Years pass by and there is no news of her, and because of that, we have to bury her deep in our hearts. Sometimes Baba will go out, hoping to hear some news from the neighbouring village, but eventually, we accept the fact that either she's gone for good or bad. Which we prayed to be for good.
Life continues as Sitra people adapt to start living with the new changes with hope and resilience. Those who lost their loved ones, poverty, a house, or something accept it as their qadr, and they continue to live for a better tomorrow.
Life was sweet and hard back then. We were trying to bring back our city, even if we couldn't bring it back to how it used to be. At least we kept trying to make it lively until the inevitable happened and Sitra was shattered beyond repair.
It was when a Sunni and a Shia follower engaged themselves in a fight, and the Sunni follower killed the Shia follower. The Shia demanded that, that man be killed, but the Sunni refused to give him to them because they knew the Shia would hurt him, and because of that, they refused.
The Shia vowed to take revenge even if it meant destroying us, the Sunni.
War started, bloodshed spread everywhere, and people were suffering and living in darkness. Every day we keep seeing our loved ones being killed.
We're always afraid to see the sunrise because we will always wake up to the sound of gunshots and bullets.
We cried, wailed, and begged for help, but no one came to our aid. The war cooled down for some days, and that's when Baba decided to send us to the neighbouring village where his brother was living with his family.
We don't want to go, but then we can't live in that place either. Baba said it's not good for us to keep seeing all these kinds of things. He said it was not good for our health; he said he would come and take us back when everything cooled down.
"Take care of your sister because you're the only one she has and can trust with her life." That was Baba's word to me after he dropped us off at his brother's place.
His brother promised to take care of us, and we're also his children. Baba believed, and he was smiling when he left us in his hands, not knowing the pain that would come back and hit us again.
We spent three weeks at his house. Living with his children and wife. Even though it's not the best to live among people who pretend to love you, it's better than living in a place where your life is at stake, where you will wake up to the sound of a gun, and where you will have a hard time getting a proper meal.
We have never talked to Baba since the day he dropped us, and every day my heart yearned to see my parents.
Admist that chaos made Maha fall sick; her medical expenses were very high and her health kept deteriorating, and that's when my uncle said he was tired.
"I cannot continue to live with beggars in my own house. I've got my responsibility to take care of, and I don't think I'm capable enough for more," he said, taking us to the bus stop. He paid for the transport from his place to my place. His face shows no pity, even after the kind of situation Maha was in.
We started the journey. Maha's body keeps burning. I've got no medicine to give her. The only thing I had with me were the dates and bread I saved for us.
Looking at her and seeing her in that kind of situation made me shed tears, and when Maha tried to wipe my tears with her burning yet fragile hands, I shed more tears again.
I don't know what will happen if we reach home, but there's a tightening pain in my heart that keeps telling me that things will not be the same for us ever again.
We arrived, and each step I took made my heart take a hurting beat. The corpses we matched, the stained blood, and the children crying over their parents's dead bodies made me go numb and weak, and my breathing began to seize.
Upon reaching our home, I was welcomed with blood, and that's when my world started crumbling. My parent's lifeless body was staring at us. I stood there, staring at their corpses.
I looked down at Maha, and her face was filled with sorrow and understanding, and it broke me to see her in that manner. But as I spoke, I could feel the emotions welling up inside me, threatening to break me through.
I fought to keep my composure, but it was a losing battle. Tears began to stream down my face. I could feel the weight of not having them around pressing down on me as I struggled to breathe.
What scared me more was that Maha didn't cry. She was just looking at them, and she smiled. She looked at me and signed, "Adda In sha Allah, they're in a better place, and they will be happy in Jannah." I cried and cried.
I cried when I saw Maha enter my parent's room and bring my father's Hiram. She covered them; she used it and covered them, and all I could do was stare at her.
And that's all. That's the last time I ever got to see my parents. Life continued, but the pain was there. It was hard to eat, hard to live, and hard to take care of a disabled Maha. But we got along with each other. And Baba said I should take care of Maha because I am all she has and she can only trust me.
Some days I want to give up, but Maha keeps me going. She didn't shed a tear, and I was worried—not until the day after I went out to look for food. I came home, and I heard some noise coming from my parents's house.
I went there, and that's when I saw Maha clutching my parent's picture and crying. She cried, and it broke me to see her crying, and since then she has never cried again.
Life continued, and the hardships kept increasing, it's hard to get a proper meal, it's hard to get something warm, and it's hard to be a normal kid again.
We can't go back to our uncle's house because he will never take us back.
And that's how I find myself talking to the sky as if I'm talking to my uncle.
Uncle, can you believe it?
Every day we go to sleep cold and hungry?!
No money, nothing!
Baba was a Shaheed.
Before he died, we always had wood.
We also had his hugs and smiles to keep us warm.
But now...
Nothing.
Baba is gone; our warmth is gone.
But, Uncle, what did we do wrong?
What about the promise you made to Baba?
That you will take us to your house in the city,
That you would feed us,
That we would go back to school.
What happened?
Did we do something wrong, Uncle?
If this is how promises are fulfilled, then I wish you would let Baba take us with him.
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And boom here I am back again. How was the chapter so far.
I've saved tissue in case anyone of u here needs it.
If you start reading the book from the beginning, you will understand that this is where the book starts. Hope you get it know.
What's your thought about the book so far?.
Should we end it now or we should keep going🤩🤩
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