Through The Dark (Al-Ameen Family #1)- An Islamic Love Story

Rooftop Tragedies Part 2

Continues straight from last chapter...

“It’s about my grandmother,” she starts.

“The one who came for the wedding from Dubai?”

“No, my own grandfather’s wife. The one who passed away. I was 15. Me, Zayed, and Yusuf were visiting our grandparents in Dubai for our Christmas break. During that time, the grandmother you met, her daughter was getting married. We drove to Oman for the wedding. Our parents came after. A couple days after the wedding, we were playing in the backyard. The ball got kicked onto the road and I ran after it. My grandmother was on the road, checking her plants,” she stops.

“Safiyana?”

Her eyes are closed. She must be living through everything she experienced then. I tighten my hold around her, letting her know I was here for her.

I’d only ever seen her as this tough, sarcastic, slightly cynical but mostly practical girl who took no shit from anybody.

Right now, she was a tortured soul, vulnerable and raw. She was human.

“She saw me coming. I stood their laughing as she pretended to race me to get the ball. As she was crossing back, a car came around the street, swerving manically. I screamed for her but it was too late. The car rammed her into the road. The driver even stopped, got out, and then drove away. I saw him. I saw the man who killed her,” she breaks down into sobs again.

A light flicks on next door. I see Emma come outside and is about to call up to us but stops when she sees Safiyana. I wave her off and she goes back inside.

“I was diagnosed with PTSD after that. It’s gone now but I still suffer from the depression and anxiety. Zayed was the first to see me in the middle of the road with my grandmother. That’s why he’s so protective of me. He saw me with my dead grandmother in my hands,” her voice becomes robotic. It scares me how fast she switched her emotions off but I couldn’t blame her for it either.

“I had a hard time at school. My grades dropped, I become silent, dead. It was only a when I got to my senior year in school that things changed. Mizan got married and I got to experience happiness again. My brothers never let me slip back into it. I’m here because of them,” her lips turn up a bit at the end.

“We’re all meant to die someday. I just never thought I’d loose her so soon. She never even got to see the ‘mini- Safiyana’s’ she always wanted to see. But she’s with Allah now.”

The brave she’s putting up is admirable. I can see the love she has for her grandmother. And I can see that she’s telling the truth when she says she’s okay. of course, that doesn’t mean she’s the same person she used to be.

“She’d be proud to see you today. You’ve given up one of the most important things in life for Omar. Not to mention all that you’ve done for your other brothers. You’re an incredible woman,” I tell her sincerely.

And she truly was.

“Thank you Ayaan. For everything,” she looks up at me from under she long lashes. Her puffy eyes and red nose made her look so much younger. There was a lightness in her eyes, most likely from the unloading of so much weight from her heart.

“There’s no need to thank me. I get to spend so much time with someone like you. I’m perfectly good,” I wink teasingly.

She laughs, sitting up and taking a sip from her can. She does that thing where she shakes her hair out while I watch like a mesmerized little pup.

“Let’s go on a hike tomorrow,” I offer.

“A hike?”

“Yeah. There’s a trail at the end of the beach into the forest. Waseem said it’s real nice.”