Prince from Paradise | ✔

VII. There Is Life

Rabiya

"What is wrong with you?" she questioned as she gathered her uncle's youngest son, Karim, into her arms. "These are your children. Why do you raise your voice at them so often?"

Karim's body shook, mirroring his sister's as he trembled in fear of his mother. At the age of two, the young boy favored cultural sweets opposed to making troublesome messes. Rabiya had promised her grandfather on his deathbed that she would raise her uncle's children as if they were her own, refusing to let their own mother abuse them when her husband was gone. 

She gazed down at Karim, watching small sweat beads trail down his inky strands, pressing against his forehead in a cold sweat. Many claimed that Karim emulated his father perfectly in physical features with his dark-skinned complexion and toasty, brown eyes. A gaze into Karim's eyes was a doorway to childhood innocence. 

The woman before her screamed, taking threatening steps towards Tahmid and Rabiya, hazel eyes blazing with fury. "Those two are the reason for my predicament. They are the reason for my sorrows. They are the reason for my inability to forget!" she yelled, tears streaming down her cheeks. 

"Stop it," whispered Zaina as she tightly held onto Tahmid.

"What did they do?" asked her older brother slowly. 

Her widowed aunt, Tania, screamed again to the point where Rabiya truly believed that she was cynically insane. Aunt Tania did not seem to care. She broke into a fit of tears, falling to her knees, despair clawing at her insides and the fear of the future poisoning her eyes. 

Tahmid and Rabiya exchanged glances. 

"Ammu (mother) h-hates us," cried Zaina. "N-No one l-loves us anymore."

Instantly, Tahmid's eyes darkened, fury radiating off him in waves. Rabiya recoiled backwards, feeling the intensity surrounding them, suffocating her with its potent force. She cautiously gazed between the two of them, but Rabiya knew better. Tahmid became the children's protector the day her uncle died and he would tear down every person who threatened their well-being. 

"What type of mother are you?" he seethed, putting Zaina down and straightening to tower over his aunt. 

"Watch your-"

"This is not a topic of respect!" he shouted. "This is about your unstable mind. Your husband has died and this is how you treat his children? By hating their existence due to your despair? His death is not their fault."

Aunt Tania stayed silent. 

"When will you realize that these children are your husband's legacy? They are your joy, your hope, your loves," he said, fists clenching. "They are not your punching bags!"

She flinched at his clipped tone. 

Rabiya quietly directed Karim and Zaina into a separate room, closing the door behind her as her brother scolded his aunt for her mistreatment. Once they were safely away from the argument and Rabiya was sure her other aunts had intervened, she turned to the children, wiping the tears off their reddened cheeks. 

Zaina's left cheek had become imprinted with her mother's hand, swelling from the impact. Rabiya's heart fell as she tenderly touched the injured cheek with the back of her hand. The small girl winced from her touch as tears welled in her eyes, lining them with her pain.

"Did she do this to you?" whispered Rabiya.

Zaina nodded. 

Without thinking, Rabiya pulled her into a tight embrace, murmuring sweet nothings to ease the tension that rolled against their backs. Hearing small hiccups and sniffles, she opened her arms wider to allow Karim to join her comforting touch. He eagerly accepted and cuddled closer to her.