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Ruslan called a family meeting not too long ago, and now I’m at his condo, sitting in his living room while Ruslan, Lom, and I wait for Eset to make her grand entrance.
“How far away did she say she was?”
“She said ten minutes, twenty minutes ago,” Lom speaks up, and he makes sure to make eye contact with all of us. It’s not like Eset to be running late. If anything, she’s the kind of woman who shows up on time to everything. Her punctuality is part of her personality.
“Should we call her?” I ask, waiting for one of my brothers to say something.
“Not yet. Let’s give her a bit more time. If she isn’t here in five minutes, we’ll call,” Ruslan answers.
Fair enough. Maybe she’s caught in traffic, though if she was, I think she would’ve at least sent a text message to us.
The group of us continue sitting in Ruslan’s living room, and after a few minutes, the door to his house opens, and in walks Eset. Her hair is a mangled mess, and she has Meryem in her arms, who’s crying her little eyes out. She places Meryem on the ground and kneels down in front of her, rubbing her fingers under her cheeks to wipe away her tears. “It’s okay. I know you’re scared, but it’s okay. We’re at Uncle Ruslan’s, and no one’s going to hurt you here.”
I rise from the couch and look right at Eset, knowing in my gut something happened while they were out. “Why is she crying so badly?” I ask as I go up to Meryem. I end up picking her up in my arms, and she buries her head into my chest. The little girl is absolutely terrified, and it’s evident to me.
“What happened, Eset?” Ruslan’s the one to ask now, and he’s staring daggers into our sister. He wants to know what’s upsetting Meryem so badly, as do the rest of us.
“I was in the park with Meryem, and a group of men began following us. Gabriel was with us, and we both noticed it at the same time. I figured it would be a good idea to take Meryem out for a bit before I came over, but the group of men kept gaining on us, and after a few minutes, they started firing.” Eset closes her eyes and shakes her head, almost like she’s trying to push back the memories.
“They started a gunfight in a public park?” Lom questions, naturally concerned.
Eset opens her eyes. “Yes, but they were trying to get Meryem and me. I could see it in their eyes, brothers. They wanted us, and I… I’ve heard things about our mother. They’ve only been rumors, so it’s why I haven’t brought anything up, but today confirmed it for me. Today proved that the rumors I’ve heard are, in fact, correct.”
“What sort of rumors?” Lom asks the million-dollar question.
Eset has mentioned them to me briefly, but much like her, I don’t focus too much on anything unless I know it’s factual.
“There are a plethora of them, honestly. The biggest one I’ve heard is how our mother has people watching our every move and that when they feel like they can make a move on us, they’re going to strike. That’s who I think came after us in the park. Gabriel stayed behind to fend them off, but I heard so much gunfire. He told me to get the hell out of there, so I scooped Meryem up and ran for my life. If I didn’t have her with me, then I wouldn’t have run off the way I did. I’m… I’m a mother now, and my priority is always going to make sure that she’s safe.”
“No one is blaming you for your choice. Any of the women in our family would’ve done the same thing. Please know that,” Ruslan assures her, and then he swallows hard.
Everything is quiet for a few moments before he speaks again. “We can’t keep doing this. We need to have eyes on our family at all times. There aren’t any other ways around it. We’re being targeted by her and her pathetic excuses of allies.” Ruslan laughs, but it isn’t one where he’s amused. No, it’s a laugh that tells everyone just how pissed off he is.
“Didn’t she try to crawl her way back into your good graces not too long ago?” He looks right into Eset’s eyes.
She nods. “Yeah, she faked being sick. Remember?”
“Oh, I remember. It’s only proving to me that she’s a bigger threat than any of us anticipated. I know she’s our mother, and deep down, we all have a soft spot for her, even if we don’t want to admit it.”
Ruslan looks right at me as he says the last bit, but he doesn’t understand the hatred I have in my heart for our mother. I can’t understand why she made the decisions that she did.
“In a way, I think I’ve been trying to refrain from making this decision, but I don’t see another way around it,” Ruslan elaborates. “That woman might have birthed us, but she isn’t our mother. She’s a threat, and it’s all she’ll ever be. We have to take her out because the longer we leave her alive, the more problems she’s going to cause and the more people she’s going to hurt.”
All my siblings look at each other, and even though we’re silent right now, we’re in complete unison. There isn’t another alternative. We’ve tried leaving her be, and she only finds another way to interject herself into our lives.
Ruslan then orders, “I want us all out on the streets looking for her right now. All of you tell your teams to keep their eyes peeled. But right now, I’m going to make a few calls, so everyone knows to be looking for her.”
Almost in unison, we all move around the room and then head for the door. Eset stares at Meryem, almost like she’s torn on what she should be doing. Eset’s typically the kind of woman who wants to be in on the action, but I don’t think she should be right now.
From the looks of it, Ruslan’s thinking the same thing. “Eset, your day has been eventful enough. Please, stay here with Amelia and Karim. The three of us can handle this.”
Eset’s bottom lip quivers, and she eventually nods.
There’s no doubt in my mind that the fear of running for her life with her child in her arms really affected her today. I can’t blame her for it in the least bit. If I had a child, and we were in her shoes, I’d likely be a little rattled too.
“Thank you,” my sister tells us, and there’s no need for us to say anything.
My brothers and I head for the door, and once we’re on the other side of it, we all sigh, almost like it’s in unison. We’re all stressed, pissed, and exhausted. I know none of us want to actually hurt our mother, but we don’t have another choice. Our hands are tied.
