The Scars They Hide

Chapter One - First Sighting

Chapter One – First Sighting

Present Day...

Lutfiyah Abbas glanced up as her phone beeped. Sighing, she leaned over from her crouched position by the tumble drier and extracted the contraption from its place amongst the pile of clothes on the floor.

She unlocked her phone and frowned upon seeing an email from her workplace. Her heart sped up as anxiety rippled through.

Dear Ms Abbas

We regret to inform you that Conan will no longer be able to provide...

Lutfiyah slumped down in defeat as she realized that yet another thing in her life was going wrong. Exactly what she needed. One of the perks of her job had been that it offered her a flat to live in at a discounted rate and as a young woman working in the harsh world; it had been almost a miracle for her. Now the building had a new owner and due to some legal mumbo jumbo that she didn’t care to think about, in a month’s time she would have to start paying full rent.

Glancing back at the neat pile of folded clothes, she sighed again and went back to her task. Still had chores to do, still had responsibilities. Life didn’t stop for anyone.

An hour later she trudged up the stairs of her building, mentally bemoaning the fact that despite the nice apartments, good plumbing and general safety of the building, the lifts in the place had never worked. She reached her floor in record time and fumbled for her keys before stepping into her flat and smiling with relief. As much as she complained, her home was her home. She threw her hijab onto the counter before heading to the bedroom.

Not two minutes later, a knock on the door interrupted her packing. She jumped up and jogged to the door, grinning as she opened it.

A squeal of delight reached her and she bent down to scoop up the little girl extending her arms up to her.

“Assahaaan ooo alaikooom Mama.”

Lutfiyah hugged her daughter to her chest, laughing before kissing her forehead. “Walaikumusalaam, my angel. Tell Aunty Jane thank you for babysitting you today.”

“Thank you, Aunt Jan.”

The girl waved her small hand at the smiling woman in front of her who nodded back before waving and walking away.

Lutfiyah gave a confused look to the Japanese woman’s back before closing the door and kissing her daughter again. “She’s very quiet, that Aunty Jane of yours. Anyway, what did you do today?”

The toddler wriggled out of her mother’s arms and started walking towards her toy chest, yapping on as she made her way there.

“I played with Tabby and watched Loony Tunes and played with Poppy and Mama! Tabby scratched me.”

Forgetting her toy chest, she waddled over to show her mother the tiny scratch on her arm. Lutfiyah smiled at her and kissed the sore better before asking, “Did you pull her tail again?”

The little girl giggled with guilt before running away, forgetting all about her little hurt.

Lutfiyah shook her head at her daughter’s antics before going back to the room to resume her packing.

“What are we going to have for dinner today, sweetheart?”

The little girl yelled out her usual reply. “Spatetti and kebaabs.”

Feeling indulgent, her mother nodded and after packing the laundry away, she walked to the kitchen to prepare the only food that her daughter never seemed to tire off.

Opening the grocery cupboard she groaned when she saw the almost empty shelves. She needed to go shopping but never seemed to find the time. It being month end, she was only grateful for having set aside money for groceries already. Counting out how much she would need, she grabbed her purse and hijab and called for her daughter.

“May. May. Maysura, come here, sweetheart!”

The little girl came rushing over, excitement clear on her face on seeing her mother’s hijab.

“Out?”

Her mother nodded before bending down and scooping the tiny being up into her arms.

“Yes, baby, we’re going out.”

# # #

The aisles were full as women and men rushed around, doing last minute milk and bread shopping before heading home. Lutfiyah hurried through, grabbing what she needed before stepping into the long line to the checkout counter. Her daughter sat quietly in the cart in front of her, large blue eyes surveying the long line with interest.

Something caught her attention and she leaned over, grabbing a slab of chocolate from the shelf next to her.

“Want this. Can I have?”

Lutfiyah turned her attention away from her phone where she had been re-reading the email sent to her and frowned at the chocolate in the little girl’s hands. She knew that even small luxury items like that were not available to them now but she hated saying no to the child’s eager face. Taking the chocolate, she opened mouth to explain that it was time for dinner and sweets weren’t allowed before then but the line moved forward and it was her turn to pay.

She carefully laid the chocolate to the side and smiled at the checkout lady before placing her items on the counter. On seeing the total, she almost groaned but took out her purse.

She counted out the bills and realized that she would just have enough. Smiling, she reluctantly handed over the bills, feeling her chest constrict at the sight of money going so quickly. Everything was becoming more expensive by the day and she would have to start budgeting more for groceries if things were going like this.

“Mama, what about ma chocolate?”

Lutfiyah looked at her daughter’s sad eyes and glanced over at her items, wondering what she could leave and instead buy the chocolate.

The checkout lady waited impatiently as Lutfiyah tried to decide what to do.

A deep voice interrupted her thoughts. “Excuse me, sorry I uh, I think that you dropped this when you took out your purse.”

She turned back and a jolt went through her system as her eyes connected with the eyes of the man behind her. Snapping her gaze away, she saw that he was holding out a twenty-pound note to her and she lifted confused eyes back to him. The note was not hers, both she and the man knew that but there was no pity in the man’s eyes, only kindness and what seemed like extreme exhaustion.

She stared at the hand offering it to her, her mind unconsciously taking in the light sprinkle of hair on the back of his hand. Careful not to touch him, she took the note and mumbled a grateful thank you before placing the chocolate on the counter and letting the lady pack her groceries away.

She felt something loosen in her when she saw the beam on her daughter’s face and the horror that she felt at taking a stranger’s money faded away slightly.

She stepped out of the store, grocery bags hanging from one hand, toddler balancing on the other hip. She looked back to try and catch a glimpse of the stranger before quickly shaking her head. There was still kindness in the world and she should just accept that. With that thought, she made her way home.