Mother's long fingers combed through Aisyah's silky straight hair unraveling the tangled strands of hair. Minutes have passed as mother continued to caress Aisyah's hair. Each stroke was gentle and delicate.
Aisyah's friends; Nur and Dewi called out to her from a far. The two young girls gestured for Aisyah to come quickly and play with them.
Aisyah little feet bounced impatiently. "Hold still." Her mother's hoarse voice whispered as she continued to fidget while looking over at her friends who were playing a game.
"Done. Off you go. Be careful . Be back before Maghrib."
With a smile as wide as the sun, Aisyah bounced off the ground and sprinted towards her friends, passing the herds of sheep chewing and chomping on grass before reaching Nur and Dewi. The three of them flashed a wide grin before entangling their hands together and skipping towards nowhere in particular. The three of them have been best friends since they can hardly remember. They were always together; exploring the vast lands of the village. Their days together consisted of them chasing sheep, climbing trees, collecting eccentric rocks, venturing into unknown territories, role playing princess and prince and many more.
One bright afternoon, Dewi, Nur and Aisyah decided to climb to the top of a cliff that overlooked the vast ocean. Far below, the hungry ocean gnawed at the base of the cliff. Curiosity and adrenaline crept through their veins as they gawked at the ocean view. To their surprise, they saw that the top of the cliff gave them a better glimpse of what the world looked like. Massive and filled with unexplored territories.
They were hypnotized by how vast the ocean was. The inviting crystal blue water stared back at them as they continued to watch the overlapping waves moving in perfect harmony with the wind. Mother Nature truly is beautiful they thought. Far beyond the ocean, at the horizon, the sun began to set; painting the sky shades of lavish orange, indigo and red. The three of them sat crossed leg next to one another and continued to feast their eyes on the compelling waves.
"When I grow up, I want to travel across the world," Dewi expressed out of nowhere. "The world is too large and beautiful to remain unexplored. I don't want to stay cramped up in this country when out there exists places with mountains of sands, massive unimaginable icebergs and cities sparkling with life."
"Right. Let's hope we'll be able to explore the world together. " Nur responded.
Aisyah sat there and pondered what the rest of the world looked like. She has heard of stories of the Arab world which was home to the magnificent mammals called camels, a mammal she has never seen her whole life, except on the television. She has heard of Antartica which had white fluffy polar bears and penguins waddling across ice. She has heard of the Eiffel tower that would be swarmed by tourist during the holidays. She wondered if one day she'd be able to witness all the magnificent wonders of the world.
"Oi... stop day-dreaming Ai and go before you miss your flight." Her mother's hoarse yet soft voice called out to her, snapping her back to reality. Right... today is the day she had been dreaming about. She wondered why the particular memory of the three of them on the cliff is so vivid in her head. Regardless, she swept the memory under the rug and embraced her mother one last time. Her mother, who was shorter than Aisyah had trouble hugging her daughter due to the height difference yet her embrace was strong and sturdy.
After what seemed like hours, Aisyah's mother released her grip on her daughter and looked straight into Aisyah's raven dark eyes. "You take care of yourself ya. Don't party all night and work hard. Remember to call me and don't fall in love with a white guy." Her mother declared jokingly. Her face was heartbreaking to watch. The wrinkles around her eyes shifted as she flashed a weak yet embracing smile. A smile more watercolour than acrylic. A smile that said 'go but don't go'. She could see her mother's desperate attempts to suck back the tears that were threatening to descend. Her eyes were teary yet no tears had fallen.
Aisyah knew that deep down her mother didn't want for her to leave home. She knew that beneath her mother's concrete skin was a worn out aching heart that didn't want her daughter to leave her.
Aisyah's own heart ached at the thought of leaving her frail mother. To Aisyah, Mother was the strongest person she knew. Despite her sickness, mother continued to worked nightly shifts for her family. Both her mother and father worked extremely hard to provide for her and her younger brother.
"Ma stop hugging her, she gotta leave." papa uttered from behind mother.
With that, mother released her grip allowing her slender arms to drape slowly. Aisyah could still feel the warmth of mother's arms around her shoulders.
"bye bye ma.. pa.. don't miss me too much." Aisyah announced before turning her back towards them and heading towards the compelling airport gate. Although it all happened within seconds, Aisyah could swear that she saw a tear slid down her mother's flushed cheeks.
With each sturdy step towards the gate, the distance between Aisyah and her family grew. Through her mother's blurred vision, she watched Aisyah walk further and further away from her. Her heart begged and screamed for her to run and pull Aisyah's back but her fatigued feet were cemented to the ground. She watched as the string that connected stretched until it was a very thin line that was seconds from tearing apart. As soon as Aisyah was out of sight, the string snapped into half and they were now two separate individuals. Aisyah's mother winced as she felt a stinging pain strike her worn out heart. Is it the stress or the disease she wondered?
Aisyah was finally on her own. She stopped in her tracks to absorb her surroundings. The sound of the security scans beeping felt intimidating and unnecessarily loud. She wondered if this was the right decision. She watched as people busily placed their luggage onto the x-ray scanning machines. Her moment was interrupted by a man who roughly pushes pass her, making her loose her footing. "You're standing in people's way. Move over if you're not getting through the scan" the man utters in annoyance.
"What a jerk." Aisyah thought to herself. But she also knew that the man wasn't completely wrong. Aisyah picked herself back up and scooted over to the scanning machine.
'Well I guess this is it. There's no turning back. New York City here I come.'
