Alnihayya

||B r o t h e r||

T e n

When you shoot an arrow of truth, dip it's point in honey.

-Arabic Proverb

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Recap:

My body gave up and my legs stuttered making me fall to the ground with a thud.

The last thing I heard was Zeyara screaming my name before I fainted.

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Mashal

As my senses returned back to me, I felt an antiseptic smell hit my nose.
That general yellow smell of an old person's house......

I immediately knew I was in a hospital.

"She's my daughter! I brought her up. I'm not giving her back." It was papa's voice, full of bitterness.

"Your daughter? Stop kidding yourself. We both know that you only want Mashal for her money!"
And this was his voice.....my brother's voice. I could easily recognise it.

I tried to open my eyes but my eye lids felt heavy and I couldn't find the strength to force them open.
My limbs felt as fragile as glassware and my head was throbbing as if someone was constantly hitting it with a hammer.

Rebelling against my body, I opened my eyes to take in the grey hospital room and my weak body on the small white bed attached to tubes and wires.

Opposite to my bed, there stood papa and my brother.

"Mashal!" They both said in unison when they noticed my eyes open.

"I-"
I wanted to say something more than just 'I' but my voice refused to come out.

"Are you okay?" Papa rushed up to my side with worry washed over his face.

I was just going to reply when my brother, whose name I still didn't know, interrupted angrily, "She is in this state because of you and now you are the one asking if she's okay!?"

Papa glared at him like a vulture glares at his prey, "Me!? It all started since you showed up!" He bellowed "you are the one who caused all this."

My brother growled at papa stepping closer to him with his black eyes going even more black, "Admit it old man! You never told her the truth."

He was towering over papa but papa didn't back off. He stood there firm, looking straight through his eyes.

Maybe this was the same issue they were arguing over in the living room that day.....when I first saw him.
Even though I was unaware of the whole story and couldn't tell what was right and what was wrong at that time but still I felt bad about the way he harshly addressed papa.

No matter what he really was, for my whole life I had taken papa to be my real father and it just didn't seem right to see someone call him an old man and threaten him.

"Let's just let Mashal decide where she wants to go." Papa whispered lowly and glanced at me with eyes full of hope. "Mashal do you want to stay with us or with this....brother of yours?"