“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.” - Martin Luther King

Dedicated to @SmilingHearts because she has a heart of gold and will always manage to put a smile on your face. An awesome supporter ❤

Chapter 11 - Cake and Catastrophe  

“WAKEE UPP!”

Huh? I groaned and shifted from my comfortable position, squinting my eyes open just a tad. Who dared disturb my beautiful slumber?

Before I could really get angry, I saw a flying Noah belly flop on top of me and as if on cue, the twins, Deana and even Adam all came running in, jumping onto Noah.

“Guys… I - I can’t breathe,” I choked out. It felt like my ribs were closing in on my lungs. 

“Wakey wakey!” Noah said, slapping both my cheeks. I wanted to tell him that clearly, I was awake, but couldn’t get out another word. Deana and Adam were squealing and giggling and the twins were just sitting atop Noah’s back smiling while he laughed evilly.  

“You ready guys?” Noah asked, making sure their attention was on me. What were these idiots doing, seriously. I just want sleep, is that too much to ask for?!

After they all nodded a ‘yes’, they began singing, all of them in sync.  

“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, you smell like a monkey aaanndd you look like one too!” Noah, being the complete asswipe he was decided to scream the whole thing in my ear and all my other oh-so-beautiful siblings were jumping up and down on my bed.  

Despite the lack of oxygen and the headache that would probably form now, no thanks to Noah, I smiled. I had completely forgotten it was my birthday today what with exam week. I had been too busy studying and completing assessments, but thankfully I had finished my last exam yesterday. 

My family never forgot each others birthdays but as we grew older it became less and less significant. Of course for the kids they always got super excited at the prospect of their birthday but for me and Noah especially, it was nothing that special anymore. He still liked to annoy me though.

I laughed at all of them and then shoved his face away from me. 

“Can you get off me now you fat gorilla.” He mocked a hurt expression.

“Is this what I get after planning such a beautiful awakening on your birthday?” he stated sarcastically.

“I wouldn’t exactly call it beautiful. But seriously thanks.” I gave him a genuine smile and kissed him on the cheek before using my powerful legs to push him off of me. He fell off the side of the bed and finally I could breathe. 

“Oh god. Air has never tasted so good before.” I made a point to breathe in loudly, as if my life depended on it.  

Noah stood up and wiped his cheek exaggeratedly. “Stop being a drama queen. And don’t ever kiss me on the cheek again.”

“I think I need acid to get rid of your bacteria,” he stated, a frown on his face. 

I just laughed at how much of a child he was being. “Who’s being a drama queen now?” He mumbled a ‘whatever’ before walking out of my room.

“Min Min! Is it my birthday too?” Adam asked, jumping onto my lap. His eyes were wide and hopeful, as if it would be the best thing in the world if it was. 

“Aww no it isn’t. Your birthday wasn’t too long ago remember? But guess what? You get to eat cake today!” At the mention of cake his smile broadened, before he began jumping up and down. 

“Cake, cake, cake!” 

“He’s not going to shut up now.” Deana said, crossing her arms smartly.  

“Deana! Don’t be rude.” I said, giving her a pointed look. 

“She’s right though. He’s going to be yelling it across the house all day now and we’re all going to have to put up with it,” Nadia said, eyeing his jumping body. 

“Let’s go to Abir’s house,” Rida said, as if that would solve their problems. 

“Um no. You guys aren’t going anywhere,” I said, finally getting up from my bed.

They huffed and were about to leave before I called them back. I crushed them both in a hug and thanked them for their birthday wishes. They just rolled their eyes and smiled like typical teenagers and walked out of my room.

“Cake, cake, cake!” 

“Goodluck,” Deana said. I grabbed Adam, perching him on my hip.

“Seriously guys where is your love?” I said, shaking my head.

****

“Min, I want cake nooww.” 

I love my little brother to death, but now I was beginning to agree with Rida’s plan of getting out of here. 

“Adam come over here.” He reluctantly obliged, walking over to sit on my lap.

“You have to be patient. Do you know what patient means?” He shook his head a blank look on his face. His long hair was falling over his forehead and into his eyes and he looked so adorable in a white polo shirt. I reminded myself I had to be stern or my point wouldn’t get across. 

“Patience means that you can’t get everything straight away.”

“But I feel like cake now!” he persisted. 

“Good comes to those who wait.” The blank look was still on his face so I thought of how I could elaborate.

“Imagine if you went and ate an old cake that was in the fridge right now. It wouldn’t taste that good and it might not even be chocolate flavour, your favourite. If you had just waited a bit more, mum might have gone to the shops and bought you a fresh chocolate cake, that would have tasted even yummier.” I searched his face and I knew from the way in which his eyes sparkled and his facial expression, he understood me.

“So I wait now and mummy will bring a good cake later?” he asked, to make sure. 

“Yes, good boy,” I said proudly. I kissed him on the cheek and then he bounded off into Noah’s room. He absolutely loved Noah and was extremely attached to him, even more than my mother. God knows why… I thought. However, Noah’s been extremely busy lately and Adam was upset that he couldn’t spend as much time as he usually did with him. For that reason he was always in Noah’s room when he was home. 

I had walked the girls to school earlier and since I was now officially on uni break I was at home babysitting Adam whilst my parents were at work. His play group had been cancelled so it worked out well. 

I prayed duhr then sat down on the couch with a cold cup of orange juice in my hand. I picked up my mobile, which had been left on the table since last night. Scrolling through I had 50 messages and 10 missed calls.

Wow. I sure feel loved. I opened up the first batch of messages from Zach sent at exactly 12:00am. They were a repetition of messages ranging from “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” to “you’re an old fart.” He was never one for cheesy comments and I appreciated that since I wasn’t exactly cheesy myself. 

“Aww no, Yasmine you’re so much wiser, intelligent and awesome now that your older?” I texted back.  

His text came back fast. “No. Why would I lie to you, especially on your birthday? :P And why such a late reply?” 

The lack of sleep over exam period had really caught up to me, so yesterday after my exam finished I had knocked out by 8:30pm like a grandma. 

“You jerk! Thanks for the birthday wishes. Can’t believe I’m 18 though. And I fell asleep early last night sorry!”

“I know. Feels like yesterday we were causing havoc across the border.” I smiled at that remembering the amount of times me and Zach had gotten in trouble as children. Mostly it was me causing the trouble but it was inevitable that Zach became my side-kick. 

“hahah I miss the good ol’ days! What’s doing Zuzu?”   

“Don’t even start with that. I’m studying now so I can come over tonight.“ Poor Zach. Unlike me, he still had one accounting exam after tomorrow until he was free. After forcing him to get back to work by ignoring his messages, I read the rest which were from Salma, Shaymah and a few other girls from high school. 

Just as I finished up replying to all of them, Noah staggered out of his room in a hurry, fixing his tie whilst simultaneously attempting to calm down a crying Adam.  

“I’m sorry habibi, I’ll be home soon okay? Then we can play hide and seek for as long as you want.” He kissed Adam’s wet cheek before grabbing his wallet and phone and headed towards the door. Adam slumped onto the floor and hunched over crying silently due to his brother’s departure and my heart nearly broke in two. Noah turned around for one last look and as soon as his eyes landed on Adam’s form, his eyes widened with regret and I instantly knew his resolve had broken. 

Sighing, he walked back over to where he was, picked him up and kissed him again. “I’ll tell you what. You can come with me to work. How does that sound?” Adam’s eyes widened with excitement before he wrapped his arms around Noah’s neck and squeezed him tight. 

“I love you Noh,” he whispered, clinging onto him for dear life, afraid that he would change his mind and leave any moment. 

Why doesn’t he love me like that, I grumbled internally.  

“I love you too Adam. Come on let’s go.” 

“Are you sure you want to do that?” I asked. Adam could really be a handful and I had no idea how he’d manage to work and control him.  

“I’ll be fine inshAllah.” With that he hauled Adam onto his shoulders, said his salams and walked out.

“Goodluck!” I screamed out. 

**** 

“DAD!” I practically jumped onto my father as he walked through the door, causing us both to nearly topple over. 

“Woah,” he said, laughing heartily. “Someone misses me.”  

“As if, old man!” He chuckled, before ruffling up my hair and kissing me on the forehead. 

“How’s my big girl? 18 now hmph.” He suddenly had a faraway look in his eyes. “SubhanAllah, I still remember when you were digging up worms in the backyard.” 

“Ew, did I really do that?” I said, scrunching up my nose. He shook his head, a reminiscent smile plastered on his face causing the wrinkles to appear around his eyes. I loved it when he smiled like that because it was as if all his worries had faded away.  

“Yep. You were even worse than Noah and he was quite bad.” I laughed remembering all to well how he had tried to feed me, on numerous accounts, pieces of cockroaches. Erkh. The memory made me want to barf.

I really did miss my dad though. Our lives were constantly busy, filled with study, friends and other, no doubt, useless activities, that sometimes we forgot about the one’s who raised us. We forgot that they were only growing older and usually took their presence for granted.

My mother walked in then, with a bunch of grocery bags in her hand. She dumped them on the counter before turning to me with an expectant look.

“Yasmine, go get dressed and come help me out with the desserts since everyone will be here in less than two hours.” 

“Who’s everyone?” I asked suspiciously.

“Oh you know. Zach’s family, Aunt Heba, Salma, Shaymah and a few of your friends from school.”

“Muum!” I groaned. “You know I don’t like making this into something big.” 

“It’s nothing big habibti, just a bunch of friends, some helew and socialising. What’s wrong with that?!” I gave her the puppy dog look to convince her otherwise but she was a Spartan. 

“Go on. Yallah, yallah,” she said, ushering me up the stairs. I sighed and complied obediently, walking into my room to pick out an outfit. I decided to go with a denim maxi dress that was tight just a tad at the waist and then fell straightly. I threw on some tan flats and since the dress had sleeves incorporated into it, I didn’t have to worry about a cardigan.

I applied some light makeup as usual, adding a little bit of lipgloss and wrapped a matching tan hijab around my head. I look decent enough for the birthday girl, right?

Whatever, it would only be those I considered family, so really there was no point in dressing up. I only did it because I knew mum would freak if I came down in my trackies and jumper. 

When I came downstairs, I was amazed to see the twins in the kitchen helping mum with the dessert. Wow. Why this act of kindness? What great miracle has occurred within the universe to cause this? Why - 

“Geez don’t look too surprised,” Nadia said sarcastically, disrupting my thoughts. Rida snorted at my shocked face and shared a ‘our sister’s a loser’ look with her twin. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you guys help out in the kitchen. In fact I don’t think I’ve ever seen you guys in here unless it’s to eat,” I said, accusingly. 

“Now you’re just exaggerating,” Rida said, pushing the oven closed with her foot. “We always help out, don’t we Nadia?” Her twin just nodded along. 

“Really?” I said, gliding around them in a circular motion as if on a predatory hunt. “Then tell me when was the last time any of you did the dishes?” 

“A few days ago,” and “yesterday” were their contradicting replies. I laughed mercilessly in my head. It was a trick question. Mum always made them do the dishes together, one would wash and one would dry and put the dishes back into their rightful place. Both of them having different answers meant they were fabricating their response.

They knew they had been caught out since both sisters looked at each other wide-eyed and then huffed angrily.  

“Whatever! You should be happy we’re not letting you do any work on your birthday!” Rida exclaimed. 

“Oh! Generosity that cannot be matched. Kindness beyond human comprehension. Love -, “

They both just walked out, shaking their heads at me. God I loved sarcasm. 

****

“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to Yasmineee! Happy birthday to you!” Everyone cheered and clapped and my mum urged me on to blow the candles. 

So embarrassing. However, with a roll of the eyes and a humorous smile on my face, I blew them out to make my dear mother happy. Everyone clapped again and within minutes chocolate cake was being passed around. 

The little ‘party’ or more like gathering, my mother had thrown, had definitely involved more people than I expected. Salma and Shaymah’s parents both came as well as Bayan and Halima, two good friends of mine from high school. Since they went to a different, specialised university I didn’t see them as much and it brought back enlightening memories to catch up with them. 

The newlywed couple, Bahia and her husband, Ali, also came and I really appreciated that they took the time out of their ‘love bubble’ to come and see me.  

I didn’t mind how many people were here - after all these were the closest I had to family. Yes, my parents had siblings but none of them were living in Gaza, or even Palestine. They had all migrated to the Western countries such as England and Australia, so growing up I had never truly had blood family. Both my parents, although fearful and aware of the constant threat we would all be under, could never work up the courage to leave their homeland. 

My eyes swept over the people who were closest to my heart - my father in one of the corners, conversing with Salma and Shaymah’s fathers, a cup of tea in all their hands, arms flailing around as they most likely talked politics. My mother who was running around frantically, making sure everyone was getting fat on cake and desserts. Adam who was too invested in his cake, slapping it all over his face, along with Salma’s two younger brothers. 

I leaned back against the wall, my eyes now diverting to the twins who were acting superior over all the other kids, smiling wickedly as they controlled their every move. My group of friends had all taken up their own corner, obvious from their glistening eyes and wide smiles, that they were recalling old times. Zach’s mother was cooing over the couple, stating how they were perfect for each other and advising them to have many kids as soon as possible. My heart even lurched a bit at observing Aunt Heba, as she breathed in from her argileh and then released the apple smelling smoke into the air. Although she was persistent and annoying, I knew she only had good intentions at heart.  

Jacob was sitting on one of the plastic chairs, with one leg perched on top of the other, a small smile on his lips as he watched the kids. Noah and Shaymah’s older brother were in a deep conversation, probably about soccer, since they were both on the team. 

And finally - Zach. Although he was standing with Noah and Shaymah’s brother, he was sipping on his tea silently, staring off into space. He looked up just then, as if he had felt my eyes on him and grinned widely. I stuck out my tongue and did a hideous face before walking inside to fetch more sugar. 

Alhamdulillah for family, I thought. They might not be blood, and although it was my dream to meet those who shared that with me, this was who Allah had written down to be a part of my life. And who was I to not be content with whom he had given me?

“Escaping the party are we?” Zach strolled in, finishing his last sip of tea before putting the cup in the sink. 

“Never,” I said. “Can a girl grab some sugar without being condemned and questioned?” 

“Why yes of course. But today’s not your lucky day.” I just shook my head at his antics. 

“So…how does it feel being 18? Amazing? Life changing? Phenomenal?” He asked, picking up a salt shaker and spinning it on the table.  

“The same, really,” I said.

“Oh. Well you’re boring.” I just glared at him before he laughed and stated, “to be honest, I didn’t feel anything either. Only another year closer to death right?” 

“Zach! You’re more depressed than me!” I exclaimed.  

He just shrugged before saying, “it’s true though. At least here, we don’t get to look at the future and think too brightly of it. We know the situation here is only getting worse. Allahu a3lam if we’ll still be here in 20, 10 or even 5 years from now.” 

I just shook my head because I had nothing to say. Everything he was saying was true and the best we could do during these times was to offer as much salah as we could.  

“Anyway, on a lighter note. Here.” He pulled out a small box and handed it to me. “For you.” 

I could see his face turning red and to save him from this, most likely embarrassing and ‘unmanly’ gesture, I opened the gift immediately. I gasped as my eyes landed on a silver bracelet that shined brightly in the light. That wasn’t what caught my eye however; a charm attached to it, in the shape of a small rock did. 

“Usually, this isn’t the type of gift I’d get you; you know it’s not a ‘prankster’ or funny gift, but with exams and stuff I didn’t really have time to think of an amazing one, and, well, you know I don’t half-ass anything. And since the first day we met I pretty much saved you with a rock I thought -,” 

“Zach, I absolutely love it. Thank you,” I said, cutting of his rambling. I clasped it around my wrist and turned it around to get a better view of it. 

“It honestly means more than you’ll ever know.” 

 He grinned at me sheepishly before scratching the back of his neck. “I’m glad you like it.” 

“Rock throwers right?” I asked.

“You know it,” he said, before we both smiled and walked back out to enjoy the night.  

****

The next morning, I woke up groggily, rubbing my burning eyes whilst trying to restrain my oncoming yawn. After Fajr, I had an intermittent sleep, which was the worst of all, as just as I was on the brink of sweet delight, my brain would yell ‘nope’, and wake me up again. 

I reluctantly got out of bed and decided to waste no time in getting dressed. I was visiting the orphanage today, going early to compensate for the time lost during exam period. 

I slipped on my favourite pair of black genie pants, a light pink pull over sweater, flats and a flowery hijab (as usual) and I was good to go. I was meeting Salma and Zach there, since they usually helped out and loved volunteering as much as I did.  

I grabbed an apple on the way out and just as I was about to leave, Noah called out to me. 

“Where are you going?” he asked lazily. 

“To the orphanage. Why?” 

“I’m bored,” he stated, as if it was obvious.  

“Well then why don’t you come with. Do something productive for once?” I joked. He grimaced but slipped on his shoes, seemingly deciding it would be better than lounging around the house.  

We walked on, the scorching heat from the early afternoon sun bearing down on us, causing us to immediately break out into a sweat. Our feet crunched against the rocks on the floor and I began to walk faster, anticipation pumping through my veins. I really missed the kids despite the heartache that came with visiting the orphanage.

Thankfully within 10 minutes we had rarrived and practically ran in to relieve ourselves from the heat.

Upon entering however, me and Noah both stopped in our tracks, observing the complete chaos that was occurring around us. The younger kids were all running around crying, screaming and yelling whilst some of the older kids were hunched in the corner, their heads in their hands dejectedly. 

What in the name was going on? Upon looking closely however, I realised that there were some new children here, about ten whom I have never seen before. Some had bloodied cuts over their face and bodies, minor injuries compared to others who were swaying from side to side as if they were about to collapse.  

I dashed to one boy, who appeared to be around 13 and caught him just in time before his head could collide with the tiled floor. Ya Allah! What had happened?!

I positioned his head in my lap and managed to peg down a worker, asking her what had happened. Noah was practically at my side in seconds. I could see Salma walking around attempting to calm the children down and Zach, aiding with applying medicine and performing first aid tasks on those who needed it. 

 “What’s going on?” I asked the worker in panic. 

“I’m not too sure. All I managed to collect was that these kids escaped from the settlements on the edge of Egypt and that’s it. Just focus on healing them for now!” She said before walking off hurriedly to aid another child. 

No, no, something was definitely wrong. There was more to it. If these kids escaped from the boundaries directly into Gaza it meant they would have had to cross the Rafah border, undergoing countless of hours in interrogation at checkpoints. Furthermore they would have needed permits, visa’s and I.D.’s and from the looks of it they had none. The only way was if the amount of IDF soldiers had lessened at the checkpoint or conflict had broken out. 

I looked at Noah, both our eyes colliding, understanding immediately fusing between us. 

This was no conflict. This was war.

As if to confirm both our thoughts, the sound of the F16 drones emerged above our heads, a sound so deep and ominous it cut through the air and promised impending doom. 

****

A/N 

Salam and Hello readers!

Hope you are all in the best of health inshAllah. My longest chapter yet! :D Please show support by voting AND commenting! I can’t make this story good unless I know you guys are actually liking it! 

For those of you who didn't understand the reference about 'Rock throwers'. Palestinians have no form of defence other than rocks, no machinery or weaponry. They aren't cowards like the IDF soldiers are. Hence Palestinians have been labelled 'rock throwers'. 

Still have exams, so I’m not sure when the next chapter will be up ;( 

Lastly I ask you all to pray and make dua for our brothers and sisters, not only in Palestine but in Syria, Burma, Iraq, Afghanistan and countries all around the world experiencing similar atrocities. 

Stay awesome ❤

Booohh

Definitions:

Allah: God

Habibi: Term of endearment in Arabic, ‘my love’ 

Hijab: Headscarf/veil 

Knafeh: A traditional Palestinian dessert; a cheese pastry soaked in sweet sugar-based syrup

Argileh: ‘Hubbly bubbly’ or 'Shisha'

InshAllah: ‘If Allah wills’ 

Allahu A3lam: ‘Only Allah knows’ 

Salah: Prayer or supplication

Helew: Sweets/desserts