Daryl doesn’t bother with words.He pulls out a chair, grabs a spoon, and digs in.Far from disapproving, Aliah beams with pride.
Zahra is nowhere to be seen.At my inquiring expression, Aliah nods her head toward the back.“She’s in the kitchen, helpingHabibullah.She likes to measure and mix.We will make a good cook out of her, especially now that she’s memorized every recipe I know, including the ones from my grandmother’s grandmother.”
Aliah takes a seat while I scoop up the first bite of the firni pudding.I nearly groan in ecstasy.It is at once thick and creamy, yet tastes light and airy, like a rose-kissed promise.
Aliah beams again.I like her concept of happiness.Except then her face falls as we come to the reason we are really here.
There is another customer in the store, a young man browsing the collection of candied nuts and dried fruits.Aliah waits for him to make his selections, then cashes him out.She locks the door behind him to ensure our privacy.
First things first: “Still no word from Sabera?”
Aliah’s sad exhale says enough.“Did you learn more from the place where Sabera was hiding?”she asks.
I shake my head.Now we both sigh.
“I feel like I have been a bad friend,” she begins.“I didn’t know about the drinking.I was concerned, yes.There were things… But maybe I wasn’t worried enough.”
“You were worried enough to contact me.”I eye her curiously.I still think there’s more to this story than she’s let on.
“It’s not easy, what Sabera and Isaad have been through, are going through.The loss… it’s hard to put into words.”
I nod.We’ve covered this ground.Losing one’s entire country, culture, family, way of life, is indeed daunting.
“There was an incident, maybe a few weeks after Sabera and Isaad first arrived.She showed up here, dressed in her work uniform.She was… flushed, agitated.I tried calming her, but when she looked at me, it was as if she couldn’t see me.She just kept shaking her head.Finally, I got her to sit and brought her some tea.Gradually, her breathing steadied, her eyes cleared.Eventually, she rose to standing.She gave me a hug, murmured something about having to get to work, and then left without another word.
“I assumed she was having some sort of spell, maybe a panic attack.I’ve experienced them myself.But now I wonder.Maybe it wasn’t an emotional episode at all.Maybe it was due to alcohol.As one Muslim with another, it never occurred to me.”Aliah finishes mournfully: “I’ve not been a good friend.”
I consider Aliah, what she’s saying, and what I still feel she’s not saying.I also contemplate Staci’s carefully guarded allusions that there’s more going on with Sabera than meets the eye.
“When Sabera didn’t return home from work three weeks ago, what did you immediately think?”
Aliah hesitates again.
“You were worried about her mental health,” I prod.“Did you suspect self-harm?”
Aliah recoils.“No!Never!It is not done.”
“In theory, neither is divorce.Or drinking.And yet…”
“No.”She shakes head adamantly.“Never.Not that.”
“But you suspected something.”I eye her again.“First time you and I spoke, you implied Isaad might have something to do with Sabera’s disappearance; you’re clearly not a fan of his.But it’s not really him you’re concerned about, is it?Aliah, I need you to be honest with me.”
Her gaze falters.She glances down at the table.
Daryl scrapes his empty bowl with his spoon.Without missing a beat, he reaches across the table and helps himself to mine.I don’t stop him, my attention focused on Aliah.
She takes a deep breath.“That time Sabera seemed so disturbed… I stopped by her work at the end of her shift to check up on her.Except she wasn’t there.Her boss said she called insick, which I could understand, having seen her earlier.But when I went to her apartment, she wasn’t there, either.Isaad thought she was working late.I didn’t… I didn’t correct him.Two days later, he called me, still looking for her.She had yet to return home or show up for work.”
“Sabera disappeared once before?As in, this latest misadventure isn’t the first time she’s gone missing?”I give Aliah a pointed look.So I hadn’t been wrong in my suspicions during our initial meetings—Aliah has definitely been less than truthful about this situation.
“It was only for a few days!Then she was back, something about taking care of a sick friend from work and she couldn’t call as she’d run out of minutes on her phone.It happens.It does!”
I give Aliah another look.“You ever talk to her about it?Truly push the subject?”
“I thought eventually she might volunteer more information—”
“Such as the truth?”
