Sister Seen, Sister Heard by Kimia Eslah

Author:Kimia Eslah
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fernwood Publishing
Published: 2022-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

5

Tuesday, May 11, 1993

Early Tuesday morning, Mustafa awoke from a terrifying nightmare. His nightclothes were damp with perspiration, his heart raced, and the taste of bile coated his mouth. The bedroom was lit by the first rays of the sun and he heard Maiheen breathing rhythmically, asleep and hidden amongst the tangled blankets. Too agitated to return to sleep, he crept out to the bathroom in the hall.

As he performed his morning ablutions, scenes of the nightmare returned to him, jarring his experience of the present. His chest tightened with every memory, making it difficult to breathe deeply or release the tension gripping his neck and shoulders. In the mirror, he saw himself, and then he glimpsed the face of another man, someone who resembled him, but this man existed in a sinister shadow, his features blurred and dark circles in place of his eyes and mouth.

Mustafa splashed more water on his face to clear his mind, to escape the haunting emotions that refused to release their grasp. This man who lived in the darkness, Mustafa had seen him lumbering from one horrifying scene to another, dragging a heavy load, a bundle of tangled … something, something complicated and inexplicable, something Mustafa couldn’t perceive and didn’t want to examine. The taste of bile returned, and without daring to revisit his reflection, he left for the kitchen to find a cure.

A glass of cold water was followed by a cup of strong coffee, which Mustafa drank while staring absentmindedly at the skyline. To cast away the darkness inside, he turned on every light in the living room, but it had the unsettling effect of producing his disturbing reflection in the window. The image of the menacing figure, cloaked in shadows and hampered by a burden, gazed back at Mustafa. Then, one scene after another, his nightmare replayed from start to finish.

The narrative began in that same apartment, yet in a different time, in the recent past. He was himself, the persona he brandished with pride, the man he had chosen to become. He stood in the centre of the living room, the centre of his world. Maiheen was nearby, and she was worried, pacing, and unresponsive. From where he stood, he called to her several times, and each time she glanced at him briefly but turned away, never coming closer, never answering his calls. Farzana stood in the periphery, and she was weeping, quietly and steadily, wringing her hands. Mustafa called to her reassuringly, told her that everything would be alright, that he would take care of her but she refused to acknowledge him. She continued crying, whimpering softly.

When he demanded answers, first of Maiheen and then of Farzana, neither woman spoke. They stared at him blankly, and only for a moment. Mystified and infuriated, he screamed. Tremors shook the apartment and caused Farzana to cry loudly. He made to cross the room, to comfort her, but he was encumbered by a heavy load, something he had been holding all along. Farzana’s cries grew louder and Mustafa laboured in vain.

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