All Chapters of Growing Pains: Chapter 11 - Chapter 15

Rahab"Kudin ki sai dari biyar da hamsin" The girl informs, clearing my plates from the table."Kin hada sosai?" I ask suppressing a burp."Eh" she replies"Na siya lemu, nawa shi?" I press, smeared conscience and all, I don't want to cheat this girl."Lemu, dari ne""Torh, nawa kudi na, ki hada shi, irin totally?""...Dari shida da Hamsin""Gashi dubu daya, bani changi" I finish, handing her the money."Ki sowri, karki manta da shi fa" I warn as sternly as I can manage, but my full stomach makes it hard for me to sound anything but tired. I haven't had a full meal like this in weeks, heck... Months even.She arrives with my change and I stand to leave, no use staying any longer than I have.The local buka is free now, not as packed as when I first arrived, only God knows how

RahabI stare at her for what truly feels like eternity. She doesn't look like the woman I remember, not even in the least.Her features are softer now, more round, like she has put on extra weight. Not in a bad way really, i'm just shocked at how different she looks. Her skin, the same colour as mine, shines in a soft glow where mine is cracked and dull. Her kinky hair is pulled into a low bun at the nape of her neck, I stare enviously at its volume and life. How can two people who look so alike be so different? Basically, i'm my mom on a low budget, like very, very low budget. Whatever figure comes to mind at this point, halve it, then divide it by the square root of eighty one, that's the budget i'm talking about. God! Its so easy to dislike her, she looks so pretty, so, so... polished!Neither of us has said a word to each other since she came in, not for lack of trying (on my part a

Rahab"Okay?" My eyes say roaming over him while my mother talks with the doctor. We're alone in the room, he looks visibly better. I say a silent prayer of gratitude for that."I'm fine, i'm okay" My dad says. Turns out he wasn't going to bleed out and die, I was just being paranoid, who would've thought?Now that the most pressing issue is out of the way, I am able to focus my thoughts on other matters. For example, my father's betrayal."W-why d-ddid you wait-t t-ttill t-tod-day to t-tell me s-sshe w-as c-coming?" I begin without preamble. Do not misinterpret. I am angry and I want to sound angry, but instead I just sound tired, my voice barely above a whisper."I s-saw mon-ney in y-your r-rroom w-where is-ss it-t fr-rom? I push without waiting for an answer, the questions in my mind finally bubbling up to the surface. "W-we've b-been l-liv-ving in t-