Alnihayya

||B u l b u l||

Even though there wasn't much time left but I couldn't go without saying good bye to Minahil.
I hugged Marwa in case I don't get the time to come back home to say good bye and then crossed the street over to reach Minahil's house.

I pressed the door bell in a hurry, glancing at my phone to see the constantly flowing time. I had less than fifteen minutes left.

The door opened and my eyes fell upon Abdullah, whom I had once considered my little brother.
"Aapi?" He inquired in his tiny voice.
He had been taught to call me and Minahil aapi which means elder sister. It's a respectful word and I always loved hearing it from him. Abdullah was the only one from his family who had never wronged me.

"Assalam o alaikum!" I greeted him cheerfully and bent down a little to give him a hug.
He was about Marwa's age but they both were polar opposites. Marwa would never be bothered to call someone 'aapi' or any other respectful word. She would never talk politely like him and would never be a book nerd like Abdullah.

Abdullah even had to wear big heavy glasses on his tiny face just because of his excessive reading.

"Walaikum Salam! I don't want your room. Please come back." He mumbled as we broke the hug.

I ruffled his hair, something he always disliked and used to scream whenever I did that, but he didn't respond this time. He looked miserably depressed. "Abdullah what's wrong?"

"I miss you." He whispered, "No one else is interested in my books. They call me a nerd."

I could easily understand what he meant. He had never been like Minahil. He had always been quiet and his father had always wanted him to be be outspoken and confident. Abdullah was someone who would prefer to read a book alone than going out to play football.  Because of that his parents had often ridiculed him, saying that he was a man and not a girl.

"Abdullah I promise I'll sit down with you and read all the stories you've written but please can you call Minahil for me? I'm in a hurry."
I was conscious of his feelings but I was also conscious of the time.

He nodded and walked off into the house. He was such an obedient child. People need to understand that not every boy likes to build a body, some prefer to read books.

The worst kind of bullying you can receive is from your own parents.

A minute later Minahil came at the door. She looked better than the last time I had seen her. She even had her make up on which was a good thing because it showed she was getting normal again.
"Assalam o alaikum! You look pretty!" I said to her cheerfully to keep her mind away from the depressing thoughts.

"Walaikum Salam." She answered without a smile, even though the tee shirt she was wearing said, 'spread smiles.'

"Minahil cheer up girl."

She opened her mouth to reply but stopped when her eyes fell upon something. Confused I followed her gaze to realise that she was staring at the letterbox. There was a letter sticking out of it and I could tell it had the "NHS" stamp on.
I gasped in apprehension of what was about to happen. The letter was surely Minahil's test report.

She hesitantly grabbed the letter and inspected it carefully. I gave her hand a light squeeze reassuringly. "Whatever it is, know that it's for the good."

She didn't respond, her expression remained the same, without any hint of happiness.
Minahil was thoroughly observing the white envelope, debating whether she should open it or not when my phone rang in my hand. Minahil paused and glanced at me. She had found an excuse to delay opening the letter.

I accepted the call which was from a private number, I was sure it was from baba.
"A black car will be there any second now. You have to get in." Siri's voice instructed me. The phone cut off without giving any further details.
I was just taking the phone away from my ear when I heard a car accelerating into our street.