LUCENT

5

NADIRA

I stare at the floor as the multiple versions of Tayyib argue. I didn't want to look up. I am sure there is a logical explanation, but my brain is unwilling to register it. Could they be septuplets? Or did they all bare a sticking resemblance to one another? Either way, I am incredibly freaked out.

"Finally," a voice says as I hear footsteps approaching me. I shut my eyes, unwilling to look at whoever it was.

The person crouches before me and takes my hands, "Nadira, open your eyes for me, please." I'd recognise that monotone voice anywhere, despite having only heard it a few times. It was unique enough.

I slowly peel my eyes open to reveal Tayyib dressed in navy. I slowly lift my head and make eye contact with the other Tayyib dressed in white.

"Relax. He's my twin," Tayyib says.

"And them?" I whisper.

"Zayn and Yasir are also twins. Junaid and Owais as well, and then Rayan," he responds, pointing them out, and it all starts to add up. They all looked the same but also different.

I huff and cross my arms, "You could have said something beforehand instead of letting me find out in the scariest way."

"I'm sorry," he responds.

"I should apologise as well. It must have been creepy seeing a version of him that smiles," other Tayyib says, and I nod. He extends his hand to me, "I'm Sa'ad. The nicer and less irritable one." I shake his hand briefly.

Tayyib stands and offers his hand to me, "Let's go." I let him pull me up and wave to the rest as we exit the room.

"I'm taking you to meet the girls. By the time you're done, Mama should have returned," he says.

"Girls? Do you have sisters? Are they also twins?" I ramble, wanting to avoid a repeat of earlier.

"No. They're my sisters-in-law," she replies.

I breathe a sigh of relief. He walks me up the stairs, through a hallway and into another living room. Four girls sat in different areas of the vast space. Their heads jerked up from whatever they were doing once we entered.

"Ina wuni, Ya Tayyib," they all greet.

"Lafiya Kalau. I brought Nadira to meet you all," he responds, and I wave at them.

"MashaAllah. Ya Tayyib, she's gorgeous," one says.

I feel my cheeks heat up at the comment and look to Tayyib for help, but he pushes me forward. "Go socialise. I need to take a work call," he says.

Slowly I move forward and sit on the couch closest to the door. Three of them get up and move closer while the last stays in her seat. "Come on, Manal," one urges her. Hesitantly she gets up and comes over.

"It's always so exciting when we get a new sister. I'm Amna, married to Sa'ad," Amna says, plopping beside me—a little too close for comfort. "This is Ya Kausar. She is Ya Zayn's wife. Then Ya Laila is married to Ya Yasir, and then Manal is married to Ya Rayan," she adds.

"It's so nice to meet you. We've spent years wondering who Ya Tayyib would end up with," Laila says.

"Right! It feels surreal," Kausar states with a small smile.

I smile at them, "It's nice to meet you all."

They were all very pretty. As we spoke, more of their personalities surfaced. Amna was highly extroverted, Kasuar spoke only when necessary, Laila was friendly, and Manal was shy and hardly spoke a word.