her eyes widened when she saw the crying figure of one of her closest friends. she ushered the shorter girl into her home, shutting the door behind her and locking it, and made sure that it was locked. zara was shocked, to say the least. anger began to bubble up inside her as she thought of who the hell could have hurt her best friend. when she'd find them..that bastard will pay. but for now, zahrah knew that she had to take care of her.
"kemala sweetie..sit down okay? i'll make you some tea. your favourite. just sit down, and take slow, calm deep breaths," she soothed her as she walked into the kitchen, and decided to make a brew. zara's house mate, at a wrong moment, was just heading down the stairs, her lips parting into an 'o' as she glanced back and forth between the new girl and zara. zara made an urgent hand gesture to usher her back up, and gave her a look that said she'd tell everything later.
the roommate quickly disappeared up the stairs again.
the older girl walked into the living room and set the tray filled with two tea mugs and biscuits on the coffee table. she sat on the comfy couch and she hugged the vulnerable girl warmly, trying to comfort her with her arms. it was then when kemala broke, crying in the arms of her best friend and wetting her shirt. she was muttering nonsense, something along the lines of an apology. zara shushed and tried to ease her, assuring her that everything was okay.
ten minutes later, when the girl had calmed down, she ate a few of the biscuits. food had always made her feel better. always.
"okay..feeling better now?" zara smiled softly at her and sipped a bit of her tea. "take as much biscuits as you want..there's more of where that came from," she chuckled softly, an attempt to cheer up her saddened friend. kemala smiled weakly and without shame, she took more of the biscuits. zara watched her, and wondered how she could eat so much without shame...she could never do that.
"do you want to talk about it?" zara spoke gently as she looked at kemala, who had stuffed her entire face with custard creams. she nodded, her cheeks flushing slightly red. swallowing down the biscuits, she started to tell what happened, from the start. when she was done, kemala had to refrain zara from getting up and having a go at that dumbass bastards.
"i'm gonna-"
"no! please don't! look, i'm fine, okay?" kemala spoke with a desperate tone to her face. zara looked down at her and sighed, and sat back down. "
"you need to tell your teachers, they'd do something-"
"no they won't. i'm doing my a-levels now. i should be able to manage myself-"
"don't turn this on yourself! they're being racist, kemala! they have been harassing you like this for months now! you could report it and-"
"no, look..i don't want to make a big deal out of it.."
"well it is a big deal!" zara's voice was raised as she narrowed her eyes slightly.
"zara please drop this! i don't want to talk about it anymore."
zara turned her head away, and kemala knew that she was probably thinking of something stupid.
"... zara please..." kemala spoke in this weak and vulnerable voice, that she knew that zara couldn;t ignore. she breathed deeply, sighing as she looked back at her friend. she had always seemed more of a mother to kemala than her real one.
"fine. i won't do anything," she said reluctantly and she watched as kemala relaxed just a bit.
"thank you," she said softly.
"now... you probably don't want to be sleeping in your house tonight right? i'll call your parents and you can sleepover in my room."
"a-and where would you sleep?"
"on the sofa. it's fine, don't worry about it."
----
she tossed and turned as she buried her face in one of the pillows. it was thirty past one, and zara was struggling to catch some sleep. she sighed as she stared at the dark ceiling for a long minute. it was then when zara stood up, flicked on the lights and walked towards the kitchen to make herself a glass of water. the only sounds that could be heard was the sound of the tap running and her breathing. once she was done, she walked towards the light switch but it was then when something caught her eye as she walked past the mirror. zara stopped, and stood in front of the large object. she stared at herself and her breath hitched in her throat.
she was a deformity.
she looked away in shame, unable to look at herself any longer. "stupid, stupid stupid..." she said quietly to herself as the familiar feeling rose in her chest again. it was loathing hatred, at what god had given her.
"screw this," she muttered under her breath finally. she picked up her phone; took her coat; grabbed her keys, and then left the house. she shivered as the cold bit at her skin and she quickly put her coat on, moving the fluffy hood over her head. zara exhaled deeply and looked into the night sky, staring at the dark sky and the half-moon. the town where she lived was far too polluted to reveal any stars tonight.
she began to walk down her road and then somewhere else as her mind trailed off elsewhere. anything to distract her. maybe she'll go to the park..or that street with all those stores. the chippy, the corner shop, the tv shop... they always seemed to be open all the time.
her footsteps were quick and fast just like her heartbeat, as she walked alone. it was terrifying for a woman like her to be taking a stroll late at night like this. zara started to consider that this was probably a bad idea. god what was i thinking?!
her footsteps slowed down when she started to approach the line of shops. her lips curved up the slightest at the wafting scent of fish and chips that passed her nose. she continued to walk past it, knowing that she hadn't brought any money with her. zara hadn't come here to buy anything, anyway. she walked past more and more shops, but stopped at one. dillan's tv store. the shop shined against the rest, lighting up the darkness of the night briefly.
her eyes flickered up at some hd tv, but that wasn't what caught her attention. what caught her attention however, was the news reporter on screen, with the banner BREAKING NEWS flashing beneath her. zara slowly found herself walking into the shop, hearing the quiet hum of the other televisions. she stepped fowards, closer to the counter of where a middle aged man stood, staring at the hd tv that hung high above his head. she looked at dillan. "can you turn up the volume please?" she asked and he nodded.
the voice of the news reporter grew, and she found herself listening to what she had to say. she was going on and on about something about the comparison of a blue moon, and she started to understand, just a little. it was said that every 1,000 years, there would be a crack in the system. a loop. it was like fate would have a spaz attack and instead of letting humans figure things out for themselves, the pull in each tattoo would bring 1,000 people together. that's 500 couples.
zara guessed it was that that was happening, that was causing all this commotion. even if it was night in england, it was daytime for the rest of the world, and they were going crazy over it. in broad daylight...bodies would randomly disappear and appear, linking ordinary people to their soulmates. it was a massive deal.
her train of thought paused, and she wondered. what if she was one of the 1000 that would disappear? what if she slept tonight and then, a few hours later, wake up in the arms of her soulmate?
a small frown planted on her lips and she shook her head slightly, as if dismissing the thought. it was silly. luck had never been on her side, and it certainly wouldn't be there for her now.
dillan didn't seem to mind that she just walked in there and didn't even seem like she was going to buy anything, which zara was grateful for. her eyebrows furrowed as she listened more and more, as the news reporter seemed to be in conversation with another in houston, texas. behind him was a modern looking building with a logo - zara could recognize it from anywhere. it was the logo of the organisation that researched the fates.
the fates.
she hated it. zara found herself subconsciously looking down at the inside of her wrist, looking at the small crown tattooed on her golden skin. she hated the marking too. somewhere, she knew that someone in this world would be fated to her. she'd be stuck to them, until she'd take her last dying breath.
and honestly? she wasn't ready to accept that.
YOU ARE READING
on the other side.
Teen Fiction"just because it was destined doesn't mean it was forced. learn to trust, darling." - fate was always there. no matter how much you hated it. it was a force powerful than anyone could know. fate led our lives, it brought us together. fate painted...
