Everything has changed

Chapter 12: Mastermind/s

Bathing Amir was easy enough, he wasn't fuzzy nor was he difficult to deal with. Easy to say that Jamil did not have a hard time with the kid.

While Jamil ruffled and dried him Amir was looking like he had curious questions

"Amir what is it?"

The kid glances at him, "How come you're great at everything??"

Jamil chuckles, "I'm not great at everything, there are things I'm not good at."

"What are you not good at?" His head turns, glancing at the man.

"Well... I'm not good with people... your dad is better with social stuff..." Jamil puts a hand on his chin, "... I'm not great at communicating..."

The child's face scrunched,"Com- commu..? What?"

Jamil smiled at him, he did not answer yet, he first placed the towel in a nearby chair and proceeded to put Amir in his pajamas. It was a sun patterned pair.

A form of deja Vu struck Jamil, as if he had seen it before....

"𝘑𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥... 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 ...!"

It was a lightbulb like moment, Jamil did know where the pair came from. It was the one that Kalim used to wear...

"To think he passed this to you... it's quite old." He whispered to himself and looked fondly as he remembered the memories. Kalim used to go into his carpet and fly into Jamil and Najma's window when he was scared to sleep alone. It came to a point where Jamil just decided to sleep the night at Kalim's room; he'll eventually return home when his nightmare nights stop.

He glanced over at the boy again, he definitely got Kalim's cheerfulness and outlook. A cute boy like him... doesn't deserve to see the darkness both of them did.

"Communication. It's when you talk to people." He answered while getting him dressed.

"Ohhhh! You're not good at talking? But you're talking to me right now Uncle."

"Well yes- but, you see... Sometimes talking is hard.."

A flashback, he sees his second year self... Everything was only a memory now. A distant and lonely memory.

He looks back and he sees himself drowning, he once tried to hold out his hand. Kalim tried to reach him... but little did they know they were both drowning and neither had any idea how to swim.

"Sometimes saying how you feel..."

A flash of Kalim slips into his mind...

"Isn't as easy as you think it was..."

The child, visibly confused, Jamil patted his head, "One day, you'll understand... But for now, remember that you say how you feel. No matter what it is... Someone out there will listen."

Maybe Amir won't understand right now, but Jamil hopes that this child doesn't repeat the same mistakes that they once did in their youth..

__________

Putting Amir into bed was a cinch as well, he was quite tired from swimming all day. Jamil then opens up the lamp. Amir's eyes looked heavy and we're fighting to stay up. Jamil ought to bring him to bed after such a tiring day.

"Uncle..."

"Yes?"

"Can you sing me a lullaby?"

Jamil sat beside the boy, started stroking his head and began to sing. A song quite familiar to the boy, in seconds the room was filled with Jamil's sweet singing voice. It covered every corner, sounds of nostalgia and dreams. In a glimpse, there was memory.