Nour in the Eye of the Storm

The rain was falling heavily, heralding the beginning of a bitterly cold winter.

A girl in her mid-twenties was standing shivering, signs showing on her face of

sadness showing on her face and her tears falling heavily, rivaling the heaviness of the rain. She was thinking about the wretched state she had come to, thinking about what she had done in her life to receive this great punishment. She wanted to scream at all those who are called males only on their identity cards, she wanted, if she could, to get away from them, she wanted to live alone, with no one thinking of her and she thinking of no one. This is Nour, a name opposite to her life of the black cloud; she had sworn that her life of black glow would not leave her without a single ray of light.

A woman in her fifties went to her, though she looked younger, saying reproachfully: "Isn't it enough already?"

She quickly wiped her tears then turned to her, saying: "Enough of what, ya mama?"

Her mother, calmly: "Crying and pain."

Nour, sadly: "I'm fine, there's nothing wrong."

Manal patted her hands and said calmly: "I'll pretend to believe you, but"

"for my sake, try to bring back the Nour I know."

Nour: "God willing." Then she said, asking: "What woke you up at this hour, hadritik?!"

Her mother, seriously: "I got up to pray the Fajr prayer."

Nour, seriously: "Well, come on, let's get up and pray together."

..................................

She got up from the floor, saying: "May God accept it."

Manal: "From us and from you. What will you do, ya habibti?"

Nour: "I'll go over some papers."

Manal: "Okay, ya albi." And she continued, pleading: "Come, ya Nour, let's make breakfast together."

Nour, with a smile: "Okay, I'll just finish the papers and come to you."

Manal: "Okay, ya albi, go on then."

She went to her room and sat at her desk looking over her papers, for the only thing that took her away from her sadness was her work; she spent most of her time on it. And after a long while, she looked at the clock hanging in her room and found it was eight o'clock. She exclaimed, saying: "Wow, I've been sitting for two hours." She went somewhere and found her mother reciting the Quran in a sweet, beautiful voice, and when she saw her, she said "God has spoken the truth" then said: "Have you finished, ya habibti?"

Nour, irritably: "Yeah, ya mama."

Manal, seriously: "You've been spending a lot of time on your work and you're not taking care of your health."

Nour, apologetically: "Sorry, ya albi, I was reviewing my papers and my designs that I'm going to present today." Then she says: "And besides, I'm perfectly fine."

Manal: "Well, come on, let's make breakfast."

Nour, smiling: "Let's go." Then she says, asking: "Where's babi?"

Manal: "He's getting dressed, ya habibti, and he wants a cup of coffee from you."

Nour, enthusiastically: "That's all? I'll go make the best cup of coffee for the best babi in the world."

Then they went out together, she entered the kitchen and prepared what had been asked of her, and drifted into the past.

Flashback.

A man in his late twenties approached her and whispered some words to her, and she was surprised by him and said with a big smile: "What brought you here?"

He smiled to say: "Your babi got a phone call, so I came quickly after you."

Nour, seriously: "Aren't you the one who wants to drink coffee?"

He says, seriously: "You know I don't like to drink coffee except from your hands."

Nour: "By the way, you're such a flatterer."

The man: "And by the way, I love you so much."

She snapped out of her reverie at the sound of the coffee as it was about to boil over, to find a hot tear on her cheek, and she wiped it away violently as if punishing it for falling, to take the cup she had prepared for the only man she loved and respected.

When he saw her, he said calmly with a smile: "Good morning, ya habibti."

She put what was in her hands on the table and ran toward him to kiss his head as she said: "Good morning, ya ahla babi in the whole world."

Mahmoud (the father): "Good morning, ya habibet babi."

The mother came to them happily: "Come on, let's have breakfast."

Nour, seriously: "No, sorry, ya mama, I'm not hungry."

The mother, sharply: "You will have breakfast with us. Look at yourself in the mirror and see what you look like now."

Nour, irritably mixed with exhaustion: "I don't want to, ya mama, I'm going to get dressed and go to work."

Manal looked at her husband, who was following them in silence, saying: "You answer, ya Mahmoud, because I'm tired of your daughter."

Mahmoud, seriously: "Leave her be."

Manal: "How can I leave her alone? Just look what she looks like now. Do you want to kill yourself?"

Nour, with exhaustion mixed with tears: "Enough, ya mama, I want to leave."

Manal, angrily: "Go ahead, go get dressed, do whatever you want."