Zahrah's POV
"Ya Allah grant me sabr," My father murmured. "Allah granted me three boys, No daughters," He said, looking toward me.
"How many times should I apologize before you forgive me, Baba," I said, mastering my best puppy face expression.
"You broke the poor women's face, and all you could say is sorry and not even apologize to her," Baba said, trying to hold in his anger that became apparent on his red face.
"How could I know that her fake nose would break like that," I said before Baba cut me off, "Aren't you going to apologize to her? "
I laughed, "I apologize to her. No way," I said before I continued, "I needed to go to the fifth floor to meet the new therapist you assigned."
As I was about to leave my family, who was waiting outside the room of Emilia, I found my mother running toward us as Abo-Ahmad was trying to keep up with her.
"Ohh Alhamdulillah, Nothing is wrong with you" My mother pulled me into a side hug before she kissed my cheeks.
"Why are you here ?" I said, confused.
"I went into 'track my iPhone' and sow that your phone was placed in the hospital, so I came to check on you," She pulls back and holds me at arm's length.
"Couldn't you call first ?" Fahad said.
"Ohh you," My mother said before gripping my older brother, Fahad, by his ears, "How could you not talk to your mother or visit her for three months,"
"Mama, people are watching," Fahad whispered as Mama didn't even care, "Let them see my ungrateful son who I carried for nine months, and then he forgets he has a mother," My mom said.
"Baba ?" Fahad begged.
"Leave me out of this boy," My father said as he escaped.
Abo-Ahmad didn't do anything and just stood there as for Youssef he was laughing his guts out. "Mama, I had a lot of cases to work through, and I have my first hearing tomorrow, first chair," My brother said in a whisper, trying to calm mama down.
"I am an ortho surgeon, and I still have time to call my mother and take care of Ahmad and also call you from now and then," My mother added, bashing his lame excuse.
"I am sorry," he said as my mother left his ear after turning it bright red, and Fahad kissing my mother's forehead. He was a twenty-five-year-old man, but brown moms don't see that. They only see a kid that needs bashing when they are wrong, and that is what I appreciate.
My phone kept ringing as I saw the caller ID, Therapist.
"Ohh ya, I completely forgot, I need to meet with the therapist Baba scheduled," I said, "She is waiting for me on the fifth floor," I said goodbye to everyone and left.
My therapist was Dr.Hisham, but then my father said that he retired, so I needed to find a new one.
******
I sat on a large brown leather couch, waiting for my appointment, which is scheduled at 5.00 o'clock, and now it was 5.13. The past thirteen minutes had felt like an hour as I sat quietly, not saying a word, waiting for what was about to happen. As the door opened, My head sprang up and to the right. The woman entering the room gave me a polite smile as she walked to the chair across from where we were sitting.
"Hello," She said in a soft, kind voice.
I said nothing in return.
"I'm Dr. Yasmine, and you must be Zahrah," she continued.
Dr. Yasmine was reasonably white with blonde hair and relatively slim. Her blue eyes are directed at me. Her office was pale beige with brown furnishings. The walls were bare, and the only item sitting atop the coffee table between her chair and my couch was a Kleenex box.
"So let's get started, shall we? I have read Dr.Hisham's file, but I want to hear from you," she commented.
Her voice was soft and monotonous, just like Dr.Hisham when she was once again met with silence, she cleared her throat and tried again.
"I know about your situation. Your father informed me, and well, I watched the news when 'The cabin horror' was revealed to the public. You don't need to explain any specifics, but you must know that I'm here because you will not get into any Med school without my approval that your mental health is still okay. If you need someone to talk to, other than yourself, this is what these sessions are for."
Silence.
"The simplest of question I can ask is how old you are," Dr. Yasmine said after a moment.
"I turned Twenty-Three...June," I said.
Dr. Yasmine nodded but didn't say a word.
"How long has it been since...you've been back at home?" Dr. Yasmine asked.
"You mean since WE escaped?" I said, looking her straight in the eyes.
"Twelve years," I whispered.
"I know you have been through a lot," she started softly. "I won't pretend to understand the difficulty of your triumph because I have never had to face anything like it. But I want you to know that I am not here as a reporter. I don't care to know the gory details. Also, I am not here as a parent. I don't wish to shelter you from any evils. I am simply a third party. Anything and everything you say within this room stays with me. I will write nothing down; I can promise you that." Unlike Dr.Hisham, who would write every little detail and report everything to my parents and the school.
"Zahrah...do you mind telling me how you ended up in Georgia ?" Dr. Yasmine asked.
Zahrah felt her entire body shutter. She closed her eyes, willing herself to remember what she promised she would force herself to forget.
Flashback
Little Zahrah got ready faster than usual since today was her first day in Grade 5 with the Hijab, and she was so excited, she ran down the stairs, crashing into her mother, Aya, at the landing.
"What? You weren't going to even say ma'assalama before leaving?" she asked.
"Mama, I don't wanna be late! I wanna show Adam how I look in the Hijab," Little Zahrah said excitedly.
"You look beautiful, and don't let any boy tell you otherwise," Aya said, Placing a kiss on her daughter's cheek.
"Baba, let's go," Little Zahrah said as she tried to move her father from the couch.
"Baba is tired today, so Uncle Hussien will take you," Aya informed as she looked at her watch. "I am already late for the surgery scheduled today," her mother said before leaving.
"I will leave to now, ma'assalama Baba," Little Zahrah said.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Her father asked, holding Zahrah's schoolbag in his hands.
Zahrah quickly grabbed her bag from her father. She ran to the kitchen, shoved in an apple, a water bottle, and her school books. She gave her father a quick kiss on the cheek, and she ran out the door into uncle Hussien's car.
Uncle Hussien didn't take her to school that day but somewhere far away.
And then...Darkness.
Author Note
Assalamu Alaikum guys :)
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and a new chapter will be coming soon.
Next Chapter, Zahrah meets Ben :)