately, the lifeguard helped me with the first aid. I don't know what I would have done if she was gone!

Whoever did this, surely will pay for it! Surely! Prim was pushed? Who would want her dead? That's the part I couldn't figure out!

"That's what happened....", she said leaving my midst and walked out. I saw her through the window as she walked out to the car. She just stood on the door and waited for me. I sighed and walked out to where she was. I got in and she followed my lead. I turned on the car, stepped on the accelerator, made a U turn and left my campus. I drove faster today than usual. I normally do it when am tensed. I was tensed. I was thinking about what Prim said last night and this morning. She had this full faith that Cass was out to get her. Where did all of this even come from? All of a sudden she was scared of Cass and avoided her. She spoke rudely to her and angrily. I wanted to help Prim but I didn't know how. I just thought things might be different. Maybe Cass wasn't as bad as that. But...maybe she might be...she said she was ready to spill some blood as long as she gets what she wants. She said she was ready to do anything for me to give her all the attention she wants. Meaning she would go as far as to kill..... She warned me in advance so that it doesn't comes as a surprise. Whoa! I looked at Prim and she was looking outside the window..... I held her hand and squeezed it against mine.

"I believe you Prim...", I uttered as I exhaled the warm breath against the window and ended up fogging it. I looked back at her and she had a little arc on both corners of her lips. She shed tears and I realised how much my words meant to her. She placed her hand on top of mine that was on hers. She smiled and wiped her tear... I pulled over as I got into her restaurant's compound. We both got out of the car and I followed behind as she walked up the stairs and opened the door. She was scared and frightened immediately after she opened it and I wondered what was wrong. I quickly walked in front of her and I also got surprised. Her friend Lizzie was being arrested.

"Why are you arresting her?",a shocked Prim asked while trying to push the officers away from Lizzie. She managed to take her away from them and wiped her friends tears.

"Ma'am,this is the law, do not interfere", the female police woman threatened Prim who didn't seem to care anyway. "Why are you arresting her?", Prim asked again.

"For the last month, she's been going to restaurants and having fun with her boyfriend and I guess she was so in love she forgot to pay all her bills. She visited almost half the restaurants in the city, promised to pay her bills and now she hasn't been seen in any of those and they request their money. So we have no choice but to arrest her under the charges of fraud!", the police woman explained.

"Prim I didn't do it....each time we went out it was in Tony's name and I saw him settle it....they've framed me...",the helpless girl cried. My life was really taking a turn I couldn't even understand. What on earth was going on?! First Cass and now this? Oh...I rubbed my temple against the back of my hand and took a seat. I really needed a moment of rest.

"W-What?", Prim asked completely surprised and clueless on where to start the investigation. I could tell she believed her friend. She trusted her so much and I knew she would do anything to help her. She made her friend sit down and I don't know what she talked about but there was vigorous nodding from her friend and I assumed she was getting everything that was being said. Delayed, the police interrupted their talk and put handcuffs on Lizzie.

"Such beauty....and yet lethal...",the police woman said as she locked the handcuffs on Lizzie. She really was beautiful but who knew she'd hatch such a devious idea. Conniving thoughts hovered about in that charming head of hers. When you look at her hair flow down her shoulders you'd admire such beauty but when you finally get to see the works of the thoughts that lie therein, you wished you never said all those sweet words you said before. Despondency was the face Prim wore as they dragged her friend away. I knew she wanted to help but didn't know where to start from. The situation was just complicated and had no traces of truth to expose whoever did this to her friend,if she was even telling us the truth. She took heavy breath as she helped herself with a seat. She removed her hairpin and let her hair flow all the way down her back and some on her face. She ran her fingers in it thoughtfully. First it's Cass's issue and then Lizzie pops up with this drama of hers. Unfortunately, Prim had this ego of always wanting to be the heroin and am pretty sure she'll do whatever she can do in her power to bring out the truth in both matters and for that to happen I had to help her. I couldn't let her go through it all alone. It was too much for her and getting two of us involved won't matter. I walked toward her and squatted to make sure I was facing her. I looked at her and wore this face that was to help her at least brush off the thoughts off her mind for a while and by the grace of God....I saw it....I saw the...smile. Instantly, her phone rang and and she quickly reached for it.

"It's an unknown number...", she squeaked and looked at me. She then slid the screen to the left answering the call and putting it on speaker.

"Do you like my surprise?",the woman on the other end of the line asked without even a greeting. Where were her manners?

"....did you just use surprise in reference to you? That is morally wrong...It's an insult to humanity,don't you think?", Prim said in a contemptuous tone.

"Hey! You will speak to me with respect okay....",she shouted.

"Why did you call me Natasha?! Do they allow phones in jail? Doesn't the congestion tamper with the phone network?",

"You must consider yourself lucky Primrose Gerardia...I get a single chance to make a phone call and I chose to call you. So you will be wise to listen to me and stop your jiggering this instant. I have a deal for you....",

".... am listening....",

"I have evidence to prove your friend is innocent but I'll trade it with evidence to prove am innocent and you have to find it....and when you're ready....come meet me at the CrunchyCrust...today! Eight pm sharp! Come alone...if you don't want to lose anymore .....friends", she said the last part with an ugly laugh escaping her lips.

"..... Please brush your teeth when I meet you tonight, your breath is bad and I can smell it this far. Sweetheart, it's horrible!", she put the phone down and breathed up and down.

"You're not going to go, are you?",I asked although I certainly knew what she would say.

"Of course my love...", she replied while putting her phone in my hands. "Of course not...",she finished and I saw her leaving to go where I didn't know of. She went into the room behind the kitchen and I guessed it was her boss's office and she went in. I said a prayer hoping Prim won't do anything silly. Her mind wasn't stable as of now and she would utmost do anything stupid. I paced up and down in the restaurant hoping to see her coming out of her boss's room. I scratched my hair and took a seat. Took out my handkerchief and wiped my face and around my neck. I sat up when the breeze blew her scent in my direction and after sniffing,I confirmed it was her. She was wearing her hair down and walked toward me as if everything was okay....was everything okay?

"Prim...", one of the ladies that work here ran to her and hugged her.

"Is everything going to be okay? Am super nervous....",she breathed the words into her ear but I understood them all. Prim on the other hand didn't seem worked up by it all. She placed her hands on her friend's cheeks and looked her in the eye. Her sight was like that of a black-eyed Susan to an inauspicious traveller. Terror dominated and immersed in a river of pain. Her friend widened her eyes in response to what Prim did.

"...Yes....yes it is....because I just resigned", she replied.

*****

"Why would you resign!", her aunt yelled at her. She couldn't understand as much as I couldn't. Why would Prim resign from work? What was bothering her about it? Did all these fiascos affect her thinking centre in her brain because certainly she wasn't in her right state of mind. The way she loved making coffee, the way she adored each and every single thing about it, the way she enjoyed the aroma going all the way up her nostrils and coating her heart in a fog of it's flavour. They way she loved all this I find it unbelievable that she quit her job. Why? Why though?

"Is it not my choice to pick what I want to do and what I don't want?", she replied to her aunt. Prim was being rude. She was rude! Firstly, how she talked to Natasha and now her aunt. That was no way to talk to elders. She had to treat them with respect although sometimes they can really be a little pushy but it's all just protective measure they have. She had to appreciate what her aunt was trying to convey here. That's all that was needed.

"Yes it's your choice but you just can't go on and make silly decisions without elderly advice. What if you made a wrong decision?",she asked Prim in a calm tone. She was being mature. When one is being immature the other sure has to be the mature one. She walked toward her niece and put her hands around her. She whispered something into her ear which I didn't get but Prim sure showed a disgusted face. She must have been disgusted by what her auntie had said. She quickly pushed her away and shouted at her.

"Gavin that idiotic moron! Don't ever let him come here again auntie....don't ever!", Prim pointed a finger at her aunt which was one thing I never liked. Luen liked doing that to me when she was angry and I told her I'd remove her finger one day and she stopped. I hate pointing fingers at me. H-A-T-E!

" Idiotic? Idiotic is that boy you keep following around like a shadow!",her aunt fired back. She was talking about me I know. It hurt but only a bit..... I am the one who follows her around and not the other way round. So....technically she was wrong.

"Wow...Wow.....again with Omar....you know this makes me believe am the older one here and that age is just a number!", Prim replied."The Gavin that you so praise and think highly of is actually so low that you can't even see him when you squat and lower your eyes. You know what?...he sent goons after me and my boyfriend!",

That came as a shock! Gavin!? Gavin was the one who sent goons after me and Prim? No wonder one of the men was like no hurting the girl. He must have ordered them not to hit her...I thought they were being respective but actually they where just following orders. Wow....can this get any worst. First Gavin. Then Cass, then Natasha and Lizzie's issue. No wonder Prim is going crazy! All this is boiling her head up and she just can't do even one single thing right. She resigned and here she was having a fight with her aunt. Speaking in all manner of words without even considering who she was talking to. They both were talking as if they were talking to their age mate or something. They didn't even consider on what grounds what they where saying were based on. It really brought shame to me to look at them like that. Unfortunately, I was locked outside and I could only hear their voices through the window.

"You gave him a reason to do that Prim. You dumped him on his birthday....what else did you expect?", she defended Gavin. I just wished I broke the window and went in there to give her a tight slap but I had to maintain my manners.

"Wh-What do you mean?", Prim stammered and fell on the couch and a river of tears flowing down her cheeks. She was weakened by what her auntie said. "That means you approved for him to send the goons.....that'd explain why they said no hurting the girl. I was right! My suspicion was spot on! You influenced Gavin to kill me....",she pointed at her and wiped her tears. She stood up and walked toward her aunt. Her aunt was wise enough to back away from her niece. She knew best that a hungry man is an angry man. She knew very well. She witnessed it in her heart even when she looked at the monster Prim had turned into. I looked at Prim hoping she'd look at me. I prayed that she looked at me. I wanted to shout her name but I couldn't. I wanted to scream her name out loud to get her attention but I realised there was a better way. She always heard me when I didn't even utter a single word. My silence was so noisy in her ears to an extent that she would make out every single word. I called to her with my thoughts and she would always answer and am so sure she will hear me this time too. She took steps toward her auntie while wearing the Medusa's face. All her aunt needed to do was to look into her eyes and die but clearly she was smart enough and had closed her eyes.

'Don't do it Prim. Please don't do it.....don't....',my heart said calmly. I hoped she heard me. I believe she heard me. I knew she heard me. She tilted her head to the window and looked at me. I begged her to stop with my eyes. I knew she'd understand. She looked at her aunt and then back at me. She lowered her hands and walked to the door. I heard the lock twist back to it's original place and I rejoiced that I can finally get into the house. She decided to undo the lock after her auntie locked me out. She said she wanted to have some alone time with her niece and no intruders where allowed in. I raised my hands in surrender. I was avoiding stress on my side so that I can be there for Prim. If not me then who?

I got in and followed her lead to her room. She dragged me all the way upstairs. She went into her wardrobe and started packing her stuff of which took me by surprise and awe. Where was she going? Was she leaving? To where?

"What are you doing? Where are you going?", I asked.

"Anywhere but here...",she replied while quickly throwing her cloths in her bag. She took her most treasured possessions and into the bag they went. She took some picture frames as well and pushed them roughly into her back as though she didn't care that they will break. She packed all her things and she told me we had to leave.

"C'mon...", she said pulling her heavy bag to the door of which she was even failing to carry. I looked on the wall and the picture frame was their. The one she flipped against the wall and didn't want to look at. I knew that was her father's picture frame.

"You're forgetting something....", I said walking toward the wall that held the picture frame. I took it and without looking at it I turned it in her direction so that she'd be the first person to look at it.

"What am I forge...",her statement lasted to suspense as soon as she saw the picture. She stopped what she was doing and walked toward me to get a closer look. She touched the picture and her finger became dusty revealing that it had been years since she last held it or looked at it. She took it from my hands and sat down on her bed still astonished by the face behind the frame. She wiped the front to get a closer look at this person. She looked at him with eyes of adoration and passion. I could see it across her face that she was happy to see her father....for the very first time. I dragged a stool so that I'd sit in front of her to tell her something. Something really important. "Don't feel guilty or bad for what happened to him....treasure every chance you have just to have a glimpse of what he was like. I haven't seen my mother or father before and surely I'll never see them....not in this lifetime..... but I still treasure every moment I live because I know it's because of them. If they wanted they'd just kill me but they didn't. Isn't that something to be grateful for?", I asked. She blinked consecutively and quickly looked down at her feet. She held the frame so tight and I saw the bond get stronger. They never saw each other but I know their love was just as strong.

"...He loved you so much...he worked hard for you....so won't you love him too?", I asked. I started out slow to the point I wanted to say.

"I will....",she nodded, smiled and sniffed wiping her tears off.

"Prim....loving him means remaining with your family...", I said holding her hand so that she would know am right here for her. As soon as her brain got an understanding of my words, she took her hands away from mine and looked away.

"I can't stay here.....", she replied aggressively mentioning of the grievances that where in her heart. I had to make sure I pick the right words for her to understand me. I didn't like the idea of her leaving her home. She wasn't supposed to leave her house because of me. No....not at any cost! I know she was thinking of coming to my house but I wouldn't let that happen. It wouldn't show a good picture of us to the society. And even if people do it as if it's no big deal, it is a big deal to me. I can't just get a woman to live in my house and she who has left her home after being at loggerheads with them and because of me. I didn't want to support her in making bad decisions but I'd at least help her thinking for her to stay.

"... Yes you can...I understand that her attempt was wrong but Prim you can't leave home. It is not right. What will your father say if he saw you now? Would he be pleased to see you leave your aunt and live with a total stranger?",

"You're not a stranger...", she replied as soon as I just brought it up.

"Dont be naïve...we both know that. We have different blood. What would your mom say? Do you want people to question her upbringing and what values she installed in you? Do you want to shame her?",I continued asking hoping I was making sense. She sat their quietly and listened to what I was saying. She was making sense from it. She looked at her picture frame again and held it tight once more. Family is the greatest gift we all have. That's what makes us all have a sense of belonging. A realisation that we belong to someone else. To our mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers. Togetherness brings love to a different level than that of just a girl and a boy. We love each other but that didn't mean I should be the one building a wall between her and her family. Instead, I could build a bridge. I know her aunt had gone an extra mile to try and take me away from her but she was the elder and I couldn't go on and take her niece away although she wanted to take my love away. I forgave her for that. I totally forgave her for that. All I needed was for Prim to understand me and also forgive her aunt. The best way to punish her was to show her love;to forgive her. I looked at Prim and she was so quiet and still. She didn't make any motion but just kept staring at her feet. I stood up, took the picture frame from her hand and hang it on the wall. This time around with the face showing. He sure was a good looking man. He sure was...

"I figured if we're going to die and go to heaven you'll need to know your father's face so that you recognize him....", I added making her laugh.

"What makes you think we'll go to heaven?",she asked.

"Um...we're good people...are we not?", I asked back.

"Heaven is for believers Omar...not good people",she said standing up and walking to the window.

"Aren't we believers then?", I asked again trying to untangle the string.

"I don't know about that Omar...I really don't know....all I know is, it depends on what you believe in....", she said opening her window and looking further outside.

"Well....I will forever be grateful to God then....for one thing...", I walked to where she was and looked right at her.

"What is that?", she asked with a lyrical, infinite look on her face.

"....that I didn't need to die to get to heaven....he brought heaven down right to me...", I replied plainly hoping she would understand. When I saw that exquisitely, expensive smile on her face, I knew she understood every word.