A woman came out of one of the rooms, saying, "Come on, Jehan, dear, please go and look for your sister. What if she’s lost? What will you do?" Jehan clicked her tongue before saying, "Goggo, I can’t go anywhere. If she’s lost, what’s that to me? Please, Mum, let’s go back to our real house. I don’t like this house; it’s too local. I want to see my dad. I miss him." She finished speaking and got up to head to her room, saying, "Since you all are bothering me, I’m going to my room."
Goggo looked at Mum, who had a stern expression on her face, thinking to herself, "Whatever Jehan does, you all didn’t complain when she was spoiled, so you should deal with her now." Goggo followed Jehan to try to console her, while Mum went to the kitchen to continue sorting the rice.
It was already 6 p.m. and getting dark, and Rimsha had not returned. Mum started to worry. She picked up her veil and went outside to look for Rimsha. She looked east and west, but she didn’t even know her way around the neighborhood since she hadn’t stepped outside since they moved in. Slowly, she started walking, not knowing which direction to go. The only person who knew the neighborhood was Jehan.
She saw a group of young men chatting and quickly approached them, greeting them. Three of them responded warmly, while the other three looked serious. "Please, good people, have you seen my daughter? She went to buy matches since noon and hasn’t returned. We are new here, and she only went to the shop once," she explained.
One of the young men stood up, saying, "Oh my God, with the elections coming up, child abductions are rampant. May Allah protect her. Let’s help you look for her, Mama. What does she look like, and what is she wearing? Maybe she just got lost, being new here."
Mum quickly described her, "She’s chocolate-skinned, 13 years old, wearing a long pink dress and a small black hijab. Her name is Rimsha."
"Yusuf, Sha'aban, let’s split up and look for her. If we find her, we’ll bring her home. Mama, you should go back home. If we find her, we’ll bring her to you," one of the young men assured her.
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