𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟓𝟐

ARZO

[Nine years old]

[The Night of the Incident]

My feet dangle from the couch as I watch abbu’s and ammi’s friends talk and laugh in the living room.

Ammi and abbu invited their friends over for dinner tonight. I thought we were celebrating something but api said it’s just a friendly dinner.

I want cake.

I get up from my couch and go in the kitchen where api is helping ammi decorate the plate with salad.

“Ammi, I want cake.” I say, pouting.

“I’m sorry, beta, but we don’t have cake at home.” Ammi tells me.

“We have cucumbers.” api says, handing me a cucumber.

I take it, taking small bites of it.

“I’m bored.” I tell api.

“Me too. Adult talk is boring.” Api says.

Ammi chuckles, “Why don’t you two go in your room and play then?”

“Why didn’t you invite Shoaib?” I ask, “he could come and play with us!”

“Abbu tried but your chacha didn’t let him come.” Ammi tells us, her face showing how sad she is.

“Ugh! Kamil Chacha and Hira chachi are the worst!” Api says.

“Yeah!” I add then finish my cucumber.

Shoaib is the sweetest and kindest boy but he has the meanest parents. They don’t treat him like ammi and abbu treats us. They’re always scolding him, even on things that aren't his fault.

Abbu brings him here as much as he can because he feels safe here and he likes to play with me and api. Even though sometimes api becomes boring because she talks about rules and blah blah blah.

“We’ll try to bring him tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay!” api and I grin.

While api helps ammi, I leave the kitchen to get my sketchbook. If api is too busy to play with me then I’ll draw.

I looooove drawing.

I’m going to be an painter when I grow up.

I go outside and sit on the porch. I open my sketchbook and start to draw a cake.

I’ll ask abbu to bring cake tomorrow.

My head lifts up when I hear a car stop in front of our house.

A grin spreads across my face when I realize that it’s Shoaib’s abbu’s car.

Maybe he changed his mind and decided to drop Shoaib here.

My smile slowly starts to fade when Kamil Chacha exits the car- looking angry- but no one else steps out.

When he sees me sitting on the porch, a smile takes over his lips, “Assalamu Alaikum, Arzo beta.”

“Wale Kum Assalam, Kamil Chacha.”

“What are you doing out here?”

“I’m drawing.”

“Ah, I see,” he says, “where’s abbu?”

“Inside. Having dinner with his friends.”

“Oh, I see.”

He stares at the door, something different on his face.

“Why didn’t you bring Shoaib?” I ask.

Kamil chacha looks back at me, “he had to help his ammi with something.”

Hira chachi is probably scolding him.

“What are you drawing?” he asks, tilting his head to see my drawing, “cake?”

I nod, “I wanted to eat cake but we don’t have it at home.”

“Oh. Do you want to go buy a cake right now?”

“But it’s too late.” Ammi said that it’s not safe to go out late at night.

“The shops are still open. We could surprise your parents.”

I hum, “If I go with you, will you promise to be nice to Shoaib?”

Something passes through his eyes but he smiles, “sure,”

“Okay!” I stand up, putting my sketchbook away, “Let me tell ammi-”

“I’ll call them.” he quickly says, “we don’t want to be late. The shop will close.”

“Oh, okay.”

Kamil Chacha holds my hand and takes me to his car. He helps me get in and puts on my seatbelt. He rounds the car, gets in the driver seat and starts driving.

I start humming a poem I learnt in school as I look out the window at the pretty trees as the car drives by.

A phone rings in the car. I look at the phone placed in the cup holder and see abbu’s name flashing on the screen.

“It’s abbu!”

I grin and grab the phone to answer it. But before I could, Kamil Chacha snatches the phone from me, making me flinch.

“Don’t answer the phone.” He tells me, as he throws his phone in the backseat.

“Why? Abbu will be worried if you don’t tell him.”

“He’ll be fine. Now, be quiet.” He grits out, his grip tightening on the steering wheel.

I nervously swallow and look out the window again but the trees are gone, replaced with empty roads. My stomach starts to churn as bad thoughts come in my mind.

I look at Kamil Chacha, “I-I want to go home,”

He gives me a hard glare then looks back on the road.

“I don’t want cake anymore. I want to go home.” My voice cracks at the end. He ignores me.

“Kamil Chacha! I want to go home!-”

“Shut up!” he yells.

I flinch, my back pressing against the door as he glares at me, his eyes turning red.

“Shut your mouth. I don’t want to hear a single word out of it!”

Tears start to fall from my eyes, “I want to go home! Please!” I cry.

“If you don't shut up, I am going to throw you out of this car!”

I flinch and clamp my mouth shut at his threat. He goes back to focus on driving, the car sped up.

I shouldn’t have come. I should’ve gone inside. Ammi and Abbu would be so worried. Api would be so worried.

“Shit!” Kamil Chacha curses and I realize that the car hasn’t stopped speeding.

Panic starts to settle in my stomach as he steps on breaks but it doesn’t do anything.

“Shit, shit, shit!-”

A loud honk hits my ear and I realize we’re about to hit a car. Kamil Chacha turns the car sharply making it twirl dangerously. I try to scream but nothing comes out of my mouth due to the shock and panic.

The car crashes into the wall, the impact making my head hit the dashboard and Kamil chacha’s head hit the steering wheel.

My body goes limp as the car’s sirens go off. A pained whimper leaves my mouth till my eyelids feel heavy.

Before the darkness takes over, I hear Kamil Chacha’s words in my head.

Shut up!