Twin Souls

⚘34⚘

Sanaa ☯️

The beginning of my year was not ideal. It personally felt like a continuation of the issues we faced the previous year. Nonetheless, they served as an eye opener for me and a reason to strive for success and escape the walls of madness (as I liked to call it).

I returned to school, which was the only place where I felt powerful and had control. I successfully managed in maintaining my grades while I was away and began to invest all of my free time into studying. The national examinations were less than three weeks away but the surge of confidence proceeded to increase the more I studied.

I´ve waited and prepared for the examinations for the last two years of my life so I knew that things would work in my favour.

I have already been projected as the school´s valedictorian, which was unsurprising for everyone. The information still gladdened my heart but it still saddened me that I had no friend to share it with.

The only friend that I had left had his own demons to deal with, which led him to alcohol and substance abuse. It was a painful sight to see someone you knew fade away and transform into someone you barely recognize. He retracted from everyone and got into fights / arguments regularly. At times he would reek of alcohol and would think no one noticed. I cannot talk on behalf of everyone but I always noticed the details. I just never had the courage to ask him.

The weeks flew by and it was time to face the music. I recieved prayers from every person dear to me and shook off the last ounce of negativity that filled my head. It was a relief to start the exams without any health related issues.

The examinations ended after a few weeks and I was considered as a free woman. From a personal perspective, I thought that the exams went well and I was ecstatic to know my results, which were coming out in May – one month away.

I began pottery and sculpting at the art studio that encouraged my journey. I slowly but surely began improving and created great works.

Abel, Théo and Coly got selected for the France world cup squad, therefore they were headed to South Africa in June. I was proud of their milestone experience and rooted for their team, along with all African countries that were participating.

The atmosphere in the country was filled with excitement as many preparations for the most popular sport event in the world took place. Fortunately, I lived in one of the hosting cities so the chance of attending a match was quite high.

My mother began working again and showcased a more relaxed demeanor, which frightened me a bit. Although my siblings and I still share a tight bond with her, I had a feeling she was hiding important information from us.

My father informed us about his improving  state on a regular basis while aiding us with the move in process to France with the help of my aunt. We decided to relocate to Paris before the end of the upcoming summer holidays so that we could live together as a family. My siblings will continue school with no cultural / academic differences as my father decided to invest in a school that catered to children of peripathetics. I was delighted with the news because not everyone has the opportunity / privilege of not facing academic challenges which were caused by the nature of the work their parents did.

May came quickly and I was the happiest I´ve ever been. I had the highest results in my class and passed with honors. The graduation was scheduled for June, which meant that I had to begin my valedictorian speech preparations. I was showered with happy reactions from all of my dear ones and I recieved pre graduation gifts from my parents.