"Whatever goes around, always comes around. This world is like a circle, so never laugh at the despair and difficulties of others, you never know, deep down in the future, you may have problems much worse than theirs. So instead treat them with an open heart."🌹حسنى

*****

I woke up at dawn in mama's room, with a throbbing headache. Mama was sitting on her prayer mat, reading the Quran, with a silent, melodious voice. I felt the cold floor against my feet and the usual stinging pain in my left arm as I walked to the bathroom. I performed ablution and prayed fajr, and then I sat beside mama, and we read the Quran in sync.

It was out usual Friday morning routine. It felt good every time, when we sit together and read the Quran. There was this happiness, and utmost satisfaction.

I'm normally a morning person. Whenever I wake up after a dreamless night sleep, I wake up happy, unlike Sa'ad, who wakes up grumpy, with a bad mood.

We finished reading the Quran and she cupped my face with her hand and prayed for me. Her lips parting slowly, as she blew soft air to my face.

I felt something missing in me...something different, as if I had left out a part of myself somewhere.

I had a long bath in mama's bathroom, and when I was done, I heard her speaking on her phone, still sitting on her praying mat.

"She's fine now...a man found her fainted on the road and he bought her back home, she's safe" she spoke, holding up her phone and staring at the screen. I could hear the familiar voice....Baba.

She looked up at me, and then smiled. "Noor, come here, it's your father" she said. I wore my long hijab over my towel and wet hair and then collected the phone from her.

"As Salam alaikum, baba Ina kwana(good morning dad)" I stated, looking at his slim face over the phone. He looked thinner than before. It's been long I last spoke to him, and ages since I last saw him.

"Wa alaikumus Salam, Noor dear, how are you?" He spoke smiling.

"I'm fine Baba" I replied.

"How's school?" He asked.

"Fine"

The usual pleasantries were exchanged and I gave the phone back to mama, on the pretext that I was going to get ready for school. I left for my room.

Just as I was about to wear my uniform, I remembered it was Friday. We had this tradition in our school, that on every Friday, both the teachers and students would wear their traditional clothes...the girls, mostly Abaya's and the normal northern atampa, and the boys, kaftans. It was also an opportunity for the rich kids to show off their wealth, either by wearing Gucci bags, or designer dresses.

I opened my large wardrobe and stared at it. It was stocked with almost two hundred new Abayas. Mama makes sure I have a sample of each and every new design, which I have to wear before it is sold. I have samples of even the bridal collection, which I cannot wear because of three reasons, one, it's too heavy, two, people would give me weird looks, and three, if I look like a bride all the time, how'd I look on my wedding day.

There were Abaya's of different colors, blue, red, pink, yellow, you just name it, and I have it. The black ones folded neatly by the left side. I always wear black, like always, but today, I wanted to look a little different, so I opened the right side of the wardrobe and I rummaged through until I found a white, long sleeved abaya, with beautiful white pearls arranged systematically around the neck and sleeves. It looked perfect.

I quickly wore it and the went through my assignments, that I had asked...oh sorry, forced Sa'ad to do last night. I arranged the books I needed for the day and then went downstairs.

I felt something missing again and I shrugged off the feeling as the fresh smell of pancakes filled my nose. Reaching Sa'ad's room, I knocked loudly on the wooden door, in an attempt to wake him up.

"Sa'ad! Wake up! It's morning!" I screamed. I heard him tossing on the bed, probably covering his face with a pillow. "Sa'ad, come on. We have school and we wouldn't want to be late" I added and still no response. I opened the door and slowly peek in, hoping he was wearing a shirt, and thank God he was.

There was a praying mat spread across the floor, a small evidence that he had been awake a while ago. "Sa'ad! Okay you leave me no choice" I ran to the kitchen and bought a glass of cold water. I held it up to his face as I slowly giggled. "Sa'ad, here look. I have cold water in my hands" he got up in a second, holding his hands up in surrender.

"I'm up! Get that water away from me!" He yelled. I smiled to myself and tiptoed moving the glass close to his hair.

"Let have a deal" he looked at me weirdly with a bored expression. "You'll meet me, dressed, in the living room in thirty minutes, and I keep the cold water away from your hair" I remarked smirking.

"Deal" he said and walked away to the bathroom. I hated to admit it, but he looked cute in his blue pajamas and his sleepy face.

I opened the wardrobe in his room, and picked out a white kaftan. It was hard to say that he didn't live here, with the amount of his clothes here.

I loved choosing clothes for him. And he wears anything I choose for him, even if he doesn't like it

The mouth-watering pancakes were ready. They were my favorite, with strawberries and cream....could this day get any better. I took a bite and I felt as if it was the first time I am tasting mama's amazing pancakes, what to do, it just keeps getting better every time.

Sa'ad was all dressed in thirty minutes. He was wearing the white kaftan I had picked out, with a watch I never knew he had, and his short curly hair combed perfectly. He walked past me into the kitchen. I could hear his small talk with mama and then he was back in the dining room, with a plate and his phone pressed against his left ear. He was speaking to Jamilu, his dad's driver. He wanted some of his things brought over.

He sat down next to me, eating with one hand, and tapping on his phone with the other hand. The driver brought his things immediately after we finished eating. It was his bike, and school bags.

"Mama!" I called out. "We're going to be late" she came from the kitchen and I noticed she wasn't dressed yet.

"I'm staying at home today, I have a headache" she said. "But I called the Adamu, the driver to drop you kids to school, he would be here any minute"

"Oh aunt, you shouldn't have worried calling the driver, we would have gone with my bike, right Noora?" He said with his usual smirk.

"Yeah, not happening. The driver would be fine mama" I stated and just it time, a car honk could be heard by the gate. "Let's go Sa'ad" I said excitedly and tugged his arm.

"You're going to like this" he said gesturing to my face. I touched my head and my scarf wasn't there. I ran upstairs and picked up the scarf. Staring at the dressing mirror and fixing the scarf around my head, I noticed something on my wrist....it was gone.

My bracelet was missing.

***********

Hello dear readers❤️

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حسنى💋