MY HUSBAND’S BROTHER

DO I KNOW YOU

Hours pass by while Maizah mingles with her family, trying to look alive as best as she can so that no one will have the audacity to give her some unwanted advice like how to be spicy in bed and wait. Someone has already given her that advice.

"The famous substitute, the eligible man, is my husband now. The Jackson's pride and joy, Amare Jackson. I still can't wrap the idea of him being my husband around my head." Maizah thinks as she walks over to him.

"Hey, can we talk?". Maizah asks Amare as she stands next to him.

He has a puzzled look on his face as if he is either trying to remember where he had seen her before, or maybe he is confused about what she wanted to talk to him about, or maybe it's because Maizah is no longer in her wedding dress, it could be how he was differentiating him from other people.

Amare finally replies, "Do I know you?"

"Uhm. We just got married today." Maizah answers, offended by his answer, but she ignores it.

Sure, how can I help you?"."

"Look, I know this must be hard for you, but I could tell you I wasn't expecting it. They just flung the whole thing on me.." Amare raises his hand, silencing Maizah from explaining the entire situation and maybe trying to be at least friends with Amare since they will be living together.

Maizah knows in her heart that nothing is going to happen between them, but since Amare is Hakim's brother, she thinks maybe they can be just dear friends until death sets them apart.

"Stop! Listen here...Wife. I don't want to hear your life story. Honestly, I don't care about your problems. You're just some farm girl that my mother finds threatening. You were not even my last option, so we didn't need to get to know each other. I will care for you like I'm supposed to care for a little kitten. Sadly, I'm allergic to cats, so as long as you get your face away from me, we'll be fine. Do you understand?". Amare tells Maizah without stopping or even blinking.

His eyes look straight into Maizah's eyes, and to say she is not surprised at his choice of words, the tone, and the way he delivered would be a lie. She was not expecting all of that.

The man was full of anger, hatred, and bitterness. Maizah didn't know whether to feel sorry for herself and start crying or to feel sorry for him since he was also in pain. However, she couldn't do either of those things with people watching them. So, she left him and walked away from everyone.

Seeing that she is out of sight, she lifts her dress to her knees and starts running.

She stops in front of her parent's grave, and she falls to her knees, overwhelmed with different emotions. She did not know where to start. Usually, she greets them and tells them about her day and how much she misses them, but right now; she has no idea where to start, how to explain to them what she has been doing the past three months ever since Rebecca showed up at her doorstep; she is hurt by how her life is going, she is ashamed to tell her parents how she got married, she starts bawling.

As Maizah's cries pierced through the peaceful silence, the bird's wings started flapping away, startled and frightened.

"Why did you have to die on me?" Maizah cries out even though she knows no one will answer her, but she can't help but ask.

"Am I cursed?" She asks in between my cries.

"What am I supposed to do now?".

"Why did you leave me with..them?".

"Why?".

"Of course, no answer... You know. I wanted to follow you earlier today, but I couldn't do it. I couldn't even let go of the pillar and let gravity do its thing. I'm a coward! I vowed and said, I will find the kid who caused your accident, but I couldn't even do that. The only thing I seem to be succeeding at is getting into weird marriages."

"I'm bewedded, not beloved."

"I can't blame Hakim for this mess. I know he was only trying to help me; he never thought about what might happen if he was no more. How... How am I? I'm supposed to get myself out of this mess." Maizah asks no one in particular, but she is hoping for something like a sign or someone to tell her what to do, someone who will take her out of this hell hole.

"Let's get going. Your family is eagerly waiting for you," A mellifluous voice booms, interrupting her thoughts.

"Dad!... Mom!. Laylah! Hakim....God?". She calls out. She doesn't know who is talking, but she knows that she's not hearing things. The voice is authentic.

"Come on, they are waiting." The voice replies, a little annoyed, but she doesn't care.

"Can it be my family and Hakim? Are they all waiting for me? People are waiting for me. Me? How am I going to get to them?" Her mind races as she wipes away her tears, her lips forming a small smile of relief.

"What should I do? I'm willing to do anything, please... anything," She begs, crying again.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR GODAMN MIND!". The voice shouts, and it scares her for a second. It sounds so real, like it was right behind her.

Maizah slowly raises her head and turns toward where the voice comes from, and she can see a familiar figure with her glassy eyes. It is a little foggy in her eyes, so she squints to see, but she still can't tell who it is.

"Come on, wife. Please stop wasting my time. I have places to be, and we need to go now." The voice belongs to Amare, her beloved husband. She felt her lips trembling and tried to hold back her tears.

She strolled behind, wiping away tears with the sleeve of her dress, knowing that her hopes of reuniting with her loved ones had been shattered.