Your Grace - Burak Çelik

CHAPTER 7

"AYEDAH!"

Ayedah's eyelids fluttered open with what seemed like a tremendous effort, and they were immediately blinded by the limited amount of light in her dark bedroom. Her ears stung from the pounding and banging at the door, and she groaned as she heard her mother's voice.

"Ayedah, get up. Come out!"

"Oh, for crying out loud," she whispered, and tried to drag herself up to open the door, but couldn't; an invisible weight was holding her down, chaining her to the mattress. The exhaustion overwhelmed her; it felt impossible to sit up, let alone stand and walk to the door. Unable to force herself up, she leaned back into the pillows, her chest tight and her eyes stinging as they longed to shut themselves again.

Ayedah realized in barely a few seconds that she need not get up; the door flew open, the key hanging from the keyhole. Her mother stormed into the room.

"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded. "I'm not well, Mum," said Ayedah hoarsely, barely able to keep her eyes open to look up at her mother. "Sick? SICK?" her mother looked absolutely furious, and Ayedah recoiled under the covers, which were ripped off of her body roughly.

"Get up, Ayedah, and enough of this nonsense," snapped Sama'. "Just stop it." "Stop what, Ummi? I'm not lying," pleaded Ayedah, trying to sit up. "I'm sick, I really am...something's wrong with me, and I need help." Her mother slapped a hand to her forehead for barely 10 seconds then drew it away, as if touching Ayedah was lethal to her. "You're fine," said her mother curtly. "There's no fever, just get up." "I c-can't," whimpered Ayedah, and her mother's eyes flared up. "GET. UP," she snarled. "I'm a doctor, Ayedah, you think I don't know you're faking all this? I can tell if you're fine or not, if you need help or not!"

"Do you really?" asked Ayedah quietly. "Do you really? If you really knew, I probably wouldn't be as bad here." Her mother scoffed at her, her spit flying. "This is getting out of hand, Ayedah," she growled. "How can you have missed school today?" "This past week, Ummi," said Ayedah softly, and her mother's eyes widened. "THIS PAST WEEK?!? Who do you think you are?" Ayedah didn't know whether or not that was the angriest she had ever seen her mother, because it seemed to have gotten worse every time she would reproach her.

"I didn't bring you up to be a spoiled child who thinks they could miss school because they don't want to try, because they're lazy," snarled Sama'. Ayedah's heart clenched at her mother's words, and she was too tired to hold back her tears. "Please, Ummi, you need to help me," begged Ayedah. "I don't know what's wrong with me...I didn't ask to be like this, I never wanted any of this." She tried to take her mother's hand, but it was pulled away roughly. "I know what you didn't ask for, and that's to go to your school," said her mother. "I'm sorry, Ayedah, I really am but you need to stay there. We don't want you to just give up on it, you'll survive there! You need to get that into your head. You'll do well, you'll uphold this family's honour and make us proud! You'll be happy there!"

"But I'm not," cried Ayedah. "How dare you force me through this? I'm a child, I'm YOUR child!" "You just want an easy life, don't you?" scoffed Sama'. "You just think you could float through life easily, have everyone do everything for you, have everything you do effortless! You need hardship in your life, Ayedah, this is how you get it!"

"You think I don't know HARDSHIP?!?"

It was a wonder to Ayedah for how she had the strength to fight back. "How dare you assume that? Are you the one fighting my battles, Mum? Are you the one in my head? Are you the one experiencing what I feel?" Her mother was silent for a while, and for a moment Ayedah thought she would finally understand. But she was wrong: