HWJN (English 2nd Edition) Read Online Free PDF Page B

O U… G E T… B E T T E R.”
    They read it in shock. Not one of them made a sound. I shattered the silence with the scrape of the ring across the paper.
    “H O P E… Y O U… G E T… B E T T E R… S A W S A N.”
    “Thank you for your sentiment, but can you introduce yourself?” she asked—but she was smiling.
    “Do you know how I’ll score on my exam?” Raghad butted in as her curiosity replaced her fear.
    “No one knows the future but Allah,” Sawsan responded as I moved the ring to “No.”
    “What is your name?” she repeated.
    I moved quickly to “H,” but Sawsan jumped the gun. “Hawjan?”
    I raced to “Yes” and hovered there in joy. I heard my name from her once more! But Areej had to intrude with her usual mockery.
    “Did Jinn go extinct? Is there no one left but you? Sawsan, it seems this is your companion.”
    Raghad asked me, “Where do you live?”
    Where did I live? Should I frighten Sawsan with my answer? I dared not!
    “Y A R D.”
    “The yard of our house?” she asked.
    I moved the ring to “Yes.”
    Areej analyzed the situation. “Maybe he liked you in the café, so he came back with you and decided to live here in your house!”
    I moved the ring to “No.” Then I spelled out, “I… A M… H E R E… F O R… A… L O N G… T I M E.”
    “Really? So what brought you with us to the café?” asked Sawsan.
    “C U R I O S I T Y,” I answered.
    “Amazing. Just amazing! I swear this Jinni is one of a kind!” said Areej. “I told you he fell for you, and you didn’t believe me!”
    “Let me ask him,” Raghad interrupted once more. “Let me ask him: Does anyone else live here with you?”
    I moved the ring to “Yes.” “M O T H E R… G R A N D F A T H E R.”
    “Only your mother and grandfather? No other Jinn live here?”
    I moved the ring to “No.”
    “Wait just a minute,” Areej said. “Didn’t you tell us you’re ninety years old? And your mother is alive? And so is your grandfather? How old is he? Two thousand?”
    “4 2 0.”
    “Are you Muslims?” asked Sawsan.
    I moved the ring to “Yes.”
    Now, Areej being Areej, she had to ask me the most embarrassing question: “Which of us do you like the most?”
    I moved the ring toward Sawsan until it came off the paper and fell into her lap. I had no idea if that made her feel happy of frightened. She slowly retuned the ring to the paper.
    Raghad asked, “You like Sawsan the most?”
    I kept hovering over “Yes” and then moved over the letters. “S A W S A N… H O W… A R E… Y O U?”
    “I’m okay,” she responded with a slight laugh.
    “I like your Jinni. He’s so cute!” said Areej.
    “Okay, so who of us do you hate the most?” Raghad went on.
    “E Y A D.” I moved the ring without thinking
    “Eyad? You know Eyad?” asked Sawsan.
    I moved the ring to “Yes.”
    What had I done? I was so stupid! I’d just admitted my love to Sawsan, and my jealousy of Eyad! I was frightening the poor girl. This was enough. I moved the ring and hovered over “Goodbye.”
    Sawsan responded faintly, “Goodbye.”
    The ring stopped, and I left the room in a hurry, as if I were afraid that Sawsan might see the look on my face. She kept staring at the window after I left. I had gone too far this time. I’d crossed the line, and I was angry at myself for being so reckless. But, I had to admit, I also felt a joy I had never felt before—the joy of telling Sawsan I was near her, that I had feelings for her…and that I was jealous. At least I’d let her know I existed. That was enough for me!
    In the yard I found my mother standing in front of me, her face twisted with anger and sadness. “Hawjan, you disobeyed me! You disobeyed me!”
    She vanished without giving me a chance to speak. Even if she had, I would not have found the words to justify my disobeying her when she’d made it clear to me that I should stay away from Sawsan.

 
    (5)
    Xanam

 
     
    I t was a very tough and heavy period.