A Wish For Ramadhan

Hanna covered her ears with her pillow. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Her eyes were closed shut. She wished that she was somewhere else. At times, she wished that they would just leave her alone. They were doing it again. When would they ever stop, she thought. What would make them stop. She was willing to do anything to make them stop.

Hanna felt a tiny hand touched hers. Hanna slowly opened her eye. She saw a wide-eyed little girl with shoulder-length curly hair staring back at her. "Sis, I am scared." the little girl said. Hanna could see the tears glistening on her little sister's round cheeks. Her small body was shivering slightly in the dark. Hanna uncovered her blanket and let little Nisa climbed up into her bed. The two sisters hurdled together, hugging each other, sobbing quietly as they heard the shouts and screams from the room next door.

Hanna tried to recall the times when her parents did not quarrel nor fight. She remembered it was not so long ago before Nisa fell ill. She remembered those blissful memories. There were so vivid that it seemed just yesterday that the four of them would enjoy their dinner together, walks after their solat Isyak. She remembered their solat together and father would never fail to be the imam. But those days were long gone. Father was no longer the father she knew. There was no longer the warmth in his eyes, only bitterness. His gentle and soothing voice was changed to harshness and impatience. Hanna could never understand why.

Hanna remembered her ustazah said in class," Sometimes, Allah takes away things that we take for granted to test us on our iman. Sometimes, Allah tests us by letting us experience things that we do not like." Hanna wondered whether what her parents were going through was a test for them as a family. It hurt her to hear mother crying, pleading to father to stop hitting her. Her heart bled every morning when she saw the bruises on mother's face and body. She tried to protect her mother once and she got hit real bad. She could not understand why father hated mother so much when they used to have so much love for each other.

As Hanna's mind began to wander into the distant past, she felt Nisa's hug tightened. She cupped her three year old sister's face into her hands. Those innocent teary eyes made her just want to pack up and leave the house. She was already fifteen and she knew her way around the neighbourhood. Father and mother were always too engrossed with their problems that they no longer noticed the two of them. She held Nisa closely to her bossom, stroking the little girl's hair. She kissed Nisa's forehead. Deep in her heart, she prayed that Allah would give her strength. "Don't be afraid, my little sister. I am here. I will look after you. Insyallah." she whispered into Nisa's little ears.

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Afternote : This seems like an ambitious project for me since my schedule is so hectic and my working hours is so irregulars. Even more hectic and irregular than Politicians! *Big Laugh* I don't even know when I can have the next update but I do hope that I can finish the story during Ramadhan.