***
YEMEN.
The heavily tensed air of the room was overweighted by the Amira's quiet sobs. Malika Saamiya having tried calming the woman clenched her jaw tight as she glanced briefly at Amir Zayan, his eyes concealing the annoyance with the expressionless mask he'd worn.
The Queen out of every other person, knew that her sister-in-law was on to something, the tears were just a charade, if anything she could swear that Hazim's wife was only relieved by his sudden demise. With a small wave to her maid, the girl bowed and left the living room, returning shortly after with an envelope.
Amir Zayan narrowed his eyes at his mother, although having duties weighing his shoulders, the meeting was one his mother forced him to. So, he had no choice but to watch as the entire scene unfolded. From his past knowledge, he knew his uncle -sadly- was not the ideal man anybody could wish to have as a significant figure.
His aunt wasn't the most easygoing person, but at least, there was little to nothing power couldn't do. The prince stared as her eyes shone with anxiousness as they happened to be on the envelope. Amir Zayan wished to be elsewhere, but when he had that cunning woman as his mother, all thoughts of escape flew out the window with the sideglances she threw his way. He ignored her.
With another gesture from Malika Saamiya, the handmaid handed the envelope to Hazim's wife. She stared cautiously at it, before collecting the object, passing same glance at her queen. The Malika remained impassive as she stared down the other and gestured her to peel the seal open, silently daring her to do otherwise.
She didn't, rather choosing to be on a safe side.
Her eyes ran along the lines, her brows furrowed in confusion. "Your Majesty...?" She briefly looked her nephew's way, directing her gaze back to the expressionless woman whose presence itself, intimidated her. "I do not understand."
She tilted her head. "I remember asking for this in simplex terms."
"My queen..." she shifted in her seat. "What...what are you getting at?" The woman chose her words carefully.
"Well, Bayan, if you must, it's all simple. Depending how you go at it, that is. You do know your late husband's doings, I assume?"
"W-What...?"
"Of course! You very much do. Hazim betrayed us, you are aware of that, I am, the whole of Yemen is."
Although Amir Zayan was the closest to his female parent, he was not aware of the contents of the paper his aunt had gone through. But he knew the extent his mother would go to protect family. No matter how far it took, she knew to clear her tracks pretty well with no trace.
He carefully observed her propriety. And with what came forth, it was obvious that whatever it was on that paper to have his aunt, Bayan shaking, had to be bad.
"If you do not wish to have your face on the internet in the crosshairs, I advise that you drop whatever charges you plan on pressing on the Crown Prince."
"Amma." Amir Zayan glared at his mother; she ignored him.
"Your Majesty," Bayan gritted. "This is blackmail."
The haunting smile slipped off the queen's face and a scowl cast a shadow over her features. "You tend to forget who makes the laws here, Bayan."
"The council does, my queen."
"And whose music does this council play to?" Silence. "Perfect!"
"Anything else I need to clear up?" The widow dejectedly looked away, masking any evidence of fury the queen fed off of. "I take that we have come to an agreement, here, no?"
Hatred threatened to spill through her tone, "yes, Your Majesty," she replied without as much as a look her way. "Great!" Malika Saamiya, the ever-cunning queen turned to her handmaid.
"Have the kitchen prepare some brunch for myself and my sister-in-law over here, would you?" It was either she was deliberately trying to annoy him, or playing her games with him. "Right away, Malakti."
"Amma—"
His phone made a ding, cutting off his words. Hazim's wife hadn't looked into his eyes and his mother only seemed pleased with the disturbing silence. Amir Zayan loved his mother, but he hated her ignorance. The man checked his phone, it was a text from Rayan.
Rayan: I've found them, bro. I've finally found my home.
For an unknown reason, his heart skipped a beat upon reading the words. He read them thrice more. Unknowingly, a smile crept up his face. Malika Saamiya stared at her son questioningly.
Amir Zayan: Hang on. For now, I need you to stay calm, and do your Sujudus-shukr if you haven't.
He paused and got up to exit the living room from his mother's fixated hazel orbs on him. Amir Zayan typed without so much as a second thought.
Amir Zayan: I'm on my way.
***
KANO, NIGERIA.
If there was anything his mother loved -after them- was privacy. She loved her privacy and that, no doubt, was a characteristic both he and his sister got from their mother. At times, it was as if the woman would look for the nearest trench to hide in than be in a throng – it did not in either way help matters when she was raised in a small family. Rayan's mother, never wanted her children to live a life similar to hers. She wanted them to have a life outside of their home.
From experience, the woman knew that as kids, it'd greatly affect them psychologically to mature without an ounce of idea on the outside world. However, their being private persons was a disinclined quality of theirs; a trait.
Rayan, having matured into a fine man with the absence of his female parental unit and the negligence of a cheating sperm donor, had spent a decade and a half, brooding about his Ummi and sister, Sadiya. He constantly found himself asking basic questions he had no answers to. Were they alright? Where had they being living, or with who? Had Sadiya furthered her education? Were they eating well? How had his mother being faring with the absence of another child? Why didn't they come back for him? Why did they leave without him, with not a trace whatsoever?
He was a grown man, one with the strongest heart and unyielding sentiments, however, those did not stop the tears he'd locked in to flow carelessly. He did nothing to stop them. For the second or third time in 15 years, his emotions got the better part of him. Sadiya was the iron child between the pair, his mother would often tease him for having the softest heart as the "man of the house". But that all, changed the minute he stepped foot in their home to meet her harsh absence.
Rayan believed he had no one. His father had his own family with the woman he cheated on his Ummi with. The woman he let break their home for life. To Rayan, Nailah was simply the Devil's incarnate. Few hours after his half-brother, Nur, left for the night, Rayan helped himself with the shot of Scotch in his condo. He went for five more, nevertheless, it was not enough to inebriate him. He was no lightweight as drinking was his coping mechanism whenever he escaped the claws of work.
The bitter aftertaste of the drink made him scrunch up his face, his head rung with his private investigator, Tyler's words. Your sister and mother were last sighted in Abuja, sir. He groaned, swiping a forearm over the countertop, sweeping the glass to the floor. Just like his heart did many years ago, the aged wine bottle broke into very small pieces impossible to repair. He watched with glossed eyes as the dark liquid grew into a small puddle on the marble floors of his kitchen.
Rayan's heart bled. It yearned for love. For his mother's warmth. And for his sibling's presence.
He grabbed his phone and keys, mind set to do what he thought he'd never do in his wildest dreams.
^-^
Life sucks. Aloha.
- ♥︎
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Sadiya |REWRITING
Fantasy[new version] • Malik & Rouhuh • Not all smiles make a happy person. Contrary to the misinterpreted fact that not all horns and forks make the devil. Sadiya Muhammad Yusuf. Having lost a father as well as a brother at her teenage years. Many might b...
