Chapter 1
I became engulfed within the darkness of a cruel world for the past four months. Since my mother was snatched away from us in a terrible car collision. Having no place to go, my elder married sister Leila refused to bear responsibility for me and our eleven year old little brother Bilal. She herself was married to a selfish imam who dissuaded her from giving us shelter at their home.
My mother was my comfort and shield, composed of truly devotional motherly traits which were stripped away from us. Leaving Bilal and I unprotected and vulnerable. Fast forward four months since her passing on to the next life, Bilal and I are dwelling now with our estranged father whom we refer to as baba, including his nightmarish second wife and their three kids.
Baba and his wife, Naheed are already planning to marry me off to a total stranger. My groom to be is the son of Naheed's closest friend.
I am prohibited from doing anything else with my life. By now I've fully come to terms with acceptance of my protests falling futile to baba's ears. I was initially afraid of the prospect of arranged marriage, however baba refused my request for an answer. Now, I've decidedly arrived to terms with the possibility that I might find peaceful refuge in my in-laws home instead.
I had to be strong and resilient for my little brother, mom had me promise to take care of Bilal moments before she passed away in the hospital.
I desired not to leave America. I really had no alternative option, either it was foster care for my brother and I which would mean impending separation or it was baba and Australia.
***
When Friday rolls around, I pretty much have a lot packed into my schedule. Not only am I preparing for my nikkah this coming weekend but I am also ordered by Naheed to help her daughter Najma with her beauty pageant preparation. My sister Leila is currently visiting for my upcoming wedding. She issues me some degree of sympathy for my slaving condition and offers to help out. Which I'm overly grateful for.
"Why is baba even allowing this? I had assumed he would be religious when I spotted his bearded face after all these years." Leila whispers at my ears while we buckle our seat belts in the car.
"He's got strange double standards, alright" I mutter.
I couldn't care less how Baba handles his daughters from Naheed so long as he gives us all fair equal treatment. Which was lacking throughout my boarding in his home.
Now I can look forward to the behavior of my future in-laws next week..The drive to Windham Park and Recreation center would have been less than twenty minutes had there not been such heavy traffic congestion on the roads linking to it.
I guess this Miss Aussie Teen pageant is a huge deal here after all just like beauty pageants were a huge deal in America.
Naheed parks the car in the reserved parking area exclusively for pageant contestants.
I notice handful of camera crew, news and fashion reporters with their equipment vans just a few feet away. The pageant is due to commence around seven p.m. tonight.
"Why don't you have a phone ?" Leila asks me as we follow Naheed and Najma through a bustling hallway filled with beauty contestants and their family members.
"That is a question better reserved for baba and Naheed." I reply tersely.
We enter into a gymnasium, twice as big as a regular high schools gymnasium.
