Scarred For Life

Chapter 39

*
Four months.

To some, four months might not sound like a long time. Not even when it is pronounced as sixteen weeks, 123 days, 2,952 hours or 4,250,880 minutes.

But to Afrah, it felt like an eternity.

It took her exactly four months to be able to pronounce Maryam's name without feeling a pang in her chest.

It happened at breakfast, just after she poured herself a bowl of cereal. Amir was the only one sitting at the table, his bowl of pancakes pushed aside while he scrolled through his phone.

"What was the name of your friend who passed away?" he asked as she reached for the milk.

"Maryam," she replied, waiting for the familiar pang which never came. Afrah paused, wondering why she felt oddly at ease with the world. The pain hadn't just disappeared. Instead, it appeared to be pushed down to the back of her mind, where her most intimate memories lay dormant.

She sank into the chair slowly, staring at the cereal and wondering why she hadn't crumbled into a hopeless mess like she always did at the mention of her. It didn't make sense to her. Not in the least.

"Oh," he shrugged. "Her mother called to check up on you yesterday, but you were asleep at the time."

"She called you?" Afrah asked absentmindedly.

"She called Umma," he replied.

"I'll call her later today."

Neither of them had to turn around when they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. From the loud, forceful stomping of the person's feet, they could tell it was their father.

"Assalamu alaikum," he smiled as he stepped into the dining room.

"Wa alaikum as salam," they replied in unison.

"You're up early," he said as he lightly hugged Afrah and kissed her on her forehead. She smiled weakly, swallowing a spoonful of cornflakes.

"Are you planning on doing anything today?" he asked.

"Not particularly," she shrugged.

"Well, whenever you're ready, I will have you know that I have spoken to a few friends about your possible internship," he said as he headed for the fridge.

"Shouldn't she sign up for her Service first?" Amir asked.

"Not if I make a few phone calls," he replied, taking out a bottle of water. "Anyway, let me know when you're ready. Those offers aren't going to last forever."

"Thank you," she smiled at him as he ruffled her hair before leaving the room.

"He did the same thing when Amina graduated," Amir pointed out.

"And he'll do the same thing when you graduate," she said.

"I doubt it," he scoffed. "And besides, I don't want to miss out on my NYSC. Everyone I know says they enjoyed it."

"You don't know a lot of people, Amir," she said, grabbing her bowl and leaving the room as well.

Up in her bedroom, she reached for her laptop and flipped it open. Over the night, she had been watching 'Me Before You', and before that it was 'Sleepless in Seattle'. She had an entire folder dedicated to sloppy romance movies, which seemed to take her mind off everything else.

Her personal library was looking good as well. Finally, she could proudly say that she owned every single book written by Danielle Steel. The unread ones were stacked in or on her drawer, with a few tucked away in the closet. The ones she had finished reading were stored safely in her father's study, to be perused at her leisure.