Strings Attached

~Chapter 7~

"Umm... Assalamu alaikum," I say, extending a hand for her to shake. She doesn't reply, but takes my hand and shakes it gingerly. "I think you two can carry on from here, right Hiba?" Aunt Samina asks her daughter and she nods back in answer.

"I say... where's your body?" Hiba asks me, eyeing me skeptically. Hasn't she seen her mother wearing abaya? I'm confused here. "Uh... excuse me?" I ask her, uncertain. And she's at me in a trice. But she doesn't hit me or anything. I think she just wants to look intimidating with her tall height, though she looks anything but. She glares daggers at me with her full-of-kohl eyes.

"Listen here, pea brain!" she begins in a hard voice, very much like her mother now. Okay... she changed colors pretty fast. I had my suspicions but I didn't expect her to be this weird. "You don't show your sass round here, okay? This is my place, so you better behave!" And saying that, she's gone. I think the 'absolute angel' story was an 'absolute fake'!

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The next day is Sunday. And I'm up really early. So I take the opportunity to go round the house and appreciate the view. There's a whole row of 6 to 8 similarly structured houses, in varying conditions of repair. The house right in front of Uncle Jabbar's is a complete beauty. It's the best-looking one in the whole area. I'm about to go inside when I see someone standing in one of the many balconies and smoking a cigarette. He looks very young, probably no more than twenty.

I get closer towards the gates in order to get a better look. But the same moment, the guy turns his face and I get in his direct line of view. Sh*t! I don't even have my veil over my face. I try to cover my face with my dupatta and turn towards him once again, only to find him staring at me. Another guy has joined him this time, and they're both looking at me now. The way the first guy's is staring at me, it just creeps me out, and I run back inside as fast as I can. I wonder who they were.

That day, Uncle Jabbar takes me and dad to go sightseeing. He's a really nice, adorable man. Nothing like his daughter. And I love him already. After we've finished visiting most of the old buildings and museums, he takes us to an Indian Muslim restaurant. After we've had our tummies filled with kebabs and biryani, Uncle surprises us by taking us shopping. I'm not really a shopping person, but I try to think up some of the necessary items I might need for school.

Dad and Uncle are old school friends. Uncle Jabbar's parents had an established business here so he had to relocate when he finished college. Despite living in such altered conditions from home, I find quite many similarities between dad and him. They both call their children 'Baita' in public, in spite of their children's protests. Both have an unmatched love for 'seekh kebabs' and biryani. They both don't know how to work their fancy phones and... I could go on and on. At least, there is someone that I find likeable in my host family. I can live with that.

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It's the first day of school. A new school in a completely new place. I'm nervous and excited at the same time. I get up, pray Fajr and then start getting ready for school. After I've gotten ready, I see dad and Uncle Jabbar come home from the Masjid. There's a masjid here! Wow!! Masha Allaah. I greet them when they enter. "You're ready, I see," Uncle Jabbar says. "Hasn't your aunt woken up yet?" "I... I didn't go to see, Uncle." "You should've woken her up. She wouldn't have minded, I'm sure." I don't really agree with that though.