Summary

When she heard knocking on the door, Aaliya didn’t even look through the peephole, she just opened her door. She didn’t expect it to be her eldest half brother. She overheard Fadia say the word “trouble” from her landing above as she opened the door. Her half brother brought in two suitcases and said he was bringing her her mother. Aaliya was scared of her brother. He had come to her apartment many times yelling at her, demanding her to exchange apartments with him.

After Aaliya’s stepfather died, her eldest half brother had taken over as head of the household. Her mother had continued to live with him. Aaliya felt her mother wanted it that way. She felt once she had stopped trying to be part of her mother’s life, her mother had forgotten about her. Aaliya tells her...