Prince from Paradise | ✔

VII. There Is Life

Rabiya sat on the cold, dirtied floor, eyes drooping in fatigue from the day's events, yet she refused to let her cousins step away from her. A mixture of voices screamed and yelled at one another, loud sobs heard from behind the door, glasses breaking. The children trembled in fear. 

Using her body, she tried her best to shield Zaina and Karim, feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders. Her cousins had been stripped of their father, of their innocence, of their perfect lives. Their childhood, especially Zaina's, had been altered towards a path of pain and loneliness, of confusion from a mother's anguish. 

It was a step towards abuse. 

Rabiya furiously shook her head to erase all alarming thoughts. She held her own rain of tears away, biting her lip to stay silent in the face of scorning voices. 

Her uncle's smiling lips flashed before her eyes, his skin a slippery sheen of sweat as he worked the fields, tending to his beloved animals. He held Rabiya in one arm, showing her the beauty in nature, and on the other arm he kept a rose tucked away from her. 

She smiled fondly at the memory. 

Once he had told her that she was as delicate as a rose, that one day a man would sweep her away, that she would fall in love with a man of courageous character. He had cried in front of Rabiya, dreading the day when she would leave his care, his protection, his life. Unknown to him, her uncle was the first to go.

He had left his children in Rabiya's care, her protection, and in her life. They had become the greatest blessing Allah had ever given her. They had wrapped themselves around her heart, reminding her of his legacy. She saw him in both of their eyes. 

"No one will ever hurt you again," she whispered. "I promise."

Zaina's lips trembled. "Why did she h-hit me?" she hiccuped. 

Rabiya was reminded of that night where an unknown man walked into Aunt Tania's room. Did the children know who he was? Was he the reason why she mistreated them?

"She was angry," said Rabiya, forcing the words out. "She didn't mean any of it."

"I-It hurts. Will she hurt Karim?"

"No."

"H-How do you know?"

"Because Tahmid and I will take care of both of you."

No more words were exchanged. Rabiya tried to distract the kids from their mother, leading them to fairy tales. She disguised their misfortune in childhood fables, Quranic stories, and the Prophets of Islam. With every story, Karim and Zaina slowly drifted to a peaceful slumber, the day's events nothing but a forgotten memory. 

* * * * 

It was past sunset prayers when Rabiya decided to tend to the cows. The house had quieted to a dulling purr as her mother tried to ease the lingering tension, comforting Aunt Tania. The children, safe in bed, continued to snore softly through the day, heading to a land of dreams where their father was still alive and the world had not swallowed them. 

Rabiya wrapped her scarf around her head, loosely draping it across her shoulder and picking up a bucket of crisp forages. Slipping on her sandals, she stepped down the porch. 

A gentle breeze whisked between her hijab, airy wind blowing thin strands of her hair. She closed her eyes for a moment, cherishing the life that surrounded her in waves of beauty. Although sorrow had etched its portrait across the farmlands, there was no denying the warmth that seeped through the overlapping branches above her. 

Opening her eyes, she walked towards her uncle's barn, where all the cows were lined together, awaiting her arrival. The white-fur cow mooed in acknowledgement as Rabiya entered her line of sight, alerting the others of her presence.