BEING YOURS

CHARTER THIRTEEN

But who could that be? How did that happen? Why does Ali have this picture?

Wait...

Could it be...

"That's Mustafa on his deathbed."

Her heart struck and numbness seeped to her core.

For a moment she only watched Ali as he released drops after drops of tears.

It looked so foreign, so erratic, Ali crying?!

She knew she's seen the tears in his eyes a couple of times, even felt his tears once - two days ago. But she's never seen him shed a tear. He's guardful of his weaknesses and crying was one thing she could vouch Ali didn't do often.

But now...

Was he bearing it all to her? Was he finally dropping his armor and being his weak self?

She slowly looked back at the photo clasped on her lap and turned it over again.

Of course he has to cry. This... this is Mustafa? The breath-taking Mustafa I know?!

He looked... burned.

He was burned!

His once fair smooth skin now flaky and black, he's sprawled on a white hospital bed, a white cloth covering his lower body. He was completely unrecognizable and more shrinked.

He's utterly seared! From top to bottom!

Her lips trembled as she tried to utter something. "M... mustafa?"

Ali squinted his eyes shut, inhaled and exhaled a shaky breath.

"It... it all started on a Wednesday morning. We're to travel back to Abuja that day. We mostly break our holidays between Abuja and Yola but the travel was brought forward because Mustafa fell sick and he had to see his doctor. He had a lot of health complications. I was with Dad helping him sort his things when Ummi sent for me... I went." He paused to have some breaths.

Amira tried absorbing what she could. Mustafa had health problems... how?!

"I went and... and she started bawling out on me about having a girlfriend, she even hit me, numerously. I could only apologise but not an answer to any of her questions could escape my tongue, I was angrier than sorry, angry at Mustafa." He inhaled deeply. "He's the only one who knew, the only one I told and I couldn't believe that on anything, he had to rat me out on that knowing fully well that Ummi would go crackers.

"When she sent me out of her room, I apologised again and went straight to mine and Mustafa's room which was in Dad's unit then. He's having his breakfast and..." Tears raced down his cheeks.

Amira wiped her own face and came down from the bench but he jerked away when she tried holding his hand.

"Don't Amira, let me talk." He blew out some air and scrubbed his face with the back of his fist.

"I... I know I should have asked him first but... I was too much of a brat then and instead I...I attacked him. He's trying to explain, telling me he didn't do it but being the scumbag I was, I didn't listen, I didn't believe him." He looked down as the tears started again.

Amira reached out to him but he pulled back. "Don't do that if you want me to talk. You wanted to know so I'm telling you, just listen."

They sat quietly for awhile and the wind outside was getting stronger.

"I should have believed him," He said in a resentful tone. "Deep down I knew he wouldn't do something like that but I was just too angry, stupidly angry, at what I honestly don't know. That he putatively broke my trust? That my mum was angry at me? I really didn't know. I just had to vent my spleen and I did that, on my own brother." He wiped his tears for the umpteenth time, his bruised cheek already swollen.