I See Fire

34 | In the name of Love

Abuja, Nigeria.

05/01/22

03:20am

My dearest Manee, how I wish you knew how your actions affect me. But I know why, I don't blame you for how you naturally feel but I believe you could've learnt to live with me even if you disliked me.

I'd like to think you just felt like we weren't blood. A natural instinct. Animals can tell when a member of the pack shouldn't be there. But you don't have to worry. I kicked myself out.

In a short while you won't have to worry about being related to me. That aside, I must warn you about Uncle Adeel. Why? you might ask. You will be with child. I don't have to press on that. Be careful, we've (your siblings) seen they way both of you relate.

I'm not denouncing our relationship to one another but I don't feel close enough to be one of you. I've never felt anything good about our being siblings because it's been loneliness and pain.

Well, I have warned you. Throw away my advice if you like or accept it. I won't be there to live with your choices and watch them affect you. Take care of yourself even if you have mama and baba in all your corners.

Don't even say they are in mine. You're the ones who weren't. Farouk might've but he's playing both sides. At least he showed me care with Amira and Usama.

Usama—how is he? Give him a hug for me and tell Amira she can take over the world with the power in head. Life is not so hard, the lot of you made it what it was for me.

See you in hell Manee. This is not speaking from spite. It's pent up feelings and a threat to abridge the cost of our damages. We've all made mistakes we could've taken back from the start but didn't.

Xoxo.
_______________________

Aamanee looked around the room for the hundredth time and still couldn't believe she was in the hospital and her parents knew.

She dropped the paper on the floor beside her bed and leaped off the other side. Her feet touched the cold tiles and she felt heat rush up her legs as she hadn't used them in hours.

She walked to the window, dragging her short hospital gown to her knees even if she couldn't because she was just too tall so it had to be that length. The cold of the room sieved through to her bones as she approached her window. Her burglary proof-less window.

She stood on her toes, gumming her face to the transparent glass to examine the bottom. The cold glass was icy against the skin of her forehead, nose and lips as she looked up and touched the glass then began to look for the latch that could open it. She pushed her head out into the darkness of the night once she'd found a hook she had to turn.

Tall bright lights lined the compound of the hospital, with flowers and trees of different fruits just beneath them. Shrubs were trimmed to perfection and the floors cemented to enable a clean walk to the other blocks.

She pushed from her legs so more than just her head was out. Now her shoulder was inching to the outside because her entire weight rested on her elbow that was by the window sill. She got tired and dragged a single plastic visitors chair and climbed it to sit on the edge with a blanket.

She thought what if I jumped here tonight? Wouldn't that make for an interesting murder mystery? That would be Hajiya Waleeda's greatest nightmare. This would bring her betrayal to brighter lights for karma to laugh at her.

She stood back on the chair and tried to put one of her legs out but her body couldn't fit so she goes back to the side where the window was locked and sat on the edge, enjoying the view as she imagined how her death would be viewed from this high point of the building.