Mariam and Mahra were twins. Both had dark, brown eyes and long, beautiful, black hair. Mahra was their parents’ favorite and hatred started to grow in Mariam’s heart towards her parents and Mahra, so she decided to do something to make her life better. One day, Mariam asked her mother if she could go to the old neighborhood. Her mother said no. Then she asked her father. “You are forbidden to go there!” he shouted.
That night, Mariam sneaked out. When she reached the old neighborhood, she walked straight past the demolished homes, through the deserted area until she reached a small house made of mud and bones. Mariam slowly opened the door. She looked inside. Two yellow eyes looked back at her through the darkness.
“Who’s there?” she asked.
Although the house was silent, she suddenly heard an eerie voice in her head. “Do you want to curse anyone?” it asked.
Mariam replied quickly, “Mahra. I want you to curse my sister,” she said angrily. The mysterious voice asked for Mariam’s beauty in return and she agreed without hesitation.
Mariam went home feeling very happy. As each day passed, Mahra’s beauty started to fade. Day by day, the uglier Mahra got the prettier Mariam became. Their parents were so ashamed that they started hiding Mahra away. For the very first time, the parents started favoring Mariam over Mahra. Finally, Mariam’s dreams were coming true.
That night, Mariam went to bed more beautiful than she had ever been. The next morning, she woke up, looked in the mirror and screamed. She awakened to the face of an ugly, wrinkled old lady, even uglier than her sister Mahra, who she had cursed.
At midnight, Mariam ran back to the old house. When she arrived, all she could hear was the laughter of Um Healan around her. “You cursed your sister and freely gave up your beauty to do so and you’ll never get it back,” Um Healan cackled. It was then that Mariam realized her jealousy had cost her everything.
PULL QUOTE: “The mysterious voice asked for nothing except Mariam’s beauty.”
WRITER: Shamma Humaid Obaid Humaid Almansoori
ILLUSTRATOR: Noora Abdulrahman Abdulla Abdulrahman Al Shaikh
© 2013 Zayed University Press. All Rights Reserved.
