Crossed Paths✅

|19|

She sighed and thanked her before leaving. She wondered how cruel her step mother was. From all indications she was intending to sell what doesn't belongs to her.. Islamically she wasn't in the right position to sell or do anything with her mother's belongings. It was for them! how greedy of a person she was! Anyways her stepmother was eveb nice enough to give her their clothes.

"Bitch!" Jiddah yelled startling her. She didn't paid any heed to her instead  dropped the bag into their closet before removing her long faded hijab.

"How dare you! didn't you heard me speaking to you?!." Jiddah screeched.

"Don't be so full of yourself okay?! Just because you happened to be fairer, have a lengthy hair, got body curves and pretty doesn't mean you are above me okay! or keep mute when talking to you! to me you're nothing but a freaking maid! a useless trash!" Jiddah completed with clenched teeth.

That's it! Ariana knew the half part of the hatred Jiddah has towards her was caused by envy. She envys every single thing about her! For Allah's sake, Allah created her like that, what is she expected to do? Allah decided to make her beautiful and whatsoever Jiddah mentioned because that was how he wanted to see her.

"Jiddah please. I'm not ready for any of your tantrums."

Jiddah grasped Ariana's hair making her to let out a whimper. Ariana used all the strength she could gather and pushed Jiddah away from her.

"How dare you!" Jiddah sneered and that was how they engaged into fist fighting sending blows at each other. At first Ariana didn't want to retaliate but when she saw Jiddah throwing blows at how anyhow, she also decided to defend herself.

Basma came in and saw them. She smirked and joined forces with Jiddah and they gave Ariana the beating of her life! as if, the one their mother gives her on a daily basis wasn't enough.

Hajiya Nusaiba heard Ariana's cries and summoned them all. She wiped her face and put on her hijab while the duo left with victorious smirks on their lips. Ariana hated herself for letting them win and showing them her weakness.

Upon her arrival into the parlor, she saw her twin siblings tied up and were given out ten ten lashes for playing with Hanif's ball and to her utmost surprise Marwa wasn't crying! she held an emotionless face while Safaa was the only one crying.

Ariana gasped. Ya Allah!what were they turning her seven year old sister into? why wasn't she crying like her twin was doing?. why was she carrying a face that shows nothing but pure hatred. Innanilahi wa'ina ilaihi raji'un.

And the most pitied thing was that Alhaji Malik was present in the parlor.Astaghfirullah but she was also starting to hate him!

"And you! what did you do to them?" She fiercely turned to Ariana.

"I didn't do anything. They picked my trouble." She silently said.

"Liar! Mama she's lying! she picked ours and called us all sort of names." Basma said.

"She did that!" Hajiya Nusaiba gasped.

"Well, you won't receive any beatings from me today." Hajiya Nusaiba smirked shocking Ariana and the rest of the occupants of the room.

She checked the wall clock and the time says 8pm. The sky was cloudy with thundering storms and rain could start falling any moment. She glanced at her husband and smirked.

"Alhaji." She called out.

"Yes Habeebtee." He smiled.

"Ask your kids to leave my parlor. They should go outside and sleep there. They won't be sleeping under my shield today. I don't care whether it's going to be rainy or not,but they won't just sleep inside today. This is their punishment." She finished with a smirk while Ariana gasped.

"Sure." He untied the twins and grabbed both theirs and Ariana's hands before throwing them outside. They watched as he shut the door closed on their faces.

"Abbi, please don't do this to us. Please, please open the door, wallahi i won't ever talk back at Jiddah or Basma again and Safaa and Marwa will never play with Hanif's ball, please let us in Abbi, it will soon start raining we will get sick and it's late in the night, we are scared Abbi, please." Ariana cried, pleaded, banged the door but all fell into deaf ear. No one was ready to come to their aid.

They heard a striking loud thunder making Ariana to ran to her siblings and embrace them.

"Ya Ariana we're scared." They both cried.

"Shush, nothing will happen okay.? i'm by your side and Allah is also with us." She said wiping her unstoppable tears. Ya Allah! Ya Khalil where are you?.

Soon, rain began to fall in full speed. Ariana nestled her siblings in her long hijab so they couldn't get wet by the rain but despite that they were all drenched in water! while others were in the comforts of their rooms and covered in blankets. They were outside in the falling rain.

The twins cuddled into Ariana as cold began to seep through every inch of their bodies. Ariana heard as her sisters cried while at that moment, her tears had dried. She felt numb. She was emotionless. She couldn't think of anything anymore. As much as she hated to admit it! as much as she hated to feel it, she hated her stepmother but she hated her father more! She feels nothing but pure hatred towards him and nothing he would ever do or anyone do to make her hate him less! she hated him with every living fibre of her being!.

And that was the beginning of a change! A change that brought two paths closer.

***
Yassalam🥺. For a daughter to hate her father like this!  Poor Ariana🥺.