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Zemira! Zemira!
Zemira slowly drifted back to reality. The sound of her brother's voice calling her name interrupted a dream she wished was real. She got up and starred into the mirror, her ebony skin glowed, the sun rays revealing her brown eyes and long dark hair resting over shoulder. She dragged herself around the room doing nothing specific for a while and then later preparing for another long day at school.
"I hate school Mum!" She sobbed,
Everyone laughs at me, no one wants to be friends with me. Even my teacher picks on me at the slightest opportunity. They say I will die soon!
"Mum am I really dying soon?"
Tears welled up in Nana's eyes as she watched her daughter. She pulled Zemira close and hugged her. Their tears did the talking. They wept bitterly in each others arms. They had been strong for so long. Nana's first daughter, Zara, died months earlier. She took all the colours of happiness away. Ever since Zara's death, Zemira had only sank deeper into loneliness. She loved her sister, she was her confidant, somehow Zara was the only one who understood her. Her death was devastating for everyone. While nursing her grief, Nana wanted to make Zemira happy again, to bring back all the colours of happiness, but how could she share what she didn't have?
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Zemira was sick most of the time. She was exempted from strenuous activities including playing with the other kids. She could only play with her little brother around the lawn, which she also avoided.
She watched her brother play with the other kids. She envied them. She couldn't get away with such excitement, the last time she took the risk, she ended up with a crisis fit. Her mother bought her novels while her dad took her out and bought her gifts to compensate for her loneliness. All that didn't take Zemira's pain away. Whenever crisis started, it felt like death itself, and there was never a warning signal, she broke down at home, outings, even at school.
Every time she had a crisis, she felt her family was prepared for the worst, death. She would weep till she had no strength left in her, at times her breathing had to be aided.
It wasn't long before Zemira got tired of everything. She lived in a dark world. No colours. She began to think of taking her life, plotting it differently in her imagination.
Early days of summer break, Zemira finally decided on what to do.
Find out next week on this space!
Thank you for reading!
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