The Family Tree

‘Yeah, Asif, move on with your life, dude. He is dead.’

‘No, he faked his own death, I’m telling you.’

‘And which website have you been reading now?’

‘Who’s dead? Sorry, alive?’

‘What?’

Saahil decided to leave his friends to their debate. He’d noticed Ehsan slip away fifteen minutes earlier to answer a call. He found him hanging around the doorway of the back exit.

‘You missed it,’ said Saahil, as Ehsan put the phone down. ‘Robert’s acting black.’ Ehsan smiled coyly. Saahil frowned at him with suspicion.

‘Who were you talking to?’

‘Alisha.’

Saahil’s jaw dropped. ‘When did this happen?’

‘I’m sure I told you,’ Ehsan smirked.

‘You’ve told me nowt. I’ve been egging you on and all this time… You sly bastard.’ Saahil nudged his friend in annoyance, but couldn’t help smiling. He turned to face Ehsan, expectantly. ‘Go on then.’

‘What? There’s nothing to tell. We’re just… talking.’

They settled down together on the step.

‘You’re not pissed off about Kamran, are you?’

‘Nah,’ Saahil lied. ‘I didn’t know he fancied that girl.’

‘Ignore him. He’s always been jealous of you. You beat him at everything. And now he thinks you’re going after his girl.’

‘Whatever. They’re all doing my head in. Glad to get away from ’em.’

Saahil preferred it like this anyway, when it was just the two of them. They sat in silence for a moment facing a brick wall and a few overflowing black bin liners.

‘It’s weird, isn’t it?’ Ehsan said. ‘That it’s over. No more studying and books and deadlines.’

‘Hmmm. But from now on it’s just like nine-to-five work, work, work.’

‘But still, do you reckon things are going to get good now?’ Ehsan asked.

‘Er, yeah,’ Saahil replied and turned to his best friend. There was an odd look in his eyes. One Saahil was not used to.

‘We’ll do it, won’t we, Saahil?’

‘Do what?’

‘I don’t know. Just everything. Everything we said we would.’

‘’Course we will. We’ll have money. First thing I’m gonna do is take my Ammi and Abbu to Mecca. We can all go, you guys as well. That’d be so cool.’

Saahil looked at Ehsan confidently. His smile faded. Ehsan was resting on his knees, hugging them. Saahil thought he looked small. Like a little boy.

‘You all right, bro?’ he asked.

‘Yeah,’ Ehsan replied. ‘I’ve just had a weird feeling all day.’ He grabbed a fistful of his T-shirt. Directly over his chest.

‘Don’t worry about it, man,’ Saahil said. ‘We’re gonna be fine. We’ll show everyone. Insha’Allah,’ he added quickly.

Ehsan smiled and Saahil felt a sudden urge to look after his best friend. To embrace him and tell him everything would be okay.

‘Do you remember that time, Ehsan?’ asked Saahil.

‘What time?’

‘When…when you found me at school. I was alone in the cloakroom, crying, you know, not long after… anyway, do you remember what you said to me?’

Ehsan shook his head.

Saahil continued. ‘You put your arm around me and told me not to worry. And you said that you were an only child so your own mum wasn’t too busy so—’

‘You could share with me,’ Ehsan finished Saahil’s sentence. They both smiled at the memory in silence.

‘She’d be proud of you,’ Ehsan mumbled.

Saahil shuffled around and looked away, overcome with sadness. People had said that to him plenty of times before and he had nodded dutifully. But it was different coming from Ehsan, it carried a different honesty. After all, nobody knew Saahil like Ehsan did.

Saahil remembered how they had sat poring through university prospectuses together three years ago. They’d already decided they weren’t moving away from home. Saahil knew Abbu still needed him, as much as he pretended he didn’t.

‘You should go,’ Saahil had reluctantly advised Ehsan.

Ehsan snorted. ‘I’m not going if you’re not going.’

‘Don’t be daft. We’re not kids anymore.’

‘Don’t care. What am I gonna do on my own?’

‘You’d make other friends, stupid,’ said Saahil, secretly loving him for what he said.

‘Forget it.’

Saahil knew what he meant. It just wasn’t the same with other people. It was silly to think Ehsan’s friendship had helped Saahil get over his mother’s death. But it had. Plus he had Zahra. Ehsan, on the other hand, didn’t have anyone. That was probably why he was the way he was, so perceptive and attentive to everybody around him. It came naturally to him having spent so much time alone. Ehsan, Saahil had quickly realised, had too much love to give. And most of it he was the recipient of.

As they’d grown older, Saahil found cover in Ehsan’s serenity, in his calm, dignified manner. He didn’t swagger around like Saahil did, thinking he was it. Saahil remembered the many times Ehsan had saved his arse from being kicked. Like he had done again today, stepping in before Kamran could whack him one for being an arrogant prick. Saahil watched Ehsan out of the corner of his eye, sitting beside him on the step, all bunched up and hugging his knees. So what if they hadn’t shared the same womb, Saahil thought. According to him, they were closer than brothers. And now they were finally going to make it, together.

‘Thanks,’ Saahil mumbled.

‘For what?’

‘Just… stuff.’

‘Stuff?’

Saahil laughed nervously. Suddenly, he could barely string a sentence together.

‘Just for… erm.’

For sticking by me? For always making things better? For being you?

‘For everything. We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?’ Saahil finally said. How inadequate, he thought.

They looked at one another for a second, and then burst into laughter.

‘Okay then,’ Ehsan said, awkwardly.

‘Shall we get back to those clowns? They’ll wonder where we’ve gone.’

‘Yeah, I suppose.’

They slunk off inside, each smiling to himself in secret.