No Conditions, Whatsoever

Him, again.

Reminder: Pray.

Author's PoV:

Feiha rummaged through her drawer, trying to find one good hair tie that would hold her super silky hair in place. Her dark brown tresses were not very voluminous, unlike Hania who had healthy hair that resembled the night sky, but they were long enough to reach the length of her hips. Her skin tone was also a bit darker than her sister's but their facial features were pretty much the same.

After searching for a good two minutes, Feiha gave up the quest for a hair tie and settled for a claw clip, pulling her hair into a low bun and securing it.

She grabbed her notebook and a pen from the study table and sat on her bed to write a draft for her upcoming assignment but exhaled in annoyance when the pen refused to work properly.

In hope to find one inside Hania’s bag, she unzipped it. She let her hand travel inside and pulled out when her fingers found what she was looking for.

Except…

It was no pen that was in her grip now but a cigarette.

Feiha stared at the stick for what felt like a very long time. She couldn't understand how it ended up inside Hania's bag. Surely her sister didn't smoke. She couldn't. Hania was an intelligent girl who was well aware of the hazardous effects of smoking.

“I need to ask her,” she got up and dashed out of the room to find Hania who was in the kitchen doing something. Their parents weren't home as Khadija had taken Hamdan for his monthly health check up at the City Hospital.

“Hani,” Feiha called out.

“In the kitchen,” Hania answered as she put two spoonfuls of sugar in the chai that she was making. She saw Feiha entering from her peripheral view, “I'm making chai for us. I hope we still have those coconut bisc…” The words died on her tongue as her eyes met Feiha's and then landed on the cigarette stick in her hand.

“Is this yours?” Feiha's voice was devoid of any allegation or anger. She was calm, like she already knew that Hania's answer would be in the negative. That it was some kind of a joke that her friends had played.

Hania stood silent for a moment. She could lie. She could make up any bogus story and Feiha would believe her, not because she was naive or foolish but because of the trust she had in her little sister. The realisation caused an ache in Hania's chest.

“Yes.”

Feiha thought she didn't hear anything. Or maybe her ears had betrayed her. She was sure that this entire scenario wasn't real at all.
“You're joking, aren't you?”

When Hania didn't reply to that, Feiha took quick steps towards her. Grasping her shoulders, she spoke almost like a plea. “Tell me this is some kind of a prank, Hani. This…isn't possible. You can't…how can.. how..” Feiha blabbered like a child, unable to believe what she was witnessing.

“It's mine, Feiha.”

The words burned Hania’s tongue as she let them out, piercing Feiha's soul. “And no, nobody forced me to smoke. I did it on my own. I still do it.”

The chai had begun to boil, just like Feiha's emotions. “Are you mad?” Feiha tauted, “Why would you do something so…wrong? Do you not care about your health? Do you want to ruin your life?”

Hania scoffed, causing Feiha’s eyes to enlarge in disbelief. “Ruin my life? Is there anything left to be ruined? Baba is sick. He has been like that since such a long time, Feiha. Mama is always stressed and you…are just so sad.