Abdullah and his family arrived at Abdul's house.
"The swing is gone," Abdullah said.
"Yeah, we didn't really use it as much over time," Abdul replied.
Abdul welcomed them inside, showing everyone where they'd be sleeping as well.
"Wow, you've gotten so big. Give your auntie a hug," Abdullah's mom said to Fatima.
She wrapped her arms around her shyly.
She used to be so small, Abdullah thought.
That night, upstairs, there was no internet in the room. Abdullah had nothing to do. Everyone else had already fallen asleep, so he tried talking to his brother.
"Hey Ali, are you still awake?"
"No."
"Stop lying, dude."
"You're such a mouth breather. You need to mew."
"What's that?"
"This is why you've got no jawline."
"I literally mog you."
"What's mog?"
Ali continued explaining looksmaxxing to Abdullah while he stared at the ceiling, regretting even starting the conversation.
The next day, Abdullah saw a familiar face Maryam, Sara and Sarfaraz's mother standing beside a man.
"Hey, are they here as well?" Abdullah asked.
"No, they're staying with their dad," Maryam replied.
Huh. Who's that guy so? Abdullah wondered.
Later, he asked his mom.
"Mom, who's the guy with Maryam?"
"Her husband," she replied.
"So who are they staying with in England?"
"Their dad. Who else?"
Abdullah paused, the pieces finally clicking together.
"Wait… so their dad isn't their mom's husband?"
"Yeah, they got divorced, her parents."
"Oh," Abdullah said quietly.
He thought about it for a moment.
Must be hard having to live in different homes.
Soon after, Abdullah went to visit Yunus's house.
"Hey, looks like you got taller and twice as fat," Yunus laughed.
"Yeah, and it looks like you haven't changed a bit," Abdullah replied.
Yunus's sister, Hafsa, was there too. At night, she was always on her phone, asking Abdullah to take pictures with her, messing around with filters.
In the mornings, Abdullah and Yunus would take the bike out to get food. One day, Yunus even let Abdullah ride it a little.
"Okay, see the metal thing there? You step on that, then press the gear shift there, and twist the handle," Yunus explained.
He sat behind Abdullah, holding onto his hands and guiding him so they wouldn't fall.
One day, they went to a carnival and got on the biggest ferris wheel.
"Is it fast?" Abdullah asked.
"No, it's not. Don't worry," Yunus replied.
From the top, Abdullah saw an amazing view.
The next day, they went to a different one.
"Hey, let's go on that ferris wheel as well," Abdullah said.
"Are you sure?" Yunus asked.
"Yeah, it's way smaller."
The moment they got on, Abdullah regretted it. The ferris wheel moved fast, shaking violently as it spun.
"GET ME OFF THIS THING. THIS CAN'T BE SAFE. WE'RE GONNA DIE."
Yunus was laughing.
"Okay, okay, just shout at them and hope they hear you."
Abdullah kept yelling, gripping the seat, convinced this was how he'd die.
Another day, Yunus took the family to see a house he had bought. Ali had some chips, and Abdullah asked for some, but Ali ran away.
Abdullah chased him, slipped, and hit the back of his head.
"Ouch shit. What the hell, man? Couldn't you have just shared?"
His vision started to blur.
Abdullah's dad, already angry, hit Ali once.
"What the hell, man? That's not even my fault," Ali said.
Abdullah's dad shot him a dirty look.
"Be quiet, dirty pig."
"I didn't even do anything," Ali muttered under his breath.
Soon after, Abdullah and his family went to visit Aunt Amina's home. Once they arrived, Abdullah finally got the chance to play the game with Arham.
"Bro, why are you so high level? You're OP."
"I've just been playing a while," Abdullah said.
For the next few days, Abdullah and Arham stayed up all night playing and slept all morning. The days flew by.
When it was finally time to head back to Abuji's house, Abdullah noticed how full it was.
Ali. Ayyaan. Rayaan. Aaliyah. Zara. Arham. Shanza. Musa. Umar.The kids everywhere.
Then Aunt Amina, his mom and dad, Uncle Tariq, Uncle Humza, Big Nano, Papa, and Abuji.
It feels good to have everyone here again, Abdullah thought.I just wish Aunt Amira was here.
The house was loud and chaotic. The kids ran around nonstop, while the adults spent their days talking to each other.
"When is Aunt Amira coming?" Abdullah asked.
"Oh, she's already given birth. She's coming tomorrow," Big Nano told him.
That night, Abdullah had a dream.
He woke up in the house and walked downstairs. Everyone was there his family, Aunt Amira, everyone lining up to take a picture.
A hit of déjà vu washed over him.
Then he heard it.
A voice he hadn't heard in two years.
"Abdullah, come for the picture."
He turned and saw her.
Nano.
Abdullah ran to her, crying, hugging her tightly.
"I thought you were gone. I thought you left us. But you came back."
"It's okay, beta. I'm here," she said softly.
Then she vanished from his arms.
Suddenly, Abdullah was standing in his house in Ireland.
"Where did she go? Where's everyone else?"
He noticed a framed picture on the wall.
Everyone was in it.
Except him.
Abdullah woke up back in Pakistan, tears still streaming down his face.
Then he heard a familiar voice.
"where's Abdullah"
Abdullah realises. "she's back aunt Amira she's"
back...