This Is It!

the wedding

Aaliyah

The guests arrived and Tamim was running around attending to the guests. I put baby Yazid to sleep and joined the guests. Tamim's sister looked beautiful. I didn't know her much since this was the third time i was meeting her.

I kept watching the door waiting to see whether he would come. Tamim was excited. His only sister was getting married. She reminded me of Hanan. Ooh how I miss her! I never had the chance to say goodbye. They married her off and sent her to Amman in Jordan. I heard she cried a lot that day.

"You look amazing." I said to the bride.

"Thank you, Aaliyah." Her cheeks were rosy with a blush. She was just like her brother; softhearted. Tamim is the nicest person I know. If he didn't take me in that day, then maybe I would still be on the streets.

I still remember the first time I met him. He had just graduated from med school and was located at the general hospital. There was a curfew and my mom was dying. After begging them, the solders allowed to come and check on my mom. He told me she had a cardiac arrest. He told me there was nothing much he could do for her. He was older than me and he understood that my mother was dying.

Even after my mother died, he came over and checked on me. Then our house was blown and I had nowhere to go. He took me in and gave me a family and a place to call home. I can never repay him for all that he did for me.

"Aaliyah!" Tamim's voice forced me back to earth. "Look who made it."

I looked at him and smiled. It was clear that he was happy. I looked over his shoulders to see who he was talking about.

"Hi."

"Welcome Haytham." I responded casually. He looked different. He had brushed his hair and he looked like he made an effort to look more of an Arab than an Englishman. Jem smiled at me with a wink. I was glad no one saw that, otherwise they would have made a fuss about it. "Jem." I smiled at him.

Tamim introduced Haytham to our friends. They found him interesting. His faint Britain accent  when he spoke in English captured their attention. What I like is his thick Lebanon accent when he speaks Arabic.
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Haytham

I knew Aaliyah was avoiding me. I tried to look at her but she kept turning away. I wanted to talk to her. I had to. Avoiding her for a whole week did me no good. I was missing her so much. Her laughter and that jasmine fragrance she always has is all I wanted.

I saw her heading outside the hall and I knew that was my chance. I quickly ran after her. Jem stopped at the door and showed me a half eaten kebab he was holding.

"Now this is why I insisted we should come." He said referring to the kebab. He has issues when it comes to Arabic foods.

"Gotta run." I say and walk out.

My eyes have a hard time adjusting to the darkness outside. It was already 9:00pm. There no stars. Just a heavy cloud hanging low at the atmosphere. I tried to located Aliyah when I heard her voice. She speaking to Tamim. It's kinda funny how i didn't notice him get out.

"Why now?" Aaliyah said and it was clear that she wanted to cry.

"We can't keep him any longer, Aaliyah." Tamim held her should and she immediately got into his arms. From the way her shoulders were shaking it was clear she was crying. I wanted to go and wrap my arms around her. "We both knew this bound to happen one day, we just never admitted it."

Tamim's voice was hoarse and shaky. I was curious to know what they were talking about. I watched as Aaliyah pulled away from him. She looked at him straight in the eyes.

"When did you find out about this?"

"Just this morning."

"And you didn't even tell me about it."

"Am telling you now."

"So this is it." She leaned on a car and sighed. "I have lost him forever."
I listened and the first person i thought of was Ahsad. What could have happened to him?

"But I have gotten too attached to him. Everyone thinks he is mine." It then dawns on me; she is talking about Yazid, the little baby. "What do we do?"

"Nothing," his voice was sharp when he said that. It was no longer shaky but it was full of authority and bitterness.

Aaliyah gave him the what-do-you-mean look.

"We will give the child back to his biological mother." He said matter-of-factly.

"No!" Aaliyah screamed as she pushed him, forcing him to lose balance. "Am his mother."

"Aaliyah wait." Tamim shouted after her as she walked away into the dark alleys. I watched as he groaned. He then hurriedly walked past me into the hall.