She was a young girl of about nine years old, beautifully dressed in an English-style gown, with her hair neatly tied with a lovely baby-pink ribbon. She wasn’t extremely fair, but she was quite pretty — the kind of child everyone would love and miss when absent. She had dimples on her cheeks that appeared whenever she smiled or laughed, greatly beautifying her face.
“Aunty Aina!!! Aunty Aina, give me the chocolates Uncle Datti bought for me,” she said as she headed toward the parlor with eagerness. Truly, she loved chocolates so much that whenever she visited the house, she always made Uncle Datti buy some for her.
“Allah Khadija, I won’t give you. Didn’t I warn you about eating too many sweets? Do you want it to harm you?” she replied briefly, slightly frowning.
“Aunty please, I’m sorry, give me. Just one today — I won’t take more after today.”
“Hmmm… Nana, you’re still a child; you don’t understand the dangers of too much sugar for a girl. But since you said so, hand me my eyeglasses so I can wear them and go get it for you.”
Rana suffered badly from chronic eye problems; she couldn’t see properly without her medicated glasses. If she removed them, everywhere became dark to her.
As if she had been waiting for that moment, the girl quickly picked the glasses from the glass table and handed them over. Aina collected them, stood up, and pulled her younger sister’s hand, telling her to wait outside so she wouldn’t see the hiding place.
She returned with just one chocolate and handed it to her.
“Here — this is enough. Don’t disturb me again.”
Instead of taking it, the girl pouted and burst into a pampered cry, insisting she wanted more.
Her crying became loud enough that Uncle Datti came out, annoyed. Truthfully, he didn’t know why he hated seeing his baby angel upset — especially her crying. Whenever she cried, his heart would not rest until he fulfilled her request.
Sometimes when he defended Nana against Aunty Aina, Aina would wonder in amazement: Between me and Nana, which one is he actually married to? Why doesn’t he pamper me the way he pampers her? Could it be that Uncle Datti loves Nana more? These thoughts kept running through her mind without answers.
She saw him rush toward Nana in panic, soothing her like a helpless man.
“Shhh… be quiet, my angel. Tell me what’s wrong. Who touched you?” he asked in quick succession.
Aunty Aina opened her mouth wide in shock as she watched him. What surprised her more was when Nana cried even harder, almost choking with sobs. He completely lost his composure, desperate to make her happy.
With a pout, Nana said tearfully, “Uncle, I want chocolate. Aunty Aina refused to give me more.”
“Okay, okay, stop crying. Come, let’s go — I’ll buy you some.”
They both left the house, leaving Aina standing there like a statue, deeply amazed at Datti’s behavior.
She was a young girl of about nine years old, beautifully dressed in an English-style gown, with her hair neatly tied with a lovely baby-pink ribbon. She wasn’t extremely fair, but she was quite pretty — the kind of child everyone would love and miss when absent. She had dimples on her cheeks that appeared whenever she smiled or laughed, greatly beautifying her face.
“Aunty Aina!!! Aunty Aina, give me the chocolates Uncle Datti bought for me,” she said as she headed toward the parlor with eagerness. Truly, she loved chocolates so much that whenever she visited the house, she always made Uncle Datti buy some for her.
“Allah Khadija, I won’t give you. Didn’t I warn you about eating too many sweets? Do you want it to harm you?” she replied briefly, slightly frowning.
“Aunty please, I’m sorry, give me. Just one today — I won’t take more after today.”
“Hmmm… Nana, you’re still a child; you don’t understand the dangers of too much sugar for a girl. But since you said so, hand me my eyeglasses so I can wear them and go get it for you.”
Rana suffered badly from chronic eye problems; she couldn’t see properly without her medicated glasses. If she removed them, everywhere became dark to her.
As if she had been waiting for that moment, the girl quickly picked the glasses from the glass table and handed them over. Aina collected them, stood up, and pulled her younger sister’s hand, telling her to wait outside so she wouldn’t see the hiding place.
She returned with just one chocolate and handed it to her.
“Here — this is enough. Don’t disturb me again.”
Instead of taking it, the girl pouted and burst into a pampered cry, insisting she wanted more.
Her crying became loud enough that Uncle Datti came out, annoyed. Truthfully, he didn’t know why he hated seeing his baby angel upset — especially her crying. Whenever she cried, his heart would not rest until he fulfilled her request.
Sometimes when he defended Nana against Aunty Aina, Aina would wonder in amazement: Between me and Nana, which one is he actually married to? Why doesn’t he pamper me the way he pampers her? Could it be that Uncle Datti loves Nana more? These thoughts kept running through her mind without answers.
She saw him rush toward Nana in panic, soothing her like a helpless man.
“Shhh… be quiet, my angel. Tell me what’s wrong. Who touched you?” he asked in quick succession.
Aunty Aina opened her mouth wide in shock as she watched him. What surprised her more was when Nana cried even harder, almost choking with sobs. He completely lost his composure, desperate to make her happy.
With a pout, Nana said tearfully, “Uncle, I want chocolate. Aunty Aina refused to give me more.”
“Okay, okay, stop crying. Come, let’s go — I’ll buy you some.”
They both left the house, leaving Aina standing there like a statue, deeply amazed at Datti’s behavior.