Write club is becoming even more fun than I expected, people have written some great sections. I really love what Laura has done with the latest part, she doesn’t have a blog so I am posting her addition here, btw do people have trouble following the story line ? Should I repost the entire thing ?
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‘Negar?’
“What are you two doing here?” Negar asked, towering above Aila and almost blocking out the brilliant sun. She was clearly angered by the sight of Aila and her grandpa, soaking wet and dirty from the sandy beach.
It was right then when Aila realized who was standing above her. She knew it was Negar, but it seemed almost impossible that she even recognized her sister. Negar, appearing before her as a grown woman most certainly in her 20s, was radiant even in her anger. And what was most surprising was her voice. She had a voice like black tea and honey, and instantly Aila understood that she was looking up at her sister as the woman she would be decades from when she knew her now. So far, Aila and her baby sister only had conversations about juice, bananas, and their family’s dog, Naima, who Negar lovingly called “Na-Na.” But this girl, no, woman who stood before her, with her mahogany hair reaching past her shoulders and her piercing eyes that stared at Aila just like their mother always did when she caught the young girl climbing trees (“You’re not acting like a lady, Aila!”), left Aila speechless.
“I asked you a question!” Negar said, her dark voice rising in irritation. “WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON MY BEACH?”
Aila, still unable to overcome her surprise to speak to her sister, remained silent. It was Grandpa who came forward and attempted to calm down the already agitated Negar.
“We don’t mean any harm. My granddaughter was swimming out too far and I almost didn’t stop her from swallowing all of the fish and seawater. Thankfully, though, I managed to pull her out in time… but we will be on our way now. We’re sorry for causing you any trouble.”
“Trouble? You’ve ruined my day! I am not even sure how you were able to get down to this area of the beach. There are fences and guards everywhere, and now I’m going to have to check all of my security and question all of my guards, and…”
Grandpa interrupted her ranting and said, “Don’t worry about us. Your security is just fine and there is no need to get upset. We’ll be on our way and soon you’ll forget that we were even here.”
But Negar was insistent. “Tell me your names. I must report this to my husband.”
“My name is Aila,” the girl spoke, no longer shocked. In fact, Aila was feeling excited about seeing her sister so mature and responsible. The sight of Negar standing upright and fearless instead of crawling around her crib, speaking nonsense like all baby sisters do actually made Aila envious. She always wished she had an older sister instead of a messy little one. But her awe suddenly changed to embarrassment as she realized that she must look like the messy sister with her hair separating into wet stringy clumps against her head and her clothes drying into salty sea-crusted rags. Maybe it is better to be the older sister after all, Aila thought as she grew quiet again.
“Aila?” said Negar, now curious instead of furious. “I used to have a sister named Aila.”
“See?” Grandpa said, “we really don’t mean any harm. We’re sorry for ruining your afternoon, but if you’ll just forget about us, we’ll be on our way.”
“No,” Negar said, her voice less sharp and sounding more and more like honey, “maybe I was too harsh. You should at least clean up and get something to eat before you go.”
“Thank you,” Aila said, “and do you really have a sister with the same name as me?”
“I did,” Negar responded, “but she’s dead now.”