FOREVER WITH YOU

Chapter 9: Bump Into

Two days had passed...

Dr. Smith finally deemed Tasleem stable enough for discharge. The warm sunlight is streaming through the hospital window.

Dr. Smith was talking to Mamie. "Her test results look promising," he said, his voice calm and reassuring. "And her physical wounds are healing well."

"Thank you, Doctor," Mamie replied, her hand resting on Tasleem's. "Tasleem, you'll be staying with us for now. We'll work things out later." Tasleem offered a weak, but grateful, nod.

Amira's irrepressible joy was infectious. With her bubbly personality, she and Tasleem bonded instantly.

Amira couldn't contain her excitement now that Tasleem would be staying with them.

Mamie informed that David had arrived and they should leave.

Amira carefully helped Tasleem into the backseat, settling her among soft cushions. The drive was short and quiet, the only sound the gentle hum of the engine. Then, the car pulled into the driveway, and Tasleem gasped. She was astonished by what she saw.

Her eyes widened in awe. The mansion's grandeur overwhelmed her. She felt small, insignificant, a tiny ant lost in a field of manicured lawns.

Her village roots showed in her stunned expression. Her breath hitched in her throat. This was...unbelievable. She'd never seen anything like it. The mansion loomed, a colossal structure of pale stone that seemed to drink the sunlight. The air, thick with the scent of expensive perfume and freshly cut grass, was strangely still, a silence that pressed against her ears, quite unlike the cacophony of her village life.

Her simple cotton dress, faded from countless washings, felt starkly out of place against the opulence of the marble steps. She felt engulfed, unsure, and lost in this new world.

She was lost in her stare, mesmerized by the three-mansion grandeur, the fading sunlight catching the gleaming windows like captured stars. Then, a gentle hand on her arms brought her back to reality. Amira's voice, soft as the evening breeze, broke the spell. "Let's go inside."

Tasleem's eyes widened. The sheer scale of the mansion-its towering columns, the glint of unseen windows in the fading light had overwhelmed her. 'Inside?' The thought felt both thrilling and terrifying. She swallowed. Her throat suddenly dry.

As Amira led her through the massive oak doors, Tasleem's jaw dropped. Crystal chandeliers shimmered, casting a dazzling glow on polished floors that seemed to stretch endlessly. "Is this...a palace?" she whispered, her voice barely audible above the quiet thrum of the unseen house. "Do people truly live here?"

Amira smiled. "It's not a palace, come let's go inside, we can talk and get to know each other better." She squeezed Tasleem's hand reassuringly.

Tasleem, however, felt a prickle of unease. 'Is there something more than what I saw?' she wondered, her gaze darting around the vast entry hall.

The living room dwarfed Tasleem, a space that swallowed her whole. She looked up, her eyes widening at the soaring ceilings, the plush, ornate furniture looming around her like giants.

"But...this is already a room, isn't it?" she asked, her confusion etched not just on her face, but in the way she unconsciously shifted her weight from foot to foot.

Amira chuckled, a light, melodic sound. "This isn't a room, it's a parlor."

Tasleem's eyes widened. "Just a parlor?" she echoed, the disbelief evident in her voice.

Amira nodded, her smile gentle.

"In my village," Tasleem breathed, "this would be an entire house."

Mamie and Amira laughed, the sound light and melodious.