Deadly Stalker

Packaged Deal

Chapter 4

I had finally gotten a good sleep after several nights. It was difficult to pinpoint whether that was because I was super comfortable in Aisha's water bed and her fluffy blankets, whether it was because I wasn't afraid of receiving any notes here or whether it was because I didn't have my mother nagging me to find myself husband. Which other mother pressured their daughter this way? Groggily, I got out of bed and left Aisha to snooze while I gathered my toiletries and a gown. A shower would help me to wake up.

After showering, I threw on the light gown and retured to my overnight bag to rummage for clothes. I had washed my hair, so I needed to dry and set it too. I decided against wearing a scarf today. The heat was unbearable. Before I could even get myself organised, my phone began to vibrate on the nightstand. Hesistantly, I made my way to answer it, nearly knocking over Aisha's lamp in the process.

"Salaam Zaynah. Honey, I have no time to explain but you need to get back home and you need to look presentable."

"Salaam. What?"

"I know you heard me. Now c'mon, I need you home by nine o' clock, alright? See you then."

Mom hung up, leaving me confused as hell but I made haste in getting myself together and in about an hour, I was ready to leave the Mahmoud household. Of course, I needed to wake Aisha and tell her that I was leaving and that Mom was being weird again. I knew that she would understand. Both our mothers behaved strangely at times.

I felt beautiful. I had straightened my hair, applied light  - and what I hoped to be - tasteful makeup and I wore a light maxi dress which clung to my waist and flared slightly at the bottom. The print was a mixture of blue and purple patterns. I used a black, beaded cuff on my one hand and tiny black-drop earrings. I hoped that Mom would at least appreaciate the effort.

"Aisha," I whispered, "Mom's called me home... I tell you what's going on later. Bye love you!"

"Love you," Aisha groaned, pulling the duvet closer to her.

I rolled my eyes at my lazy cousin, grabbed my bags and left for home. Thankfully everybody was still asleep so I managed to leave the house without a fuss.

~~~

There was a tea tray, a tray of savouries and a tray of sweet eats. The stove had several different pots filled with food that smelled heavenly and cooldrinks lined the far wall. I gaped in awe at the amount of effort my mother was putting into her meal preparation today.

"Mom?" I called, dropping my bags just outside the kitchen.

"Hey, champ," Dad answered instead.

Yes, my father called me his champion. He said that if he had a son, he would have called him by that nickname but he was blessed with a daughter and that was good enough for him. I felt so loved.

"Hey, Dad. What's going on? Is Mom finally going crazy?" I whispered.

Dad chuckled, "Seems like it. About this whole thing... Uhm, your mother's in our room. You might want to chat to her for a while."

I nodded and left Dad to oversee the food. I was sure as hell not gonna soil my dress. As well as being too expensive, I didn't have another outfit with which to replace it. I ran up the stairs, two at a time and burst into my mother's room.

"Mom? What's going on?"

Mom was doing her makeup at the dresser on the far side of the room. I walked up towards her and took a seat on the stool facing her. Her hair was pulled back in a French braid and she was still in a gown.