He furiously approached the stairs, but before he could descend completely, Ummi, who was sitting on a cushion beside her husband, quickly let go of the man's hand—the man to whom she was still a beloved bride. She stood up and looked at her son. She had always known that trouble was coming, which was why she wanted to calm his anger before he even spoke the words that were on his lips.
"I'm sorry. I was the one who sent her in to clean your room," she said.
He stopped abruptly, clenched his fists tightly, and gritted his teeth.
“But why would she enter my room while smelling like women's perfume? Not just perfume—she even applied lipstick on my mirror! And you all know how much I hate anything related to women. Why would she do that?”
“I will talk to her, but Maleek, you need to be more tolerant...”
She hadn’t even finished her sentence when Abiey interrupted her, standing up.
“Alright, Son, go outside and get some fresh air. I will have your room cleaned again. Just leave your siblings to me—I will deal with them.”
Only then did Maleek exhale deeply and look at his father.
"Thank you, Abiey," he said before turning and leaving.
Ummi watched him go with concern, sighing before turning back to look at her husband.
"You shouldn't be encouraging him like this. I've had enough of this! I'm sick and tired of it," she said, her voice breaking into sobs.
Abiey moved closer to his wife, Zahra. More than her worries, what hurt him most was seeing her in tears. He pulled her into an embrace.
“It's okay, Hayatie. Everyone is created differently by Allah. That's just how Maleek is—he doesn't like women in his life or anything related to them.”
“Or could it be that someone cast a spell on him? I've never seen anyone like Maleek. Or maybe... a spirit married him?”
She suddenly fell silent—the kind of silence that spoke of deep pain. This wound had been festering in her heart for a long time.
“Or could it be karma coming back to haunt me?”
She asked him a question he had no answer to. Neither did she, as the situation had left her completely baffled.
"It's none of those things, Zahra. You need to understand that everyone is created differently. Stop letting this burden your heart. One day, he will change. And you should also warn your daughters to stop provoking him," Abiey said, trying to comfort his wife.
She lifted her head from his chest, wiped her tears, and felt the deep pain of what her son was going through.
Maleek was one of those rare individuals that history takes note of because his kind is uncommon. His hatred for women was extreme—so much so that he didn't even like hearing their names unless necessary. He had carried this unusual trait from childhood into adulthood, leading him to sever all ties with anything related to women, whether it was their perfume, beauty products, or even just being in the same space with them. If he was walking on a path and saw a woman ahead, he would change direction just to avoid her.
However, this didn't mean he was free from his sisters' pranks. Despite fearing him, they still found ways to provoke him.
The only woman he could tolerate, to some extent, was his mother, though even that didn’t mean he would sit and have conversations with her or eat at the same table. When he needed advice or was troubled, the only person he would turn to was his father, Abiey, or his younger brother.
If you ever saw Maleek relaxed, smiling, and enjoying himself, it was always in the company of his male friends, male relatives, or his father, Abiey.
This was one of the reasons he avoided social media—he didn’t want to risk encountering women. It felt like a disease that tormented him, something that truly hurt him deeply and, in turn, caused pain to his mother and sisters.
The ironic part was how women seemed to be drawn to him. He was a well-groomed young man, always smelling good, with a striking appearance and the confidence of a strong, charismatic man.
There wasn’t a night that went by without him praying for Allah to free him from this affliction, which his mother viewed as an illness. He knew that if not now, then in the future, this issue might cause him even greater harm.
Sometimes, he would sit and try to understand why he despised women so much, but he never found an answer. And no matter how much he tried to soften his heart toward them, the moment he saw a woman or heard her voice, his hatred for her would completely overwhelm him.
