Rabia

I arranged for another sitter to come and watch over Ammi (mother), I hope this one would be able to tolerate her.

Saman

I arrived at the address. It was a beautiful house. It looked like it didn’t belong in this neighborhood. It was dark, mysterious, and yet inviting at the same time. I rang the doorbell. A tall, curly haired, fair woman answered the door. Seeing a look of confusion on her face, I said Z had sent me. She replied, “ Oh, okay. You must be Saman. Ammi’s room is upstairs and if you get hungry, get yourself anything from the fridge. I’ll be back by 5.”
As soon as she left,  I followed the sound of the bell into a room upstairs. Ammi was in bed, her eyes were shut with blackness all around them. It looked like she was very ill. As she repeatedly rang the bell. Walking over to the bed, I cupped my hands around hers, stopping the bell.
She was a sweet lady, yet very troubled. She told me that everyone hated her and wanted her to stay away from her son. She said that it was all Rabia’s plan.
I learnt that she liked Harry Potter; she said that Rabia never let her read Harry Potter because it was a children’s book. She told to read from page 218, the eighth line down. I read two words, when she completed the rest of the sentence.

Rabia

It was six o'clock and Saman was helping me put a salad together. “How was your first day?” I asked. “It was good. She is very sweet.”
“What did she say about me? I’m sure she must have said a lot; she’ll talk about me to everyone.”
Saman hadn’t said a word. I told her, “You don’t have to stay when I come back from work.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” She said, as she grabbed her purse.

A few months passed and surprisingly, Saman was still around. Ammi had never fought with her and they seemed to become very close.
I was sick one day, so I stayed home. Sitting in the room next to Saman and Ammi, I could hear what they were talking about. Ammi was showing Saman the family’s album pictures. Sanam had pointed to a picture, asking who it was. Ammi replied, saying “That’s my son Asad. He’s beautiful isn’t he? I don’t know why I got him married to Rabia. I’m going to find him a stunning wife when he’s back.”
I looked over to Saman and she gave me a sad and apologetic look.

Ammi had fallen asleep and Saman had tucked her in bed. I closed the door as she came out. “Stay for dinner tonight,” I said.
She said “Sure.”

After eating, we had tea. I had asked her if she was married. She took a sip of her tea nodding her head.
“Is he chubby, short, dark. . . short tempered?” I asked.
She laughed a little saying “No.”
“It’s quite late. Does your husband normally come this late or is it just today?”
I said “No, he’s normally this late. You know, every time he leaves for work and comes home, he always sits by his mom. Even is she’s sleeping, he’ll just sit there holding her hand. Then he comes to me, I complain about him being late and he sits there and gets right with me. Sometimes, I think he comes late on purpose just to be able to have that time with me. He’s very good at convincing me. He’s never given me anything to complain about. He’s also an amazing cook. If you have his chicken curry once, you’ll always remember it.”
“Anyways, it’s getting late. I think your husband will be home by now,” I said.
“It was nice spending time with you,” She said.
“If you need any tips to convince your husband, ask me, my husband knows practically all the ways.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
Saman

I got a voicemail this morning from Rabia. She said Ammi had passed away last night. I hadn’t realized I was crying until Z walked in on me. She said, “She was getting old anyways, everyone was getting sick of her, it’s a good thing she died. Why are you crying? Don’t worry you’ll find a different job.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing angrily, I said, “You really have a rock for a heart. Do you think I’m crying because I don’t have a job anymore?” I got up from the couch, grabbed my purse and stormed out the crummy apartment.

Rabia

Saman had gone in Ammi’s room. She came out with her bell crying.
“She always used to fight with everyone. But her heart was attached with you. You know, whenever you left, she would think I was Saman. And since she thought I was Saman, she used to talk bad about me to my face.”
“You made her last days really easy. Thank You. Thank you very much.”
She said “Thank you.” She was grabbing her stuff when I said, “ Are you leaving?”
“I can stay until your husband gets back.”
“Ammi really longed for Asad. She loved him so much that sharing Asad with me was impossible for her. She longed for me too. But if Asad loved anyone other than Ammi, she wasn’t able to tolerate that. You know, whenever Asad bought a present for me, he would hide it from his mother and he would say to me you're my lover I meet behind Ammi’s back. Now I look back and think, How did he live with the two most important women in his life?”
“She’s gone now, she’s not coming back. Can you forgive her?”
“She’s not here, but me?”
“I’m sorry, you know actually I got super close to Ammi so now if anyone complains about her, it hurts me. I’m sorry.”
“I guess you should go home now.” I said
“No it’s fine, I can stay with you until your husband comes back.”
“I’m fine. Here is you month's salary. I know it’s going to take a while for you to find a job.
“You’re embarrassing me, I can come help you around the house until I find another job.”
“No, I’d like to stay alone with my destruction, my sadness; I’d like to stay alone.”
Letting out a long sigh, “When Asad dies in a car accident, a year ago. I didn’t tell Ammi; she didn’t have the strength to comprehend his death. Sometimes I would tell her he was sleeping, or I would say he’ll come home late from work, and other times I would say he was out of the city.”
“For Ammi, I kept Asad alive. And you know, I myself started to believe that Asad was alive, close to me. Ammi is not the only one who died today, Asad also died. As she left, she took Asad with her. And you’re telling me to not be upset with her and forgive her?”