My head was leaning against the car window, which was my aunt's car ,surely a Toyota Corolla, her favorite car. My windows were rolled down as the cool ,night breeze hits my face gently, and the buildings of Islamabad passes by in a hurry. The asphalt looks so dark, at night almost as if it's just being laid.
I turned my head towards my brother, who is leaning against the other window, eyes closed . Our flight from LA to Islamabad, has been so exhausting that i cant wait to get home and get swallowed by the bed.
Home feels like foreign word on my toungue, because all my life, i never understood what home is , as i am too asian to be american and too american to be asian. Back in america, whenever i used to go out in public , everybody treated me like a foreigner , i have never been welcomed and embraced there, almost like an UNO card lying on the chess board and when somebody wanna know about my culture, i dont know about it at all. All my life, i have been stuck between two cultures, two countries and two different worlds, which could never meet eachother.
All my thoughts stops processing when my aunt, who is sitting in the driver's seat with my mom in the passanger seat, calls my name.
"lina what do you think?", and i realized i missed half of her question, she asked me , so i just blurted out.
"umm...about what?", i said awkwardly, and she chuckled.
"oh i missed talking to you honey!! you were so small when i last saw you"
she's right , its been fifteen years since i saw her, since i was here, back in my home country.
"yeah i missed you too, auntie', i saw her smilling in the rear view mirror.
" I was talking about that we should go to myra's house sometime, now that you guys are here. her house is beautiful!"
"yeah sure!'
myra is my khala( aunt) , she is the eldest one in the sisters, she works in my nana's (grandfather's) firm and is married to mikael who is in air force. she is a quiet one but only with people who she is not comfortable with, but for me she is the most craziest and funniest person on earth. i used to talk to her on whatsapp alot as she gets me like no one else, maybe beacuse she is also the oldest in siblings and can relate to me. she has three boys ( which are all older than me) Azaan ( 22 years ), Rayn (19 years), Isa (17 years).
I actually made a whole family tree ( more like a family forest ) on my journal before comin here, and memorised the names of every family member, as i didn't want to seem dumb so i did my homework, i mean thats how i am.....always prepared. i guess i got that from my dad, he always plans out a rough sketch before doing anything, as my mom told me how he made a whole plan on powerpoint of how to propose Alaya ,which was kinda weird for my mom, but it was cute for me, becasue if i was him, i would have done the same.
Hina is my second khala, who also works in my nana's firm, and is married to xavier who is one of the shareholder of the firm. she is the most stylish person i know, always upto date and the get along type. my mom used to tell me that when i was two and came here she used to take alot of photographs of me in her camrea, which is still with her. Everybody used to love me ,but my memories of being here before are nothing but a vivid dream. i wonder if everbody still likes me.
She has one boy and a girl. Izyaan (18 years) , layla(16 years).
Then my mom who is a house wife and got married to my dad, who is technically an american and loves my mom unconditionally. They are the only reason that i believe in love, regardless of their differences , they never fail to make eachother laugh and find happiness in little things. They have me, Lina Cora Miller , i am 17 and my little brother, (whom i love so much and is the most cute baby in the world.) he is three.
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The rest of the car ride from the airport to my nana's house was a blur. when the car finally stopped i looked up and took in the site of two large gold gates, with two gaurds, on each side of the gate, standing with the shortguns in their hands. They suddenly became alert on my aunt's horn and motioned to open the gates.
The car goes through a long driveway, and my eyes took in the site, there was a large fountain in the middle, with two statues of cupid on either sides and large, lush ,green lawns on either site , and in the middle was a large house, the one you see in hollywood movies. The house was constructed charmingly , encompassing both the vintage and the modern architecture, showing the taste of a powerful man . The house itself speaks power of its own, with its delicate as well as emblematic details.
I hoped off the car, once we stopped in front of the main doors, they were large and were made of oak , with two, large, vintage ,mettalic handles. There were also two large poracelain vases on either sides of the door and the floor was covered with a royal red carpet with beige tiles seeping from beneath. There was a twinkling chandlier, hanging above my head, and the main doors suddenly opened.
We were welcomed by a loud thud of confetti, and my eyes took in the presence of everybody in the family. Everybody was screaming "welcome home" , in a very cheery tone that it makes me feel like a celebrity who just encountered its fans.
After meeting and greeting everbody, and collecting forehead kisses from my grandparents, i made my way towards my new bedroom. i took the elevator which took me to the first floor. ( wow!! they also have an elevator, i mean how rich are they?!!)
when i entered my bedroom, i left my suitcase standing in the middle of the room and just fell onto the bed.I didn't even noticed the details of the room as i was too busy being tired from the straight tweleve hour flight. My eyes started to close and the white walls of the room started to get blurry and blurry, until it was black.