MELODY #2

School Drama

I laid my head on the back of the passenger seat, feeling a strange sense of peace and tranquility.

 It was my first time in a car since the accident. The flashbacks were diminishing, but I kept having those nightmares of beheaded snakes and bloodstained blonde hair. That macabre scene, the end of my nemesis, was carved into my memory for the rest of my life. 

On the other hand, it was my first time on a car ride with Akram behind the wheel. It might seem trivial, but the fact that Akram was driving toned down my restless nerves. It felt like, in that instant, he took the driver's seat of my reality and with that, he carried a load off my mind. Being in his care was unwinding. Still, it was unfair to put him through all of this, as well as his family. They'd done so much for me. More than anyone ever had. 

Eyes closed, I mused on the past ten days I'd spent with Akram's family. The real family I'd always dreamed of. The warm-hearted treatment I'd received from Akram's mother. His sister's innocent playfulness . Even Akmal's blunt, outspoken manner. They all summed up how a real family should be. They protected me and offered me their home. Unlike all the foster homes I'd moved into, or the homeless shelter I'd just escaped from, this was a real, wholesome home. 

In fact, I was over-pampered in their house. I had books, lots of them, that Akram bought specially for me, demonstrating how much he knew my weakness for paperbacks. I had an en-suite bathroom, which was manna from heaven for a perpetual refugee like me. I had cable TV and a mini fridge, which Sophie had filled with refreshments I'd barely touched. It wasn't just home. It was a divine abode.

Even though I hadn't seen Akram as much as I'd hoped, because Sophie made sure we maintained proper contact, his consoling presence was my daily fix whenever he'd showed up at my door to check on me and try to get me out of my shell. I had a hard shell, but his smile could soften a boulder stone. And his warmth filled the cold ditch I'd drowned myself in all day. 

 Jannah had paid me a few visits, too. She'd popped in now and then, frisking about and jumping on my bed, until her mom had caught her and got her out of the guest room. Akram's special little sister had grown on me so much in such a short time. I'd always felt that kids hated me, but Jannah, with all her purity and innocence, made me feel like I wasn't the terrible person I thought I was. 

I wasn't the best house guest, though. I'd mostly stayed in my room, moping, and trying not to bug anyone with my sulky mood, or the tears that bursted out at random intervals.

 It wasn't easy learning, after fifteen years of being homeless and struggling to survive, that I had a living father. A father who had dumped me and my mother when I was four. The mother whom I lost before I got the chance to know. It wasn't easy to know my father had a dark past that haunted me and everyone I cared for until now. My heart jumped in my mouth whenever I imagined how my cursed life could hurt the people who mattered the most. The people I'd finally found and could not lose. 

"You're overthinking." Akram's soothing voice broke the silence. 

I chuckled, snapping out of my reverie. "I'm not."

"I have a hard time believing that." He shook his head without looking at me. 

Letting out a sigh, I straightened in my seat, peeking at Akram's profile that was framed by the driver's side window. His proximity was a caress to my anxiety. 

"You've been too silent." Akram turned his face slightly, I could see a concerned wrinkle on his forehead.

"I'm just enjoying the ride," I said, watching him as the pine trees raced in the background, overshadowed by the perfect contour of his face. Each slope and angle of Akram's face, defined by the sunlight, was a sight for sore eyes.