It was another night of chores. The house was empty except for the noise of water dripping in the sink. Footsteps moved around the house as she was doing the dishes, scrubbing the cupboards and counters. The scratchy edges scraped the edges of her fingers.

“Ouch!” She jumped back looking at her red fingers, rubbing them dearly.

***

Her room was bare; just her bed, desk and her nightstand. A picture of him sat on her desk. Every night she slept, weeping silently in her bed with no one witnessing her pain except for his eyes in the dated photograph.

***

The next day at school she walked through the hallway feeling empty inside. Other students called her name out.

“Jenna!” their voices echoed at the back of her mind as she walked by.

The bell rang through the halls of the school. Everyone began making their way to class. She trailed behind like a snail, lost and absentminded. In her own world she didn’t notice herself to be the last one showing up to her chemistry class.

“Jenna can you answer question number three?” the teacher called out.

Her eyes stared into space, unaware of the class slowly turning toward her following the teacher's question. The bell rang again, indicating the end of class. Her teacher sighed in contempt and said, “We’ll finish tomorrow and Jenna we’re going to begin with you.”

The sudden flutter of noise made her look up. She packed her books in a hurry and left. The halls were packed with sweat and noise as students emptied the classrooms and flooded the hallways with their chatter. She walked by, distracted.

A close friend followed her until she left the school.

“Jenna...Jenna wait up!” called her friend, Sarah.

Jenna stopped and looked back in a pained expression. “What was with you today? Why are you ignoring everyone?”

“It’s nothing. Just on off day,” She told her.

“Well if you want to talk, you can call me. We can hang out or something.” She reached for Jenna’s shoulder and rubbed it. Jenna took a small step back.

“Well I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow, Sarah. Bye.”

“Bye.” Her friend replied wistfully, wondering what was keeping her friend under the weather. Why couldn't she find the words to tell her friend what was going on?

***

On her way home she noticed an old man calling for help. She snapped out of her depressed state and ran to him.

“Sir, can you hear me? Sir? Help! Somebody help!” The man looked at her, pained. His eyes began to flutter. “Sir, stay with me,” she told him as the ambulance siren screamed closer.

“Can...” the man began to cough uncontrollably. The paramedics arrived just as the man seemed to be entering a stage of oblivion. “We can take it from here ma’am. Thanks,” the paramedic said in a controlled voice. She stepped back and began to run home.

***

Later when she was home she was surprised with her reaction towards the old man. Her miserable state made her miss things she used to take great joy in. Her bedroom was stripped bare since his death a few weeks ago. She reminisced on the memories of her father.

School, friends, and everyone around her seemed distant. Her mother left her alone, thinking that Jenna would approach her when she was ready. The way things were changing, it didn’t seem like that would ever happen. Someone knocked on her door.

“Can I come in?” her mother asked.

“Yeah, sure.”

The door squeaked open and her mother walked through and came to settle on her bed. Her eyes had dark shadows under them that loomed there since the loss of her father. They stayed quiet for a long time. Each time one of them tried to speak, their voice would crack. Afraid of tears, the words stayed fresh in their eyes filled with sadness. She reached out to her mother and hugged her for what seemed like centuries.

After a little while, the sadness began to lift and she began to laugh uncontrollably. Her mother joined in. They felt as if something had passed through them and a new chapter could now begin.

***

“Hey Sarah” she called out.

“Jenna?” Sarah questioned.

“Yeah! Hey so I was wondering, there’s something I need to tell you...”

“Uh oh,” Sarah replied, in a cautious tone.

Jenna told her friend of the traumatizing experience that her family had gone through. Her friend cried on her shoulder and told she had felt that something was wrong. She told her that her silent state reminded her that quiet water runs deep - it showed in her eyes. Sarah told her that trying to cope with pain is misunderstood a lot. The more she told Sarah, the more Jenna felt that a huge burden was being lifted off of her shoulders and she realized that when you’re alone all the time, it's hard to see love. She knew that with hardship everyone needed a shoulder to lean on; someone to make them forget. Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) made her feel that. She felt that she was sent reminders to hold on to, namely to remember that people were created to keep each other company and help one another when they are in need. That’s why there wasn’t just one human being created but billions.