Under the Olive Tree

Epilogue

The woman hardly paid Amani any mind, her eyes sparkling as she looked out onto the night. "Can you hear that? She is calling for me. Immy, immy," Um Muhsin repeated. "Eh, ya qalbi? I am here."

Amani watched Um Muhsin pull her hand away from hers and turn completely back to the window, her hushed whispers beginning again as she spoke to her deceased daughter. Love, longing, comfort, and prayers all poured from her lips, but her eyes had grown distant. She would not hear Amani if she spoke again so the girl removed her hand from her mother-in-law. She placed a Koran on the rocking woman's lap and draped a blanket over her shoulders before closing the bedroom door after herself.

When she passed the second room, she heard Amjad snoring and Ezzo turning over in his bed, their exhaustion from working in the bakery and attending their lessons all leading them to a peaceful sleep.

She moved past the room and across the apartment, stepping into the dark room and clicking the door to a close behind her.

Muhsin's deep breathing was the only sound she heard as she crept over, carefully climbing into bed beside him. When he felt the mattress dip, Muhsin's arm instinctively extended toward her side. Normally, his hand would slip around her waist and he'd tug her closer until his brow rested against her temple. But this time, his knuckles brushed her knee from where she'd sat firmly beside him and he frowned.

Amani leaned forward, bringing her lips just an inch above his ear and whispering his name. "Muhsin."

He hummed, still asleep.

Amani ruffled his hair and leaned closer. "Muhsin."

"In the morning, Immy," he grumbled.

With a huff, Amani reached over her husband and tugged on the lamp's string. It clicked on, lighting a soft orange brightness behind his back. She pressed a chaste kiss onto his temple and spoke again. "Muhsin!" Her whisper came more urgently, more energetic.

Muhsin's eyebrows lifted, tugging his eyes to a sleepy open. "I know those lips," he murmured, squinting up at the girl sitting beside him as a soft smile lifted the corners of his lips.

She grinned. "Why are you so drunk on sleep?"

"My body is tired," he wrapped his fingers around her wrist and tried to lead the girl closer to him. A deep pout formed on his lips when Amani resisted. "Why will you not sleep? Fajr has not yet called."

Amani nudged his shoulder. "I have news."

"This news cannot wait until the morning?"

She shook her head.

"Shoo feh, Amani?" Muhsin rubbed his eyes, his tone laced with an exhausted whine that contrasted the girl's bright smile.

"Get up," she tugged on his sleeve and offered him the cool glass of water that sat on nightstand behind her. "Drink some water."

Muhsin took a deep breath and pushed himself off the mattress, letting his back sink against the bedframe behind them. The blanket fell to his waist when he pulled his arms out to take the glass. He took two short sips then a final large one before placing the cup beside him. When he turned back to Amani, her excited expression filled him with confusion. "Why are you smiling?" He asked.

Amani's grin grew as if the question reminded her of the reason for her excitement and she could not tolerate its growing levels.

His brows knit together. "Amani, Amanti," he repeated the nickname he'd given the girl in the moments he found her behavior adorably child-like. My Amani, he'd said. "Wallah, I love seeing your smile, but when it comes in undefined moments like these, I am concerned."