...

Salman had left the Fayyad residence and arrived at his house with ample time to get dressed for work.

He found Malika in the living room. The relieved look on her face told him she had been waiting for him for a while. She stood up at his sight.

There were lines of worry in her forehead. Her eyes were rimmed with red. He could tell she had continued to cry long after he had left.

"I called you several times last night," she said. There wasn't a trace of accusation or anger. Only worry. "You never answered."

"Kaveh had my phone for the entire night," he replied in a clipped tone.

"I know," Malika said. "He called afterwards to let us know you were with him." She let out a sigh.

Salman stood still, his face hardened.

"I'm sorry, Salman," she said.

When he didn't respond, she added, "I also want to tell you I stand by a lot of things from what I said. I know you don't want to hear that, but that's how I feel. I hope one of these days you'll realize why."

Salman's jaw tightened, but he didn't say anything. There was a heavy pause between them. Salman shuffled on his feet and looked around, his eyes lingering on her suitcases.

"What transportation are you using?" he asked, changing the topic.

Malika stared at him for a moment, studying his features, then looked away with another sigh. "Ibrahim sent a car," she replied after a while.

"You could have just asked me to drop you."

"There's no need for that." She shook her head. "All I ask for you is to take care of yourself. If not for you, then do it for Mom."

Malika stepped forward and wrapped him in a warm embrace, taking Salman by surprise. "I know you hate me now, but someday you'll realize how much I love you. I only want the best for you, Salman."

He momentarily let down the wall he had built up, his heart wrenching with pain. He moved his arms and hugged his sister back.

Dahlia Ahmad let out a tired sigh and looked at the four year old Taiwanese boy.

"Jason," she chided.

He giggled and quickly straightened up. She shot him a look as last warning and then looked towards the front gates of Little Stars Elementary School, from where the parents were streaming in one by one and offering her relief from the little rascals.

Only a couple parents at a time were allowed, and each round of cars had to go through an elaborate two step process of checking. Most of Dahlia's students were children of diplomats or high-end expats. She had once peeked at a local famous actress dropping off her kid as well. So security was of the highest priority.

The class teacher who shared her room came into her view, her students in a beeline behind her. "Stay in a single line, one single line," she was chanting.

Dahlia smiled at her once she reached her station and the woman returned her greeting. "Della! Della, I'm here!" Azar Fayyad called out enthusiastically from the row of students.

It was still wild to her that Azar, Layla's little sister, was old enough to start kindergarten. Dahlia could still recall the day she was born as a tiny bundle of a cute blob.

Dahlia resisted the urge to let out a laugh and waved back. Her teacher let out a sigh and looked at the kid, "Azar, sweetie, that's Dahlia Teacher for you."

"Oops," she pressed her hands to her mouth.

The children were soon picked up one by one and Dahlia's office hours came to an end not long after. She stepped out of the gate and searched of the familiar sight of Ibrahim's car, knowing he was coming to pick her up.

She soon spotted him parked on the other side of the road. Seeing her approach, he quickly switched to the passenger's seat. Dahlia knew he did it because he wanted her to drive. He had been giving her and Lily driving lessons at night within their neighborhood, and she was now slowly starting to make small journeys in busier roads during the day.

She walked around the front and got in through the driver's side.

"What's up, loser?" Ibrahim asked as she slid into the seat.

Dahlia rolled her eyes at him as she shut the door behind her. She put her hands on the steering wheel and took a deep breath. This wasn't her first time driving in the main road when other cars would be present as well, but she was still new enough at it to be nervous at the thought.

During their nightly lessons, she definitely was the better driver. But she had a feeling it had more to do with the fact that Ibrahim could rile Lily up more easily than her.

"You start by turning that little key in the ignition," he said with a playful grin, beckoning to her right.

"Oh, really?" Dahlia faked surprise. "I thought that was for poking your eyes out."

Nevertheless, she started the car and drove forward. They were almost on the main road when she heard soft snores fill the car. She reached out to jab at his stomach with her left elbow. "Ibi!" she cried with terror. "Wake up!"

Ibrahim was startled awake. "What?! What happened?" he sat upright, snapping his head to look at her.

"You left me unsupervised!"

He relaxed his posture. "Seriously, Dels." He let out an annoyed sigh, rubbing his face. "I thought we were dying."

"We will be, if you don't guide me," she argued.

"You'll be fine." he murmured, eyes already fluttering shut. "Just keep both hands on the wheel."

Ibrahim drifted back to his nap, his head uncomfortably hanging over his shoulder. Dahlia pursed her lips at him in disapproval. If she was being honest, she couldn't blame him for sneaking in some extra sleep. Between balancing his work, a newborn child and spending every minute of free time to visit their grandmother - he must have been exhausted. But she still would have appreciated some supervision. She stared at the road again. Traffic was light today, so she hoped she would be fine.

They successfully arrived at their grandmother's house in less than an hour. Dahlia smoothly drove in through the ancient wrought iron gates and halted into a rocky parking. Meh, at least the headlights were still intact.

She glanced at her sleeping cousin, her eyes suddenly sparking playfully.

"Ibi!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.

His eyes flew open and he violently jerked against the seat belt. "What?" he cried again, looking around frantically.

"Nothing," Dahlia smiled sweetly. "Just wanted to let you know we have arrived."

She got out of the car before he could respond. Dahlia was silently shaking with laughter as she headed for the entrance of the house. Ibrahim got down from the car moments later, grumbling under his breath. "This girl will be the end of me."

She was still laughing as the front gate opened. What greeted her were a pair of familiar grey eyes.

Dahlia froze in spot. The laughter quickly died in her lips as her gaze locked with Kaveh's, surprise coloring her features.

His face was unreadable as he looked at her. They stared at each other for a brief moment. Dahlia was the first to break eye contact. He was the first to break the silence.

"Hello," he said to her, lips carving up in a smile.

She took a moment before answering.

"Hi," she smiled too after swallowing the ball of nerves that rose to her throat.

One of Nargis' nurses ran towards the door upon hearing incomers at the door. "I got it," Kaveh told her, that smile still on his lips. "I got up when I saw them coming through the window," he explained, beckoning at the cousins.

The woman nodded once in a pleasant manner and then briskly walked back to the corridor she came through.

"Hey, man," Ibrahim finally caught up. He brushed past Dahlia and stepped inside to shake hands Kaveh.

He stepped aside to let her in. Dahlia closed the door behind them and then took in the scene in front.

Her grandmother's living room was just as she recalled it, with the exception of Kaveh's laptop sitting on top of the coffee table.

"The roads were comparatively emptier today," Kaveh said, looking at Ibrahim. "Didn't call when I arrived early because I knew you must still be on your way."

"Yeah, no worries," Ibrahim said, rubbing the remainder of the sleep off his red rimmed eyes. "We have some work-related things to discuss, and I asked Kaveh to see me here to save some time." He looked at Dahlia. "Hope that's alright with you."

She nodded politely. "Of course"

As they started talking, Dahlia excused herself and quietly slipped away towards the narrow passageway leading to the main bedroom. Nargis' room was cold and dark. The curtains were drawn and the air conditioning was going at full blast. Dahlia neared her bed, realizing she was deep in sleep.

Dahlia could tell she had lost more weight in the time she had seen her. Her breaths were coming out weaker. Despite the treatments, her health wasn't improving.

She sat down besides her and gently lifted the blanket draped over her grandmother's frail hips. Dahlia slid in and placed a light hand on Nargis's hairline, pushing it back slightly, and planting a kiss on her forehead next.

Nargis stirred in her sleep but quickly went back to snoring. Dahlia let out a sigh in the dark room, the disembodied voices of the men playing in the distance.