Chapter Three

Ayah stood at the airport terminal, her heart racing as she waited for her sister's flight to arrive.

The terminal was crowded and noisy, with people rushing to catch their flights and dragging their luggage behind them. The occasional smell of cheap coffee and flour wafting through her nose made her nauseous, but it wasn't enough to ruin her new found mood.

She was happy for a change. It was the first time in close to three days that the smile on her face wasn't temporary or fake, it was genuine.

Khameela was really coming home. She had moved to another country to be with her husband and new family barely two weeks after getting married five years ago, Ayah hadn't seen her ever since. She had only heard her voice or seen her face over voice and video calls. But her mother had, on the two different occasions during which she gave birth to her children.

Khameela had two beautiful kids, Aayan, the eldest who had just turned three a couple weeks ago, and Hadizah who was only a little over a year old. Just thinking of holding her sister's children, her niece and nephew made Ayah giddy up. She hoped they were going to love her as much as she already loved them.

She glanced at the time on her phone, wondering when Khameela's flight would arrive, they were supposed to have landed a few minutes ago.

Finally, the intercom crackled to life, announcing the arrival of Khameela's flight. Ayah's heart skipped a beat as she scanned the crowd of people that came pouring into the building, searching for her sister's familiar face.

Khameela had told her she was on a red veil. Putting that in mind, Ayah looked only at the people on red veils. She spotted Khameela in the crowd, a huge smile planted on her face as she scanned the crowd just like Ayah had done a while ago.

Ayah waved her hands above her head continuously in the hopes of getting Khameela's attention. When that didn't seem to be working, she lowered her hands, deciding to wait until she was within hearing range before calling out to her.

The closer Khameela got, the wider Ayah's smile became. Not being able to take the excitement any longer, she broke into a run, pushing through the crowd whilst offering occasional apologies. She threw her arms around Khameela who barely had time to react, rocking them both with a giggle bursting out of her mouth.

"Oh my God!" She laughed, tightening her grip on her. "This feels like a dream!"

She felt a tear drop on her cheek and she hurriedly wiped it using the back of her hand, pushing down the more that threatened to come forth. They were tears of joy, but they weren't needed.

"My baby sister!" Khameela laughed, wrapping her arms around Ayah as well. "I've missed you like crazy!"

"I better not be dreaming," Ayah laughed when they pulled out of the hug, taking in her sister's outlook for the first time.

Khameela was still as short as Ayah knew her to be, though however short she was, she was still of the same height as herself. She was chubbier and bigger than Ayah remembered, her cheeks big and round against her already circular shaped face. Her skin seemed to have gone through a form of therapy or rehab, as it glowed. Her sister was doing well in her husband's house, it didn't take a genius to tell.

"I see Uncle Hussein is taking care of you," Ayah teased, poking her by the sides to which Khameela giggled.

"Very funny, but you can't call him that anymore, Ayah," she replied, trying her best to keep a serious face which was failing heavily at. Ayah could still see the smile in her eyes. "He's Dad Hadizah now, or Dad Aayan if you will."

"That's kind of cute... But no, thanks," Ayah laughed. "He is and will always be my Uncle Hussein. How is he doing anyways? He doesn't ask after me any longer."

Ayah pouted. "I guess I'm too old to be his buddy now."

Khameela and her husband had been friends long before they got married to each other. His often visits had made he and Ayah close, hence, they branded each other as buddies. But that was a long time ago, back when Ayah was still a little girl.

Khameela's face contorted as though she remembered something and she reached out to take Ayah's hands into hers. Then she squeezed it, offering Ayah what looked like a consoling smile.

"Congratulations," she said.

"Don't sweat it, Mammy." Ayah rolled her eyes, calling Khameela by the nickname she had given to her back in the day. "We both know it's nothing to be congratulated about."

"You sound bitter," Khameela laughed, winking. "I guess you're doing alright after all."

"It's all thanks to your lovely parents."

Just then, Ayah noticed her sister's hands were empty except for the small handbag that dangled off her forearm.

"Where are the children?" She asked, a new smile working its way up her face.

She followed her sister's eyes as she turned around and her eyes landed on a lady who seemed to have been standing behind her sister the whole while. She had Hadizah who looked to be sleeping hanging on to one of her shoulders and Aayan who was also sleeping hanging on to the other.

She walked up to her, her mouth dropping open as the woman turned around, revealing the faces of the children to Ayah. She barely held in a gasp, her eyes tearing up to what she could only describe as an heavenly sight. They looked ten times better than they did on video calls and pictures.

"What did you do to make them look so much like you, and yet so beautiful all at the same time!?" Ayah exclaimed, hovering her hand over her mouth.

"It's the reward of being-" Khameela started to say, but quickly caught herself, raising her eyebrows in question. "Wait what? What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's a compliment."

Ayah felt she could melt into a pool right there if she was given a chance to. Before that could happen however, she came back to her senses, her hands stretched forth in Aayan's direction.

"Can I hold him?" She asked, her question directed to no one in particular.

Gently, the lady offloaded him onto her arms. His weight threatened to set Ayah off balance, and with a laugh, she set herself upright, balancing him over her shoulders amidst his twitching. She tapped his back rhythmically until he relaxed once again, her mouth still half open in awe.

A man dressed in all black with a pair of sunglasses walked up to them shortly after, dragging two big boxes behind him.

"It's time to go, ma'am," he said, his statement directed towards Khameela.

Ayah looked at him from head to toe. His countenance said it all, he was a security personnel. Ayah barked out a laugh.

"You have a guard?" She asked.

"What do you take me for?" Khameela replied, scoffing. Then she clapped her hands. "Where's the car?"

They began to walk towards the car Ayah had arrived in the airport with which had a driver waiting in it. A smile was still very present on Ayah's face, and by the looks of it, it wasn't leaving anytime soon. But she wasn't complaining.

"How's Dad doing?" Khameela asked a while later. "I haven't heard from him in close to a decade, it's been so long."

"He's doing well," Ayah replied, not happy with the change of topic as it seemed to throw her mood a little off course. "He's a bit busy these days though, since you know, he's about to get his hands on good in-laws, he has to impress them and all that."

Ayah finished her statement with a scoff, slightly out of breath due to the weight of Aayan on her shoulders.

"You are bitter," Khameela snickered.

"You're welcome," she replied.

"What do you feed to this boy?" She asked. "I think he weighs more than I do now that I think of it."

That got her sister into a laughing frenzy which was contagious, getting Ayah into one mere seconds later. Despite the fact that she wasn't happy to be getting married, she was happy that she got to see her sister. At least one good thing came out of it.

°~°~°~°~°

All through the journey back home, Khameela kept commenting on how much the terrain had changed within the years. Ayah couldn't help but smile at the excitement with which she spoke, pointing at one thing after the other, each with a newer form of excitement.

When they drove into the compound, Barakah was standing on the porch, barefooted with a veil wrapped loosely around her head. The moment the car jerked to a stop, she ran towards them, tapping the tinted window with a wide smile planted on her face.

Barakah stopped when she got to Ayah's side of the door and to get down through it, Ayah had to ask Barakah to move out of the way, and by the looks of it, Barakah was unlikely to heed her. Hence, she was forced to wait for Khameela's maid who's name she had learnt was Diana to get down, then after her Khameela, only after then did she get the chance to climb down whilst bearing the weight of a sleeping Aayan on her shoulders.

On climbing down, Ayah met Barakah and Khameela in an embrace, Barakah's head nuzzled into Khameela's shoulders. Khameela had her arms wrapped around Barakah as they both rocked on their feet, with Barakah's occasional sniffs coming through.

Ayah watched the reunion with glee, a grin etched on her face. Barakah was closer to Khameela than Ayah ever was. With three years between them and five between Khameela and herself, it only seemed natural that they were better friends.

Khameela and Barakah were glued to each other all through the way into the house and up the stairs to the room the former used to occupy before getting married. Their mother had had Maureen and the others clean the room the day before, change the sheets, and all other things that had to be done to make the room which had been left unattended for years habitable once again.

Khameela held her hands over her mouth on stepping into the room, a giggle escaping as she scanned the room with twinkling eyes.

"Nothing has changed," she noted, laughing. "I bet no one has used it after me."

"Sorry to interrupt you," Ayah started, barging into the room and past her sisters, headed straight for the neatly spread bed. "But I need to drop this boy right about now, my hands are about to give out."

Ayah knelt down slowly when she got to the edge of the bed, careful not to wake Aayan up as she lowered him onto the bed. He started to twitch half way through, forcing Ayah to lower him even more gently. When his body came in contact with the bed, she turned him over so he laid on his side, patting his buttocks until his breathing became even.

"Please help me pull his shoes," Khameela said, taking a seat beside her sleeping son with Hadizah now in her hold.

As she lowered the girl onto her lap, she looked upwards, her eyes landing on Diana. "Get the luggages from Hashim, I need to change her, I think she's messed up her diapers."

While Ayah started to pull off Aayan's shoes without waking him up, the door went shut, announcing Diana's exit from the room.

Barakah was the first to break the silence between the three sisters. She sat beside Khameela, her eyes trained on her as she twisted and turned Hadizah while gently pulling off her tiny blue coloured skirt.

"I guess you really are a Mom now," Barakah commented, her voice glazed over in awe.

Ayah understood her, it was how she felt too. Despite it been close to three years since she heard her sister had put to bed, she still found it hard to believe her sister was a mother to two beautiful children, it felt surreal.

She dropped Aayan's shoes beside her, sinking deeper into a sitting position with her eyes trained on her sister as well. "It still feels like a dream," she commented.

Khameela took her eyes off Hadizah to glance at both of them, breaking into a grin. "You guys should stop looking at me like that, its making me feel weird."

"Sorry," Barakah laughed. "It's just very surprising. Is there anything I can help you with?"

Khameela shook her head. "No, thanks. Help me with my veil though, please."

While Barakah helped Khameela unpin her veil and the remove it from her head, Ayah yanked hers off too, smiling to the gush of breeze that blew over her neck immediately after. She loved using her veil and hijab, but nothing could beat being at home where she didn't have to use it.

While Khameela walked into the bathroom to pour some water on her crying daughter's body, Ayah and Barakah helped set up Hadizah's bed, and pick out a cloth of their choice for her from one of the boxes Diana had dragged in.

Afterwards, Ayah watched her sister suckle Hadizah with mixed feelings. A part of her was shocked, and the other in awe. Her sister really was a mother now. Hadizah went to sleep shortly after eating, and after that, they had to deal with Aayan who had just woken up from sleep.

Ayah's hopes of bathing for him were shattered right off the bat the moment he screamed upon sighting her, hiding behind his mother's back and only peeking at her occasionally. All the cheap tricks Ayah had learned on how to lure children towards herself didn't seem to be working on him either.

Khameela also had her bath shortly after, leaving Aayan in the care of Diana. When Khameela was fully dressed, she grabbed Aayan by the hand, handed the sleeping Hadizah over to Diana and together, they all headed downstairs.

"Why is she still sleeping?" Ayah asked Khameela on their way down the stairs, looking at Hadizah's little figure in Diana's hold.

"She sleeps a lot normally, but I think it's the journey," Khameela replied. "Or the change of environment."

Ayah nodded. Then suddenly a thought crossed her mind and she gasped.

"So Sister Khameela your children are foreigners?" She asked, laughing. "So the first foreigners I meet so happen to be my niece and nephew?"

"Surprise!" Khameela laughed, miming fireworks.

Ayah heard Aayan laugh then. His voice was tiny and velvety.

"Aayan was that you?" She asked, her hands crossed in the hopes that he was going to answer her this time.

Instead, he shrugged one of his shoulders in a way of saying no, hurrying over to his mother's front and out of her view. Ayah sighed in disappointment.

"I'll be your best friend soon, I promise."

When they got to the kitchen, their mother was nowhere to be found. But the kitchen was busy nonetheless. Delilah, the head cook had the other maids in the kitchen going back and forth to prepare what was going to be a family dinner, a celebration dinner, but more importantly, a feast.

Delilah got plates of noodles whipped up for Khameela, Aayan, Diana and Hashim in the meantime since the main dish was yet to be done and they ought to be hungry. Ayah sat at the dining table with her sisters and nephew, laughing over nothing and everything whilst Khameela ate. She was happy.

At around seven PM that night, her mother and father returned home together. She excused herself from the joyous reunion as she was still angry at her parents, she had barely shared a word with her father after that day.

Shortly after, they sat around the dinner table, ready to dig into the varieties of food Delilah and co had blessed them with, courtesy of her mother. Ayah and Barakah barely spoke during dinner. Talking would mean inevitably having to talk to her parents, she didn't want to do that.

Though lucky for her, she was sat beside Aayan who no longer ran away from her, but was still wary of her. She fed his food to him delightedly, and made him laugh every once in a while to which she got cautioned by her mother for a couple of times.

Later that night, while Ayah sat in the sitting room upstairs, shuffling between channels on the television for one with a nice show, Khameela was sat on another chair along with Aayan, engaging in a video call with her husband. Bored from not finding a good show, Ayah put down the remote and stared at her sister who's eyes were glinting, a big grin on her mouth as she watched her screen.

As though she felt her eyes on her, Khameela looked up. Caught in the act with no excuse to give, Ayah smiled awkwardly. "Say my greetings to him."

Khameela nodded. "Ayah says to greet you."

Ayah didn't hear what he said afterwards, but when Khameela looked back towards her, she was laughing. "He wants to see you."

"Yes!" Ayah exclaimed, laughing. She ran into her room to pick up a veil, hurriedly tying it around her head before walking out.

She sat beside Khameela who passed the phone over to her with a laugh.

"Ayatullah, my best buddy," Hussein laughed, waving at Ayah through the screen.

Hussein hadn't changed much from the last time Ayah had seen him, but she noticed a big change she wasn't about to let go unnoticed.

"You have a beard!" Ayah laughed, hovering her hand over her mouth.

Back when she used to be a good friend of Hussein's, Ayah remembered very clearly he had stated once that he was never going to sprout a beard, not as long as he was still in his right senses.

"Why do people keep beards anyways?" He had said. "It's too disturbing."

"Let's not talk about my beards," Hussein said laughing. "Things changed."

"Not unless you say please," Ayah replied, smirking.

"I'm a grownup now, I'm not allowed to-"

"Say please?" She teased, wiggling her eyebrows.

When the conversation with Hussein ended, Ayah was going to pass the phone over to her sister when Aayan disrupted the flow of the deal and took of with the phone.

"Aayan get back here this instant!" Khameela shouted after her son who was running in the direction of her room.

"I want to talk to my Daddy!" He shouted back, slamming the door behind himself with force.

Khameela groaned, frowning with her eyes trained on the door. "That boy."

Ayah watched the exchange with a smile, taking off her veil and began to fold it absentmindedly and slowly.

"You found love," she said, eying Khameela.

Khameela broke into a small smile. "And I know you will too."

"Not now Mammy," Ayah scoffed. "You and I know that's almost impossible to hope for."

"Don't say that, Ayah," she said. She turned in her chair, folding her legs on top of it so she could face Ayah without inconveniencing herself. "Look at me, I was your age at the time too. I didn't want to get married, and looking back now though a part of me still wishes I didn't, I'm glad I did."

"But it's not the same is it?" Ayah asked.

Her sister's face fell, telling Ayah Khameela understood exactly what she was talking about. However against the marriage nineteen year old Khameela had been, her case couldn't be compared to Ayah and Barakah's. Unlike them, Khameela knew Hussein, he was her very good friend.

"You guys knew each other before the proposal came through. And in fact, I think it's safe to say the love was already there, you just weren't ready yet," Ayah said. "But it's different with me. I don't know even the smallest thing about him, not how he looks, not his age, not his house. Nothing."

"He could be a man who just sprouted his first grey hair at the age of forty for all I know. Maybe he enjoys watching boxing with a only his boxers on and all his abdominal hair on display. Or maybe he loves spitting all around and commanding people. I don't -"

Khameela cut Ayah off with a laugh and quickly comported herself, though the ghost of a smile was still on her face. Regardless, Ayah carried on.

"I don't want that. I want what you have, at my own time. Not this, this is... It's ridiculous at the very least." Ayah finished with a shrug and a frown. Her mood was officially spoilt once again, though it was still better than it was before Khameela came.

"I understand you, Ayah," Khameela started. "Believe me I do, but you can never be too sure until you try it. You can create your own happiness, and it could turn out to be much better than what I-"

"I don't want to hear it," Ayah said, getting up from the chair with her face set straight. "I'm sorry."

A short moment of silence followed before Khameela nodded. "I understand, you should go to bed."

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said, backing out with a little wave of her hand.

"And this better not be a dream," she added upon opening the door to her room.

"It's not," Khameela replied, laughing. "I have much better places to be than in your dream, I can only be there hunt you."

"Good night," Ayah laughed, shutting the door of her room after her.

Ayah cried herself to bed for a reason unknown to her even though she was a hundred percent sure she knew the reason. She only felt like crying, so she did; that was what she told to herself.