I had been helping my uncle in the dining room, as we emptied out the front and living room furniture. The whole dining room had looked gloomy, as usually the light would have been beaming in through the glass doors, as bright as a hot summer’s day. We had cleared all the furniture, except for the big, white, u-shaped sofas in both rooms that we could not get through the doors, which as a result of, my uncle had decided to leave it there.
When we had finished, my uncle had gone and sat in the front room with my dad and all the other men, who had been grieving for my beloved granddad. Then I had been alone with nothing to do. I had looked out into the long corridor. It had felt so empty, as if all my insides had turned inside out. The front door had stood wide open, as more and more people had poured into our house. Outside, the rain had been gushing down, beating against the windows, like drums being played at a great musical in the Sydney opera house. The wind had blown my hair back and had sent shivers up my bare legs and under my pink strap dress.
I had been sitting in the corridor, when my uncle had come out of the mens room and had gone into the kitchen.
“Muna, come and help me in here,” he had said.
“Cha Chu bJee, (uncle), I can’t. Mums said I’m not allowed in the kitchen as i create a hurricane,” I had answered.
“Forget about that right now. Come and help me,” he had replied.
O baying him, I had gone in and asked him what he was doing.
“Serving dinner to the men,” he had responded.
“WHAT!” I had enquired. As what he had said was very surprising.
He had repeated the same astonishing words again, though I still could not believe him. My uncle, whom had thought himself higher than everyone else, was serving dinner.
“Muna, go and put these dishes in the mens” room whilst I pour the curry.”
I had felt so grown up inside me as I had served the delicious dinner. Never had I ever served dinner, as my mum would not let me. After I had helped my uncle, I had gone and sat in the dining room.
I had tried to concentrate on the furniture, but nothing could have lead my thoughts away from my beloved granddad. My eyes had started to fill with tears, the, slowly, I had started to cry. I had tasted the salty water of the tears on my lips, as they had slid down my face.
At that time my uncle had walked in/. He had instructed me to set the computer up, install the webcam and sign in onto the internet.
As my uncle had walked back into the mens room, I had saw my cousin khadija come into our house, walking in her usual penguin and babyish way. She had looked at me and had turned away as she had given me a look of disgust. I had acted as if I had not seen it, and continued to ignore her.
Half an hour later, I had finished setting the computer up, and had gone to call my uncle.
“I’ve set the computer up,” I had told him.
“Have you signed onto the internet?” he had asked.
“Yes,” I had replied.
“Okay I’m coming. I’m just going to the bathroom,” he had said.
I had felt a little thirsty, so I had decided to have something to drink. I had walked into the kitchen, that had looked as dark as a graveyard on a moonless night. ‘Sssssssss’ had gone the gas in the bottle of coke as I had slowly twisted off the lid. I had been pouring the drink into a glass when I had heard a loud cry of laughter come from upstairs. I had not been sure, but I had had a feeling that it had come from my room. As I had stepped onto the upstairs landing, my uncle had come out of the bathroom and had walked into my room.
As I had stepped into my room, I had seen my cousin Khadija sitting on the edge of my bed with her little sister. She had a cone of henna in her hand, and she had been laughing like a hyena, but a bit quieter than before. Compared to the atmosphere downstairs, at that time, her laughter had seemed so loud. Downstairs it had been pin drop silence.
I had then seen the reason why she was laughing, but I had not found it funny. Anger had risen up inside me as I had stared at my bed sheet. I had known she had done that on purpose. Just to get revenge on me. I had clenched my fists tightly, as I had an urge to hit her. The more she had laughed, the more the anger had rose up inside me. I had tried harder and harder to control it. Who had she thought she was? She had barged into my room without permission. There had been no way she was going to get away at that time. I had to get my own back on her. I had known I would.
