Chapter 3
When I was fourteen, aunt Fatima had asked me to invite some of my friends over. I was a quiet kid and I didn't socialise much. The few friends that I did have had never been over to my house. When aunt Fatima had suggested a small party, I had reluctantly said yes, but when my friends had arrived, everything had gone smoothly. Aunt Fatima had cooked up some delicious snacks and even bought cupcakes from the local bakery. My friends and I were having a good time, until my aunts ex husband had come home. He had a ridiculous temper and had scared my friends away. He yelled at me, at aunt Fatima, and even broke a couple of plates. But that was quite usual. He would do those things regularly. What he had never done before, though, was take a piece of glass and throw it at my aunt. My heart had almost stopped beating.
Hearing Asha say those five words was at par, or even worse, than that day. Obviously the two situations were very different, but the fear and disappointment I felt were near the same. My eyes widened, heart rate dropped and sweat started trickling down my face. She didn't know who I was.
"I...I don't understand. I'm Zoya. Your sister. We got separated-"
"I don't know you," Asha said, cutting me off.
"But, you have to believe me, we are sisters," I said, taking a step closer to her. A small rip seared through my heart as I watched Asha move a step back, one hand still firmly wrapped around the little girls wrist and the other clutching her brown abaya. The abaya was old, the colour had started fading and it looked a bit too big for Asha.
"I don't have to believe anything. Please, just leave," she said.
"But, don't you remember, Aunt Fatima and I, we..."
"I don't know who you are. Just leave, I don't want you here," Asha said, her cold voice cutting through the rising tension.
Taking another step forward, I opened my mouth but stopped when I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder. Without having to look behind me, I knew who it was.
"Zoya, why don't we get going?" Isaac asked, squeezing my shoulder ever so lightly.
"No, I have to tell her," I said, shrugging off his hand. Isaac grabbed me again, this time pulling me back into him.
"You're going to make this situation worse. At this rate, she'll never want to even see you again," Isaac whispered, his head near my ear.
Asha wasn't looking at me anymore. Instead, her eyes were focused on the small girl beside her. I glanced at the young girl and immediately noticed her resemblance to Asha. She had a small face, light brown eyes and she looked extremely frail. Her dark blue dress hung off her shoulders, making her seem even smaller. I wanted to ask about her, but stopped myself. Sister Julie had said that Asha had a 'little one', earlier. The girl must be her child. It would also explain the way Asha always had a hand on the child. She felt the need to protect her...against me.
Turning back to look at Isaac, I nodded. There was no point in trying to win over Asha when she clearly didn't even want to hear me speak. She didn't trust me. And why would she.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. Isaac, we should go," I said, my voice low. Clearing my throat and hoping the tears wouldn't fall from my eyes, I grabbed Isaac's hand, gave a quick nod to Sister Julie and Asha, and rushed out of the small building.
Once outside, I sucked in a large breath and let the tears fall. My heart constricted as I let out a loud sob. Letting go of Isaac, I wrapped my arms around my waist. I felt Isaac reach for me and pull me close to him, encasing me in a tight hug. Burying my face into his chest, I welcomed his comfort. I wasn't an idiot, I knew that things would have taken a bad turn if I had continued trying to convince her. The look in Asha's eyes, it was something I definitely did not want to see again.
"Zoya, baby, come on. Why don't we go get something cool to drink?" Isaac murmured, his deep, baritone like voice echoing in my ears. I sniffled and moved my head back, wiping my nose with my sleeve. Glancing into Isaac's eyes, I suddenly wanted to cry all over again. His hand cupped my face and stayed still as he wiped away my tears.
"Okay," I whispered. Isaac cracked a smile as he brushed his fingers across my red cheeks. I probably looked terrible, with my eyes puffy and my nose and cheeks all red, but he still looked at me as though I was the most beautiful person in the world.
I let Isaac guide me across the road, and hold my hand as we waited for the next matatu. My mind was still reeling from hearing and seeing Asha that I completely missed the young girl with a scar across her face staring at me through the orphanage windows.
**
I shut my eyes as the cool coconut water slid down my throat, its sweet taste lighting up my tastebuds. I couldn't believe I had spent 27 years of my life without having ever tasted such a delicacy.
"Mmm. This definitely beats the one from Woolies," Isaac said, leaning back into the wall and letting out a long sigh.
"Definitely. That stuff was disgusting. I don't understand how people even bought it."
The madafu, or coconut I held in my hands was half the size of a basketball. Isaac and I had watched in complete mesmerisation as the vendor had expertly cut up the coconut. He even gave us small spoons made from the coconut shell itself to eat the coconut meat. Isaac had finished his madafu a while before I did so he was onto eating the delicate meat inside the coconut. I watched him for a while, taking in the fact that he looked so effortlessly handsome just standing there and eating. His bright blue shirt complimented his dark skin, and his hair was up in its usual curly mess. I watched as he looked around the street, slurping the meat. If it hadn't been for Isaac, I probably would have said something to Asha that I would regret for the rest of my life.
"She is my sister, right?" I asked, looking away from Isaac and instead focusing on two children playing with rocks.
"Of course. She's just in... denial?" Isaac answered.
"Why would she want to deny that? We even look alike."
"I think she's scared. Did you notice her reaction when you mentioned Aunt Fatima?"
I turned to him, my eyebrows raised. "What?"
Isaac cleared his throat, "When you said her name, Asha cut you off really fast. She wouldn't do that if she hadn't remembered something."
My eyes widened, "She recognised Aunt Fatima, or at least her name. This is great! Now I just have to tell her a bit more about Aunt Fatima and maybe-"
"No," Isaac cut me off.
"Why not? If she remembers Aunt Fatima, then all we have to do is jog her memory a bit."
Isaac shook his head. "That's going to make things worse. Asha didn't react in a good way. I was watching her, it looked like she didn't want to hear Aunt Fatima's name."
"That makes absolutely no sense. Why would Asha react badly to Aunt Fatima's name?"
Isaac shrugged and turned back to his madafu. I picked at my spoon. There was no logical reason as to why Asha wouldn't want to hear Aunt Fatima's name. I couldn't remember ever being with my biological parents. Aunt Fatima had always been the only parental figure I'd ever had. She had raised me, and before we left for Australia, she had raised Asha as well.
"Why don't you change tactics with Asha," Isaac said, throwing the empty coconut in the pile by the vendors table and standing in front of me.
"I don't know how else to get her to accept and remember me," I mumbled, scuffing my right shoe against the concrete.
"Asha says she doesn't know you. But we know that she's your sister," Isaac starts, his brown eyes locked on mine.
"I think I know where you're going with this," I said.
"Yeah?"
I nodded my head, "We should get a DNA test done. And show it to her. She'll realise straight away."
Isaac gave me a flat look, "Zoya, how do you really expect her to willingly agree to a DNA test?"
I bit my lip. Isaac really had a way in turning down my not so fine ideas.
"As I was saying, that little girl Asha was with. That's her daughter, right?"
"I'm pretty sure she is. Sister Julie mentioned her, I think."
"Good. Then we can befriend her and get through to Asha."
"You want me to get to my sister by using a child?" I asked.
"You don't exactly have any other option."
I turned back to the children that had playing with the rocks, only to find them standing and watching Isaac and I. Using an innocent child to get my sister to believe me and accept me wasn't something I would have done on any other day. But seeing Asha's face and hearing her cold voice when she spoke to me made me even more determined to fight for her.
"Okay."