While you're Gone

Chapter 2 : Cold little heart

The next morning she was still awake, it was Sunday morning. her dad had just came home and went to take a shower. She ran to the kitchen and started making breakfast like a chef. As soon as her father finished showering she had already finished and the table was made, the smell of coffee invaded the house, the bread was toasted, the juice was fresh, her mother still sleeping, everything was just perfect for her plan. Sunday was her dad’s day off, and he had never taken her mom out in a date yet.

Karim came to the kitchen as soon as he got dressed, bare feet. He thought his mother came to visit last night and spent the night and nobody called him. Only she wakes up at 5 AM and has an appetite for a “Khlii” Tajine. But this time it wasn’t his mother. But his beloved daughter that had made him breakfast and waited for him to come home safe, for once. He spontaneously knew she was going to ask him for money to buy a Sari. But he waited until she spoke.

He took a chair and enjoyed being served for a change. She appreciated him not making a comment on the burned toasts.

As soon as he finished eating, she had it all prepared, all the things she had to say to him in order to do exactly as she planned. So she started from the beginning.

“I want you to teach mom how to drive so she can take the car sometimes”

Her eyes were so big she almost got him. He pushed a big laugh before realising that she wasn’t joking about it. She had a little tear growing in her eye.

“Why would you mother want to drive ? I can drive her wherever she wants if she only asks you know that, she knows that too ...”

She blinked so hard that the premature tear fell and got almost until her cheeks before it dried. She saw it in his eyes, she’s got him now.

“Damn, you do it so well ! Okay , okay, I will talk to her about that, maybe can do that next week”

That wasn’t the answer she expected.

“You can’t wait until next week dad, today is a beautiful day, look you already took a shower, you ate and it was delicious because I made it, now please go take a nap a take her for driving lesson at the parking lot near the edge. It’s big and perfect, you two should spend some time together, and I made a big stupid mistake yesterday at the salon it almost got mom fired...”

She said with a very sad tone, this time she is not faking it. A river filled the road of the fake tear.

Karim stopped smiling. He immediately knew that there must have been some very big mess that would be hard to fix. Yet he tried to stay calm.

“Tell me what happened, what really happened, and explain to me what it has to do with your request because I believe that you are not really in position to ask for a favour while you almost got your mother fired yesterday”

She stood up and whispered with a disappointed little voice “I knew you wouldn’t understand....”

“Stop !” He said, took her hand and grabbed her back to her seat. “I believe I deserve some explanation, I didn’t say I’m refusing any offer...”

That made her smile for a second, then she couldn’t help but telling him the whole story. Then he went to take a nap, he was very tired.

It was 10 AM, sound of the car engine wakes Slima up. She fell asleep over a small pillow on the couch.

As soon as she ran to see through the window. Her parents went out. Looked like her plan worked perfectly as supposed to. She could finally have some time alone, but first she had to watch the Sunday movie.

After three hours of a long bollywood classic, Slima was drowning in tears and smiling at the same time, satisfied but lost in her thoughts.

Suddenly the phone started ringing. It was so annoying.
“Why can’t I ever take my time to do anything I like in this house ?” She went over to corner and sat by the chair, then took up the phone.

“Hello, who’s this ?” She with a serious voice.

“It’s the police, are you Slima Khabaz ?”

“Yes , why ? I didn’t kill those fish on purpose I swear ! “ her heart started racing and the words flew away

“Miss! Hey..no you’re not in trouble, actually we’re at the hospital, we are sorry to inform you that your parents had an accident this morning and you probably need to come over to the verify their identity”

“...O...Okay”

She puts back the phone. And stayed there for a while. She stayed there for hours.

The night was there, the neighbors were all asleep, a rare moment of silence. She had noticed that the night before, she had the time to think over her strategy in order to make it up for her mom. Now her mom isn’t home. No one was going to blame her anymore for making trouble, for not focusing on what she’s asked, for not cleaning her room everyday, she had no one to blame her for anything ever again. She had only herself to do that.

All she could think about was the silence that suddenly devoured all the noise. The nothing that burned down everything. The wind that blew the ashes of what she ever was. She went out, left the door open. She walked for hours in the neighborhood, wandered with an empty look, got carried by her feet and rediscovered the whole block until people started showing up for the prayer. She stopped in front of the salon where her mom used to work. It was 6 AM. She stood up alone, like when she was three. But this time she remembers, she just can’t do anything. As the cars started filling up the streets the manager came over to open the salon, it was 8 AM.

She took her in, it had started to rain. She made her coffee and gave her cookies. Slima was just sitting, looking through the window. She already felt grief, disappointment, hurt. She just couldn’t feel that again. She couldn’t feel anything anymore. She was frozen and all that she could hear was that song that was on that day before her life started falling apart.

It was on tv, the manager had turned on the tv and there was a replay of that movie. It was too real for her to deal with it.

Jamila the manager took her in her arms after a long resistance to any human feeling especially compassion and empathy. She knew Slima was a nice girl, and that no one deserves such a tragedy growing up. She kept her long in her arms until someone entered the salon calling for Jamila.

It was Madame Benzekri asking Jamila if she heard about the news before she realizes that the poor girl was sitting around, still in a shock.

“Oh...sweet baby, I didn’t expect you to be here at this time, you should be home with your family I suppose they will all want you to be there for the funeral...did you eat something ? How are you doing my dear ..? “

Her voice got softer as she came near her and sat around, trying to put her hand on her shoulder to comfort her, let her know she’s not alone. She felt really sorry for her, she used to like her mother, and said that she was the best hair dresser she worked with in the city.

She always wanted to have a little girl, but when her husband died, she kept persuading herself that it’s meant to be, and that she should give all her love to those left, meaning her little son, wajeeh. That’s why she never considered getting married again. Nothing provoked that desire in her anymore, until that day when she saw the loss in Slima’s eyes... Only then she felt what’s like to lose a dream, a hope or to lose someone you didn’t even meet.

She took her back to the apartment, Karim and Nora’s families had the keys to the house, they had already let themselves in and started the preparations for receiving other family members and friends for the funeral.

Before leaving, Madame benzekri gave two hundred dirhams to Slima and asked her to be patient and to expect a call from her. She promised to help her raise some money during the summer for next year’s scholar charges. Her mother used to work double shifts and during week ends just to afford the school, and her father used to pay the rent. Now she might get to stay at the house if her grandmother helped with the rent instead of taking her to live with her and the rest of the divorced and chattered family members. And that was another level on the nightmare she wasn’t ready to explore.

Lovely Steemians !
For those who read the first chapter, i would like to thank you for your reading time, this means a lot to me. English is not my first language, neither is french nor Arabic. Though i love languages, i love the magic of words. Most of all, i love stories, and i'm happy to share mine with you, hoping to get some feedback, any opinions, critiques or support are much appreciated :)

I will continue publishing the other chapters on @Steemit so all the readers and Drama lovers on this amazing platform can read it without having to log elsewhere.

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