My Handsome Cousin

He lies while saying nothing

I look at the man lying on my sister's bed. He was wearing a red and black striped shirt and black trousers. He looked very tired and I thought he'd just had a long journey. His presence disturbs me, so I decided to go and join the others in front of the TV because I have no desire to look at this man or talk to him.

But at some point I feel I really need to get changed and take a shower. I go back into the room and stand in front of the man.

- Hi, who are you? I say to him in English without any intention of getting formal with him.

I know it's not polite to talk like that to a stranger. But I'm hoping that my 'hello' will hide my lack of politeness a little. He straightens up and looks at me, eyebrows furrowed. And my heart inexplicably leaps into my chest seeing his beautyful face.

- You, you must be Miranda!

He speaks to me in a foreign language, the language of my origin's country, which I use to communicate with most of my family. It's not really a question he's asking me. And I'm surprised he knows my first name.

I press my lips together before answering in my most cheeky way.

- Yes, the one and only. The star of this house!

I say this while striking different poses to show him that I'm not afraid at all. To tell the truth, I think I'm just trying to annoy him so he'll get up and leave my room so I can go on with my business in peace. But the truth is I just feel stupid.

What's more, the more I look at him, the more I feel there's something not quite right about this man. And it's not her beautiful face that's going to convince me otherwise.

- So who are you?" I ask after a brief moment of looking at him to see what's wrong with him, without finding anything.

It's not so much that I want to make conversation as that I need to be sure he understands what I'm saying.

- Go and ask your mother.

I take a deep breath. How can anyone be so annoying? Does he really think I care who he is? Couldn't he just think I need a bit of privacy in this room to change?

I take a deep breath to calm myself. I know it's not worth wasting even a little of my breath on someone so annoying.

So I don't reply. I just grab a change of clothes and head straight for the bathroom to shower and change. On my way out I head for the kitchen to find my mother's older sister.

I don't go back into the bedroom because I don't want to see the man there. I go into the kitchen, but I can't find my auntie. And my aunt isn't there either. She'll be home late. So I have to find out who this man is and, above all, whether he intends to stay long.

I go back into the room and look at the man lying on the bed opposite mine, which is actually Mira's, my older sister's. I don't go near him, but I'm sure he's going to be there for a while. But I don't go near him.

Why do I get the feeling he's lying when he's not saying anything?

You must think I'm paranoid, but I have the impression that he's lying. It's the same feeling I've had many times before, and it's always proved to be true. But now I can't see where such an impression could come from, as he doesn't even speak.

I sit down on my bed, take a book out of my bag and start reading. It's a fascinating book, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. But I'm not concentrating very hard on my reading, so I get up and go back to the kitchen, where this time I find my great aunt.

- Good evening, Auntie!" I say, sitting down on the floor facing her.

She's sorting lentils. She returns my greeting before saying:

- If you're hungry, look in the pots, there's bound to be something to eat.

She must find it strange to see me joining her in the kitchen like that. Because usually I only come and sit in the kitchen like this when my aunt is there, to help her.

- No, Auntie, I'm not hungry," I replied.

You have to realise that eating isn't really one of my hobbies. I often skip meals.

- Can I ask you a question? I add

She looks up at me. She knows that even if she doesn't agree I'm still going to ask my question, so she doesn't say anything.

- Who's the man lying on Mira's bed?!

I really feel the need to point out that it's Mira's bed to indicate that he's not really welcome!

- He's the eldest in the family," my auntie simply replies.