NI DA PRINCE
“Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim”
In the name of God, the Most Merciful…
Mikewa woke up, glancing at the wall clock in her bedroom, and realized it was getting late. She wondered how she had fallen asleep during the morning prayer. She quickly put on her white hijab, grabbed her niqab and school bag.
She headed to her mother’s room, where she found her folding clothes. Mikewa greeted her, and her mother responded with a frown. Her mother told her, “Go to your aunt’s.”
Mikewa left the room and went to her aunt Shikam, who was in another room. She greeted her aunt and received a response from her bed. Salma, upset, said, “Aunt, I’m going to school.”
Grandma intervened, asking why Salma was so determined when she had her parents looking after her. This made Aunt Shikam sit up in anger and ask if Salma knew that Kamal’s brother, who had married someone from the same country, had left her there to flaunt her body. Salma’s eyes welled up with tears, and she stood up, saying, “I’m going to school, Auntie. You know you’re being unfair. You dare to accuse us of something shameful when you were involved.” She had never intervened in this matter, but her niqab was tied around her waist.
Titi left and got on the bus, while Buk got up. Inside the car, she leaned back on her seat, pondering on her relationship with her mother. Was there any love left between them? She wondered if she was her mother’s favorite daughter. When had things changed? She recalled her father telling her that her mother had left for somewhere far away. Titi took out a picture of Kamal from her bag, gazed at it, and whispered, “How are you? When will you come back? I really miss you.” She checked the date on the picture and sighed, thinking about Kamal and his son. They had called her three weeks ago, and now it had been five days. She wondered why he hadn’t come to visit her. They had been separated for three years, and when she looked at the picture, she saw them getting out of the car and entering the school.
Today, she was running late, and she started walking briskly. She didn’t notice the car approaching behind her until it came dangerously close. The car didn’t have windshield wipers, which is why the water splashed onto the ground.
The car came to a halt, and a crowd gathered, casting angry glances her way, but no one came to her aid. The car slowly started moving again, and she saw the license plate number, “Prince 1,” written on its body. As the car approached her, she lowered her eyes and then raised them, remaining silent. She opened her eyes wider and noticed three pairs of feet – a sign of another challenging encounter.
Salman looked at her and asked, “Don’t you see the road?” She replied, “The road? Does it continue to assist you with the glass?” Salman grew furious and said, “Shouldn’t you apologize instead of getting mad? What do you say, Amir?” Amir, who was behind them, laughed and said, “Apologize? Oh Prince, what a suggestion.” Salman added, “Look at the behavior of the less fortunate.”
Najib remained silent as his son learned to drive.
Salma forced a smile, accepted the money from Salman, and walked away. As she turned around, the people around them started gossiping. Salman’s heart burned with anger; was he showing pity? Then he glanced at her clothes, realizing they weren’t worth more than 2000. But when Salma looked back at him and said, “Do you accept pity?”
Dasauri approached her from behind and pulled off her hijab. Salma’s body trembled; she had never entered the school without her hijab. Tears slowly filled her eyes. Salma knelt down and embraced her, shocked by her beauty, yet the disrespect in her eyes made Salma sit beside her. Dasauri said, “Pity? Who needs your pity?” Salma was still crying. Dasauri laughed evilly and remarked, “It’s useless.” He got up and walked away but turned back and said, “Do you know who I am?” Salma responded, “Why should I know?”