Whimsical beauty ✔️

Chapter 3

*As cold as snow*

"Would you do it?"

I heard Khalid asking in a low voice. He is a boy of few words. He could also be very emotional. Maybe the right thing to say Is that he has particularly strong emotions. No matter how responsible I feel, for some reason, Khalid thinks he is the one who is supposed to protect us. Is it because he is the only male child in the family? I wouldn't know. I have very little experience in what a family is supposed to be like.

With a reassuring nod, I said to him "don't worry" never mind that I didn't answer his question.

Would I do it?

Mysteriously, the family is fretting now that they think I was about to get married. I don't even know where to start. How can I reassure them that marriage is a key to a brighter future? For them.

Later that night, I cooked dinner, since Iya has given me the day off. I had time to do laundry. Khalid helped me finish it all in two hours. Anisa did the nanny work, keeping the youngest sisters, Hani and Ju from disturbing my work. It is a very difficult task since Hani and I are virtually inseparable. Ju is a bit more matured since she just turned six. Zahra ironed the clothes as soon as they were dry and Salma did the sweeping and dusting for the day.

We weren't at all that busy.

Nowadays, there is the matter of phones that take up our time. Thankfully, I don't really have much business with my phone. I hear that iPhones are very expensive. Uncle Saif, as we call him, bought it for me as a birthday gift last year, extracting a promise from me to call him from time to time. That he wants to know how I'm faring each time he's abroad. The first time I called, Marie answered and I felt intimidated enough to end it without breathing a word! Marie is very possessive of Saif. She gives me the vibe of a very jealous woman! How can I let her know that I have her husband's number? I never called again.

But the phone is still there and he never asked me again. My sisters like to take turns using it though. I have no idea what they do all day long on that device. As long as it wasn't morally vexing, I don't really mind.

I never really sit down like normal people and rest. I like to work. Being idle isn't really my style. So despite having no work, I still continued to find work around the house until it was spotless and shining. Hani couldn't be deterred once she and Anisa came back from their stroll. She even cried for a second or two before I picked her up and tied her to my back before continuing with my chores.

I bathed for the second time that day and then put back my clothes. I know how hard it was to wash the clothes of seven people, so I also know how to be very stingy with a change of cloth. Not for my sisters though. I don't mind it if they wore three clothes a day as long as they look their possible best. I don't mind washing their clothes. It's Just mine that irk me and it feels totally normal to me. On me, clothes were an absolute waste. Why try to look good when it's naturally impossible? It's okay really. Not many people have proportioned body shapes or amazing bone structures. I am just of the many there are in Mother Earth.

I brought out my long hijab and wore it before walking to the kitchen to serve dinner.

"Wow. Mommy sis! This is so very delicious. Hmm" Zahra exclaimed as she ate. She looked like she was in bliss.

"Uhm..." Salma closed her eyes as she savored the taste. The rest look equally satisfied with my ordinary rice and stew. You would think they were eating chicken soup or something.

I hear this every day from my siblings. 'You are an amazing cook mommy sis' I don't know why they think so. It is very rare for me to afford meat or variations in diet. Still, the little traditional tuwo and rice seem to satisfy them a lot. Perhaps it's their own way of saying thank you.