002

Huh?

Sarah woke up to the bright sunlight shining through the windows, onto her face. Looking at the apple-clock on the end table next to her bed, she realised that she had missed her Fajr prayer – it was half past 9 in the morning on another Saturday in East Sussex, UK.

“Ouh.. not again…” she grumbled to herself. And I just thought about going jogging after I pray.

The thought of jogging made her remember that it was indeed another Saturday, a day which she had always gone for jogging. Saturdays were her favourite, having day-off from the rest of the world for her to engage into her own. She looked at a picture frame next to the apple-clock, of which was a medium-sized picture of her father who died back 3 years ago because of alcoholism.

She stared out the window, looking down the quiet neighbourhood from her second floor room in that apartment in Flakestown. Closing her eyes to feel the wind blowing her hair, she felt like her decision to come to that place was the best decision ever. Still there, living on her own after about a year since she arrived in that country, Britain, to further her studies after all the hassle trying to get there. In that hassle, she had to deal with her father’s condition of being alcoholic, something that was not an everyday situation or problem that most of her friends had. Dealing with a father that had left her and her mother along with four other siblings was not easy in such a condition. Her father, Rahim, left them even before she was born, but had often been coming back to them within 2 years before his death. She could remember him very well – he came to them when they were done having dinner at home, where she was the one who opened the door after hearing the doorbell rang, thinking it was her older brother who was not there at that moment who always went out at night. There stood at the door a man in his forties whom she did not recognise, someone who looked like a homeless man who had not cleaned up himself for a long while. However, looking at the man, she had a funny feeling inside, leaving her speechless for a moment.

“Who’s at the door –” Sarah’s mother appeared from behind. She stood as if in shock at what she was seeing at that time, not moving an inch, looking at the man at the door. Sarah took a glimpse at her mother and shrugged. “I don’t know who he is…”

The man was about to reach his hand out to them before he fainted right away at the door, falling right in front of his daughter’s feet. While Sarah was starting to panic at the situation, her mother clung to the opened door with tears starting to flow down her cheeks. Hearing the strange commotion, Sarah’s two other sisters came about to look at what was happening.

“Mama, what happened? Who is this?” Farah went over to get to her mother who was beginning to become unstable. “What’s wrong??” She looked at Sarah who only looked back, blurred and startled as her other younger sister went to call for help. Their mother, Nadiah kept crying as she moved closer to the man fallen at the door, trying to get a hold of his apparently weak right hand. “Your father…” She looked at the man in disbelief and closed her eyes, as tears keep rolling down.

Opening her eyes, Sarah felt a warm feeling deep inside. That was a moment that she could not forget, to know the man she had not seen for years come back to them in such a condition. The man she had always wondered whether he was dead or alive. The man she never got to know, at times she felt curious of what kind of person he was like. The man she grew to hate for leaving her family and leaving all the burden to her mother. Nadiah was overwhelmed by his comeback although she was very hurt and angry by his act of leaving and abandoning her and his children before. Despite of his wrongdoings, she was able to forgive him – much to her children’s dismay. Because some of her children could not accept him, he was not allowed to stay in their home, which was understood by Nadiah. Being the youngest child, Sarah – although hated her father at first – came to love him when she tried to get to know him better. Her dad once cried as they were both having a simple conversation with each other. He took the step to leave them and never came back till then, and he eventually began regretting his faults. So he turned to alcohol which at first was just a once-in-a-lifetime plan, turned to be a lifetime of disaster.

Love you, dad…even for all that you ever did…

She closed her eyes again…

Splat! Something hit her face. It felt cold and watery…

“You there at the window! Come out here, hurry up, we’re late already! We had a date to go to, remember? You’re the one that set all of it up anyway!”

Ouch. That voice is so loud is hurts.

Sarah knew the voice all too well. There was a wet cloth, possibly soaked in some melted ice or cold water, thrown to her face earlier that later fell down to the floor. She turned, with raised eyebrows and a frown, to look down on Nisa down the building who was practically yelling at her. “Hey! You hear –”

“Yea, yea, I hear you already. Wait up.” Sarah picked up the cloth and threw it back out to Nisa, obviously mad. She moved away from the window and grabbed for her towel for a bath.

Date?It’s just some work that needs to be done. Okay, no need to throw me something like that right in the face. Sarah snorted, thinking of a plan of some way to sort of kill her later.

Down the building, Nisa, who managed to catch the rolled, thrown cloth that then looked like a really bad yarn product, looked on at the window with a smile.

"Cool," she said to herself.