Savannah

21

Chapter Twenty One: A New Home

The entire house had burned. Mr. Bastian knew someone with a tiny two-bedroom flat as a rent to own property in Savannah Gardens. It was on the same street as Aarav's house. He made a couple phone calls and arranged everything. He even offered Bani a job at the Chocolate Factory, so she could afford the rent. Of course, Meriam's wages would contribute, too.

Meriam thought of the burnt house, and a myriad of memories flooded her brain. She grew up in that house, and saw first, her father Jafar and later, her mother Aasia die there. Her father's lungs had collapsed, and she watched as he struggled to hold on to his last breath. Her mother complained of chest pains, holding onto her chest. She put her head back and died, having suffered a massive heart attack.

Terrible memories weren't the only ones. She had wonderful memories, too. She remembered the time she crept outside as a toddler to play in the grass. The many floods that engulfed the yard. Making paper boats and putting them in the flood waters, watching them float, and her disappointment on seeing them soaking and sinking, not floating anymore. The times she removed the lid from an empty juice tin, tied it with string and threw it into the flood waters to catch the little fish coming from the river. One day the pan hit her elder brother, who got so mad, he threw away her little glass bottle aquarium she proudly made. The abode of her memories lay in ashes, but such memories she'll cherish forever.

Elaine was away at the nursing home, so Mr. Bastian allowed Meriam to settle with her sister and niece into their new home. One good thing, before the house burned, Bani secured most of their valuables, such as important documents and clothing. Their new home was semi-furnished and very dusty. Each bedroom had a sturdy, four by six bed and built-in wooden closet. The small kitchen, outfitted with pitch pine cabinets and floral tiled countertops and matching backsplash, contained an old, still-functioning stove and a second-hand refrigerator. Except for a lone clock on the wall, stuck at ten forty-five, the living room was empty. The entire house had PVC ceilings and tiled floors. They needed to buy a television, a dining room and sofa set. On Sunday, they worked hard, dusting, cleaning and washing until the night.

Early Monday morning, Meriam returned to Savannah House and Bani went to the Chocolate Factory. Talia went with her mother, as Bani wasn't comfortable leaving her home alone. Mr. Bastian gave Talia permission to help at the factory.

Time marched on, and it was six weeks since Meriam arrived at Savannah House. Ana was still mean to Meriam, who kept out of her way. Ana's behavior also baffled Lauren and Valentina. Lauren advised Meriam to ignore her, rationalizing that maybe Ana was going through a tough time. Elaine was out of the nursing home and back at Savannah House. She had new medications. Meriam ensured she took them on time, like her past medications. Elaine suffered her usual Alzheimer's spells, and whenever she did, Meriam calmed her. Ralph was enjoying his holidays and the ongoing lessons, and began displaying slight improvement in reading. Meriam got a few story books from home that weekend and encouraged him to read them. Bani had secured them from the fire in a rush. They were Meriam's old books, which she read as a young girl. Whenever her mother, Aasia, went out, she'd ask Meriam what she wanted, and Meriam always asked for a book. Nothing else appealed to her but a book. Now, she hoped to instill in Ralph the same love for reading. Well, she believed it was worth trying.

Aarav didn't return to Savannah until two weeks later, marking the end of Meriam's eighth week in Savannah. On Saturday, that weekend, the Bastians were back in Savannah. Meriam went home that day. Agatha stayed her insults towards Meriam. She just stared with cool eyes and unmoving lips. Meriam had grown accustomed to her gloomy nature and ignored her unkind stares.

She could have walked home with her belongings crammed into her knapsack, but Aarav took her. He drove out the back of Savannah House and down Chocolate Street. He turned onto Lime Street and stopped at her new, humble residence, three lots from his.