Hannah said nothing and remained quiet all the way. Still Siyad felt her pain. He wanted to console her. But he knew that it will only worsen the situation.
On reaching her apartment doorway, Hannah just opened the car door and walked out restraining all her emotions.
“Hannah please wait.” Siyad called out. She wanted to ignore him but could not.
“Need a favour.” He said quietly.
“Again” she yelled
“Why are you shouting? I did not ask for your kidneys.”
“Just order me and I shall thy serve you, your highness”. She mocked him.
Siyad loved the tone in which she presented it.
“Then my slave, you shall keep this Maria at your home, for a night”
“What?”
“Are you deaf?”
“How will I explain this to my Mom?”
“You don’t have to, I will”
“Oh, you are now planning to visit my humble hut.”
“No, we are.” Adam now joined the drama company with little Maria.
“What if she wakes in the middle of the night and yells at me?”
“Exactly slave, that’s my point”
“Slave!”
Now Adam really started to enjoy their show.
“Look here mister. My mom won’t…."
Siyad did not allow her to complete her sentence.
Siyad just marched into Hannah’s apartment and Adam just followed him, holding the sleeping Maria on to his shoulders.
Mumtaz welcomed the party whole heartedly as she knew how kind Siyad was.
Hannah expected an explosion from her mother on seeing Adam and Maria.
But
“Allah……. Show Mercy on them.” Saying this Mumtaz just grabbed the 6 year old Maria to her chest and started crying.
Even though Hannah felt a bit jealous, she was surprised to see her mother’s affection towards the young.
“How can her parents even think of selling their own child?”
“Poverty and helplessness.” Siyad replied.
“It’s only a mild sedative we have given her. She will open her eyes within few hours”. Adam explained as he reached for snacks on shelves.
“Are you hungry?” Mumtaz enquired.
“Is that a question?” Adam replied hungrily.
“Oh sorry, we are so poor that we don’t have anything to eat”. Hannah added.
“Really.” Adam took it seriously.
“We starve, starve to death or else we drink water from toilet and eat tooth paste or soap.”
“Hannah stop it. Is this your manners?” Mumtaz scorned
“Mamma, these rich guys can be fed only with royal poop. We can’t afford them. Ask them to leave.”
Siyad just smiled and he loved watching the scene.
“Hannah, mind your language.” This time Mumtaz had to raise her voice a bit.
“Adam, there is plenty of food in the kitchen. Fish and gravy with steamed rice and salads.”
Without further explanations, Adam just rushed into the kitchen.
“Hannah serve them.”
Hannah got mad on hearing the word ‘Serve’. Siyad just rolled out and laughed. Even if Mumtaz could not follow the entire scene, she too felt something funny.
“Mam, I need to use a washroom.” Siyad asked politely.
“Oh we slum people do it on the roads.” An angry Hannah replied.
“Sshh…. girl.Behave. What is wrong with you today?” Mumtaz got rude.
“Son, you can use Hannah’s washroom.”
“What?”
“Hannah shut up. Go and help Adam in the kitchen.”
Siyad slowly entered Hannah’s room.
“Mam, tell him not to touch my things.”
Siyad heard Hannah’s threatening voice from behind.
He found a completely disoriented room. It had a study table, a bed in which hardly a person can fit. Then a cupboard, which had her clothes.
What made it more interesting for Siyad was, the contents of her room. No teddy bears, lipsticks or rock star’s postures could be seen inside her room. Instead, the entire room was piled up with, Atlas, geographical books, maps, note pads. As he turned on the lights he saw several drawings and scribbling done on the walls. Sticky notes with some descriptions where even glued on to the ceiling.
“Strange! What is she up to?”
He went for a closer look
Route of Migratory birds, fishes and even turtles, sketched elegantly on the walls. Even her bed sheet had names of places.
“My God, is she doing an area wise study of planet Earth? Wonderful”. He smiled and thought “like I expected, she is not an ordinary figure. She is definitely after something”.
Siyad then saw a blue file and out of curiosity he opened it. It had sketches of a strange land. As we know, it had sketches of Haffy, Kit, tree houses, strange flowers and beetles. And then Annie.
“She is beautiful.” Siyad was caught up in a trance as he went through her drawings.
“So you came here to spy on me?” Hannah exploded from his back.
“I am sorry… What did you say?” Siyad was taken back to his reality.
“How dare you go through my personal belongings?”
“Oh is that so?” Siyad just acted arrogantly and straight away fell on to her bed.
The sheets had her smell, ‘smell of lavenders’ he thought.
“You shameless creature, get out of my bed and give back my pictures.”
“Ahh! Cozy and comforting. Hannah please cover me with your sheets too.” Hannah was fuming hot out of anger as he exaggerated.
“You rascal, get out of my bed and go back to your palace.” She then started pulling out his leg, which Siyad started to enjoy, with his closed eyes.
“I will pour water on your face.”
He smiled and continued his act of sleeping. Hannah then took a bottle filled with water.
“I will throw it on you.”
“Please feel free and do it”. He encouraged her. “But there is a problem young slave.” He smiled and continue. “All your Art works are gonna get wet too.” That really made her calm down a bit.
She just sat down on the side of her bed, with the bottle. Siyad too lifted himself out of the bed and sat along her side.
“Look Hannah, Please just calm down and listen.”
She just looked at him for his explanations.
“Your stomach is empty. You are tired and exhausted. So no matter whatever I say, you…….”
Before he could complete his words. They heard sobbing of Maria.
“I need to see my Ammi.” The kid got sore. Such a hue and cry, even Mumtaz was taken aback. Adam thought of sedating her again, Which Siyad stopped him from doing so.
“Oh come here Baby. I will take care of you”. Hannah made her move. All looked at her in a surprise.
“BY the way you are Marie, right”. The child stopped her act and started to pay attention to Hannah.
“Okay, come to me, I am Hannah your sister, Isabel’s friend. This is Mumtaz, my Mom and those are your brother’s Adam and Siyad.”
Maria looked at her newly formed brother’s.
“Now let’s go home, but before that, let me ring your mother.” Hannah took out her mobile and started dialing a number. “Oh God, It’s busy. May be they are asleep”. Hannah tried to pacify her.
“No dial them again” Maria insisted. Meanwhile Siyad managed to get Hannah’s mobile number from Mumtaz. He then dialed Hannah and eyed her to attend his call. “Hi baby.” Siyad went to the balcony and said.
“What rubbish?” Hannah tried to silence him.
“Idiot. I am Maria’s father”
Then Hannah understood Siyad’s plot. Adam too joined Siyad at the balcony and he had planned to play the role of Maria’s mother.
After few minutes of pestering and parenting, Maria was forced to believe that her parents had gone out of town in search of a job and until they come back. She had to obey her brothers Adam and Siyad.
The plan worked, but Maria disagreed to stay away from Hannah’s chest.
Maria had slept, but she laid peacefully inside Hannah’s arms. Hannah too feel asleep on her couch. Mumtaz slowly tried to grab Maria out of her arms but the little girl kept gripping Hannah’s finger. Which made her impossible to move maria away from Hannah. Meanwhile Adam and Siyad went into some serious affairs. The custody of the little girl must be made legal. Both of them were practicing law. During their college days they joined the ‘Activists’. Initially it was a part of their project but slowly rescuing and securing girls from human trafficking became a part of their life. Being a rich and famous in the society, Siyad had managed to outwit the criminals and Mafia’s associated with his herculean tasks.
He involved in each mission with such intelligence that, he took care of avoiding any media attention or mass publicity about his social rescues.
Even though in the eyes of many, he remained a rich spoilt brat, but for few, he is a super hero who had fought with the dark and offered good days in their lives.
Syrene can be a non-stop talker and his pestering unavoidable childhood mate. But from day one, onwards Siyad had taken interest in the anecdotes of ‘Hannah’ the wild cat, which Syrene had be telling endlessly. For some unknown reasons, Siyad then wanted to meet Hannah. He had always felt that she would be an important person in his life. When Syrene depicted the cat fight that happened between the two and that too for some strange pictures. Siyad’s enthusiasm only increased. So he only forced Syrene to slap back Hannah, just to see how Hannah would react.
When Siyad saw Hannah for the first time, he felt a blood rush in his vein. How careless and irresponsibly bold she looked? When girls of her age went after beauty and gossips. She, so natural and carefree. ‘There must be a mystery behind her”. He had always calculated that. Having known the psychology of many underprivileged, Siyad could predict the personality hidden under a person’s skin.
No matter whatever hide outs a person may use. It is easy to find his/her inner self, if we look at him/her without a non-judgmental perspective.
Is it possible? Yes it is.
*
