*They left New York the very next morning. Hand in hand, Afrah and Adnan boarded their flight, giddy with excitement at the thought of spending the next 48 hours in Italy.They landed at the Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport just over nine hours later. Adnan tried to hail a cab for them, cursing under his breath when most of them drove past. "Perks of being a black man in Europe," he smiled in disdain. Eventually, a round-faced, very Italian looking man parked in front of them. "Dove stai andando?" he asked, rolling down the window."Rome Cavalieri," Adnan said. The man nodded pointedly, hopping out to help them with their bags. "Your first time here?" he said, his English heavily accented. "Si," Adnan replied. "You welcome to Italy," he said. "Rome is beautiful city.""It is," Afrah agreed. "I've always wanted to visit.""I'm Sebastian," he said, smiling as he reached for her small suitcase. "Afrah," she replied. "It's a pleasure to meet you."He smiled back at her, lo
*For the first time since their marriage, Afrah decided to call his mother. She had been apprehensive at first, not wanting to involve her in something that was certainly not meant to reach her ears. But she was scared for Adnan, and she needed the help of the only woman who knew him better than she did. She answered on the first ring. "Assalamu alaikum?" Afrah cleared her throat, trying to sound normal. "Wa alaikum as salam," she replied. "Afrah dear, is that you?""Good evening, aunt," she said. "I hope I'm not disturbing.""Certainly not," she replied quickly. "This is the first time you're calling me, is it not? You don't know how happy I am to hear from you.""I'm sorry I didn't call sooner," she said, glancing up to make sure the bathroom door was still closed. "It's just that...""Don't worry about it," Maryam said. "It's so good to hear from you. How's the honeymoon?""It's fine, Alhamdulillah," Afrah said. "Or at least it was.""Oh. I heard about the news. How is Adnan h
*The sun shone lazily in the painfully blue sky as the white sedan weaved through the highway traffic, darting this way and that. Inside, Adnan held the steering wheel tightly, his eyes fixed straight ahead. Beside him, Afrah sat with her hands on her lap, also staring straight ahead. They'd been driving for miles. Though the scenery was beautiful, Afrah hardly looked at anything other than the road. For Adnan however, he couldn't care less about the trees and the mountain ranges far off into the distance. He'd travelled along this same road hundreds of times already. He knew it like the back of his hand. Though he made no indication that he was even paying attention, his eyes continuously darted towards the woman sitting beside him. Clad in a plain white shirt with lace trimmings down the front, a pair of black leggings and a floppy straw hat, she was the perfect picture of an exotic tourist, especially with his camera placed on her lap. Every now and then, Afrah would pick it up
*"Don't lie to me, Afrah," he said the moment she began to shake her head. "No more lies."Trembling all over, Adnan leapt of the rock. He couldn't sit still anymore. Not for a single second. His thoughts were all over the place, and his mind was numb from moving so quickly. Afrah meanwhile was trying to stem her tears. Of all the ways she'd imagined the truth finally coming out, she had never thought that Adnan might guess it for himself. He'd caught her off-guard with the question, and even before she could arrange a comprehensible answer, the mere shock in her eyes had given it away. She couldn't look him in the eye now. Not when he knew what she'd been hiding her entire life. The truth would surely break him. No man could live with the knowledge that his father was the vilest of creatures. "How old were you?" Adnan asked, his voice on the edge of breaking. Afrah shook her head, shaking violently as the tears kept flowing. "How old were you, Afrah?" he asked, gritting his teet
*Twenty two years prior, on a quiet and somewhat uneventful day, Adnan had barged into the house with a vengeance in his eyes. Their mother had been sitting on the veranda with an old notebook propped up on her laps, and she looked up sharply when he entered. "Umma, I'm going to break Nafisa's stupid head open," he'd said, his bottom lip trembling. "What's wrong?" she'd asked, setting the book aside to tend to her little boy who was on the verge of tears. "She went to the neighbors and told Farouk that I still wet my bed every night," he'd said, trying and failing to stem the tears. His mother had reached out then, placing a hand on his shoulder and pulling him in for a hug. "Don't worry," she'd said. "Nafisa just enjoys telling lies. How could you ever wet your bed at your age? You're a big and strong man. She's clearly delusional."Adnan had cried into her neck, sniffing and gulping for air. Somehow, nestled in the arms of his mother, he felt better instantly. At ease. It was a
*For three glorious days, all was well.Adnan never spoke a word about his confrontation with his father to Afrah. He'd gotten a decent 3-bedroom apartment in Life Camp for his mother and siblings, and Afrah never heard anything concerning the matter. All was well. Until the day she came to his room. Ever since their return home, Afrah had slowly begun to move into his room. Her toothbrush was the first item to migrate into his bathroom. When Adnan saw it the first morning, he smiled warmly at the sight. He pretended not to notice when the rest of her toiletries made the journey as well, even making space for her by removing some of the things he didn't really need. Like the extra bottles of shaving cream which were never used. Her shoes came next, and again Adnan moved some of his out of the way, giving a few to Junior while he kept the rest in his study downstairs, tucked away in the little shelf behind the door. When her clothes started to move in however, that was when he d
*The Police station smelled like urine. Zainab had scrunched up her nose ever since they arrived, the rank odour forming a cloud within the walls which she desperately wanted to leave. She was aware of the numerous pairs of eyes on her, and the veil of suspicion over them. The officer who was questioning her, Inspector David, sat across from her with an old file in his hands. He was a short man, his body a glut of muscles, his hair thinning and with a rough mustache over his lips. When he looked up at her through hooded eyelids, she avoided his gaze and chose instead to stare at his mustache. "I'm going to ask you a few questions," he began in a bored tone, the drawl characteristic of one who'd practiced the same speech over and over again. "I expect you to answer them truthfully. It will be best if you cooperate with us here. You have no fault here, so we have no reason to suspect you. Should you refuse to cooperate however, I will be forced to take any precautions necessary. Do yo
*Afrah would always remember waking up in his arms. That slow, languid fluttering of the eyelids before her eyes focused. The difference today was that she woke up flush against his chest, with Adnan's hands wound tightly across her back. For a moment, she didn't move, inhaling his scent deeply. Memories of the night before returned groggily, and she found herself grinning like a loon. When he stirred underneath her, she froze. "It's okay. You can continue what you were doing," Adnan mumbled into her hair, his voice in that heavy, seductive zone where it always was just after he'd woken up. Afrah loved the throaty way he sounded, and it was one of the guilty pleasures she enjoyed every morning. As she tried to slide off his chest, he held her in place with his arm, pulling her up higher until her nose was right next to his chin."Good morning, my sweet little dove," he said with a lazy smile. "You did not just compare me to a bird, Adnan," she said, narrowing her eyes at him. "I