BETROTHED ✓

26°

Larai had just finished having a breakfast of tea, bread, and scrambled eggs, when she heard the front door open, followed by Yumnah's high-pitched voice. "We're home!"

"They are home?" Larai hurried to the parlor and her lips stretched at the sight of Yusrah and Yumnah standing in the middle of the room, with their suitcases beside behind them.

"Larai!" Yusrah ran towards her and engulfed her in a hug.

Larai wrapped her arms around Yusrah and pulled back after some seconds. "Welcome back. Yusuf told me you will be back soon, but I didn't expect it to be this soon."
"
Thanks, Larai. How have you been? I have missed you a lot." Yusrah pouted.

"I missed you too." Larai smiled. "I kept on reminiscing the times we would sit and discuss books late at night. I'm so glad you're back."

"Me too." Yusrah returned the smile.

Larai moved towards Yumnah and engulfed her in a hug as well.

Yumnah rolled her eyes but returned the hug nonetheless.

"Welcome back, Yumnah." Larai pulled back and took a step backward. "How was your flight?"

"Stressful." Yumnah groaned. "I'm jet-lagged. Where is everybody?"

"Yusuf is in his—" Larai had not finished her statement when Yusuf walked into the room. "Oh! Here he comes."

"Yusuf!" Yumnah squealed and ran into his open arms. "I thought you'd be the one to pick us from the airport. I was so disappointed, you know."

Yusuf disentangled his arms from around her and pulled her cheek. "Don't be silly. You know I'd have personally waited at the airport to pick you both up, but I couldn't, because I had a splitting headache."

"He just returned from Niger state yesterday," Larai added.
"
Why? What did you go there to do?"

"Business." Yusuf's response was curt.

I wondered why he lied to them.

"It seems I'm invisible to someone." Yusrah huffed and turned her back on Yusuf.

"It seems so." Larai feigned seriousness.

Yusuf chuckled and walked up to his sister and lifted her. "You know that's impossible. How can someone as beautiful as you be invisible? That's impossible."
"
It's possible since you've been busy catching up with your favorite sister." Yusrah quirked her lips.

"I'm glad you've finally accepted the reality." Yumnah stuck out her tongue at her sister.

"You two hooligans have returned to continue troubling me," Yusuf grunted.

"See, Yusie, he didn't even deny it." Yumnah instigated.

Yusuf shook his head and flung an arm over Yusrah's shoulder. "That's because I know Yusrah is sensible enough to know what's right and wrong, unlike someone we all know."

Yumnah's jaw dropped. "Are you insinuating I'm the insensible one?"

"I didn't mention names." Yusuf raised both hands in surrender.

Larai looked on in amusement as the siblings bickered. The bond they shared was worth emulating. It reminded her of her sister. Sadly, they weren't as close as the three siblings were, but deep within Larai, she loved her younger sibling a lot. She was closer to her—much more than her other three siblings.

Larai couldn't wait to complete her studies and return home to her family.

Despite everything her parents had put her through, she still missed them—a lot. She missed how Nna would scold her for every little mistake and threaten to take her report to Baaba. A melancholic smile curled up her lips as she recalled Baaba: he was always so reserved and liked to appear tough, but just like coconut, he was hard on the outside but soft on the inside. She missed everything about them—the good times and even the bad times. They were still her parents after all and no matter what happened, the fact would never change.