Lie Girl

Chapter 15

The man I saw through the crack was a tall, slender stranger of thirty or so, with green eyes and pale skin. His bare forearms were covered with inked drawings, and he gave off the smell of ink.

Holding my breath, I gazed up at him, expecting a scream of horror. But he looked at me like a teacher waiting for me to supply the correct answer.

The half-opened door had blocked his view of my friends' lifeless bodies. I set my heel against the base, so that it wouldn't open farther.

Swallow your fear. "Yes?"

"Is Umair here?"

"No. He has gone out."

"Oh? We agreed to meet here at six, and it's now . . . let me see . . . five fifty-eight. "My name is Zareef. May I come in and wait?"

"Uh, no . . . I'm sorry. I myself am going out now. To . . . meet a friend."

With a shiver, I realized I had on Umair's clothes and my cap. Would he mistake me for a boy? No, close up, my face would be too soft.

Zareef glanced at the satchel slung across my shoulder, and I guessed he was also searching for my shape

If I had seen this man before, I would have remembered him. Nor could I recall his name, but that didn't mean he wasn't a friend or associate of Umair.

The terrible scene at my back clung to me like a cobweb. Was he here for a social visit? He gazed at me, but it was not a lustful gaze, but an evaluation, which in my loose boy's garments was no surprise.

I tried not to avert my eyes. "As I said, I have to go."

Zareef nodded. "You are Sinela."

"Yes," I admitted, my hope of staying unrecognized now gone.

"I'd hoped to meet you."

"Oh?" God, he was one of potential boyfriends that Umair hinted at from time to time.

"Is Niya here?" he asked.

My heart pounded. "Niya? Uh . . . no. She went with Umair."

He nodded. "Where?"

The worst thing I could do was turn my head, show something was wrong. I barely moved, but his eyes followed the motion.

"No matter," He said, "I'm sure Umair will be back soon. He won't mind if I stay and wait."

My breath left me. I struggled to speak. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that. Excuse me, please!" My heart was in my throat as I tried to push past him, thinking he would give way. The slender man was a stone wall. As I pushed into him, I fell back, and the door opened wide.

He clapped his hand to his mouth like a person trying to contain their vomit. He groaned, fell back a step, then stumbled forward, muttering, "What is this? What has happened?" He looked at me. "My God, they are dead!" He stood above Niya and Umair, rocking his body. "Inna Lillahi wa inna alayhi raji'un."

Indeed, we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.

Zareef wheeled back around to me, his eyes burning with anger. "What have you done?"

"Nothing, I—"

"You've murdered them."

The blood rushed from my head, and for a moment, there were no sounds. He continued speaking, repeating his accusation. The floor rose on one side and then the other like a teeter-totter. Why were this man's words so bitter? As my senses returned, I muttered, "No, I did not kill them. I—"

"Umair told me about you. He wanted you out. Is that why you did it?"

Could this man believe I would murder for lost sleep? "I found them lying in their blood, as you do now. Look at me. I am just a girl." I pulled off my cap, revealing my hair, as if was. "Could I do such a thing?"