Sahir has been my best friend since elementary school. But despite that, in all our 22 years of friendship, I hadn't once had a proper conversation with his little sister, Fay.
She was four years younger than Sahir and I, so we were never in the same school at the same time. Also, being the shy girl she was, she'd make sure she wasn't in sight when I was around. After Sahir and I had finished high school, I'd barely see her around. Sahir wouldn't bring me around to their house anymore because I was a 'horny guy' and he was afraid I'd mess around with his now-gorgeous-yet-still-naive sister.
So it came to me as quite the surprise when I saw her again for the first time in nearly a decade. It was at Sahir's wedding. Since I was the best friend and she was the sister, it was inevitable that we'd run into each other.
I'd occasionally see pictures of her on Sahir's social media from family events and such. But to see her in person was entirely different. Fay was, to put it simply, absolutely beautiful, with an aura that radiated kindness.
By then, Sahir was okay with me wanting to be with his baby sister. I was older now, a gentleman in the army, capable of looking after his sister, he'd said. He was cool with the idea of us, just as long as I didn't do something stupid, like break her heart.
But, every time I wake up in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat, I can't help but wish he hadn't had all that faith in me.