Stand by me

33. Embeded within.

After playing for a while, Safiyya switched the TV to a cartoon channel and let Joseph watch while she went to the kitchen to cook lunch. He still went over and observed what she was doing curiously and Safiyya went through the questions test of a child but it was a nice bonding time.

When she was done, she called Jessy who was ready for her afternoon shift and they were together. Poor Jessy didn't get Joseph to stop calling her aunt. She was too young for that!

Safiyya's alarm rang and she stood up to clear the table.
"Jessy, you are leaving by 2, right? Stay with Yousef for a while. I need to pray," she told Jessy.

Joseph looked at her and she told him calmly. "I will pray for some minutes, Yousef. Why don't you spend some time with Aunt Jessy first?"

"Okay mummy," he nodded and she smiled before entering the bedroom.

Jessy smiled at the little boy, hoping with her fingers crossed that he was an angel.
When Safiyya returned to the living room, she caught in with their conversation.

"You are such a smart boy Yousef. You must be the best in your class!" Jessy complemented the little boy with a thumbs up but instead of the blush that Safiyya expected, Joseph frowned.

"I'm not smart, just brilliant. I doubt that too," he muttered. 

"Come on. Who told you that?' Jessy scoffed at the statement.

"It's true Aunt Jessy. Even my teacher says that. I understand everything in class and write my assignments on my own but when it comes to exams, I get confused and write nonsense," Joseph said sadly.

Jessy went silent as she remembered when she first started college. Being a newbie with a lot of confidence from her high school, she didn't have a hard time learning. Safiyya was her roommate then but they hardly talked. Jessy chose to enjoy her college days, flexing at night and usually returning to meet Safiyya reading. She was tired of reading at the time but hardly cared since she had things under control but she was mistaken because when their first exams came, she became so confused that her hands were shaking in the exam hall. She came out thinking that she wrote nonsense and cried her heart out in the room that night. It was Safiyya who consoled her and advised her on what to do. Their reading patterns weren't the same but Safiyya had a way to assist her in reading and emotion control. That's how their friendship started and it has been four years now.

Jessy knows how horrible that feeling was and hearing it from a child saddened her. She reached out for Joseph's hands and smiled. "Don't worry Yousef. This isn't something that your mother can't solve, "

Joseph pouted and looked up at her. "Do you think my mummy thinks that I am stupid?"

Safiyya froze at what Josepj just said. Why would he think that? Jessy just happened to raise her head and their eyes met and Safiyya quickly shook her head.

Jessy understood her and turned back to Joseph. "Your mummy will never think that. Who even told you that?"

"My classmates," he bit his lips. "They said that I am sick and crazy. Someone even said that I am mentally handicapped and that's why I'm stupid. They said that… I'm not part of them and no one wants to be my friend."

Jessy was speechless at this and gazed at Safiyya who had her eyes closed, trying to calm her breath. If someone told her that children could be this toxic, she wouldn't have believed them. She took a deep breath and walked over to them.

"Mummy?" Joseph looked at her and even though his eyes were teary, he smiled. This made her almost tear up.

Jessy stood up and patted her friend's shoulder. "I will leave first," she said and Safiyya nodded. She kneeled before Joseph and stared into his eyes.

"Mummy, I am sick right?" he asked her. "I know I am because any time I look in the mirror, my eyes aren't straight. I asked Dad but he won't tell me anything, "

Safiyya blinked away her tears and grasped his small hands.
"It is true son," she told him and smiled brightly. "But do you know what we do when we are sick? We try our best to get better. Your mummy will always be there to get you better okay? Don't listen to anything others say about you because, in my eyes, nothing is wrong with you. I love everything about you, no matter what it is. Your flaws are your beauty, so never doubt my love for you."

"I love you too mummy," Joseph smiled and she hugged him tightly. She tried her best not to cry at the moment to provide him strength. She might have calmed him down now but she knew all those negative words were embedded in the boy's mind.  She made up her mind to give him the best childhood ever.

She used to think that making her parents and Muslim women proud was her only goal but after meeting Yousef, she felt that she had another goal in her life.

She stood up with him in her arms and walked to the bedroom. She patted his back slowly until he fell asleep. Then she lay him on her bed and adjusted the duvet. As he slept, he looked so peaceful that it melted her heart. She bent over and blew some dua over him and kissed his forehead.

The weather was becoming colder and the sky darker, showing that it might rain. Safiyya went to lock the door and windows before coming back to the room to lie down beside Joseph. She hugged his small frame and gradually drifted into sleep too.

The alarm rang and Safiuya woke up. She rubbed her eyes. She got off the bed, was careful not to wake Joseph up, and walked to the bathroom. After wudu, she got covered up and prayed asr. Safiyya glanced at Yousef and smiled, raising her hands in dua. She prayed for him sincerely, prayed for her career, her parents, and other Muslims out there.

Safiyya just rolled her praying mat when she heard a knock on the door which made her frown. It was still drizzling a little and she knew they weren't expecting anyone so she wondered who.

She walked up to the door and carefully opened it only for her eyes to widen at the unexpected yet expected guest.

Who?😬