Our Circumstances

Chapter 16

One evening, when all the lights in the house were out, when nothing was audible save for the tree branches rustling and the wind whistling outside, Saliha took off her comforter with a frown. She was sure that everyone had gone to bed, which was unusual; throughout the night she would hear the cries of her mother, Zaki going downstairs for a midnight snack, or her father coughing vigorously. 

Unable to fall asleep, Saliha groaned as she grabbed her phone for light and sauntered to her door. Creaking it open, she snuck herself downstairs tacitly and peeked at the end of the hallway.

It was too quiet.

No metallic noise made in the kitchen, no moaning sounds in the living room, and no voices heard from her parents' room. 

The stillness was very unsettling for Saliha, so much so that her heart skipped a beat. She could not help but feel that something dreadful had already happened.

Saliha took a step back shakily, bumping into something that was not there originally. A thief? She gasped in horror, placing a hand over her mouth to stifle a scream.

"It's me, you idiot." The boy turned on the bright kitchen light, illuminating his squinting and dark-circled eyes.

Saliha turned around to view her brother, her face burning from humiliation. "Zaki! You -"

"I know, I scared you. That's never a surprise. You're always easily spooked, Baji."

Saliha heaved a sigh, watching her brother pacing in the kitchen to make himself a snack. He did so nonchalantly - as if that wasn't the first time they had spoken with each other in days. As if they were already going back to their normal routine. As if nothing had ever happened between them. 

The mild interaction between them, however, had somewhat relieved Saliha; she had begun to realize that the lack of communication between them was maddeningly irking her. If she and Zaki kept this up, who knows about their relationship after things started getting more chaotic in the family. She was desperate to reconcile with him before it was too late. 

Saliha chose to be the responsible older sister she believed she was and initiated the apology. "Zaki, I'm sorry."

Her brother grunted in response, taking cereal out of the pantry. 

"You're doing a wonderful job as a son, and I hope you keep trying to make Mom and Dad happy."

Zaki took a jug of milk from the fridge and began pouring some in a bowl.

"Well?" Saliha prompted.

"What?"

"Are you going to say anything?"

"I grunted."

"That means nothing."

"It means it's okay, and I'm sorry too, dimwit."

Saliha brightened up a smile, wondering how easy it was for Zaki to pardon her. She didn't know why, but she assumed it would take Zaki months before their relationship started to heal. 

How wrong she was - both the apology and its acceptance were effortless. 

Zaki sat down adequately, carefully spinning the Cocoa Pebbles around in his bowl. To him, it was satisfying - savoring the birth of each chocolate swirl, and in seconds, observing their overtaking the paleness of the milk. 

"You've been snacking a lot lately around this time." 

"I was awake. I was bored. I was hungry." Zaki remained focused on his meal as he crunched on his first bite.