The Image World, September 20, 2040, 7:45 PM
"Can you hold me tightly, Aza?" she says, tightening her hold around my neck for the second time this evening.
"Always," I affirm.
She nods as I give the last few instructions and warnings. "Alright, listen to what I'm about to say and pay attention. We're, well, I am going to jump for the both of us, and we'll end up in a place that looks exactly like this park, okay?" I explain, and she nods in understanding.
"Good, and when we're there, never let go of my hand until we're inside, and always stand between Flynn and me. You'll meet his family. His mom is the kindest woman, and his little sister is your age, so I know you'll get along. Uh, let's see, what else?" I adjusted the scarf around her neck as I took time to think. "Oh, if you notice anything strange, tell me immediately. We'll get the hell out of there the second you don't want to stay for much longer. We can go to my house and maybe watch a movie or something. Is this okay with you?"
General Azail running her army of one sounds like a fun job.
"Yes, Aza, thank you for this," the adorable toothy smile on her face makes this stress worth it. I nod in response before counting down to one before I jump through the beaming light.
As expected, and as I had warned, we ended up in the exact place we started. That sounds like a complicated motif for life.
I place Ruby down and walk towards the familiar man chilling on the slide. The comical sight of him sprawling in a slide much shorter than him has me pull out my phone to take a picture. He notices my secretive plan and purposefully gives the camera the flattest face he could muster. Still a cute picture, though.
"It's illegal to take photos of strangers, ma'am," he deepens his voice and speaks in a mock threatening tone.
"Oh, my bad, let me delete it." I pretend to delete the picture before Ruby snatches my phone from my hand.
She motions for me to lean in with her hand, and I do what she asked. Bringing her mouth closer to my ears, she prevents Flynn from hearing or seeing her words by covering the sides. "Keep the picture, I saw him take a picture of you when we went to the ice cream shop. So keep it on your phone for revenge, hehe," she whispers muffled words into my ears, but I still heard and understood everything.
I'm going to projectile vomit.
Questions about how I look in the picture on his phone don't surface in my mind like I thought they would since I'm too busy freaking out.
My insides have an organ dislocating party while my outsides, meaning my face drops my mouth to the ground and widens my eyes the size of a soup bowl.
To make the awkward atmosphere created by yours truly dissipate, I give Flynn a tight smile and hope he buys it.
"In that case, then I'll keep the picture," I reassure a worried Ruby, to which she replies by clapping.
I grab hold of her hand when Flynn comes to stand next to us.
"Flynn, can you do me a favor and stand on the other side of Ruby?"
He looks confused for a moment before asking, "why? You don't want to stand next to me?"
Trick question, to which I'll answer by saying yesn't.
The words yes and not combining to make the word yesn't is the single best thing the English language could've done for my foreign ass.
"Wouldn't want to boost your ego by saying yes, but I'm supposed to heal people's mental health, so I won't say no. I'm asking you to do this so we can form a shield around Ruby. As overprotective as that sounds, I'm not taking any chances."
Mama Azail mode, on.
Flynn looks down at a giggling Ruby before bending down to her level, "I'm quite jealous of you, Ruby. I'd spend every second of the day bragging about THE Azail going all protection squad over me."
Ruby doesn't take his words as a joke because her response comes with an army of sass.
"Oh, trust me, we all do, all the time. Each one of us has our favorite 'Azail to the rescue moments. I would tell you mine, but the list is quite long."
She's convincing in the way she speaks. One eyebrow raises from her, and you'll believe everything she tells you.
She 100% got that from Sapphire. I can't help but smile as I watch Ruby grow up and hit new milestones. As someone who witnessed Sapphire put their blood, sweat, and tears into raising her to become an amazing person, I can see that their work is paying off. Of course, she's still young, and her personality has yet to bloom to its most potent, but we can see some of its shine. Even though she has been through hell at such a young age, she's still finding the courage to grow and learn. I applaud both of them for that. Can't wait to see what more her already complex personality has in store for her. And also wish Sapphire some luck because if she's anything like them, that'll make two strong-minded people live under one roof.
Flynn's face adopts a shocked expression at her words. Look at her already stunning people. I'm proud.
"So it seems," he says, looking at me smiling before mouthing 'she's cool.' I nod at his words, agreeing without a second thought.
"Well, are we ready to see my house? It's not much, but I hope you'll like it." I hate the insecurity in his voice but muster an encouraging smile for him and the little girl clutching my hand.
He does as I asked and stands on Ruby's other side. A heavy feeling puts pressure on my chest when I see her raising her hand, asking him to hold it. I know what she's trying to achieve, a feeling of familial completeness. He sends me a questioning look when he notices my face fall, but I wave it off, focusing on her instead. In classic Flynn, he does what's asked of him and holds her hand.
The walk did not go by in silence since Ruby never missed an opportunity to ask questions, followed by either of us answering her to the best of our ability. Sorry, Ruby, teaching science is not for me. But I tried sneaking in a few jokes here and there. The chagrin grows deeper in her eyes the more she looks at our connected hands. I won't ask anything, but I'm worried. No child deserves to have a frown decorate their face for whatever reason.
The scenario playing my same fear happens once we reach the front door of a familiar home.
When I look down to make sure she's still okay with this or if she's up for leaving, I notice a wet coat in her eyes.
"Uh, Flynn, would it be okay if I asked you to go in first? We have to take care of something first," I say, hoping to steer his attention away from her.
"Yeah, of course, take your time. I'll leave the door unlocked, come in whenever you want. You'll see us in the kitchen," he says, smiling. I feel a soft touch from his calloused hand hold mine for a moment, as if to say a temporary goodbye before he walks in.
I crouch down to come face to face with a now crying Ruby.
"What's wrong, my red gem?" My hands wipe the tears that don't look to be taking a break. I stand in front of her to prevent anyone passing by from seeing her. Letting her have her moment, I adjust her jacket and scarf again. Children and their hate for winter clothes, my gosh. The cold here is brutal, and I'm already feeling bad for keeping her out in this skin-freezing weather.
She sniffles, and I hand her a tissue from my pocket. Although, I wipe her nose myself since she's too busy regulating her uneven breaths. "I remembered mom and dad when all three of us walked holding hands," she confesses what I expected.
"I'm sorry if my suggestion made you feel this, I didn't mean for it to make you remember something that made you sad. Here, to make it better, whenever you're with either all three or just two of us, ask to hold everyone's hand while walking."
"Like a family?" The softhearted girl whispers.
"Like a family," I repeat her words in confirmation.
For the record time, she wraps her arms around my neck. This might be the highest number of hugs I've returned in a day.
"A family doesn't have to only make up parents and their child or children. You and Sapphire are a family. The three of us, as friends, are a family. The four of us are a family. A single parent and their child are a family. Anything is a family if you feel complete with the people you love. Your feelings are valid, but never forget you're not alone. You have a big family in the shape of us who loves you more than you can imagine, okay?" I sway the both of us while rubbing her back the same way I have been doing since the first time I saw her cry and the same way I do with Sapphire.
"Now, let's get those tears wiped away, your eyes are probably too hydrated by now. And what happens when you cry too much?"
"Your eyes turn into strawberries," she replies, referring to how people's eyes turn bloodshot post crying.
"Smart girl," I pinch her cheek.
I groan as I stand up, physical activity of any kind isn't for me. I heard the remix of the century when the cracking sounds from however many bones blessed my ears.
"Ready to go in?" I held my hand out in case she wanted to hold it.
I receive vigorous nods and a small hand holding mine as a response.
When I make sure we're both ready to meet unfamiliar and familiar people, I take the lead and walk to the front door of the all-white home. To at least follow respective mannerisms, I knock on the door even though I already know it's unlocked. The soft voice of a kind woman grants us entrance, which allows me the excuse of opening the door as if a bear would get to me in a second if I didn't. As much as I love winter, standing outside in knee-deep snow and having the potential to slip and fall does not sound like an exciting idea.
I let out an uncontrolled gasp when small arms encircle my waist as soon as Ruby and I enter through the door. Khalto Amal's scolding words make me realize the identity of my assailant, who cannot be anyone other than Malak. Sorry Malak, but your mom and brother are much taller than you, so my options were quite limited. I look down and see the top of her head, showing me an aerial view of two pigtails held in place by my childhood nightmare. Those damn knocker ball hair ties that would decide to break when attached to a poor child's head and hurt like shit. That might be the earliest record of a potential concussion, and they should deem those hair ties hazardous. But hair braids still look cute, though.
With my free hand, I engaged in my third or fourth hug today; I lost count. By engaging in the hug, I mean patting Malak's back a few times while not knowing where to look but settled on staring at the air and counting how many carbon dioxide molecules I can detect.
What I didn't expect was Ruby's reaction to this, and I certainly did not expect her to direct a glare at Malak. Once the girl hugging me has enough of my patting, she retreats. Large, upturned eyes look at me as they widen while displaying the same happiness in her growing smile. The same one she shares with her brother.
"Hi Azail, I missed you a lot. I always ask mama when you would come back, but all she says is Allah Kareem, but that doesn't answer my question. But that's fine, you're here now. And who is this?" Her childish voice spews words at an unmeasurable speed, never forgetting to tell me every emotion she feels. Her small hands go up to hold both of my own, but drop when she notices one of them looks occupied. This does not stop her ambition because she holds my free hand when she notices it does not have any occupants.
Although I want to entertain her, worry shows in my mind about Ruby, who has not ceased her glare.
"We're all here now, everything is wonderful. Um, Malak, I want you to meet my best friend Ruby." My words deviate Ruby's glaring eyes away from Malak and gaze at me in astonished questioning. In my quest to calm down one child, I anger the other.
"Wait, I'm not your best friend?" Malak's cheery voice wobbles.
Shit, what now?
"No! You are, of course, you are. You're both number one equally," I say in a hurry, looking at Flynn and khalto to seek urgent help.
Sighing in relief when they both stand up and head to the girl they know how to comfort. Khalto's slow steps lead her to Malak, and I see her place both hands on the child's shoulders. Khalto speaks reassuring words, and that relieves me. When I'm sure someone's assigned to Malak duty, I shift my attention to Flynn.
And he does the most inappropriate shit.
As if he forgot the two biggest principles of our culture, his audacity makes him do two things. One, hold my hand to pull me the smallest bit forward, making a decent amount of space between me and the wall for him to walk through to reach Ruby. Two, exactly what I said a second ago in addition to mentioning the factor that he did this in front of his mother. My growing embarrassment didn't allow me to look at khalto. But I sure enjoyed my time aiming a fuming glare at him. Although he doesn't look like he gives a shit. Making funny faces at Ruby looks like the number one occupier of his thoughts. For someone who's always all fuck the conservative traditions or our culture, interacting with a man in front of grownups still gets me fucked up. I'll blame my relatives for embarrassing me every time I talked to a boy when I was younger about that.
I speak when I come up with a good excuse for why my hands increased in temperature.
"Um, maybe we shouldn't stand here for longer," I highlight my point by shivering.
The shiver came from a truthful place of feeling like an icicle, so hand me my award for perfect timing.
"Yes, of course. Come inside kids, I'm getting the icky adult's tea, but what do you want, pretty girls?" khalto mocks the adults, who I assume to be Flynn and myself, by pretending like she smelled a putrid odor. But smiles and flutters her fingers when leaning down to their level.
She's not wrong, adults are putrid indeed.
Malak turns to Ruby, "do you want hot chocolate? Mama makes amazing hot chocolate in the winter. Well, it's winter here all the time, but yeah," her sentences began by sounding yellow, then ended drowning in blue.
The now more comfortable Ruby pats Malak's shoulder the same way she learned to do from my awkward ass.
"Yeah, I'll have hot chocolate," she responds, smiling with the same gummy smile as Sapphire's.
We all watch the interaction with fond smiles. Kids can be so fucking adorable. Makes you wonder why the others are spawns of Satan.
"Well, you girls can go up to Malak's room and have fun, I'll bring you the hot chocolate when it's ready." She fixes rogue hair strands on both of their heads before ushering them up the stairs. They don't waste a second before running up the stairs and almost falling, making my heart drop to my feet.
Khalto turns to us with a mischievous-looking grin, "and you two can go to Flynn's room, I'll bring your tea up when it's ready."
I don't like the sound of that, I mean, his room looks nothing short of gorgeous, but I still feel weird about the sound of that. The second my heart thought it would come to a relaxing pulse, it increased again. I need a damn cardiologist.
Masking my returning embarrassment, I shake my head. "No, we can all sit here and have tea together. I've confined myself in a room way too often, I miss seeing what living rooms look like." It sounds like a joke, but it's not.
An Olympic sport I've excelled in is ignoring the living room and kitchen at all times and at all costs. Though this tactic succeeds in its initial incentive by helping me avoid any sight, hearing, heck, fucking smell of my parents, I miss the living room. I cannot remember the last time I took advantage of being home alone and chilled the way a normal person would on a couch watching TV. The last few times I've settled with a snack and an okay show playing on the screen, I hear the front door unlock, making me bolt to my room.
So yeah, I miss the idea of chilling in a living room.
Flynn catches onto the fallen look on my face and narrows his eyes. Khalto does too but changes the subject by replying to my normal-sounding statement.
"Okay, Hayati, we can do that. Son, please tidy the living room before you sit down, it's a mess."
My life
Her words are funny because the living room looks nothing short of spic and span. But that's how I am when the smallest thing is out of order in my room, so I get it.
Although she targeted her request to Flynn, I help him tidy up things here and there. Ten minutes later, I sit with my legs crossed on a couch that khalto did not let Flynn share with me. She has been trying to convince me to lie down as comfortably as I please, but I need at least ten more visits here to do that. But me sitting with crossed legs and allowing her to cover me with an array of soft blankets made her content. She and Flynn share the bigger couch, with her sitting on the end closest to me and Flynn resting his head on her shoulder, legs sprawled on the remaining space of the couch. The sight of his feet dangling from the edge makes me and khalto laugh. There's no way he's comfortable. Yet again, anyone can ignore an uncomfortable laying position if their mother massages their head with gentle fingers.
Damn, I wouldn't know the feeling, but I'm sure it's great.
We all sit and watch an Arab singing show while sipping our scorching tea. That's a lie, I could never drink scorching hot tea. I value the life of my tongue by waiting a few minutes when the temperate isn't too hot or cold. The show captivated my eyes and attention span, so I damn near flinched when a paper plane missed my face by an inch. Furrowing my eyebrows, I look at the first suspected culprit. He shows me an apologetic smile before mouthing words and telling me to open the note.
Getting myself out of the blanket burrito became a tiring challenge. But my arms become first-place winners when they escape, enough for me to grab the note so I can read it. I open the old fashion folded paper plane and silently read its written content.
Would it be too personal to ask about your parents in front of my mom, or in general?
- Yours (soon, hopefully, maybe), Flynn.
I gulped in response to his question and what he wrote before his name.