MANAL

7. Manal

Unedited.

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I ran into my room and slammed the door shut. I felt a tight squeeze in my heart. Abii had just gotten back from a trip and the first thing I did, was infuriated him. "I shouldn't have said anything about Imran not studying." I cringed and hit myself on the head. "This is all my fault. How am I ever going to face him again?" I lied down in bed and buried my head into the pillows.

My head instantly lifted up, when I heard a knock on my door, followed by Imran's voice. "Please open the door, Manal."

I gritted my teeth in annoyance. "How dare he show himself to me, after what he did to me?" I muttered underneath my gaze and sprung up. "Go away، Imran!" I yelled, suppressing the urge to burst into tears.

"I shouldn't have told abi about that, I'm sorry. I didn't want to, but you started it. Please stop crying, Manal." He apologized.

I rolled my eyes at his words. "Just get out of here, before I open the door and give you the beating of your life." Like he said, I started it, but even so, he shouldn't have said anything to abi regrading what happened to me. In spite of begging him, he still disobeyed me.

"Ummi is also angry with me. She won't even speak to me anymore, until you've forgiven me." He remarked, his voice dripping with sadness.

I hissed - what did he expect? After she earned him not to continue, he still did.

"I promise I won't do anything to make you angry anymore." He persisted.

I gnashed my teeth in exasperation and flung the door open. "Didn't you -" I was cut off by his demeanor - his head was lowered and he looked really remorseful. My heart softened instantly.

"I'm sorry, Manal." He apologized again.

"It's Alright." I heaved a sigh. "But don't you ever do something like that ever again and for the records, I'm not giving you a dime anymore." I sneered and slammed the door at his face.

That night, I didn't have a good sleep. I kept turning and tossing in bed, thinking abii would come to my room. I so badly wanted to go to their room and make him forgive me, but I knew better than to do that - he would only get angrier at me.

The sound of the adhan woke me up. After I was done with prayers, I left my room for abii and ummi's.

"Assalamu'alaykum" I gently knocked on the wooden door.

"Wa alaikum salam." She responded.

I opened the door and walked in to Ummi sitting on her prayer mat. I sat beside her and greeted; "good morning, ummi."

"Good morning, dear. Hope you slept well? May Allah protect you and your brother always. From the evil eye, from the influence of bad friends and any form of evil. May Allah not make our coming to this world a failure. In shaa Allah, in the hereafter, we are going to meet in aljannah as a family."

"Aameen." I responded.

"Never forget the kind of family you come from, Manal - the morals we instilled in you. Don't do anything that will put this family's name to shame. Everything you do in this world should be fisabilillah."

"In shaa Allah,Ummi."

"May Allah continue to bless you, my dear."

"Aameen." I responded. My heart swelled with happiness, due to the prayers Ummi was raining on me. Indisputably, I was lucky to have such a caring mother, who never failed to include we - her children in all of her prayers. Ever since she resigned from her job, years ago, she had dedicated all of her life to taking care of her family. She made sure she was always there to protect and advice me whenever I really needed one.