One dark night, the rain started pouring down, lightning lit up the gloomy sky, and the sound of thunder was scary.
There was a lady pulling a little kid's stroller with her right hand, and in her other hand, she was carrying grocery bags. She was trying to run as fast as she could to get home before the storm got worse.
Suddenly, she heard her cell phone ring. She pulled it out of her bag and looked at the screen lighting up with the name "Samihah Hanem."
She answered the call and said, "Hello, Samihah Hanem?"
Samihah, with a scared tone: "Where are you, Jameela? How could you leave the house in weather like this, and with Rahaf?"
Jameela: "I went out like I told you, just to grab some stuff for the house. I took Rahaf with me; you and Ayoub Bey went out for your dinner date, and I couldn't leave her alone. I took her with me, don't worry, I'm almost home now."
Samihah: "Okay, we'll talk more about this when you get back..."
Suddenly, Jameela heard Samihah scream on the phone.
Jameela, super scared: "Samihah Hanem, what happened? Samihah Hanem... Samihah Hanem, answer me!"
Samihah, taking shaky breaths, finished speaking with difficulty: "Jameela, listen to me. Whatever you do, don't come home. Take Rahaf and run far away... Run, Jameela... This is the last thing I'll ask you before I die, please, please take care of Rahaf."
Suddenly, the line went dead.
When Jameela heard Samihah's tone and words on the phone, she froze in shock. Then she started crying and shaking: "Samihah Hanem... Samihah Hanem, hello?!"
Jameela started sobbing hard. After that, she tried calling Samihah back, but the answer was "The number you dialed is switched off or outside the coverage area." She tried calling Ayoub too, but his phone was also off.
Jameela picked Rahaf up from the stroller and headed to the train station. After that, she went to Old Cairo, where she was born. Sixteen years passed since that mysterious phone call, and Jameela still didn't know what happened to Samihah and Ayoub that night. She told Rahaf they'd been in a car accident. Days and years passed after that, and the little girl grew up into a beautiful young woman, seventeen years old, under Jameela's care. Jameela treated her like her own birth mother, and Rahaf considered Jameela her mom too. But, you know, all Egyptian moms have one thing in common, one weapon, called "Abu Warda" (The Shoe).
Rahaf is a mischievous girl full of energy, with a childlike spirit inside. She's kind, but stubborn. She has enchanting blue eyes, clear white skin, long gypsy red hair that reaches the middle of her back, a small nose, perfectly shaped cherry lips, and she's slim and also short.
Inside one of the classic apartments in Old Cairo:
Jameela was chasing Rahaf around the apartment, holding what's called "Abu Warda" in her hand. She said angrily, "By my mother's life, I'm gonna get you, Rahaf! Did you really have to chase after kids in the street and make people laugh at you? Are you trying to be the death of me or something? People grow up and get smarter, and you just grow up and get crazier!"
Rahaf, trying to get away from her mom, said, "Well, what am I supposed to do? Let that annoying neighbor kid call me 'Shorty' every single time he sees me? I'm totally fed up!"
Jameela, mad: "He's just a kid in third grade! You're gonna act like him? You're going to college next year!"
Jameela aimed the slipper, and BAM! A dangerous goal right in Rahaf's face!
Rahaf: "Ow! Seriously?! Are you even my mother? I'm gonna go file a police report against you, just watch!"
Jameela: "Get out of my face, girl!"
As Jameela went to lift the other slipper, Rahaf bolted into her room.
Then Jameela said, "Rahaf! Come out! I promise I won't do anything!"
Rahaf: "Pinky swear?"
Jameela: "Pinky swear. Come on out."
Rahaf came out of her room, being super careful.
Jameela: "As punishment, go get these groceries."
She pulled out a paper with a list of everything and some money.
Rahaf: "But I just got back from school, and I'm tired."
Jameela: "Are you gonna go, or...?!"
Rahaf snatched the paper and money from Jameela's hand and said, "I'm a good girl and I listen! Of course, I'll go get the groceries."
Rahaf left the apartment, and as she walked down the street, the little neighbor kid followed her.
The kid, trying to get a rise out of her: "Shorty! There she is! Shorty!"
Rahaf: "Hey, watch it, kid!"
The kid kept bugging Rahaf: "Come on, Shorty!"
Rahaf took off her shoe and ran after the kid: "Take this, kid! I'm gonna show you who 'Shorty' is right now!"
Just as she was about to throw the shoe at the kid, something surprising happened. A guy in his late twenties was crossing the street right then, and the shoe hit him!
Rahaf's eyes bugged out in shock: "Oh my god! What in the world did I just do?!"
Rahaf took off her shoe and ran after the kid: "Take this, kid! I'm gonna show you who 'Shorty' is right now!"
Just as she was about to throw the shoe at the kid, something surprising happened. A guy in his late twenties was crossing the street right then, and the shoe hit him!
Rahaf's eyes bugged out in shock: "Oh my god! What in the world did I just do?!"
The young man turned to Rahaf, and you could tell he was seriously mad.
Rahaf felt a jolt of fear, then muttered to herself, "Oh man, he looks like he's gonna light me on fire! What am I gonna do? There's only one way out... Run! Yep, running is half the battle!"
Rahaf whipped around and took off running as fast as she could, the whole way. She didn't even look back. She got to the house and pounded on the door hard.
Rahaf: "Mom, open up, quick!"
Jameela, walking to open the door: "Who's knocking like that?"
Rahaf: "It's me! Just open it!"
Jameela: "Lord, give me patience."
Rahaf rushed inside, breathing heavily, slammed the door shut, and leaned against it, catching her breath.
Jameela, shocked: "Rahaf, girl, what is going on?"
She looked down at Rahaf's foot and saw one shoe was missing.
Jameela: "What'd you do now? Where's your other shoe?"
Rahaf: "I'll tell you, just let me breathe first. Okay, look, the main thing right now is, if someone knocks on the door, do not open it 'til you know who it is, okay?"
Jameela: "I knew it. You got yourself into trouble again. My heart just knew."
Rahaf: "Okay, look, honestly, when I was going to get the groceries, that annoying neighbor kid kept teasing me, and I just lost it, I couldn't help it. I went to toss my shoe at him... but it didn't hit him, it hit..." She closed her eyes and finished talking super fast: "...it hit a guy who suddenly walked across the street."
Jameela clutched her chest in shock: "Oh, Lord, my troubles!"
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
Rahaf, flustered and scared, hid behind Jameela: "Mom, it's gotta be him!"
Jameela: "Get inside, lemme see who it is, you're the last straw!"
Rahaf hugged Jameela: "May God keep you for me, you're the best mom in the world!"
And Rahaf ran off to her room.
Jameela went and opened the door: "Oh, hi, Um Sameh. How are you?"
Um Sameh: "Just fine, Um Rahaf, thanks. I was hanging laundry on the balcony and saw Rahaf running upstairs. Is everything okay?"
Jameela: "Oh, nothing, nothing. She just forgot something and her tutor is due any minute, so she just rushed back so she wouldn't be late, that's all."
Um Sameh, looking inside curiously: "Ah, I see... So, why didn't she come back down?"
Jameela: "She went to the bathroom."
Suddenly, they heard hysterical screaming coming from Rahaf's room?!?!?
Rahaf headed to her room because Jameela told her to, both Rahaf and Jameela figuring the person knocking was that guy Rahaf had pegged with her shoe. But then something totally unexpected went down. When Rahaf got into her room, she locked the door and stood behind it, trying to hear her mom talking to whoever was at the door. But all of a sudden, she felt like someone was standing right behind her. Rahaf turned around slowly and saw the same guy she'd hit with her shoe standing right there in front of her. Rahaf's eyes bugged out in shock, and then she let out a scream that shook the whole place.
Jameela ran towards Rahaf's room, and Um Sameh followed her in.
Jameela, scared stiff: "Rahaf!" She threw open the room door.
Rahaf ran to Jameela, rambling, "Mom... Mom!"
Jameela held Rahaf's face: "Hey, easy, honey, tell me what's wrong."
Rahaf: "That guy I told you about? He was just in my room! I saw him, he was standing right in front of me, just like you are now!"
Jameela was thrown by what Rahaf said and went into the room to check around: "There's nobody here. And anyway, the window's locked from the inside, how would he even get in?"
Um Sameh muttered to herself: "Who's Rahaf talking about? What if she's seeing a ghost? Lord protect us." Then she said out loud: "Maybe you're just seeing things, honey. The window's locked from the inside, just like your mom said. How could he get in?"
Rahaf: "But I swear I saw him! He was standing right here!" She pointed to the spot where he'd been.
Jameela: "Rahaf, sweetie, calm down. You were probably just so scared you imagined it."
Rahaf: "Maybe..."
Um Sameh: "I'll go to the kitchen and make you some lemonade to chill you out."
Rahaf: "Thanks, but I don't feel like drinking anything right now."
Jameela: "Okay, come sit down then."
Jameela took her to the living room and sat her on the couch.
Um Sameh: "Alright, I gotta head out. I left food on the stove."
Jameela: "Gotcha."
And Um Sameh left Jameela's place, totally freaked out by what had just happened. She kept thinking, "Thank God my son didn't try to marry her! What is this? She seems possessed! God protect us!"
Inside Jameela's apartment:
Jameela: "Want me to fix you some lunch, honey?"
Rahaf: "Nah, I'm not hungry right now. I'm gonna go pray Dhuhr, and then I'll take a nap. Hopefully, when I wake up, I'll eat something so I can head to my English class."
Jameela: "Okay, honey."
After that, Rahaf got up and prayed Dhuhr. When she was done, she went and flopped down on the couch and just kept thinking about that weird thing that happened a little while ago. She decided her mom was probably right; maybe she was just so freaked out she pictured the guy standing there. About an hour went by, and Rahaf got up and had lunch with Jameela. After that, she headed to her class. On her way back home, she saw the same guy she'd seen in her room. She stopped dead in her tracks, in total shock. He looked at her with an expression that made her really nervous and scared. Then a car passed between them. After the car went by, the guy was gone. Rahaf looked around but couldn't find him anywhere.
Rahaf: "What is happening to me? This is seriously not normal."
Rahaf tried to shake it off, but inside, she felt a deep fear. She went up to her place and knocked on the door. Jameela opened it, and Rahaf went inside.
Jameela noticed the fear on Rahaf's face: "Rahaf, sweetie, what's up? Is something wrong?"
Rahaf, with a weak smile: "Nah, nah, what would be wrong...?"
Then she took off her shoes and added, "Mom, I'm gonna go take a shower and study a bit. Need anything?"
Jameela: "God be with you, my little star."
Rahaf: "Thanks, Mom."
Rahaf went in and took a shower, then she went and sat at the desk in her room where she studies. Suddenly, the power went out.
Rahaf, startled: "In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful... Mom, can you bring me the flashlight, please?"
But Jameela didn't answer her. Rahaf called out again until she felt someone's breath right next to her neck. She froze where she was, scared stiff. She tried to find her phone, fumbling around on her desk, and finally found it. She got up and turned on the flashlight, but she didn't see anything. She figured it was probably just a draft from the window. She left her room, and as she stepped out, the power came back on.
Rahaf: "Mom?"
She went to the living room but couldn't find her. Then she went to her room and found Jameela asleep.
Rahaf felt relieved when she saw her mom sleeping in her room. After that, she went back to her room, closed the door, and leaned against it, thinking about everything that had gone down today. Then she moved to go continue studying, until she felt someone standing behind her. He grabbed her shoulders tightly and whispered in her ear: "I'm never letting you go."
Please rate the part if you liked it, and don't forget to vote, please and thank you!
To be continued...
Ex 5
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