Welcome to my world

The sound of the slap echoed in my ears as I held my cheek with my palm. I couldn't feel anything, only pain and regret. 

Why did I ask for something that wasn't possible? 

Why did I go to climb a mountain that was way too high for me? 

These thoughts raced speedily in my head as I stood up, with my palm still on my cheek. Tears started to fall from my eyelids as I tried to maintain balance. 

I removed the veil of my barka, still with tears in my eyes. 

"Did I tell you to stand up?!" My dad exclaimed, pushing me away making me fall down on the marble floor. 

That was when my veil removed completely and I could see everyone surrounded by me. My mom, dressed in a black barqa like me stood still sobbing and shivering in a terrifying way. She was also covering her face, but I could hear the sobbing and see her shivering.

My two brothers, Ahmed and Abdul Malik, stood beside each other also facing me. Ahmed had a straight face, when we made eyes contact he gave me an intense stare.

Malik looked sad and scared at the same time. He stood still, and looked like he wanted to cry. I know when my brother wants to cry, he will always look sorrowful as if he knew what I was going through. 

I cleaned my tears as I looked at my father, making his way to the couch nearest to me. I briefly stared at him before looking around me. 

I blinked twice when I say our family portrait, more tears fell from my eyelids as I stared at the picture onec more. 

"Cover that ugly face! my dad said before I could stand up. He stood up and walked up to me, giving me another chilling slap.

"Dad! Please!" Malik said as I covered my face immediately before he did something worse.

My dad walked to Malik who was already trembling in fear. "Allah is watching us! He knows that we are begging you!" My mom said in between tears as she knelt down in front of my dad. 

I walked to my mom and knelt down beside her. 

"Father please don't do this to me," I said as he held his legs, with tears falling from my face again. 

"You nincompoop! And you this dirt they call a woman, will you stand up before I murder you right on the spot!" My dad walked away from us, making me hit my arms on the floor. The pain didn't really affect me, but it was painful.

"Dad, please let her see the walls of school. At least we went to school," Malik said, kneeling in front of him too. 

"That's because we are the important people in the society. Women are needed in things like education! They are oy needed in the kitchen and can't even do that right! Our religion doesn't allow these fools to show their ugly faces!" My dad said as he walked to where my mom was kneeling. 

"Father please I beg of you. I don't even know if you still consider me to be your princess." I was still on my kneels. My mom stood still, probably because she didn't have the courage to say anything.

"You will always be my one and only princess. But when you make me angry, you make me act like your worst enemy." He lifted my mom, Malik and I from kneeling. 

"Dear a girl's place is in her husband's house and no other place. I can't let you go to school. Just because we've relocated to America doesn't mean that we have to do anything they do. You went to primary school only because your aunt forced me to accept. "

"Muhammad what about child services?" My mom said.

"You aren't meant to step out of the house they won't notice." I finnaly heard Ahmed's harsh voice. 

"Dad please Amirat won't do anything wrong. She will still do the house chores, she won't uncover her her face in school." Malik said.

My dad let out a huge sigh before speaking. "Don't let my get angry again. What I've said is final!" 

My heart skipped a beat when he said that. I cleaned the tears off my face...even though they kept running down my cheeks. 

My dad is the most caring and kind man I've ever met. Okay that was kind of a lie. But he's a man of his word and he would never sell his dignity for anything in the world. 

He owns his own business, it's quite weird that a man with so much money still believes in the old times.

I knew that he would wouldn't allow me to step out of the house, my mom made me believe that he would.

"Goodnight dad," I said and bowed my head. He nodded which gave me go up to my room and cry my eyes out as usual.