AASHIQ: A Lustful Demon✔️

Chapter Two

     I tossed and turned in bed, trying to figure out what the whole thing was about. After over an hour of racking my brain for why I was seeing a demon choking me, I gave up and decided to google it. I had typed 'demon suffocating you and you can't scream or move at night'. I wasn't the best when it came to googling things. A lot of results popped up and I wasn't having any of them. They all read sleep paralysis and it was scientifically proven. It had something to do with rapid eye movement and hallucinations that made you feel you were seeing things while you actually weren't. I knew better than to believe the results because anybody could wake up to write shit on the internet.

     "This isn't sleep paralysis. I know a jinn is messing with me." I muttered frustratedly. But what had I done wrong to make a jinn want to frustrate my life? I shook my head at the thought and went back to googling what was wrong with me. I needed answers but I wasn't getting any. I threw my phone to the side in annoyance.

     "Aisha go and do the dishes." I heard my mum yell from the kitchen. I groaned and got off the bed. I walked begrudgingly into the kitchen to see my mum leaning on the counter with an apple in her hand.

     "Okay." I muttered. She spared me no glance as all her attention was on the red apple in her hand. When she was done chewing, noisily if I may add, she dumped the knife and saucer in the sink. She could've just washed the apple and eaten it straight up but she decided to increase the plates in the sink. If my father was home, it'd have been double the plates. I wondered when he'd be back home.

     "When's Baba coming back?" I asked my mum. She shrugged and replied, "Probably tomorrow or next." I nodded my head and got back to the dishes. When I was done, I wiped my hand with a napkin and went back up to my room.

     The screen of my phone lit up immediately I got into the room. I picked it up to see it was a message from Azeezah, my best friend. She sent a meme that made me laugh. That was why I loved her a lot. She always sent me memes.

     After two hours of laughing and exchanging memes, I went downstairs to help my mum prepare dinner.

     "What are we having tonight?" I asked as I walked into the kitchen.

     "I don't know. I was thinking lamb mandi." she replied.

     "Sounds like a good idea." I nodded, then brought out a pot and a pan from the cabinet below the sink. Mum collected them from me and put some water in the pot to boil. Forty-five minutes after and our dinner was ready. We sat at the dinner table and ate in silence. The food tasted really nice. I wasn't surprised because mum attended a culinary school before she got married.

     "Can I do the dishes tomorrow?" I asked immediately I finished eating.

     "I don't want cockroaches in my kitchen. Do them tonight and make sure to take the trash out." I nodded and took my plate to the sink. When mum finished eating, she dumped her plate in the sink. I didn't mind washing the plates but pots? I'd pass. When I finished rinsing out the plates I put them on a rack to dry, then took the disposable trash bag outside the house. Ignoring my mum's previous warning, I went out without a headscarf again. I passed the dumpster in front of my house and walked down to the estate's general dumpster. I flung the bag into the container and turned back to leave.

     Halfway to my house, I heard something breathing heavily down my neck. I slapped my hand on my neck but I felt nothing. I shook my head and kept walking. The faster I walked, the heavier the breath got. Abruptly, the breathing stopped. I turned around but there was nothing behind me. When I turned to keep walking, I heard harsh whisperings in my ears. I couldn't make out what the voices were saying but it was loud. I felt like I was losing my mind. I ignored the piercing whisperings and ran straight into my home.

     "Why were you running?" Mum asked immediately I barged into the living room.

     "Nothing. I just thought I heard something." She nodded her head and walked up the stairs. When she got to the top, she looked down at me.

     "Don't forget to pray before you sleep." I nodded, even though I knew I was probably not going to pray before sleeping.

     I snuggled into my blanket and let myself drift into dreamland.

     I found myself in the middle of a desert with no one around but a black dog. The dog barked angrily as it came towards me. I turned to the opposite direction and took off running. The dog chased after me, still barking angrily. I didn't know what to do. I heard if you poured sand into a dog's eyes, it'd go blind. I fell unto the ground and packed two handfuls of sand. When the dog approached me, I poured the sand in it's eyes. It howled painfully and backed away from me. As I stood up to run again, it growled angrily and got up on two legs. It began to grow bigger into an inhuman size. It's red eyes glared straight into mine and then it swiped it's paw at me. It's nails left three scratch marks on my face and I moaned in pain.

     When I woke up, I was sweating profusely. A pain at the side of my face made me shudder. I reached up to touch it and my blood ran cold. The scratch marks from my dream were on my face.