Chapter 23
23
Maryam's POV
"No way will I let you go to that asshole house again!" Maimuna yield in an overpowering voice
"Maimuna please quit being obstinate" I replied irritatedly
"No you stop being obstinate! What do you want me to do? To gladly ask you to go back to his house? After so many things he has done to you? No way dear sister"
"Please sis listen to me-"
"No you listen to me! You won't go back to that house and that's final" she stubbornly said
"Maimuna you're not my mother, you can't dictate for me what to do and what not to do! you're just my sister and I'm going back to my husband's house! Just take a look at your self, you're so eager to help your husband while I can't?" I asked bitterly
I heard her sigh before saying "I'm sorry sis, it just that I don't want anything bad to happen to you,for the past twenty three years I never knew I had a sister, I never knew my other half was somewhere else, but here we're together. We just got to see each other a week ago after so many years of departure from each other which we ourselves don't even know the reason as at now,I'm just concern for you that's all"
"I know and I appreciate but please let me be with my husband,he needs me most now"
"Fine I'll" she said hitting the steering lightly giving up "But...but if anything should happen make sure you call me right away with this phone OK?"
"OK Sis I'll"
"I love you so much"
"And I love you too"
She drove me home and I was so grateful she dropped the matter if not I don't know where I would have start from pleasing her "Thank you and take care"
"Yeah...make sure you call me OK?"
"OK sis I'll......bye"
******
I knock waiting patiently for the gate to be open,after some minutes feeling like hours the gate keeper open the door widely for me smiling " Madam welcome,eh Madam we really miss you fah welcome madam"
"Thank you Danladi"
Standing in front of the main door I was so scared to open it,what if Kareem beat me for hugging his friend instead of him? What if he beat me for leaving the house? But I saw the way he was begging earlier on, he meant what he was saying, he wouldn't hurt me will he?
I decide to push my thought aside and summon all the courage and entered the room but everywhere was so dark and I can't sense his presence in the house, may be he left the house for me...but why?
Just as I was about to take another step everything became brighter as the light were switched on and this time around I could see Kareem clearly kneeling on his knees with rose in his hand
"Kareem" I whispered moving closer to him
"For you" he said stretching it to me which I gladly accept with a smile
He started "Maryam- I know I've wrong you in many ways,I've always treated you badly,I never listen to you or your explanation but please believe me when I say I'm sorry, I'm now a changed person,I won't ever do something horrible like that to you,you really deserve to be respected,you always bear with all my insult for you but now I'm begging you to please accept my apology,I won't ever let you leave again"
"Kareem" I called before pulling him up
"Maryam I-"
"I love you" I said out of the blue, I wasn't suppose to say that but I don't care at this moment,I need to explore my feelings for him which I'm happy to tell him
"I love you so much Kareem Abdulazeez" I told him again before pulling him into a tight hug,I felt him tensed at first but later relax him self
He break the hug and look into my eyes with blank face,this moment I wish I could read his mind but I can't
"What?!" He asked looking so surprise
"I said I love you" I replied back smiling
"We can work it out, right Kareem?" I asked again. Call me crazy but I'm more crazy at this moment,I really love this man standing in front of me
"I...I'm sorry " he said before walking to his room leaving me hanging there like a robot. I keep replaying his word in my head
I'm sorry
I'm sorry
I'm sorry
What does that mean? He never had feelings for me? But I thought he likes me,I thought he cared
I slump my self on the floor as I start crying,how stupid of me,I thought he will love me back,I thought he would see me as his woman but guess I was wrong, he won't like me,he never see me that way coz I'm not Safeenah. How dare you woman! How dare you keep the man I'm in love with?!
I keep crying till sleepiness took over me
****
I yawn as I open my eyes slightly, I found my self in my room. How did I end up here? I fell asleep yesterday on the floor after my confession to him but I was so stupid,my love was taken for granted, how could I love a man who doesn't love me back,who's heart belongs to someone else. I really hate you Safeenah, I hate you for not giving Kareem's heart to me. Call me selfish I don't care, all what I want right now is Kareem's love but guess I can't get it, he will forever love you and you alone
"Now how will I face him? What will he think of me? I know he's the only one who can take me up to my room,how great will it be if you can open your heart to me Kareem coz I really do love you " I thought as I feel a drop of water fall down my cheek
*****One week later*****
Today aunty will be discharged, it been a week she has been kept in this hospital for a proper treatment and it also been a week I've set my eyes on Kareem,ever since the night I confessed my feelings for him he has been hard to see,I mean he wakes up early before I do and comes home late when he knows I've fallen asleep or sometimes he don't show up
Five days ago I and my sis went to mom's place and we talk a lot,she seems to like Maimuna a lot, and Kareemah she's now her best friend,at first I was jealous coz I feel everyone now divert their love from me to her, but I think I'm been crazy how can I be jealous of my own sister?
Khalid has always been there for me,he's like a brother I never had,but he's acting strange this days like cooking my favourite, sing and sometimes dance as acting crazy. I'm so confuse but my head tells me he's only trying to cheer me up
And daddy..daddy has been extra caring to the both of us which I find it strange,though it not like he's not caring right from the start but now he cares a lot for us and likes to spend most of his time with us
"Aunty are you feeling OK now?" I asked her
"Yes dear I'm ....Maryam thank you a lot, I really appreciate all what you've done for me,even though I never treated you with care and love but you still choose to save my life"
It been more than five days aunty has been thanking me for donating blood for her and it really annoying, I mean she's like a mother to me,even though she really punished me a lot when I was living with her, but I believe there's a reason she's acting that way though I don't know yet even after sixteen years. I'm sure one day she will spill it out,I'll know what my parent did to her for her to be so cold hearted towards me
"Aunty it been more than five days now you've been thanking me,it's fine seriously if I didn't help you then who do you expect me to help?"
"I know I'm just....I just want to thank you a lot"
"You don't have to"
"And where's Maimuna?"
"Here I'm....sorry I'm late" she said entering with a smile. You might all be wondering how they become so close well it like a miracle to me just like to everyone, when she learnt from dad that our parent did something awful to aunty she changed all of a sudden, we both don't know what is it about but uncle promise to disclose the secret once aunty is been discharged, Maimuna felt bad for aunty coz according to what uncle said,what our parent did was the cause of her illness up till today and since then they've become so close to each other and aunty has really changed a lot
"Good morning" she greeted her
"Morning... How was your night?"
"It was fantastic and yours?"
"Alhamdulillah it was great"
"Great! I'm so happy coz finally you going to leave this stinky hospital"
"Yes same here too,I hate the smell" aunty said as they both high five. I shook my head at their little craziness. I mean they both have same thing in common,both feisty and sweet at the same time,never in a million years will I ever thought that they will be this close
"So shall we?"
"Wait! What about my husband?"
"Oh don't worry dear aunty,he's having a serious talk with the doctor he'll meet us outside shortly,chill OK your husband is going no where " she said in a teasing tone as aunty smack her hand lightly
*****Two days later*****
Today everyone was present to check on Aunty's well being. When I say everyone I mean my father in law, mother in-law,Khalid,Kareemah, maimuna and of course her husband and our little angel but my husband was not around he went for a business trip with this Korean investors. How do I know ? Well he told my Daddy but not me,it been nine days I've set my eyes on him and it really killing me
Me,Maimuna and Kareemah cooked for everyone with Aunty's little authority tone,like "do this don't do that". Everyone was sitting in the big living room while they were all chatting as Dad got everyone's attention by saying he has something to say
"Well Maryam can you step forward " he said as I look at everyone encouraging me to go. I move closer to him and he started
"Maryam you're one in a million, you always love and care for everyone without any condition and that was the reason you helped your Mom here" he said and I look at aunty who return her gaze with pure love. This is my first time I'll see her look at me with love and not hatred
"You see she's still alive all because of The Almighty Allah subhana'u wata'alah and because of you,if not your help,who knows what would have happened to her...thank you so much my dearest daughter"
"We should always thank Allah daddy" I replied smiling and he nod in agreement
"Maimuna can you step forward?"
"Of course Daddy " she says moving closer to us,now she's standing beside Dad on the left
"Maimuna... Your birth name was Mufeedah and not Maimuna" he said sadly,there's something on his tone. Like pain
"What?!" We all said as everyone turn into surprise including Aunty
"Ho...how did you know Daddy?!"
"Good question my dear...did you two remember the day that doctor asked to see me privately?"
"Yes"
"This was what we talk about"
Mr Jawad (Maryam's Uncle POV)
*****flashback*****
"Please make your self comfortable"
"Thank you...why did you ask to see me privately? Is Maryam OK? And my wife is she alright?"
"Please calm down Mr Jawad, they're both alright. Remember I told you before we could carry out the donation process we must test both of their blood if it matches"
"Yes"
"So after the result was out which startled me coz you definitely make it sure to us from the start that the same lady was not your daughter"
"Yes...will you please stop beating around the bush and let me know what's happening?"
"OK I'm sorry...we took out a blood test and it matches with your wife"
"There's no any problem then"
"Yes there isn't... But-"
"But?"
"We find out that your wife is the biological mother of Miss Maryam"
"What?! What are you talking about? Maryam is my brother's child,she can't be!"
"Please calm down Mr Jawad.... To be sure of what we discovered we actually had your sample too in our lab so we carried out DNA test for you all and it turns out that Miss Maryam is your real daughter"
"What?! This is outrageous! No it can't be possible, Maryam can never be my child! No she can't"
"Well this is the prove" she said stretching out the DNA result to me which I clearly saw with my two eyes, it's written positive
"Subhanallah....Innalillahi Wa-inaillaihi raji'un (from God we came from and to him we shall return back to).....Maryam is my baby she's my baby?! And Maimuna she's the long lost child we've been searching for,she's our daughter, they are our twins? But how? Qasim lied to me! You lied to me! You made us think that our daughter was dead! You lied to us!
"Mr Jawad I know this news is a very shock news but believe me they are really your daughters"
"Thank you" I said faintly before taking the DNA result and walk out from her office
*****End of Falsh back*****
Maryam's POV
"What?!" Both me and my twin sis ask in unison
"No! no!! it can't be possible, my real parent are dead" I said crying and smiling at the same time. If this is some sort of jokes then he should please stop it
"No baby we're your real parent's " he replied indicating to himself and Aunty
I looked at her and she was so lost in her own world,she look like she's about to faint any moment from now on. All of a sudden we heard her scream voice
"No!!! No way!! They can't be my children!! They can't be!!" She said shaking her head while crying and everyone in the house felt pity for us
Daddy move closer to her and hold her tightly " they are our children Nana"
"No!!!! I said no! she can't be my daughter! She can't be!! I can't hurt my own child! I can't! I won't ever lay my hand on my own child! I won't ever curse my own baby! I won't ever call my own child a witch!! I won't ever Let my own child to hawk!! I won't ever stop my own child from going to school!! I won't ever burn my own child with an iron just because she burnt my cloth! No I won't! I won't do that!! I won't do that to my own baby!! I won't ever treat my own child that way! So she can't be my baby! She can't be the baby I've been mourning for for the past twenty three years, no it can't be!! It can't be" she said shaking her head sobbing while me and my twin sister was doing the same
My real mother and father is standing in front of me,I've been living under my real parents roof for the past sixteen years and just discovering now that they are my real parent, aunty was my own mother from the beginning
I was trying to move closer to her when her voice stopped me "STOP!! STOP!!! don't move any closer to me! You're not my child! You two are not my children! I will never hurt my own child with my own hand! So you're not my child, you'll never be my child! My child will never go through those hardship all because of me!! My....my child won't wed and I won't be present! no I can't accept this no!!!" She scream before running to her room. We all followed her but it too late coz she's already inside and has locked her self up in the room
She really is my mother,aunty was my mother,I was tortured by my own mother for sixteen years " I thought before darkness took over me
MARYAM!!!!!" That was the last thing I heard before darkness took over me
