Written In The Scars

Chapter 27

As they lowered the body into the dusty earth, Abbas squeezed his eyes shut, lowering his head as a tear escaped his eye. If not for his injury, he too would have joined the other men inside the grave, settling down his beloved father-in-law into the burial chamber.

Haifa did not come with them. As much as she wanted to, she had stayed behind with her distraught sister, as per her mother's order.

Yumna and the other female members who had attended stood behind them, clutching their scarves by their mouths to muffle their cries. His mother-in-law, however, watched silently as the men climbed back out, her pale cheeks glistening in the morning sun.

Scooping up a handful of moist dirt, Abbas tossed it over the wrapped body, slowly filling the cavity up again. Every male present followed, filling the silence with the sound of supplications escaping from their chapped lips.

Above them, the sun shone harsher, its rays undisturbed across the clear blue sky.

***

"You should eat,"

The sound of her sister's voice broke Diya out of her daze. Raising her head, their eyes met for a second before she turned away. After the Janazah, they had returned home with their cousins, whilst their mother attended the burial with the elders. Diya had gone straight up to her father's study, habitually knocking the door twice, before entering, uselessly hoping to see her father seated on the cushions, surrounded by an array of books and maps. The room was always scented with his favourite oud, and he would always greet her with a smile that reached right up to his dazzling emerald eyes.

Entering emptiness, Diya's heart clenched with agony. The tears were inevitable.

The seclusion welcomed her grief, her emotion bursting forth from the walls in her heart as her ears filled with the sound of her own voice until her throat became sore. Her mind was fuzzy and her head throbbed. She hadn't even noticed her sister enter, until now.

For the first time today, the two sisters were alone together.

Diya's eyes followed Haifa as she sat down beside her, sliding two bowls of yellow soup onto the low table in front of them. However, the moment their eyes met, she turned away, afraid that the sorrow in her sister's eyes would break her more.

Haifa handed her a steaming bowl, forcing it into her hands, before taking the other for herself. Whilst her sister lifted the spoon to her lips, Diya's eyes bore into the soup, the steam slightly stinging her eyes.

"Will you try to eat? You haven't had anything since,"

Diya flinched slightly, recognizing the irritation behind her sister's voice. Slowly, her fingers wrapped around the handle of the spoon and gently lifted it, bringing it closer to her face. For a second she hovered it by her mouth, staring into the pool of fragrant liquid before directing it into her mouth. An array of flavours danced across her dry mouth, enlightening her senses once again. Her hunger lashed out furiously and she hastily dipped her spoon in again before the taste disappeared from her tongue. She hadn't realised how hungry she was until now!

The corner of Haifa's lips rose. She had one less worry now that her sister had finally devoured something. The sounds of their spoons gliding across their bowls filled their father's Study.

Once they had finished, the room echoed with silence once again.

"It's my fault,"

Haifa turned to the sound, her sister's scratchy voice sounding almost foreign to her ears.

"Diya,"

"If only I had come out earlier,"

"What do you mean?"