The Other

18

(Zulaykha)

                                        "I'm so sorry, guys..." Yasir said. "I'm the oldest... I shouldn't have let Zulaykha drive, knowing she's still learning and doesn't have much experience."

I sighed. "It's okay, Yasir. I'm fine. I was the one who took the keys and started freaking out, making you confused..." I said.

Ziyad sighed. "I'm sorry for freaking out on you, Yasir." he said.

"It's fine, Ziyad." Yasir said.

"Can we please go home now?" I asked. "I'm exhausted."

It's been a long and tiring day. I saw two people die and got in a car accident.

~

We arrived home and I went straight to my bedroom. Yasir and Yasin decided to spend the night. They were in the living room. Ziyad was in his bedroom.

I wasn't alone in my bedroom though... Hana was with me. She's been here since I was in the car before the accident happened. I wonder why she's sticking around now. Before, she would just disappear.

Hana was looking around my bedroom, fascinated by everything as I asked her a bunch of questions.

"So... do you eat?" I asked. "Where's Alma during all this? Do you sleep? Do you always wear those clothes? Do you shower? Do you have to do your makeup? Can you even take your makeup off? Can you even take your clothes off or are they attached to you?"

Hana chuckled. "You sure have a lot of questions..." she said.

I let out a small laugh. It's crazy how my closest friend in my new hometown is a spirit...

My laughing died out as I let out a sigh and collapsed onto my bed.

"Alma Anderson..." I spoke. Hana looked at me. "Not a lot of people know what jinns are, so were the people who bullied her Muslims?"

Hana nodded her head. "A vast majority of them were Muslims." she said. "It's sad... Muslims are supposed to be peaceful... And you know... Somehow, I feel like it was my fault. I shouldn't have said anything about a jinn. It's not like she knew what a jinn was anyway. Every day, I apologize to Alma. She tells me it's okay, but I still feel guilty."

Alma kills people, but has a soft spot for Hana. If Alma kills people, why would she even care about Hana's feelings? I imagined Alma to be this evil spirit, but it seems like she's just a regular girl...

"To answer your question from a few minutes ago, Alma is...in hell..." Hana said. "She killed herself... I went to paradise. Alma contacted me from hell and told me her plans. She told me that she is miserable every day and the only way to make her feel better is if she gets her revenge..."

I sighed. "If you don't mind me asking, how did she...kill you?" I asked.

"It was after graduation... I was at my graduation party when I saw a black entity in the bathroom as I was fixing my hijab. It was Alma... All of those years of grieving over her death and I finally saw her again. She made me have a heart attack. She didn't want to kill me too brutally..." Hana explained.

"If you live in paradise, why do you come here?" I asked.

"To help..." Hana said. "I don't want you to be alone through all of this. I'm here for you..."

I smiled. "Thank you, Hana." I said. It's crazy how even after a Muslim makes it to paradise, they still want to help others who are still alive.