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front, because of my foolishness and impulsive behavior I could not put a stop to that situation. On the contrary, I was even more obsessed with Sawsan. I thought about getting close to her every night and every day, of finding a way to talk to her and spend time with her. Mother on the other hand had changed her view of Humans because of me, specifically of Dr. Abdulraheem’s family. Now she couldn’t stand them. She refused to eat their food, and did all she could to avoid seeing them. But that was not all. She hated them so much, she almost revealed our existence to scare them out of the house. It was the night when Sawsan invited her friends to a DJ party on the roof. I came back from work at dawn and heard the loud music far before I got home—and I heard Mother screaming. I went directly to the roof only to see Sawsan and her friends dancing to the DJ’s music, and Mother next to Grandfather in the corner.
    “Enough!” she shouted. “Enough!”
    And suddenly the party lights became very bright, and all burned out at the same time in a contained burst. The DJ’s speakers exploded, followed by a sharp whistle from the microphone. Parts of the DJ’s equipment burst into flames. The girls screamed in fright, and Sawsan tried to calm them down. Dr. Abdulraheem and Hattan raced to the roof.
    I could not believe Mother had done that. I didn’t even know she had such abilities! However, even after the party was ruined and everyone left, she continued her crying.
    “Mother, what have you done?” I asked.
    The roof’s door slammed shut behind me. That was her response.
    “Mother, you know scaring Humans out of their homes is not allowed. Allah would not accept this!”
    “And what they do to us is acceptable? Can you see what’s happened to us? Can you see how your grandfather’s health is deteriorating? Can you see the way you act? Does Allah accept all of this?” Tears flowed from her eyes.
    I tried to hug her and absorb her anger, but she avoided me. I knew deep down she repented for what she had done, but how could I calm her down? My heart bled for her sadness, and for my fear for my grandfather and my concern for Sawsan.
    In the end, I decided time would help her to calm down, and things would return to normal. I just hoped this was not a weak attempt to calm myself. I didn’t even get a second’s sleep that night, and my worrying pushed me to stay around Sawsan the next day to know what her response to the incident was, as well as her family’s and friends’. They had a vast spectrum of responses. Dr. Abdulraheem insisted it was a normal electrical surge, I did not know if that was because of his cool head and vast wisdom, or because he could not comprehend the fact that his dream house, on which he had spent his entire life savings, was haunted. Sawsan’s friends exaggerate the events and connected them to what had happened with the Ouija board. They agreed Sawsan’s house was haunted, and that Sawsan was possessed. Even Sawsan was convinced she was surrounded by Jinn who wanted to harm her.
    A couple of days later, Dr. Abdulraheem came home with a scholar who read versus from the Holy Quran and throw holy water around the corners of the house, especially on the roof. It hurt me to see Mother crying next to Grandfather. I watched in awe. How could this be? That a scholar from the Nafar was being treated like a devil? My mother, in her sadness and despair, was about to close the roof’s door behind the doctor and the scholar when they left, but Grandfather signaled to her not to do so. I wanted to leave, as my existence was adding insult to Mother’s injury and to her sensitivity toward Humans, but she called to me. I was shocked. I had not expected her to talk to me after the pain I had caused her.
    “Hawjan, I need you. Don’t leave!”
    She walked out the door, and I followed her until we were out of the house. I kept following her in silence. Mother moved faster. That kind of worried