10. The day that I hid in my cupboard

In my young days, I was quite the belieber. I guess I just grew up and then, I was a fan from a distance. I will tell you though that my Justin Bieber twitter account was a hot mess. Nonetheless, I went through the ins and outs of celebrity fandom. I had a t-shirt and bought the records. So, on my bedroom wall, I had an assortment of photos, drawings, writing and posters relating to him. Typical groupie vibes over here. Basically, I lived out that experience and I don't regret it.

The incident was brought into play when my mother's friend, her husband and her son came over for a meal. It was Ramadaan, so we patiently waited to eat. And then we didn't eat because it was that time of the month when the desire for food had worn off. We ate substantially and retired to the lounge. Dad and the dudes went to pray in my parents room.

So, my mothers friend was sitting in the lounge and she asked me if she could be guided to a room in which she could pray. I agreed and told her to follow me to my room. We walked up the stairs, calmly, and she proceeded to my mothers room to speak to my mother. I walked into my room and bam! I realized that I had a wall full of Justin Bieber posters. Now, in Islam, we're warned about having pictures of eyes around. We aren't suppose to have photos put up. Not even of ourselves. The conclusion was that there shouldn't be eyes while we pray. The woman wouldn't be able to pray in my room! So, now, the hysteria kicked in. My mother directed the woman to the bathroom and I had about thirty seconds to get all the posters down. My brain was doing crazy things to me. I urgently summoned Fay and we started taking them down, in a panicked and hands shaking kinda way. Actually she was calm, it was just me panicking. I was like having a mini fit over here. I got really sweaty and giggly. I felt like I was not in control. And so, we continued quickly trying to remove the posters and embellishments. 

I didn't know whether the remainder of the posters were removed or not because in a moment of absolute panic, I stopped removing posters, opened my bedroom cupboard door, got in and closed it. I honestly cannot explain why I did that or the thought processes behind my actions. I cannot explain why that was my solution. But it was. Once I got into the cupboard, I remember feeling so much of giddiness that I kinda blanked out for about fifteen seconds. I remember seeing white nothing. And then I was back. There I was, almost crouching in an upright fetal position, amongst a pile of clothing and long drape type garments hitting me from all angles.There was a crack in the cupboard door, so I was peeking out. The woman came into the room and began praying. In Islamic prayer, we aren't allowed to communicate with anyone else. So, I just sat in the cupboard. Silently. I didn't move but I did start giggling. I could not stop myself.

I sat there, trying to suppress my giggles, as her son came in and attempted to communicate with my cat. That was a fail because Sheeba does not associate herself with humans. Eventually, the woman heard my little giggles. She stood up and approached the cupboard. She asked Fay if I was in the cupboard. Fay said no. She thought that I had left the room because the cupboard is right next to the room door. The woman came closer to the cupboard, I looked up at her. We made eye contact. The moment was odd. I was busted. 

Now, I was on mission damage control. So, I opened the cupboard and jumped out. I didn't even look up at them. I was heading for the door. Three people remained in the room, staring at me and so confused. Every one of them unblinkingly watching my actions. Just before I left, I turned around and said "I'm not weird!" and then I quickly ran down the stairs. I stood at the bottom and I thought to myself, how did that escalate so fast. I just drew no conclusions. As the evening progressed, I was mildly questioned. Everyone kinda got the gist of how I didn't have an explanation either. I decided that the only solution would be to out weird everyone. So, I proceeded to hum to myself every now and then and drink tea out of a saucer. The next morning, Fay told the story to some fellow breakfast eaters as I blushed profusely and avoided eye contact. I think they all thought my departing declaration was apt.

Nonetheless, that is how the posters permanently left my wall and the birth of the incident which was henceforth referred to as "The time when Sauda jumped into the cupboard." I am oddly reminded of this incident every now and then. Sometimes, I have to remind myself that I am an odd one by remembering the incident. 

It's just an odd life that we live.

Sauda.