Guarding My Faith

ten

Daze. I'm in a daze. Blinking my eyes ever so slowly, the alarm from my phone is ringing, and yet I'm lying down on my bed. Staring at the ceiling gives me wonders to what the hell I am doing.

Today is a Saturday which means no school and... 

I forgot to turn my alarm off.

I woke up at six a.m and I couldn't fall back asleep. I'm also too lazy to get off of the bed.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

The clock's hour hand and minute hand are so loud, that I have to cover my ears with the pillow. I need to get up. I know I need to get up. But the covers of my bed are so warm...

I could just ignore the clock and go back to sleep.

An entire hour passes, time flowing by so fast even though I'm not doing anything. Today I feel very sentimental. It reminds me of the most famous quote, "There comes a time when the world gets quiet and the only thing left is your own heart." Everything, every moment is going by without me doing anything. Just me, listening to every little sound. The soft snoring from the other rooms, my slow and steady breathing, the shuffling of my bed whenever I move. And not to forget, the slow beats of my heart.

So far, no one has woken up yet. Adam and Sara wake up at around eleven in the morning. I would know, since I'm mostly the one who wakes them up. I also know that Yaz is an early riser, a little like me. I look back at the clock. 8:10 a.m.

Time to get up.

I say that to myself and wait a beat.

I don't even flinch.

A few moments later, I hear a bang outside the house which makes me jolt awake. What was that?

When I look out the window, there's no sign of anything that would make such a loud noise. I yawn and grab a scarf just in case Adam is out of bed already, and make my way downstairs into the living room. I walk into the kitchen, opening the refrigerator to grab the eggs. No sign of anyone yet.

"Alexis! As-Salamu Alaykum!" Yasmin screams while running down the stairs with her teddy bear in her small arms.

"Wa Alaikum Assalam, Yaz," I respond, my heart full of delight. I ruffle her hair as soon as she rushes down the stairs. "Did you brush your teeth?"

After a long pause, Yasmin shakes her head.

"Why not?"

"I woke up to this loud crash and thought it was a firework. I looked out the window but it was only this weird man. So, I came downstairs to see who he was."

"You're gonna open the door?" I ask in surprise as I crack an egg onto the pan. I grab another spoon to fry it. No response. I look back to my side and notice that Yasmin is no longer standing there. "Yasmin?"

When I pop my head out of the kitchen, I unconsciously smile at my observance. She's busy observing the man through her own toy camera. She places the camera on the windowsill, taking out her little notepad and pencil from inside her teddy bear. It looks as if she's writing, but with my squinting, I can tell she's drawing.

Ugh, she is so adorable.

Ma Shaa Allah!

I can't help but take out my phone to take a picture of her.

Yasmin glances up from her drawing. "Alexis? Do you smell something? Did you fart?"

I sniff the air. It smells like something is burning. Burning!