Take Me.

"Will this work?" Safiya asked as she leaned against the wall, watching her uncle pound the leaf inside a black mortar.

Her uncle shrugged and then raised his head to flash her a warm smile. "Let's only hope for it to work."

Safiya relaxed and observed him as he continued pounding, the loud thun thun resonating in the kitchen.

"Let me go see how she is doing," she nodded at him before leaving, failing yet again to notice his narrowed eyes upon her.

Safiya reached where Ahmed's mother lay, her eyes wide open and unblinking as she stared above.

She sat beside her and placed her hand on hers. "You will be well soon," she tried to reassure her, even though she wasn't sure herself.

She spoke calm words to her to comfort the woman. She knew she was slowly giving up internally because she had lost her son.

Uncle Zurak came out with the liquid substance from the leaf.