Harun POV:
"Good night, love!" Mom whispered softly as she closed the door part way, tucking me in my bed under the moonlight that filtered in through the curtains and spilled on my blue printed bed spread with different coloured cars. "Remember to read the dua, okay!"
"Good night!" I whispered back, pretending to groggily drift off to my dreamland. Pfft! No way was I going to sleep anytime soon. I had my own plans in motion. I was going to wait for mom and dad to fall asleep, before I got my treat to mess around with dad's labratory downstairs. It's not everyday I get to know that dad forgot to lock his labratory door behind which contained all his secret colourful chemicals stashed in rows like different flavoured juices waiting to be drunk.
Once I heard mom lock her bedroom door with a click, I immediately shot up from bed, aggressively threw away my blanket, and tiptoed to Musa's room and shook him awake. "Ya Musa, what the hell are you doing under the bed?"
"Trying to sleep, duh! Why? Are you planning a mission?" Musa hissed, peeking curiously from under his blanket looking annoyed. I abruptly siezed his duvet away, catching him red-handed in his own world stroking his bald head as he stared off at his reflection in the tiny mirror in his hand.
"It doesn't look like it." I grunted, rolling my eyes and ushering him to follow me.
"Where are we going?" Musa asked, baffled as he jumped out of his bed.
"Mess with dad, what else?"
"What?" Musa gasped with disbelief, clapping my shoulders roughly with awe evident in his voice, his eyes twinkling. "Woah, now we're talkin'! You pick after my actions quick bro. The endless duas have finally been accepted. Oh, we must rejoice this blessed day--"
"Yeah, we're rejoicing alright. Now, Shhh!" I harshly hushed Musa as we both tiptoed through the dark halls down to the pitch black basement where dad's laboratory was located that held fascinating equipment and shelves full with colourful chemicals.
"Dad's gonna find out!" Musa hissed worriedly. "Where the hell are the lights by the way? Are you serious, why are we just going down to the basement in the dark?"
"Doofus, dad's gonna wake up if you worry to much!" I smacked his head, noticing his focus unwavering to the ceiling as he unconciously stomped loudly down the basement stairs. If he made a single peep, and if dad found out, things would definitely go down the train. As I hit his head, my hand landed full on smack on his smooth scalp with a 'thuck'.
"Ow! Stop hitting my head!" Musa whined, painfully rubbing his head. "It hurts more without the hair."
"What happened to your hair?" I asked quizzically. How did he end up home magically without hair? This should be news I'd be telling my kids!
"Ha ha," Musa laughed nervously, unconciously stroking his smooth head. "Basically, Uncle Hurairah shaved my hair off. A long story, you don't wanna know!"
"What did you do?" I raised my brow as we landed in the bottom of the basement, my hand blindly running against the wall to find the light switch.
"Hey, don't look at me. It was him!" He accused innocently. "I just wanted to give him a haircut since I kind of found his style a bit lames. Hey, but the good news is... we're identical twins now--"
"We were born twins!" I grunted, finally finding the basement light switches and flicking them on. Slowly, one by one the whole basement was flooded with the lights overhead reflecting on the chemical beakers that were set neatly on the shelves ahead. Most of the time, dad's lab was securely locked for the sake of keeping me out since I was always mesmerized and lured in by the strong colours of chemicals and the mess in his lab. However, today, it seems that mom had polished every speck of this white room-- from the tables, lights to shelves everything was white and glimming-- and then she probably forgot to close the door behind giving me a chance of entry. Well, it wasn't my fault she forgot to close the door. At least I get the chance to play with dad's chemicals!
"Not you, me and uncle Hurairah. We are twins now, you know since we have the same heads!" Musa pointed at his skull, stroking it comfortably. "Who knew having a bald head feels so smooth? I mean look at the bright side, I would never have to brush my hair again."
"Oh good, at least everyone could tell us apart now." I rolled my eyes, glancing quickly at the lab door up ahead once more praying that dad didn't storm down any second. If he did, we were in big trouble!
Musa sighed with annoyance. "Ah man, I know. That's a bummer. Sometimes, I used to just pass as you, and Uncle Hurairah didn't even say anything."
Being captivated by one of the oceanic blue chemicals kept high on the shelf ahead, I took dad's swivel chair nearest to me, climbed it while Musa held it stable, and brought it down. "It says, hazard...ous." I glanced at Musa with a raised brow, gesturing to the label plastered on the beaker. "Have any idea what that means?"
Musa took dad's white swivel chair and sat on it carelessly glancing at his reflection on the mirror in his hand, stroking his smooth head arrogantly. "Maybe it means 'edible' or 'juice', or 'no harm done'. Dad put up a sign that says 'dangerous' up on the lab door, but I don't see any dangers here. This place just looks too cool, that's all! Dad's just selfish, he doesn't wanna share this place with us."
On purpose, I spilled the chemical on dad's white polished long table and instantaneously the table surface dangerously melted away creating a huge gap in the middle permitting me to see the floor tiles down below. God, what have I done?
"Musa, Harun!" Dad screamed, his voice storming down with him as he thundered down the stairs. "Boys, what did I say?" Dad's eyes traveled towards me, and he immediately snatched the beaker out of my hand with rage keeping it safely away back on the shelf. "La hawla wala quwwata illa billah, what have you done to my table?"
"Uh..." I trailed off sheepishly, shifting from foot to foot under dad's gaze. "I was just... um experimenting!"
"Yeah, he wants to be a scientist like you dad." Musa answered cockily, still mesmerized with his bald reflection in the mirror, unable to take his eyes off. To be honest, I'd rather die than be a scientist. I mean who wants to work with dad?
"I said no boys down here!" Dad screamed loudly with furrowed eyes. "Why don't you both ever understand?"
"So like, if I dressed as a girl and came down-?" Musa bounced eagerly as he finally broke eye contact with his mirror.
"You still have boy parts--"
"Aww, that's a bummer! What if... I use Mymoonah--"
"No girls either!" Dad screamed on top of his lungs. "Tell me what would I do if that chemical touched your hand Harun? It would've melted by now. Do you think if your hand melts away, another one will magically grow--"
"Scientifically speaking dad," Musa interrupted confidently like he was Einstein himself. "Everything sprouts like a tree! You see, even my smooth head that looks like a shiny watermelon would be sprouting hair soon--"
"You shut up!" Dad screamed, stabbing his finger at Musa.
"Dad, are you jealous of my head? No worries, I'll let you feel it whenever you want? Not to mention, I can even shave your head if--"
"Shut up!" Dad immediately grabbed our shirts by the shoulder and pulled us up the stairs forcefully with rage. "If you boys ever go in there, I swear I'll lock you up in the attic with no food."
"Yeesh, so cruel of you dad!" Musa was back to staring at his reflection again. "I mean I'm not complaining or anything, I just need a mirror to swoon over my bald head--"
"Now, who the hell gave you a bald head? You're suffering from another emotional obsession, and you'd be nagging me for another month about your bald head care."
"Don't worry dad, me and Uncle Hurairah can take care of each other. He'll be recommending and sending products for my head care."
Once we were upstairs, dad tossed us both in our room aggressively covering us with blankets and tucking us in. Getting rid of me was pretty easy for dad, but Musa was a whole different story. I could still hear him in the next room keeping dad updated with the hair products he desired to use to make his bald head shine like the full moon. Oh well, at least me and Musa won't be looking alike anytime soon which means I won't get accidentally punished for being recognized at Musa. One less thing to worry about!
*********
Another day at school, I trudged down the choatic halls tiredly yawning now and then praying to get over with this day as fast as I could. Only a few more hours, and we were over. Home time and relaxation, yes, since I was grounded anyway!
"Hey, hey, Harun, come for soccer!" Luth cheered as he rushed past me, running backwards in his cleats before heading out the exit door of the school and out in the field. "Lunch is going to be over in a few minutes, must join now!"
"Yeah--"
"Halima, you see, I always get my way out of everything." Gideon's voice reached my ears, and I turned my head slightly to narrow my gaze on him without publicly displaying that my fullest attention was on their conversation. Wow, another day Gideon was at his work, bullying.
Should I go help her out before Gideon strikes?
I slightly glanced at Halima from the corner of my eyes, Halima continued walking ignorantly keeping her head high and attention on the ground rather than on Gideon; she rolled her eyes before she roughly brushed past him.
Nah, she'll survive.
It's best I didn't get myself involved in other people's lives.
Halima POV:
Gideon was just a pest in life, and he'd probably realize that soon enough when I make him realize it. However, now wasn't the point where realization was going to hit him. It was going to take time!
I shoved past him, and left him there speechless. If he tried any type of assaults, I would take him to the office like any normal kid for the time being.
This was lunch time and I didn't have any friends to hang out with during this break, and I didn't need any to begin with. I didn't fit in, and I wasn't ever going too. A simple fact that I had registered long time ago. Thus, I simply sat in one of the corners of the cafeteria, or in the field under the big tree's shade, or the bleachers watching the vast pale sky with serenity. I wish I could be serene and calm like Allah was, wish I could hold everything in patiently without the thoughts of vengeance.
"Hey Halima!" My whirlpool of daze was shattered with Chantria's echoing voice as I stumbled out of the school building, a gust of cool summer breeze and intense sunlight hitting me. She was sitting alone in one of the benches waving her arms at me under the tree cloaked by its shade, her eyes closed as she listened to the rhythm of the music that penetrated through her airpods. When I arrived, she genuinely smiled and patted the seat next to her on the bench. "Come sit her!"
I nodded, obediently making my way to her and sitting next to her. "Where is Umme Q?"
"She's stuck in class since she's taking forever to finish her English test." Chantria nodded, rolling her eyes as she roughly made a motion to move the strands of her blonde dyed hair covering her eyes. "Do you listen to music?"
"No..." I answered, staring at my black and white converse shoes against the greenery of the grass.
"You should listen to Calperina Levine. She's a great singer!" She tapped rapidly away on her device, before taking one of her airpods off urging me to listen to one of her songs.
I obediently took it pressing it against my ear. "She's a singer?"
"Yeah everyone knows that--"
"Yeah, I've heard of her, but... never knew she was a singer." I whispered, staring at my hands as Chantria blasted on one of Calpurnia's songs that was laced with strong emotions and melodies. I unconsciously closed my eyes drifting off to the tranquil softness of her voice, feeling my heart clench on the smooth rhythm of the lyrics. Does this make me a bad person if I listen to her songs?
"She's a French singer. Sings both English and French songs."
"She's... dead, isn't she?"
Chantria gave me a broken smile. "Many assume that, but no one knows. One day she just... simply vanished and no one ever found her body which makes the situation more mysteries. So, she must be alive, probably just wanted to quiet her musical life."
My hands fell limb against the bench and I unconsciously fisted the wooden seat that I was seated on as I stared at Chantria in a state of shock.
Little did Chantria know that the woman she was listening to was actually... dead.
**********
"Tell me dear, if you had a kind of superpower, what would it be?" My child psychologist asked, sitting in a blue chair in front of me as she gave me her fullest attention while balancing a notepad on her lap. Mom and dad were waiting outside the room letting the psychologist do all the questioning who had simply ordered me to sit in the gray beanie in front of her.
This psychologist was in her forties, her brown hair neatly tied up in a donut bun like she was playing air hostess dressed in a professional black skirt and white top. It was quite evident that she was beating around the bushes to spill out what was hidden in the deepest part of my chest, the things that she'd be dead for if she knew. The things I was forbidden to expose to anyone without getting them killed for.
"I want to have the power to make people understand my simple logic." I whispered honestly, glaring at her with confidence, keeping my hands folded obediently on my lap. "And, I want freedom!"
"Okay," She nodded with confusion, her eyebrows furrowing with worry as she jotted down my exact words on her notepad. "What do you fear most?"
Everything suddenly blurred and darkened, her voice dimmed, and the room swirled away. I began to shake as the image of my nightmare sufaced; the bulky man with tatoos reaching his cheeks appeared before me, his lips turning into a snarl, his gray eyes taunting me, and a deep scar crossing one of his brows.
Panicking, I immediately grasped my head trying to shake him out. "It's just a stupid dream. Shut up!"
"What do you dream about honey?" The annoying psychologist pestered, placing her hands gently on my knee as a means of comfort which felt more like a hand choking me to spill out the truth.
I glared at her gritting my teeth, my hands fisting into balls. "That's none of your business!"
"Listen honey, I just want to help you--"
"Listen here doc, loyalty and trust doesn't come for free. Instead, let's flip this around. I want to help you. Don't try to ask me anything or else you'll be dead!"
She narrowed her eyes, but still kept her voice sugary as before. "Halima sweetie, you know it's not great to keep things bottled up for too long. It's not good for your well-being. You need to trust an adult. I assure you that whatever you tell me, it stays a secret in this room. Pinky promise?" She half smiled, sticking out her pinky like I was a freaking four years old ready to fall for her tricks.
"Loyalty and trust doesn't come for free!" I glared at her raised pinky which soon fell limp against her side as she found no response from me.
"I promise you that they won't know. Can you tell me what goes in your home? How does mommy and daddy treat you? Do they take you outside? Buy you sweets?"
"The best parents I could ever ask for. They give me everything." I whispered honestly, glaring at the psychologist. I hated her sugary questions. She was a liar. She was definitely going to tell everything that occured between us to mom and dad once this session was over. How pathetic did she think I was? I hated therapy. I hated the psychologist. I hated the questions, and here I was present just because my parents sent me thinking it'll benefit me.
"Can I see your arms, dear? Can you lift up your sleeves?" She asked. It was clear; she suspected my parents to be abusers, beating me up in the hidden doors of your house.
I lifted up my abaya sleeves showing her my pale markless arms. "I have no bruises!"
"Great, you are a very smart girl for your age. You seem to understand the purpose of every question I ask you. You are very brilliant!" She stopped to write some more down, before glancing at me again. This was the part where she pampers me with more layers of coated sugary words, so I could easily open up. "Your father tells me you have repeated nightmares. Can you narrate one of them?" She reached behind her in one of her desk drawers, and pulled out a stash of lollipops extending a pink one over to me.
"Nope, I don't accept things from strangers." I refused with narrowed eyes. Especially from this damn annoying doctor!
This lady here was just so damn infuriating. At this point, I realized she wasn't going to let me go so easily until she pesters some information out of me, otherwise I'd be stuck her for eternity. So, I decided to give her some made up tale to fulfill her satisfaction. She couldn't handle the truth, not to mention her soul would be reaped out immediately. I'd rather save her life!
"I just keep falling in a dark pit. It's very dark and I can't see anything. The end!" I answer her dryly with no sense of emotion.
"Oh, so it's a repeated dream?" She asked, trying to read my face. Woah, she actually believed me?
"Pretty much. It annoys and scares me that it'll affect my future."
"Are you scared of anything else... in school? Have you faced any previous trauma which could likely affect your nightmares?"
"Like I said, my parents are the best, so no." I answered bluntly, trying to reveal little as I could. "Although there is a boy in my school. His name is Gideon, and his main hobby is bullying me."
Okay, I was at least ninety percent honest in this.
"Oh I see," She nodded, starting her lecture of tips on how to avoid bullying. I zoned out. I didn't care about her tips. I had more worries to stress about!
************
Mymoonah POV:
"Mommy, we never ever ever go outside. Pourqoui Mommy? (Why?) We never ever ever do something as a family!" I complained as mommy secured us all in the car and began driving us home after school hours.
"We always do something as a family. It's just that you just never join in!" Musa corrected with a cocky grin stroking leisurely his bald head that was ready to sprout buds of lush hair.
"Like?" I challenged him with a raised brow, crossing my arms over my chest.
"I don't know," Musa started with disinterest, examining his nails. "Maybe the last time you took forever to shave your daddy's hair off. Fun isn't about going somewhere and having fun, fun is you making your boring life fun even if it means getting in trouble. You see me and my bro always get in trouble. Pfft, our groundings go on annually, but that doesn't stop us!"
"Now, now, Musa, don't corrupt her tiny head with your useless psychology." Aunt Umme Qulsum chidded, flinging her empty plastic water bottle at him.
"Uh-huh kids, no throwing things around my car." Mommy reprimanded, "We'll go somewhere next break inshallah, okay baby?"
"Oui mommy, (Yes mommy)"
"I'm not a kid, I'm a teen." Umme Qulsum corrected with her arms crossed.
"Uh-huh, you're still a kid darling. My little sugar boo!" Mommy coeed as I chuckled at Aunt Umme Qulsum frown.
Suddenly, Mommy's phone started ringing seeking her attention. "Guys, all of you quiet! Got to pick up a work call. Not a peep out of anyone!"
"Boo, no picking up calls while driving!" Aunt Umme Qulsum hollered, cupping her mouth. "If the cops pull us over, I'll blame it one you."
"Shh!" Mommy hissed, pressing the answer button on her phone shifting her voice to sugary sweet again. "Hey Emma, what have you gotten for me?"
"Hey doctor, there's a forty year old police man who has crushed a part of his brain nervous system--"
"Ah... I wish I could help, is there any other option?"
"Yeah, what about a sixty one year old female with a brainstem glioma?"
"Meh, is there anymore?" Mom asked, keeping her eyes trained on the road ahead.
"What about a thirty years old mom with an electronic implant in her brain to control schizophrenia struck by--"
"Nah, I'll choose the one above, the brainstem glioma."
"Is this final?"
"Yup,"
"Okay, the surgery is tomorrow evening at six. Is that fine doctor?"
"Yeah, I'll be there. Thanks again!"
"Welcome doctor, have a great night!"
"You too!" Mommy answered, before ending her call with a sigh. Most of the time, Mommy got options to pick out the easier surgeries to perform out of the rest for her work. And, according to her, the remainders were given to other surgeons.
"Doesn't all these brain surgeries ever scare you?" Aunt Umme Qulsum shuddered, making a disgusted face. "Damn, even mom's doctorate degree seems more civilized than yours, and less gruesome. How do you handle all the blood and slimy stuff in the brain?"
"Well, someone needs to be a neurosurgeon in the family." Mommy answered.
"I don't see the good in opening someone's brain up and looking inside it. Eeek, that's scary!" Umme Qulsum shuddered again, glancing at the trees speedily passing by our window.
"Hey Aunty, are you mad at me for styling up your husbands hair?" Musa asked cheerfully, bouncing in his seat like it was the greatest deed he had ever done. "It wasn't me though, the credit goes to Mymoonah."
"Don't bring me in this, you cockroach!" I yelled, lightly punching his bald head from behind his seat. "You forced me!"
"What hair style?" Mommy asked with a laugh. "I didn't see any hair on him. Although he looks cute!"
"Aww, Aunty you get me?" Musa asked with awe. "OMG, someone in the family actually gets me! You see aunty, me and your husband, we're trying to get along--"
"Oh really, since when?" Harun scoffed with sarcasm under his breath, sitting beside mom as he rolled his eyes watching the trees race by with disinterest.
"I said 'we are trying', that means we are still in the pending status. We have the exact bald heads now which means our future looks so much brighter."
"Are you sure? I see darkness--" Aunt Umme Qulsum started with a sigh, before Musa playfully jammed his elbow on her arm.
"Uh-huh dear aunt," Musa preached to Aunt Umme Qulsum, hoping his words were full with wisedom. "You are always blinded by the wrong colours."
Well, if Musa and Daddy ever get along, it'd be a miracle sent from heaven.
*********
"It's just a dream, it's just a dream, it's just a dream..." I heard Halima's hushed voice chant in silent whispers in the next room, her voice eerily piercing my deep slumber.
I groggily opened my eyes, finding my room cloaked with heavy darkness. The lights were off and the windows beside my bed were covered partly with curtains that spilled moonlight on the floorboard of my room. The digital clock overhead revealed the red digitized time; it was 2:00 am. Sinisterous shadows in the darkness outside splattered a spectral puppet show on my walls; the trees swayed violently like claws ready to ghastly grasp me away. Why did daddy leave me? Why did he turn the lights off?
With fear thumping in my veins, I made a dash towards Halima's room that was aligned in front of mine. Why did mommy and daddy have to leave me in the darkness?
"Halima," I sputtered, my throat remaining voiceless with terror. "I think there is a... a ghost in my room."
Halima was sitting in her dark room hugging her knees that were half covered with her leapord-printed blanket, her head placed on top of it as she chanted things to herself. She instantaneously glanced at me, boredly nodded, and patted the empty side of the bed next to her. "Sleep here, there is no such thing as a ghost. In this world, there is nothing to be afraid of!"
"Why aren't you asleep?" I asked, getting in obediently beside her on the bed as she covered me with half of her blanket.
"Can't sleep!"
"Is it your nightmares?" I asked hesitantly, recalling her screams from previous dark nights.
"Nope," She lied, lightly stroking my hair. "Go to sleep!"
"You said it yourself, there is nothing scary. You know that mommy and daddy will always be there for you right, and if they aren't, then I am?" I squeezed her hand with a silent promise.
She half smiled continuing to stroke my hair in silence until my eyes began to drift again into a deep pit of slumber. Snuggling closer to my sister, I wrapped my arms around her waist losing consciousness bit by bit until I fell deeper in my dreamworld.
It had been a few minutes or seconds when I felt Halima softly untangle my arms from my waist. She slowly got off the mattress barely making it bob, her feet padded soundlessly against the floorboard until she reached her window. She creaked it open, looking up above the dark cloudless sky. "Mymoonah, you are so wrong!" She spoke to the sky. "Mom and dad will never be there for me nor will you. Because I won't let you!"
With that, she leaped through the window with one painless jump.
No.
I ran towards the window with terror finding her rope walking down a single tree branch connected to her window, balancing herself with her arms extended grasping only nothingness in the cool air before she sat there for a few seconds under the moonlight casted over her face. Her silky hair shone under the moon, the dark cloudless night glimmed overhead, her calm face fresh like snow under the illumination.
Before I knew it, she had leaped down the enormous tree. "NOO!" I screamed, extending my arms as if I could stop her.
Too late, she didn't hear me.
I froze with terror as tears pricked my eyes and my heart brutally clenched.
My only sister tumbled and fell. She was dead.
__________________________
Assalamu Alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh dear readers,😊
I hope you are all doing well Insha Allah. 😘 I decided to do another update since it's my birthday. I don't celebrate it, so here I am making another update, spending my free time here.
Thanks so much for all ur support. It mean so much to me Jazakallah!