Under the Olive Tree

13. Talatha T'Ashar

Amani knew how her cousin would likely react so she watched her closely as she spoke the words. Reema was emptying the box of the freshly cut leaves when it seemed to click. It was information unexpected in such a way that she didn't gasp or freeze in shock. No, Reema only continued lifting the last few leaves from the box before wheeling it at Amani's head.

She cried, ducking in surprise.

"Say wallah!" Reema bellowed, sprinting after the girl. "Say wallah and swear on my life that you've just gone and done this Amani. Do you realize how serious this is?"

Amani laughed. "Calm down."

"No! I can't calm down! How am I supposed to remain calm at news like this?" She questioned. "Amani... this is serious. This is serious and you are laughing at me even though I seem to be taking it more seriously than you. This is a marriage proposal."

"I'm fully aware of how serious it is," Amani clarified.

But Reema didn't believe her. "I don't think you are. Muhsin was supposed to be something fun to fill your boredom with, not someone you would ask to propose to you a second time. Are you going to accept his proposal this time? Do you plan on marrying the boy or just tossing him around for your own entertainment?"

Amani shook her head. "It isn't like that."

"Amani," Reema took a long stride to arrive in front of her, her expression not betraying an ounce of amusement. "This is his life you are playing with. I understand that you are not from here so you see the town as some imaginary land that you'll never have to return to again once you leave, but it's very real. Muhsin is very real."

"I know that."

"You don't," Reema laughed. "You don't, Amani, because you would not be doing this to him if you did. You said you were not here to marry and now you have asked him to propose to you a second time. You said he was just fun for you and this is not fun. This is somebody's life you are ruining in your desire to make up for everything you missed when you left the place you came from."

"I'm not trying to make up for anything, Reema. I actually like Muhsin," Amani replied, feeling the conversation taking a turn she knew she would not like. "I'm not that cruel."

Reema sighed, pushing her hair from her face with her palms to reveal the true level of her exasperation. "Maybe you do, bas tell me then, baby cousin. If he really asks, will you marry Muhsin?"

Amani opened her mouth to reply then paused. "That's why I'm getting to know him. That's how this works, isn't it?"

"But would you marry him? Would you wear his ring on your finger and give the rest of your life to him? Would you actually marry him?" She pressed.

It made Amani notice something in her cousin's mind that made her fall silent. "You think I'm lying," she whispered, seeing the reality of it in Reema's eyes. An answer wasn't even needed to confirm the truth in her statement. "You think I'm just playing him, don't you?"

She began to reply but Amani interjected.

"Tell the truth, Reema."

Then she paused and the word on her lip changed. "Yes, I do, but it's only because that's what you've been telling me. You said he was a challenge. You said you would not like him and that you had your person back home. What then?"

"What then what?"

"When it's time to go back, you'll leave Muhsin."

"This isn't about me leaving. This is about you not trusting me enough to think I would genuinely consider his feelings like some kind of psychopath or sociopath—whichever it is! Just because I told you about someone back home does not mean I think Muhsin is a figment of my imagination. I'm fully aware of his being real and I'm also aware of what I've asked him to do. I'm not ignorant to how things are done here just because I've been raised in another country."