Elham
Months had passed and finals came by , soon enough we were done. Ummi had fully recovered too and was back to normal. For some reason, Amna and Farhanna had stopped bugging me in school.
My dad had agreed to introduce us to his other family when the time was right. And apparently, now was the right time as I was applying some eyeliner as I got dressed up to meet my siblings.
Graduation was in a week's time, everyone was so excited.
Iman had also gotten into NYU so alas, our dream came true.
Everything was starting to feel normal and sane again , this was supposed to make me happy, except it didn't.
I missed Asaad terribly. I was unable to reach him.
The only times I saw him was in school during finals and he had done a amazing job at avoiding and ignoring me. He was never at home because I always checked. I tried so hard to reach him, left countless calls and voicemails. I had never got a response, not even a text.
I tried reaching out to Aseeyah, asking her to help out, but she could help in little or no way since her brother was stubborn.
I had explained everything to her and she promised me that he'd come around even if it took a while.
At a point, I had to stop trying. I guess I caused the entire situation in the first place.
"Elham! Come help me set the table" Ummi yelled from downstairs bringing me out of my reverie.
"Alright!" I replied, quickly joining her downstairs.
I didn't understand why Ummi had to cook, especially that much food for a co-wife she didn't even know yet. What if she was a mean person?! I guess I was just seeing it from an immature point of view.
Moments later, we were done setting up the table and the doorbell rang on cue.
I nervously headed to the door, hoping it would turn out well.
Standing in front where two kids, a girl and boy with striking resemblance.
"Salaam alaykum. Are you sister Elaam?" The boy asked.
The girl rolled her eyes. "Yasir I've told you. It's pronounced as El-ham and not elam!" She exclaimed, with a frustrated expression. I chuckled.
"Yen yen yen" he mimicked her voice.
She hissed and turned to me. "I'm Yusra and he's Yasir. And just so you know, he's really annoying" she said and I laughed.
"You're more annoying!" Yasir said.
"Okay okay. Nobody's annoying okay, where's your mom? And dad?" I asked them, holding their hands and walking them in.
"They're still in the car!" Yusra said.
"Yeah they were yelling at each other, and asked us to come"
Ummi and I made eye contact at that.
"Well hello kids!" She smiled at them.
"Are you sister Elham's mother?" Yusra asked.
"Yes I am, I'm guessing you're Yusra, and you are Yasir?"
They nodded.
"And you're our stepmom" Yasir stated proudly.
The kids seemed to be very informed about the entire situation.
My dad walked in with a woman following behind him. The two kids were her replica. I couldn't deny the fact that she was strikingly beautiful. I greeted them as they made their way to the living room. My dad introduced us all to each other as I observed the woman. She was tall and slender with a slight indian accent. She had golden brown eyes which she clearly passed on to her children. She seemed like a gentle woman, chose her words carefully before she spoke.
She and Ummi were getting along soon enough. They weren't too friendly of course, but their conversation was growing and I hoped things would remain like that. Of course, they did not have to be the best of friends, they just had to be in good terms enough for the kids to have a healthy relationship.
