A Pocketful of Stars by Aisha Bushby

Author:Aisha Bushby [Bushby, Aisha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781405293204
Publisher: Egmont

The house is back to normal now, and it’s as if it had never started falling apart, or flooded right up to the ceiling. Everything was OK in the end. Still, I’m mad at myself for wasting time on the door when I could have been collecting memories and objects.

There’s no more time to waste. I run across the foyer to the bathroom, where the tap is flowing again. Already the sink is full, spilling on to the bathroom floor.

I step over the puddles and turn the tap off. The change is small, but I can feel it, almost as if it’s a part of me. The steady heartbeat of the house picks up pace, like the crescendo in a happy song. And I feel ready, ready for what’s to come.

‘What are you doing?’ Zaina asks Aminah, who is trying her best to tame her hair in the bathroom mirror.

‘Nothing,’ Aminah responds, not even glancing at her.

‘Where are you going?’ Zaina hops around her sister, questions tumbling out of her mouth.

‘Nowhere.’

Zaina pouts. ‘Can I come?’

‘No.’

‘Why?’

‘Because I’m not going anywhere!’ Aminah’s annoyed now. She finishes at the mirror, and turns to Zaina, frowning.

She’s silent for a moment, and then rearranges her face into a smile. ‘Tell you what,’ she says, her voice rising an octave. ‘Why don’t you braid my hair for me?’

Zaina’s face lights up. ‘Really?’ she asks, as if the suggestion is too good to be true.

Aminah nods, her smile shark-like.

I narrow my eyes. Something seems . . . off.

As soon as Zaina skips up the stairs to get a brush and some hair bobbles, Aminah bolts out of the bathroom and rushes to the courtyard outside. She’s already scaled the wall before I make it out after her.

‘Sorry I’m late,’ Aminah tells Rawan once she’s settled under the canopy of leaves. ‘My sister was being annoying. I had to get rid of her. If she found out about this place, she would never leave us alone.’

‘It’s OK,’ Rawan says. She’s silent for just a beat too long. ‘I kind of have a surprise for you . . .’

Aminah raises her eyebrows. ‘You’re finally going to assassinate me?’ she jokes.

Rawan laughs, and I can see how comfortable the two are around one another. I wonder how much time has passed since the last memory.

Rawan answers the question for me, like she heard my thoughts.

‘How long have we been friends now?’ she asks.

Aminah shrugs. ‘Few weeks?’

Rawan nods. ‘Well, I’ve been keeping a bit of a secret from you this whole time,’ she admits.

‘You’re a ghost?’

Rawan shakes her head.

‘You’re actually an alien in human skin?’

‘Closer,’ Rawan says. ‘But not quite.’

Aminah looks a little nervous now. ‘What is it?’ she asks, frowning, her humour gone.

‘I’m in a theatre group!’ Rawan declares, handing Aminah a flyer.

I peer over at it.

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