The Hooded Hijabi

Soon

"Well, hello! Long time, no talk, huh? Thanks to your lover boy I had to stay in bed all day. That was quite a trick he pulled off", says the same thick, robotic voice.

I swallow my saliva as I begin to fidget.

"He's going to pay back soon, though", he adds casually.

My eyes shoot open and I plead,"Look, this is about me so let's keep this between us. I've been doing exactly as you said so-.."

He cuts me off and says,"Do I sense a threat here? That's my thing, okay? Darling, I lose my mind very easily so you really don't want to mess with me."

I take a deep breath and reply coaxingly knowing that being smart with him will only trigger the maniac inside him,"I wouldn't dare to threaten you. I know my place. Since you have something against me, I'm only suggesting that we keep it between us."

He gives out a chuckle and says,"Now why would I do that when I can hurt you in a million ways? You care about the people close to you. A lot. I can tell. Hurting them would hurt you. Hurting you directly isn't that fun but don't worry I'll get there too."

He laughs again.

I try to change the direction to where this conversation is headed so I say,"Don't you think it's unfair that I don't even know why're you doing this? Haven't you seen crime fiction? They usually tell the victims the reason for their victimization to spice things up." I make sure to use 'they' and not call him an attacker or a blackmailer.

He chuckles yet again, saying,"Aren't you funny today!" He sighs with a little delight and continues,"I wasn't going to do this too soon but you make me want to see you."

I jump at the chance to finally end things so I try to coax him into meeting me,"Why not? The sooner, the better."

There is a brief pause as if Blackmailer is giving my suggestion a thought.

"You're going to regret your words", he says and then whispers after a moment,"Soon."

The line goes dead and I sit there with the phone held to my ear, my expression becoming progressively more haunting.

I hear a knock on my door so I put my phone away abruptly while trying to fix my facial expression with a smile.

Fatima walks in, beaming at me. "We're about to leave. Care to come see us off?" She winks at me and I try to look embarrassed but all I can think of is the whisper of Blackmailer. Soon. I try not to shudder at the thought of his threat meanwhile, I slowly slip out of bed.

Fatima notices the change in my expression and body language as her eyes narrow while observing me but I give her a tight-lipped smile and add,"Nervous."

The worry from her face fades away as a radiant smile overtakes it. She waves her hand in the air and closes her eyes, saying,"Oh, don't worry. We're all cool. Chill out!"

This time I give a genuine smile and follow Fatima out of the room into the lobby where everyone is standing, having a little chat before saying their goodbyes.

Aunty and Ma are standing near the door talking to each other, while Ma has her hand on Azan's bicep as he stands near them with his head lowered and smiling as he nods.

They all look up as they hear our footsteps and Aunty opens her eyes wide, smiling as she sees me. I walk over to stand by her side and she places her hand on my waist.

Azan and I don't look at each other until he gets into his car. It was a fairly short eye contact but I could tell from his narrowed eyes and slightly arched eyebrows that he had figured out my emotional state right now.