𝐒𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐖 ༄ ᴘercy ᴊᴀᴄᴋꜱᴏɴ

daydreams and teams

When I wake up, it's my mom staring back at me. Her dark brown, almost black eyes blink back at me, her lips upturned in a smile.

I smile back, automatically, still slow and sluggish from my long sleep.

"Sabah alkhayr ya habibati." She murmurs to me, her hand brushing through my dark hair.

(good morning, my love)

"Mama." I whine, pushing my head away from her hand as she messes up my short hair. It wasn't supposed to be the bowlcut that it was, but my mom had left me with my Khal unsupervised.

"What?" She laughs, light and carefree. "You don't like me touching your hair?"

"You're ruining my hairstyle." I moan, pressing my chubby hands to my hair in an attempt to flatten it.

"I'm sorry, ma chérie, it's such a lovely hairstyle too." she agrees, and I feel satisfied to have gotten my point across. She gets up from my bed, walking over to open my curtains and I grin at the sunlight, getting up reflexively.

"Is Khal here?" I question, my voice bubbly.

"Non, il est allé travailler." She hums, leaving the room. Her steps are graceful and light, and she moves like a swan or some other hailed creature.

(no, he went to work)

I roll out of bed, scrambling after her. It's not hard, considering the size of the small apartment my mom and I lived in. But it was home. Vines and flowers decorated almost every inch of the house, and posters and art pieces  screamed statements from the wall. In the corner, the record player we'd had for years played some 90's song, with a pile of classical books stacked on top.

The TV room and the kitchen were part of the same space, and I jumped onto the sofa to watch my mama as she began to work in the kitchen.

"Mama! Why didn't you tell him to stay?"

"Your khal is a very busy man, habib. He needs to go to work. But don't worry, he's promised to come home and visit his favourite girl tonight."

I perk up, a grin taking over my face. "Me?"

She laughs, soft and sweet. "I think he was talking about me actually."

"Don't be silly, mama. I'm his favourite girl." I giggle.

She just laughs, pulling up her sleeves as she begins to wash the dishes in the sink. I continue bouncing on the sofa, my mind easily distracted as I occupy myself with this new fun game.

Moments later, I pause again, pouting at my mama. "When's mother coming home?" I ask, my voice quiet and hopeful.

My mama freezes, the way she always does when I ask about my mother. "Not yet, habibti. You know she's very busy at work."

"But she's been gone for months now." I whine, throwing my hands up in the air, oblivious to the struggle my mama was feeling.

"I know, mi amore. And I miss her too, but it's only for another month and a bit." She finishes the dishes, drying her hands and walking to me. "Besides, you have me. I'm never gonna leave you, Nailea." She tells me softly, cupping my small face in her hand.

I just giggle and shake my head, too young to understand how much I'd later wish she kept her promise. After all, what type of world was a world without a mother? Just the idea was too far for me to understand. I faithfully believed that there'd never be a time when my mama was not with me.

She places a purposefully sloppy kiss to my forehead, and I giggle and push her off, scrambling away from her. She smiles, her eyes soft and warm. "I love you, Nailea. Don't ever forget that."