Twice His Age

14: Mother's Curse

She felt the way her eyes instantly got filled with tears over his words but she wanted him to keep his strong faith in Allah, so she nodded her head and forced a smile on her lips. "I'm sure he has answered, Waleed. Now, let's not make Uncle Zaid wait for us, we don't want him to be angry at us, do we?"

He shook his head, hugged her one more time before he walked out of the kitchen and it took less than a minute before Meeral walked into the kitchen with her pajamas as she sleepily rubbed her hands on her eyes. Sabeeha didn't know when she heaved a sigh out of relief, she didn't know what would've happened if Meeral had seen Waleed in this kitchen, taking breakfast as though he were one of them.

"Hey!" She called out to her when Sabeeha had turned to continue with what she was doing. Even though she felt as though she had been stabbed in her heart, she turned to look at her. "Quickly make me some scrambled eggs and tea. I want the tea to have all those spices in it. It should be in my room in less than twenty minutes."

Sabeeha closed her eyes and imagined the first time she had held Meeral when she was only a baby, barely a week after she was born. She was thirteen at the time. And at that time, she felt so much love for the baby and now look, how that little girl had turned out and is now treating her.

"Meeral, I'm making breakfast for the whole family, it'd be done in the next thirty minutes, how about I bring that up to you when I'm done?" She asked with the softest of tones and prayed that it wouldn't be misunderstood by the eye candy of both Hajia and Alhaji.

Meeral chuckled for a minute and turned to fully face her. "What? Are you telling me that you won't do it or what? You need to be clear for me to know how to react to this."

Sabeeha gulped down the pain that latched itself in her throat and shook her head. "I didn't mean that, Meeral. I was simply suggesting. Because it's going to be time consuming for me and I have lots of other works to get to on time before Hajia comes down and it'd be another issue if she finds out that I'm not done with it."

This time, Meeral gave a full blown laughter and placed her hands at akimbo. "It'd be another issue? What exactly does that mean? And when did you have a voice to be opposing..." She tilted her head backwards in an understanding manner. "Ohhh, is it because Ya Anas has chosen to take pity on your worthless self..."

Sabeeha didn't know when she scoffed bitterly. "Meeral, are you the one speaking to me this way? You know what? I believe that you think you're the one worthy if you can truly refer to me as someone worthless, right? Then why would you, as worthy as you are, let someone as low and worthless as I am to make your breakfast and take care of lazy self? Don't you think that's like you downgrading your worthiness to my unworthiness and..."

Sabeeha wasn't able to close her mouth when Meeral slapped her across her right cheek and before she made a move or even did as much as breath, they heard the sound of a slap. Shell shocked, Sabeeha turned and found out that it was Anas that slapped Meeral, and he was fuming with rage!

He slapped her again across the other cheek and lifted his finger in a warning manner. "I don't know how you've turned out this way, Meeral, but to say I'm disappointed in you would be an understatement. How dare you say that to her? The woman that has taken care of you when your so called mother moves around town to weddings and events? Or even sleeps because she has someone else to take care of her baby? And you proceeded to even slap her?"

"Ya Anas, how could you slap me because of this worthless woman and..." The next thing he did was pull the the belt on his trouser out and in a matter of seconds, Anas had started beating Meeral so hard that no matter how much Sabeeha begged him to stop and how much Meeral had been screaming to the top of her lungs, he didn't listen.

"You dare call her worthless when you're the one being worthless! Such an ingrate that you are!" He kept on lashing it on her body until they heard the way Hajia yelled his name when she walked further into the kitchen and Sabeeha didn't know when she took a step back, her heart pounding against her chest as she could only imagine how bad this was going to turn out for her.

"Have you gone mad, Anas?!" Mommy thundered and when she stood in front of him, she slapped him so hard across both his cheeks and Anas let the belt slipped off of his hand without even knowing when. Mommy had never slapped him in his life. In fact, she had never laid her hands on him.

He quickly masked his pain and surprise before he took a step back and examined what he had done. Meeral was laying on the floor, crying badly and there were patches on her skin caused by his belt. He wished he could add more to her.

"You should ask her what she did..." Meeral beat him at it even before he got to finish his sentence.

"Mommy, I was so hungry so I came to ask Sabeeha to make eggs and tea for me. But she said that she won't make it, I should eat what she's making for breakfast or don't eat at all. I..." She broke into tears and Anas only closed his eyes, because somehow, he had forgotten how his action would badly affect Sabeeha until now.

He heard as Meeral cooked up a different entire story, not that even if she told the truth what Mommy wanted to do would be changed and he watched the way Mommy, furious as she was, took the belt that had fallen from his hand and in a swift, she had landed it on Sabeeha's back, whom screamed softly before she used her palm to muffle her cries. His entire being stopped moving and he didn't know when tears found way to his eyes.

He moved to where Mommy was mercilessly beating Sabeeha as she throw insults on her, calling her all sorts of names while Sabeeha tried all she could not to make a sound. And her eyes watered with the agony she felt. He took a step towards them and Mommy turned with her eyes that had turned a shade of blood.

"Don't you dare make another move, Anas Tukur Barkindo!" She thundered and he found himself frozen where he was. And she turned, continued beating Sabeeha that was now laying on the floor until she got exhausted and then punched her stomach with her leg.

"And you!" She turned to him, and right that moment, he was sure he didn't recognize the woman that was staring back at him. There was no way this woman was his mother. "I've heard all that you did yesterday and whether or not you're planning on doing any sort of rubbish today. Before, I've decided to just let you continue with your foolishness, but not anymore."

He knew it, he knew that someone would snitch on him. Among the Uncles and Aunties they visited yesterday, even though none of them had even agreed with what he wanted, but he knew they'd do this to him.

"I can't say you should stop loving her, because I'd never know whether you do or not. And your love for her wouldn't even matter in a year to come. But for planning on marrying her behind our backs, wallahil Azeem, if you dare as much as utter a word while the nikkah is being solemnized later on, not to even think of getting married to her yourself, Sai na tsine maka albarka!" (I'll curse you!)

Anas didn't know when he slumped on the floor and his heart gave a twitch that stopped the circulation of blood throughout his entire body. He watched Mommy placed her once loving hands on Meeral's body as she inspected her wounds and she turned to him. 

"And I won't ask you to stop doing all your attempts in protecting her. Today, you've beaten Meeral and I wish I had more strength to beat her worthless self more than I did. Just know that a single move from you would cause her a hundred damages and more agony than what I've planned for her."

He was crying badly, shaking his head and not even being able to turn to where he could hear Sabeeha's painful whimpers. "Mommy, please..." He didn't even mind about the Meeral case anymore.

"I know you're well educated to know what my words means to you and the life of your entire generation. Again, Allah ya isa, Anas, so long as you make a move with whatever it is you're planning pertaining you and that worthless woman. And I won't hesitate, if you dare do as much as say a word about her marriage, not to even have your way to get married to her yourself, wallahi sai na tsine maka!"

For a moment, Anas's heart went into a hiatus and he sincerely wished it didn't start beating again.