Hafiza

Water snake

"Hafiza! Wake up and do namaz" prayer jamila yelled as she existed the room. I rolled over on my back with my eyes still closed as the mullah at the masjid ayzaan begin"get up Hafiza or you will miss fajir" the voice in my head argued as I groned and covered my head with the pillow trying to block the azyaan. "Hurry up" jamila called from the other room i threw the pillow off my head and than rolled off the mat and grabbed my scarf near by and with my eyes still closed walked out of the room and out the back door where the badnee water jug lay. I picked it up and went straight to the well and started pulling at the leather string of it, it came up pulling with it the full bucket of water. I picked it up with ease and poured it into the badnee. Once full I put the half empty bucket of water back into the well and walked towards the bathroom that is located outside the house and got wuthdu and came back inside and sat my mat prayer and prayed fajir. Knowing that it was use in falling back to sleep as it was already six i decided to go up onto the rooftop to open up the chimney of the tandoor underground oven inorder to start cooking the naan bread. As i climbed the wooden ladder oytha jan dearest father made, once uptop i took in the view of the whole aghlee village and over the mountain where the sun started to rise casting an orange yellow glow uptop the mountains peck and slowly slithered down to the village. Our house is located on foot of the mountain where as the village is located between the three mountains. You see our house was once located within the village as most of the houses are connected but father did not like closeness of the homes and had built our home here on the mountain. Next to our home is the membar which is like a masjid and behind the membar is the cemetery. This was home though it wasnt much it was home. I quickly got down and walked back inside to the kitchen, on my way i got a glimps of jamila who had gone back to sleep with mehdi curled up next to her. Mehdi is my half brother, and jamila is my step mother though im not allowed to call her moyendar step mother , i therefore call her khala aunty. My own mother died well giving birth to me and father has always blamed me for her death though he does not say it i know that he thinks that. How i longed to know what it feels like to curl next mother and sleep. I quickly turned around and walked to the tandoor as i kneeled down to the hole at the bottom and with my spare had i put in some twigs and some hay and more wood. Than with some of the hay i light it up and pushed it through through inorder for it light up. I watched as the empty dark tandoor light up. I than went over and got the surfa mat and the dough i had prepared last night plus the rafida which is and is layered with fabrics. My grandma made it for with so i could use it to cook naan. Its a perfect fit and it was not big or too small. I layed out the surfa which contain some flower. I wiped the flower at one corner and sprinkled some on the mat. I rolled up my sleeves as i got some dough and made smaller balls. Once that was done i looked down at the tandoor its blaze of fire was gone down except the burning ashes, was safe for me to put my hand. The mouth of the tandoor is wide and i always fear that if im not too careful i will fall into it like shirin who name has a burnt mark acroos the side of her face and arm as she was burnt by the ashes well cooking naan bread last fall. I quickly spread the dough ball and put it onto the rafida and spread it out so it was an even circle shape. I sprinkled some water atop it to make sure it sticks. Than placed my hand at the side of the tandoor with my right hand holding the rafida, i poked my head plus half my body into the tandoors mouth felling the heat at once, using my left hand to support and try not fall in as i said bissmillah and slamed the rafida on the wall of the tandoor. It stuck and i pulled myself out with satisfaction. I continued with the rest pulling the cooked naan out and placing it neatly on mat. Once done placed the big tea bots of water inside the tandoor to boik and put the lid ontop its mouth. I than went back onto the roof to close the chimney. I looked down at the vilage everyone seems to be awake now since you could see smokes coming from chimneys. I went back down and picked up the big bowle with all of last nights dishes stacked inside and placed it ontop of my head. It was heavey like carrying bricks ontop of your head. This is all because of lasts nights memonie guests. At first i struggled with the heavey bowl but soon manged to adjust it on my head as i exist from the back door, which i closed on my way out. I walked down the village holding the bowle ontpp of my head with on hand and swaping the hands as eqch got tired. I walked through the village and down to the lake/ pound. Rumours were thay there had been sights of black and white water snakes weird enough i have not spotted it yet and i camome here every morning to wash the dishes. I walked down and once near the pound i heard laughters and i knew that the other vilage girls were here too. I came to a stop at the foot of the pound and smiled soob bakher good morning all the girls turned and smiled back ogubad bakher hafiza jaan fatima said as she came up to help me with the heavey bowel. "Tashakor" thank you. I looked over the girls it was only afnan, niloofa, razia and fatima. Each girls sat ontop of rock and was washing their dieshes. I looked arpund looking for spot to sit down and start on mine. I saw a flat ish rock and moved over i tapped on it with my foot to see if it was stable. It didn't budge so its stable enough. I pulled the bowle down and got the soup and rug out to use to wash the dishes. I than sat ontop of the rock but to my misfortune my feet slipped and i feel into the pound. "Water snake" a small voice cried in my head as i struggled to get my head up for air. The girls screamed and loomed stunned. "Komack" help i cried. Fatima quickly took her scarf off a through it into the water. "Grab on hafiza" i struggled but managed to grab the end of the scarf as the girls pulled. Panting and freezing cold i dragged my body out of the water.

"Are you okay" they all asked at once as i continued to get some air into lungs.