🗯 JALILAH (ONELUV) – AYUSHER MUHD – NO. 7
Goggo, hurt by Mumy’s harsh words, said:
“How can you call the girl that? Do you think your children are better than mine? I’ve always held my peace, not because I don’t feel the pain of how Jalila is treated, but because I hope it will bring peace to her heart. How can you insult someone’s child in front of her own mother?”
Mumy was clearly shaken, but forced herself to act bold.
“You’re scolding me? Wait.”
She stormed out angrily.
Once she left, Goggo held her chest, breathing heavily, and a strong headache hit her.
Jalila rushed to her. “Goggo.”
Goggo forced a smile to hide her pain. “Don’t worry. Whatever they do to me, as long as it is because of you, I’ll endure it.”
Jalila rested her head on her shoulder in sadness.
Suddenly, the door slammed open.
Daddy entered, with Mumy behind him.
Jalila stood quickly, protecting her mother.
“Daddy, whatever happened is my fault—”
A powerful slap sent her to the ground.
Goggo lifted her anxiously.
Daddy glared and said to Goggo:
“Who gave you the right to insult my wife?”
Goggo said, “Even if she insulted me, is that a crime?”
He said, “Why don’t you ever think before acting? Or is your brain not working? Whose wealth are you living on? Whose food do you eat? Whose clothes do you wear? Who pays your daughter’s school fees?”
Goggo looked down silently.
Then she said, “Even so, she has no right to insult my daughter.”
He said, “So if she made a mistake, you think she’s above punishment?”
Jalila got up and held her father’s legs.
“Daddy, I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”
He kicked her away and said, “Useless girl.”
He turned to Mumy, held her shoulder, and said, “Let’s go.”
As he approached the door, Jalila called, “Daddy, what do you mean by useless girl?”
He shot her a cold look.
“If you talk to me with that tone again, I’ll deal with you. And hurry up and do the work you’re supposed to be doing.”
He left with Mumy.
Jalila watched them with tears, but said nothing to Goggo.
She only wiped her tears and stood up.
She changed out of her school uniform and left.
That day, she worked while crying silently. She told herself once she finished school, she would marry Sagir immediately and take Goggo away from this cruel house.
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✦✦✦
At the hospital, after entering the neurologist’s office, he greeted:
“Welcome, Taura.”
They greeted each other, then entered another room for the scan.
Hassan lay down and the machine scanned his brain.
After the scan, the doctor asked Hassan a series of questions:
“Still waking up after one hour of sleep?” → Yes
“Still startled by dreams?” → Yes
“Shortness of breath?” → Yes
“Chest tightness?” → Yes
“Sensitivity to noise?” → Yes
“Nothing improved?” → No
Dr. Ahmad told Abba:
“The problem is not his brain — it’s his heart. He is carrying deep emotional trauma. What happened to him in the past—he still blames himself.”
Abba said, “But after the incident he spent a year unconscious. And when he woke up, they said he lost memory of it.”
Dr. Ahmad said:
“That’s what we think. But I fear he remembers everything… he just pretends to forget so he can cope.”
Abba’s body went cold. “What do we do?”
Dr Ahmad said:
“First, don’t tell anyone.
Second, he needs someone — a woman — who will stay with him constantly. Someone gentle who can slowly heal his heart.”
Abba said, “He doesn’t even look at women.”
Dr. Ahmad sighed. “Then I’ll look for another method. But his healing must begin at home.”
As they left the hospital, Hassan sat outside staring at the ground. His fingers were bleeding from how hard he pinched himself.
Sagir rushed and stopped him.
“Yaya!”
Hassan said, “I’m okay.”
They went home.
Abba couldn’t sleep worrying about what the doctor said.
---
✦✦✦ – NO. 8
Jalila woke on Saturday after Fajr and lay back down.
Goggo teased her about oversleeping.
They joked until Daddy arrived, angry, calling her to go serve Inna, who had an important visitor coming at noon.
Jalila went to the kitchen.
Inna showed her the dishes to prepare:
Vegetable soup with white rice
Pepper chicken
Chicken pie
Fresh pineapple & coconut juice
Fruit salad
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