YOURS, JANNAH

SIXTY THREE

Tears leaked from Jannah's eyes as she held the grey beret Imara had always loved wearing all the time. There are lints all over it because of how much it'd suffered in her hands. She wears it even when her outfit does not match and she's got lots more different berets. Seems like Jannah won't ever stop mourning her daughter's death, she intentionally went to her room that morning.

It's been two days since the incident with Jibril Shehu and the other maid. Two days since she's almost been raped by a narcissistic betrayer and two days since she's last seen Adnan. Oh, yeah, he is ghosting on her again and she's decided that she is done waiting and waiting for nothing. Hoping he would change every day, chasing after his love and getting nothing but silence from the other end. Is it really worth her mental peace?

She's already lost a piece of her, losing Adnan is going to hurt a lot too but it is better now than later when she's inundated herself deep to become obsessed and stay in toxic relationship even after knowing she might not get anything out of it. The man doesn't know what he wants and he is not willing to bow his head down and acknowledge the fact that he wants her. Maybe not love, but he cares about her a lot. He is yet to decide.

She's given him a week to conclude what he wanted, those seven days ended the day Imara died and he still hadn't said a word. What does he expect her to do? Continue waiting for him coveting he would remember about the agreement he's forgotten about because he doesn't value her? She won't do that. If he doesn't want to be with her, she will not force her way into his life for any reason. Not even her love for him.

Granted, he's saved her from getting raped by his friend and even took care of her after that but the words weren't said. She refuse to work with actions over words when it comes to Adnan! His words matters more to her than his actions because he is too arrogant to say them. And that arrogance is what she wants to annihilate before it ruins what they had, because it sure will in the future.

He should learn to bow down before her, she won't have him with that large pride more enormous than Mount Everest. Him not willing to talk things out with her means he'd always put his ego ahead of everything between them, she cannot have that version of love imprinted in her head. He's ignored her warning. And she told him she was doing it only for the sake of their daughter, she is no more. She can leave him now without any guilt right? She's got no other excuse to stay behind.

Her hand touched a small pink doll below Imara's bed, the one that caused havoc and snakebite. More tears rushed down her eyes, she choked on her breath. Oh, it hurts so much accepting the fact that her daughter won't come back to her. She stood up from the floor and rounded the room again for anything memorable between her and Imara. She is packing her things in a large suitcase that is placed on the bed.

Jannah took ahold of the shawl Adnan bought for her in Maldives with different animations smiling widely. A piece of paper fell from it, she bent down and picked it knowing Imara must've drawn something there again. It was indeed another drawing but this one is much better than the ones Imara used to draw. This is not how she draws so this must be someone wiser, mature and older than her.

Who then? Because this shawl hadn't been used since they came back from Maldives, it's been there in her drawer since then.

She frowned at the paper, Aisha shouldn't be mentioned here because she knows how to draw nothing but eyebrows. Alim? But he was not present when the shawl was bought and would he draw this for her? Besides, she's seen him trying to draw a shoe for Imara once and it's safe to say it looked like a canoe instead of a shoe. Which means Alim wasn't the one that drew this. One person is left here and that is Adnan.

He knows how to draw? Even though it is not anywhere near perfect, you could at least differentiate the woman, girl and the man there unlike Imara's that looks all the same except the colors. He did it!