Veiled Against All Odds

09.

As I am sitting in the lounge, I feel scared and alone.
Nuha has, literally, dragged me out of my house just when I was starting to come to terms with the fact of not being able to get help and brought me over to her house.

I sit in the corner of the lounge on a single suite just holding my bag as tight as I can.

I look down at my knuckles..

White.

Maysarah looks at me from across the room.

"I'll be with you now" I hear Nuha saying from the kitchen.

Please be quick I think to myself.

Nuha has left me and I have been sitting here for, what feels like, 2 hours straight.

I glance over to see what Maysarah is doing across me and I get a glance back.

This is sooo weird.

She has been sitting there with her legs crossed ever since I entered the lounge.

I shift my attention to my shoes and notice that three of the studds has fallen off from the point of my shoe.

While inspecting it, I can see Maysarah coming towards me.

She comes and sits down at my feet.

"I not speak English much but, I try. You are okay?"

Her voice is crackly and unsure of which words are correct. She has an Arabian accent of some sort.

Not wanting to feel higher than her, I put my bag on couch and sink down to the floor to sit opposite her.

"Yes, I am. Shukran for asking." I say.

"Why you sit all alone on chair? Where's Nuha?" She sounds concerned.

I look in the direction Nuha went to, "Nuha said she'll be back but, I have no idea where she is."

Speaking to Maysarah is getting awkward because she makes eye-contact consistantly like it's a thing.

"What's Nuha back? I dont understand.." she looks down at the mat and starts rubbing on the material of the fur.

I can see she's getting frustrated with herself for not understanding what I say and I want to make her understand.

So, I tell her my entire story about my little Jihad and how I am, desperately, seeking help from her grandmother. She nods her head when she understands and makes this weird face when she doesn't and then, I know that I have to repeat it few times with some hand signs and, occasionally, pointing towards things around us to makes her understand what I mean.

Alhamdulilah.

After waving my hands around the lounge like a lunatic, Maysarah smiles.

"You want to be covered bad, eh?" She looks at me while fixing her hijab.

I laugh, "Yes. Real bad."

Maysarah takes my hands within hers and looks down at my struggle-to-produce-keratin nails and examines it.

"I have something for you" she says and lets go of my hands.

She gets up and irons down her perfectly pleated skirt with her hands and starts walking towards the guest room where she and her cousins are living in for the duration of their vacation.

I get up and position myself back onto the suite.

"Maryam, come" she motions 'come' with her hands and giggles.

"Oh..." I get up and walk swiftly towards her.

Maysarah takes my right hand and leads me to her room and I have no clue what to expect.

Nuhaaaaaa.