Page 130 - A Woman Is No Man

“What did it say?”
Deya unpinned her hijab, feeling herself getting hot. “She wrote about
how sad she was. That she wished she would die. She sounded depressed,

maybe even . . .” Her voice trailed.
“Maybe what?”
“Suicidal. She sounded like she wanted to kill herself.”
“Kill herself?” There was a pause, and Deya could see that Sarah
appeared to consider the possibility. “Are you sure?”
“That’s how it sounded. But Teta denied it.”
Sarah stared at her. “But why would my mother show you that letter

now after all these years?”
“She said it would help me let go of the past and move on.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. How would reading that help you move
on?”
Deya bit her lip. What was the point in holding back? She had already
defied her grandparents to be here. She had nothing left to lose. Perhaps

Sarah could even help her. “It’s because my memories are so bad,” she
finally said.
“Your memories? What do you mean?”
“Teta knows I’m afraid to get married because I remember how bad
things were with my parents. She thought showing me the letter would help
me understand that there was something wrong with my mother. She said
Mama was possessed.”

Sarah stared at her. “But there was nothing wrong with Isra.”
“Yes, there was. I remember, okay? And how would you know,
anyway? You ran away. You weren’t even there.”
“I knew your mother well. I can promise you, Isra wasn’t possessed.”
“How would you know? Were you there when she died?”
Sarah dropped her gaze to the floor. “No.”

“Then you don’t know for certain.” Deya wiped sweat off her forehead.
“I don’t understand,” Sarah said. “Why do you think she was
possessed?”
“It doesn’t matter what I think,” Deya said. “Shouldn’t you be telling
me what you think? Isn’t that why I’m here?”
Sarah leaned back into her seat. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything. Tell me everything.”