"It's time for both of you to wake up, Princesses!" Afra said as she switched on the light in the girls' bedroom at five o'clock in the morning and Thasneem turned to the other side while Maryam covered her face with her blanket to avoid the bright light.
"Hmm... it looks like my girls forgot what day it is today!" Afra said in an exciting tone as she made her way to their bed. "Don't you both want to go on the tour? Miss Harrison wouldn't like it if you arrived late at Silver Stars."
Tour. Miss Harrison. Late. Silver Stars! Thasneem set upright as those four words slowly made sense to her.
"Ooh... We are going on a trip today!!" She said as if she's reminding that to herself and pulled the blanket out of Maryam's face. "Hey, Maryam! Wake up! We shouldn't get late or the buses would leave without us."
Maryam got up with a smile on her lips at the thought of the exciting day ahead of them. They both soon washed their faces and got dressed up in their blue and white uniform. Afra served them their tea and braided Maryam's long dark brown hair and tied the end of it with a blue ribbon while Hisham gave them constant advice about self-care and protection.
"Don't get on the bus or get down from it while it is on the move." He told them. "Always keep close to each other and stick with your teacher. Don't go anywhere far from your nursery group and always remember to tell your teacher if you wanted to go back to the bus or somewhere away from them. Look where you step and always be aware of your surroundings. Take your umbrellas with you if it seems like drizzling or you might catch a cold. Don't stand up inside the bus if it is moving faster. Don't_"
"Dear, I think you've given them enough advice already," Afra said with a shake of her head. "They might forget what you said if you gave them a long speech."
"Okay okay..." Hisham said with a smile. "I'm just worried about my little ones' safety."
"Don't worry, Dada!" Thasneem said with a confident look in her dark eyes. "We'll be fine, you see!"
"Promise me that you both will be careful." He requested as he bent down on his knees to face the girls.
"Pinkie promise!!" They said together with delightful smiles on their faces, but Hisham understood that they couldn't realize the seriousness of his plea.
"Alright, let's go downstairs to the dining room," Afra said to them. "I've made sandwiches for both of you to eat before you leave."
"Oh... no!" Thasneem shrank her nose at this. "I can't eat anything now!"
"I too can't!" Maryam teamed up with her.
"I won't let you leave without something in your tummies!" Afra said with her hands on her hips and pretending a daring look. "You'll get hungry before you reach Nuwara-Eliya!"
"Okay..." Thasneem said, pouting her lips. Then she started to walk towards the staircase without much protest, she was too eager to leave the house and get started on the tour and Maryam trailed her behind.
"Dada, what is the time now?" Maryam asked him as she pulled a wooden chair closer to the dining table and sat down on it.
"It's five thirty-five," Hisham said, checking the wall clock.
"Are we late?" Thasneem asked him suspiciously as she sat on a chair across the table.
"No, we still have enough time," Hisham said. But both girls looked impatient and kept glancing at the wall clock now and then as if they could understand how it works.
"I'll teach you to comprehend the time when you've come back, in shaa Allah," Hisham told them as Afra served them the sandwiches with boiled eggs.
"Really?" Thasneem asked with a mouthful of food as she tried to eat quicker. "Our teacher said that we are too young to learn the time now!"
"Yes," Hisham said with a smile. "But I think my smart girls would be able to learn it faster."
"Yey!" Maryam cheered at this. "Thank you, Dada!"
"We_" Thasneem started to say something with another mouthful and chocked on the food.
"Neem!" Afra yelled as she rushed to her side with a glass of water. "Don't talk while food in your mouth."
"Sorry," Thasneem said in a small voice when she had recovered, and they both ate silently afterwards.
Afra brought the bags of cookies and chocolates along with their lunch boxes and water bottles, and she set them inside their backpacks. "Don't forget to share these with Mu'az." She reminded the girls. "I've packed enough chocolates and cookies for him too. Also, I've put an extra uniform in each of your bags in case you got your uniforms dirty."
"That's a good idea, Mummy!" Thasneem said as she washed her hands in the sink which was placed in the dining room. "I might need an extra uniform because I always get dirt in my clothes"
"I know, Neem," Afra said with a smile. "But you have to try to stay clean, Princess."
"I'll try." She said as she wiped her hands and mouth with the napkin. "Can we leave now?"
"Yes, we can," Hisham said and chuckled at her anticipation. "Are you done, Maryam?"
"Yes, Dada!" She said as she went to wash her hands in the sink.
"Did you both take everything you need?" He asked them. "The knit caps, coats, sweaters and umbrellas?
"Yes, we took all the things we need!" Thasneem said as both of them they took their backpacks in their hands, ready to leave.
"There's just one more thing though," Hisham said, taking his wallet out of his back pocket. "Here, keep this money to buy anything you like during the tour."
Both girls looked at him with wide eyes at this, because they knew that the green colour notes were more valuable than the purple colour notes.
"It's a thousand rupees note!" Maryam said cheerfully. "We can buy a lot of things with this note. Jazakallah, Dada!"
"Yes, you can buy a lot of things with this, Honey!" He said with a beam. "Barakallah, dear! Keep the notes safely in your backpacks."
"Okay!" Both of them said with a feeling as if they've grown up responsible enough to handle money now.
"Okay, it's getting late." Afra notified them and pulled the girls into a group hug and kissed them both on their foreheads. "Dada will drop both of you at Silver Stars. I want both of you to be careful during the tour."
"We'll be very careful!" Maryam assured her with a smile and she led them both to the front door and waited till they get inside the car.
"Goodbye, Mama!" Thasneem said, waving at her through the window. "Assalamu alaikkum!
"Wa alaikkum salam!" Afra said, waving back at the children as the car started to leave. "Fe amanillah, little ones."
Their car reached the nursery five minutes earlier than the departure time and Hisham helped them to find their seats. He found Ahsan standing near the boys' bus and learnt that Mu'az had already taken his seat inside. He noticed Mrs Kumaran through the bus window, reading a name list of the children before it took away. And then the girls' bus followed it. He saw his little girls peeping out of the window along with the other children, waving him goodbye with bright smiles lit on their faces and he waved them back with a heavy heart. He felt like the bus wasn't just carrying his daughters away from him, it carried his happiness along with it. But they would return home in the evening and he would tell them how lonely he felt without them.
"Hey, you seem to be lost in your thoughts," Ahsan said, tapping his shoulder from behind and he turned towards him with a smile.
"I'm missing my kids already," He told him with a sigh. "I know that they'd be home in the evening, but still it feels like they've gone away for a long vacation."
"Honestly, I feel the same way," Ahsan admitted with a smile.
____________________________________________
The nursery rhymes played loudly inside the bus and the children clapped their hands and sang along with it with wide smiles and giggles. The tea gardens and green meadows started to appear soon as the buses started to move further towards the hill country and the cool breeze slowly surrounded the children and gave them a shiver. "Children you better put on your caps and coats if you are feeling cold!" Miss Woods instructed and all of them started to wear their coats, sweaters and knit caps with enthusiasm.
"Look at those large mountains!" Thasneem said excitedly from the window seat and Maryam rushed to her side.
"It looks so huge!" Maryam said with wide eyes. "But I can't see the top of it. There's smoke over the mountains!"
"It isn't the smoke, my child!" Miss Harrison, who had been listening to their conversation from the seat in front of them turned towards them and said with an amused grin. "It's the mist which has surrounded the mountains."
"Ooh...!" Maryam said with a smile. "The mountain would look even more beautiful if the mist isn't covering it."
"You are right." Miss Harrison said with a nod. "The mist would go away when the sun starts shining at the top of it."
"Then the mist must be afraid of the sun!" Maryam stated and Miss Harrison laughed at her witty remark with admiration.