Founder Fatma Al Bannai shares her own take for this month’s theme “The Wait” with a short story. Enjoy ^^

She wished she had a knife

To see whether or not the saying is true that tension in a room can be so thick it can be cut with it

To cut her finger to see if she was in a middle of a dream or in reality

And…

To give into temptation and thrust it into the heart of the man standing within several feet from her

But she did not have a knife

Which is probably a good thing

Her fingers tightened around her husband’s fingers as he held her hand firmly in his hand; a change from his usual behavior. She knew it was difficult for him, public display of affection and it had surprised her when he first placed a hand on her back, smiled at her reassuringly though his eyes did betray a small ounce of uncertainty in them as he ushered her to her seat and held her hands in his own.

For that; she was ever more grateful to him, in this time of her despair for her and her whole family; who were also present in the room. She sent a thankful prayer that her father is not alive to see this day, it would have surely killed him should be in present in these times of grief and sorrow for her family. She was grateful he was not alive to hear of his daughter’s murder, the youngest and most loved among the sisters.

Just that thought had Shaikha close her eyes, trying to block out the images that started to flash back into her mind, the memory of seeing Farah battered and mangled when they had found her in her home.

It was the very start of their nightmare.

She heard a shuffling of robes as she opened her eyes once again and fixed her eyes on the judge who cleared his thought and opened his mouth to speak

It all comes down to this, all the months of suffering the grief and the nightmares, the horrible moments where they needed to calm her mother who continuously searched the house looking for her daughter and called her phone with no answer, asking them where Farah was and why was she ignoring her.

“In the case against Mr. Faris Saif accused of the murder of his wife Mrs. Farah Bader…”

She held her breath

“We find the defendant…”

She vaguely felt Yasser’s hand tightened even more around hers

“Guilty”

Author: Fatma Al Bannai