"Manal?" Saeed called.
Manal heard her father's voice and dropped the broom instantly. She ran up to him and he picked her up, kissing her head, before walking towards Nafisa with her in his arms.
Nafisa was too afraid to even speak as Saeed approached her. Did he hear what she told Manal to do? She knew Saeed didn't like her from the first day he saw her and would find reasons to fire her from her job.
"What is going on here?" He questioned, his gaze darting around.
"Welcome, sir." Nafisa greeted, nervously. She couldn't read Sa'eed's expression and that didn't help at all.
"Thank you. I asked a question." he reminded.
"It's nothing at all..." Nafisa answered. She was thankful he didn't see what was going on when he stepped in. She heaved a sigh of relief - she was saved.
"She asked me to sweep the floor." Manal interjected.
Nafisa's eyes widened. The little witch was going to expose her.
Saeed looked at her questionably.
"I wanted to do it myself, but Manal kept on insisting I give her the broom, because she created the mess and I did." Nafisa lied. She could only wish Manal would not expose her.
Immediately Nafisa saw Manal opening her mouth to speak, she knew she was going to counter her, so she quickly thought of something to say to divert their minds from the present topic. "Manal's mother is not back from work " she said the first thing that came to her mind. She mentally face palmed. Even to her ears, it sounded absurd.
Saeed gazed at her. He must already know she wouldn't be back till evening. "I know," he replied curtly and walked away with Manal still in his arms.
With a flagitious demeanor, Nafisa rolled her eyes.
'~~~~~~
Sa'eed unlocked the door to his room and went in, dropping Manal in their bed. "How was school, baby?" He inquired, taking a sit beside her.
"It was fine," she replied, searching for his cell phone in his briefcase.
He chuckled. "What are you looking for?"
"Phone." She replied.
"It isn't there." He pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Here."
"Thank you, abi."
"What did you do in school today?" He inquired.
"Hand writing and drawing." she answered.
"Only?" He asked.
She nodded, totally engrossed in the game she was playing.
Sa'eed took a peep at what she was busy with and found out she was playing subway surfers with the sound turned off. "Have you prayed zuhr?" He inquired.
"No." she answered nonchalantly.
He furrowed his brows at that."Why haven't you prayed?"
"I forgot." she said, not looking up from the phone. Her entire concentration was directed to the screen of the cellphone.
Instantly, Sa'eed collected the phone from her. "Do you want the shaytaan to be happy with you or mislead you?"
She shook her head vigorously. "I don't want that."
"Then you should always pray on time. Shaytaan doesn't like or come near children who pray. Go and perform your ablution now." he ordered.
"Okay," she replied and ran off to the bathroom to do as she was told.
Saeed smiled. He wanted her to get used to not missing any obligatory prayer and also to get used to praying on time - it would be beneficial to her in the future.
~~~
Maryam was seated in her office, going through some patients' files when her phone began to ring. Checking the caller ID, she smiled - it was her husband calling.
"Assalamu'alaykum, habibty."
"Wa'alaykum salam, Habibi." she smiled. In spite of how tired she was just some minutes ago, hearing Sa'eed's voice seemed to have relieved her.
"I came back early today. When are you coming home?" He inquired.
Maryam suppressed a smile - indisputably, he was already missing her. "I'm very sorry, habibi. I won't be able to come back very early today, I still have so much work to do here, but I will be back around 7:00pm, because I'm not on night shift today." she explained apologetically.
He sighed from the other side of the voice. "right then." He sounded disappointed, but what could she do? - it was the nature of her job. He just had to get use to it.
"I promise to wrap things up early and be home soon, okay?"
"Alright." he answered.
"Till then." she remarked and ended the call.
"That was your husband right?" Aisha, her colleague and friend appeared from nowhere and asked.
Maryam flinched a bit. "You startled me." She placed a hand on her chest.
"I'm sorry." She chuckled. "Was that your husband?" She repeated her question.
"Yeah." She replied, trying to hide a smile.
"I guess he is missing you and wants you to return back home," Aisha teased.
Maryam blushed, "I don't think that's the case," she denied.
"Yeah, right." She remarked sarcastically.
"How is khadijah doing?" She inquired. "It's been weeks since I last saw her that cute daughter of yours."
"She's alright." She replied. "She was even pleading with me to take her to your house yesterday."
"Manal misses her so much as well." Manal and Khadijah had only met each other twice and were already very fond of each others' company. Khadijah was a year older than Manal.
"About you looking for a house help, I have found someone who is willing to work for you, she's in her late forties."
"Oh really? I'm very sorry but I won't be needing her services, I have a nanny now. She's very young and well mannered," Maryam said. "Sorry I didn't tell you about this earlier."
"It's okay, but from where is she? How old is she?" Aisha inquired.
"She's just seventeen."Maryam replied.
"Seventeen...shouldn't she be in school instead of working. Given her age?" Aisha questioned.
"I have also thought about that and I've decided to help her further her education for as long as she stays in my house," Maryam said. She made a mental note to tell Sa'eed immediately she returned back home. She wouldn't want the same commotion that took place the last time to repeat itself.
"Wow! That's good, but I still think you should have hired someone-"
"I know...I know, but she isn't complaining at all because she desperately needs the money for her brother." Maryam cut her off
"But-"
"You have absolutely nothing to be worried about, Aisha. Nafisa is a very nice girl, you should stop by someday and judge for yourself and when you decide to do, don't forget to bring Khadijah along," Maryam smiled. Age wasn't her problem at all. All that she required from Nafisa was her dedication to take care of Manal and the house in her absence.
"I won't," Aisha smiled and they went back to going through patients' folders.
~~~~
Nafisa angrily finished cleaning up the dining room and was going to her room to rest. She passed by Saeed's room and decided to ask him if he wanted her to prepare a meal for him. Maryam has specifically warned her not to cook for Saeed - she recalled, but what did she expect him to eat when she was not back from work? She shook head in disbelief - she was indeed not sensible She didn't hesitate further and softly knocked at the door.
It didn't take a minute for Sa'eed to open the door. He was surprised to see her at his door. "Do you need something?" He questioned with a raised brow.
"I...I wanted to know if you'd like me to prepare a meal for you. You haven't eaten anything since you came back from work," she blurted nervously. She also had no idea why she was being nervous around him.
"No, it's fine, i have already eaten. I believe my wife told you your chores and cooking for me is definitely not one of it." he stated.
"Yes she did," she replied.
"Good. Is that all?" He asked.
Judging by the demeanor he had on, Nafisa knew she was disturbing him. "Yes sir," she replied and before she could comprehend what was happening next, he had already slammed the door at her face. "How rude!" She muttered underneath her breath. "I was just trying to be nice." She shrugged and proceeded towards her room.
Laying down on the word, his words came back to her; "I believe my wife told you what your chores are, and cooking for me is definitely not one of it," she mimicked. "Doesn't she have a name." She wondered. Ever since she came into the house, she had never for once heard any of them call each other by their names, except for habibi and habibty - she rolled her eyes and brought out her small Nokia phone from her bag. Just when she was about to dial her mother's number, her call came in. She smiled and clicked on the receive button.
"Hello ya Nafisa, is that you?" Her immediate younger sibling, Hafsa asked.
"Yes, Hafsa. Why are you with mummy's phone? Where is she?"
"We are at the hospital." She replied.
"Hospital? How is Khalifa doing?" She asked with shaky voice. She prayed his health was not deteriorating as she suspected.
"That's the reason I called ya Nafisa, Khalifa-"
"Don't worry about anything, tell mummy not to worry about the money for his hospital bills as well. I have gotten a job and the woman has promised to pay me in advance. I will be coming back to the village first thing tomorrow with the money." Nafisa breathed. She was suddenly having a bad feeling.
"It's too late now. Too late," Hafsa cried.
Nafisa's heart skyrocketed. "What do you mean by that Hafsa?" She asked with shaky voice. It couldn't be what she was thinking. No, it was not possible.
"When we got to the hospital, the doctors refused to attend to him, unless we pay the bills first and-"
"And what Hafsa? Don't you even dare lie to me, you know how I get when I am being provoked. What happened?" She yelled on the top of her lungs.
"He passed away. Khalifa is dead." She sobbed.
Nafisa couldn't believe what she heard, it felt as though her ears were deceiving her. She allowed the phone slip out of her hold. All her effort to save him by coming to the city was now in vain. Her lips quivered and she held her mouth with her palm so hard to suppress the sob that threatened to escape. "This is all her fault. If she had given me the money the day I stepped into this house, this wouldn't have happened. I will never forgive her for what she's done. I will make her pay." Nafisa swore through gritted teeth.
Instead of praying for her deceased brother, she was busy blaming someone else for his death, but she couldn't care less - she was blinded by her new found hatred for Maryam.