A Single Lifetime | Novella

“Fudge, we need to talk,” Zareen declared at the breakfast table the next morning.

Fajr looked over her shoulder–even though there was no one else there–and leaned in to whisper, “Is this about finding more Extentives?”

“No. That is for me to worry about and for you to...not even think about,” she said with a thin smile.

She pouted and fell back in her chair with a sigh. “You never tell me anything.”“It’s about your powers.”“What about them?” Fajr said, expecting her mother to explode into a paroxysm of scientific facts and new theories she had concocted overnight.

“You’re using them too much.”“I can’t use it too much…” Fajr scratched the back of her head and tried to imagine a good enough answer, but…

“I wasn’t asking you whether you were using them too much or not,” her mother replied, trying not to sound too harsh. Fajr wasn’t a sensitive person, but when her mother was stern, Fajr’s mood dropped. “Let me ask you something: what are you trying to avoid?”

“What do you mean?”“I mean, why do you use your power like–”“Like, I’m afraid of running out of it,” Fajr finished, setting her coffee mug down on the table.

“We’re all going to eventually run out of time, you do realize that? We’re all going to die, Fajr.”“We age slowly. We can delay it. It’s one of the wonders of being a Husnai woman,” Fajr said, ignoring the sudden knot that had formed in her stomach.

“This is exactly what I was afraid of,” her mother said, shaking her head.

“Why are you getting so upset? You use your powers too. That’s the whole point of having them. They’re meant to be used, Amma.”

“I use it as a last resort,” she defended. “And, you think that we’re not going to die, then you’re wrong. Husnai women die…”“Yes, very slowly,” Fajr added, hiding her grin behind the coffee mug. Zareen huffed, a hand on her forehead. “Oh, what? I’ve got nothing to do with that, Amma. When I was twenty, I could pass for a sixteen year old. And you don’t look a day over twenty five either. It’s part of the package deal. We can’t avoid this. Since you’re obsessed with theories, here’s mine: I think we can’t help but use our gift. That’s why it was given to us.”“You’re going to miss out on life because you’re trying to save time.”

“That’s why I want to freeze it permanently! That was the whole point of the email. We were supposed to talk about that...as well.”“Why would you do that?”

“Why wouldn’t I? If it doesn’t work out, I’ll stop,” she promised. “Think of it as an experiment. I want to see what kind of effect it will have on the rest of the world, and whether life would be easier that way or not.”

Fajr jotted down the rest of the answer and flipped to the next page of her exam.Later that day, she had helped Sura revise their English Literature on their way to class.

“Don’t you just wish time would go faster in that exam hall?” Sura said with a groan.

Fajr cackled in the middle of the hallway, no doubt, attracting unwanted attention. “Yeah, right.”“What was so funny about that?” Sura wondered, hands akimbo. “When we were in kindergarten we always joked about the classes being too long. Because in the morning time seems to fly by and we have to rush to arrive at school, but once you’re actually in class…”The other friend sighed with an undertone of exhaustion. “Time is interminable,” she finished.

“Exactly, my friend.”

Fajr had almost exploded at how true that was but she didn’t want to put her snorty laugh on display for the entire campus.

Even now, sitting in the classroom, nearly done with her exam, she felt like time was running out.

Calm down, you’re already done, she told herself.

Her watch showed: 1:46 p.m. and the exam ended at 2:00 p.m. Fajr closed her eyes and inhaled. Count the seconds.

She mumbled under her breath, as the second hand raced around the clock.

1:59 p.m.

Fajr went over the exam sheet once more and counted down the last few seconds, in which their professor seemed uninterested and was induldged in his phone. These adults still play Candy Crush, Fajr thought rolling her eyes. That game is centuries old now.

The ticking made her come back to her watch: Forty-eight...Forty-nine...Fifty!

“Done,” Fajr announced and stood with the exam between her chubby fingers.

2:00 p.m.

•

“You’re unbelievable,” Sura said once they were out of earshot. “You finished at 2:00 sharp!”“That’s what they told us. It’s not my fault everyone else was so damn slow.”“And, you answered three extra questions, just for the fun of it?” Sura recalled and her friend nodded in confirmation.

“Hey, if I hadn’t, I would’ve had to wait. And waiting is a waste of time,” Fajr said with poise. “I don’t understand why they don’t just let us leave once we’re done.”

Sura didn’t reply and Fajr got lost in thought. Something was concocting in her brain and she needed a place to store it…

“What are you writing down?” Sura asked once they were walking home. They had plans for tomorrow, but since Zareen was home, Fajr decided to spend the rest of the day with her mother, checking on the antique shop.

“Just some theories about something,” Fajr blurted. She had just typed points into her Notes App titled About Infinity and Husani Women. She hadn’t meant to even hint at it in front of Sura but it had just slipped out.

What I Know:

We age slowly.

We’re naturally punctual.

Fajr was skeptical about these two points since she had only known two Husani women: her mother and herself. She was curious to know what the rest were like and she hoped that they would all be different because if they were all the same it would be utterly tedious. It would be like finding out you’re a clone, a robot with the same brain as all the others. There would be no room for opinions or arguments.

Just thinking about this made Fajr add another section to her list…

To Confirm:

Are all of us conscious about time, or is it just me?

Because of what Amma said: are we trying to avoid death or trying to get more time?

Has any Husani woman ever put herself in a permanent time bubble? If so, what were the results?

Have any of the Husani women ever been found and/or experimented on?

Because of what Sura said: Do we really seem faster to other people when we’re in infinity?

What other effects do we have(while in infnity)on the rest of the world?

Sura rasied an eyebrow and turned away. “I won’t even bother asking what it’s about. You’ve been very secretive lately.”

“That’s not true,” Fajr said, crossing her arms over her heavy chest.

“Secretive wasn’t the right word to use,” Sura said, clicking her tongue with a thoughful countencance. “I’d say aloof. Like, you’re thinking about something serious–”“Maybe I am,” she answered defensivley.

“I thought you were worried. You’re never worried once your mother is home...unless you’re worried because she is home…” Sura offered with a shrug. Fajr looked sideways and made a face. “Okay, okay. I’m just saying. Do you want to talk about it?”“No. I’m not worried. Just thinking.”“Ah, yes. You used to say that a lot in Science class, so I assume youre thinking about all that complex, esoteric stuff.”Fajr placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “You know me so well.”“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” Sura perked up, moving her arms around which could have been istaken for a spasm but it was her way of showing excitement. Fajr noted the new henna designs she had done over the ones that had washed off. “I’m completely prepared for tomorrow and I’m going to go look up some more new words in the Dictionary to completely take Zain by surprise.”Zain had been homeschooled most his life and tried taking as many classes at their local college as he could, but they hardly saw him on campus and they didn’t have any mutual friends either. Their only interactions were online or at Scrabble Games.

Sura and Zain played quite frequently on those multiplayer games on their phones, but the only chance Fajr got was their long-lasting games after a big test or exam.

The two Scrabble Masters attempted to beat each other and after many, many hours of ancient words, they had a winner. And, the next day the winter would go against Fajr.

“Let me know who wins tonight, so I’ll know which one of you I’m playing against.” You guys have all the fun anyway, she thought without envy.

“Wish me luck,” Sura said, flashing her pearly teeth.

“You don’t need it.”“You’re right,” she said, jumping as if she had just found that book she wanted. “But, he does.”“That’s not what I said, Sura.”

Fajr glanced back at her list once more before closing her phone…

Experiment!

Two Husani women create one big time bubble to see if groups of them can use their powers in tandem.

Yeah. Amma will love that.

Fajr showered and put on warm clothes. In the evening it was starting to get chilly but the afternoons were still warm. Although Fajr felt more vivacious in the spring and fall, she couldn’t wait for summer. She had had enough of sweating and itching from bugs.

“Ready?” her mother said once Fajr appeared in the driveway.

“Let’s go look at antiquated things,” Fajr announced.From her travels, Zareen purchased items and trinkets and brought them back to sell in her own shop. As they were browsing, she started–or, rather continued–the conversation they were having earlier.

“Do you like this?” Fajr asked, pointing to a vase with old truck art done on it. It had become a thing a decade ago to smack truck art on pretty much anything. Clothes, vases, plates and even jewellry.

“Not really my taste,” Zareen replied, clearing her throat. She folded her hands in front of her and walked, mumbling things under her breath which caught her daughter’s attention.

“Alright, what is it?” Fajr said, crossing her arms.

“Huh?” Zareen spun and her heavy purse knocked over a fragile lamp. But before it could break, Fajr slowed down time. The lamp was falling, and Fajr grabbed it from mid-air and put it back.

Even Zareen was frozen in place. Infinity worked on Husani women too. That is, if Fajr was in her own time bubble another Husani woman could create her own as well, but the two had never interfered with the other...that they knew of.

“See, this power is a gift.”“That was a risky situation,” her mother pointed out. “And, nice work.”

“Oh, I made a list.”“What is it this time?” Zareen smiled. List-making was a habit she had passed onto Fajr. She opened up something in her phone and showed it to Zareen. Later on, Fajr had added more to the list, like alternatives for ‘time bubble.’

“Good questions and if you came to me for a mother’s opinion, I say you’re too young to be putting your life and the rest of the world in danger. And as a scientist, you definitely should experiment but if you put yourself in a time bubble, and you decide to come out one day you’re going to be a lot older than everyone else.”“What? That’s ridiculous, you’re the one who says that you can only learn by doing it yourself,” she said, arms crossed.“Yes, but I’m speaking from experience.”

“Really? So, who did you tell, Amma?”

“Why do you think I told someone?” Zareen whispered through her death, eyes popping.

“Because...check the last question,” she said and Zareen read it loud enough for only the two of them to hear.

“What other effects do we have(while in infnity)on the rest of the world? What does that have to–”“My plan would be to be in the same room as someone else and then I’d use my powers, putting myself in a time bubble and after a while I would stop. Then, I’d ask the other person what they were feeling...does that make sense?”“Fajr, I have not told anyone about this and I never will,” she swore. “But, I’ve used my powers in a room full of people and then...then I just ask them random questions. They never really notice which is a good thing, we shouldn’t draw attention to ourselves.”

“You think I’ll age faster in a time bubble?” Fajr asked after they had gone deeper into the shop.

“Not sure about faster but at a normal pace. Because everyone else will be moving slowly. So you’ll turn your powers on them by segregating yourself from the natural time zone. You’ll be the one with all the time in the world but that also means that if you ever come out of it, your body and brain will be disoriented and don’t even get me started on the havoc it would create…”

“That’s all theory.” Zareen nodded in confirmation. “You’ve never tested it.” She shook her head.

“No, not exactly.”“You missed something,” Fajr pointed out and haned the phone back to her mother.

Zareen squinted in the dim light. “Why is the brightness so low?” shecomplained and turned it up enough to burn off Fajr’s eyes.

“Blech, Amma,” she said, turning away. “How do your eyes bear that light?”“How do yours bear the darkness?”Fajr huffed. “It wasn’t that dark.”

“Maybe but probably not because that would be time travel,” she answered casually.

“So?” Fajr snorted, letting herself smile.

“So, Doc, time travel is science fiction.” Her daughter didn’t miss the Back To The Future reference that she threw in there.

“We come from a bloodline of women who could freeze and ultimately stop time. Don’t talk to me about what’s fictional, Marty McFly.”

“Good point, Doc.”

“Time travel would get tricky though,” Zareen continued. “And the second one, I’m not sure about.”

With that, she exited the shop. Leaving Fajr standing there stiff as the antiques around her. From a window, sunlight fell on a vase decorated with broken pieces of a mirror and the room scillitated.

Her eyes fell on the last two points…

The Big Three:

Freezing time feels like ‘pulling on the strings of time.’ With practice, can we make it go faster? Hence, ‘pushing the strings of time.’

In conclusion, it would lead to time travel and Amma says no time travel unless I have a DeLorean and the blueprints to the Flux Cupacitor :(

She typed that sentence just to make herself laugh, for some reason she needed it.

Can I ever meet another Husani woman?

Would rewinding time be like time travel as well?

Probably:(

“I don’t blame you for being curious,” Zareen said on the drive home. “You get that from me and only me. I don’t think it’s a patented Husani trait, though. And, I think it’s great that you want to experiment on your own. But, we’ll find another way.”“If you say so, Amma.”

That night, they pulled an all-nighter and watched all three parts of Back To The Future and slept after morning prayer which was a rarity for the two women who lived by their sleeping schedules.

“That is one of my favourite movies of all time,” Zareen announced with a yawn as she made her way to her bedroom.

“Any movie with time travel is the best,” Fajr finished. “Shab-e-khair.” Goodnight. And Zareen barely got out her reply.

Even after staying up all night, Fake tossed and turned in her sheets. “I’m never pulling an all-nighter again. They mess up my brain and then I can’t sleep,” she said to herself in the hollowness of her bedroom.

Once she closed her eyes, her list flashed on the back of her eyelids…

About The Time Bubble:

To-do: pick a scientific name for ‘time bubble.’

Would it interfere with the rest of the world?

Fajr answered the last question herself: Probably. But there’s only one way to find out.