Lost

Chapter 13: Angry Hunger

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The moment the words escaped Asim's lips, his mother and William dived out of their chairs. Almost toppling the furniture, they rushed towards the door.

"Get my shawl from the hook. Go!" his mother ordered Asim.

In the lounge, Ann was already wrapping her shawl around her. In mere seconds, the two ladies were properly covered and everyone headed towards the guestroom with bated breaths. Asim was starting to have goosebumps. He had no idea what to expect from Niall. The moment Niall said he had news to share, Asim had rushed in to get his family. He noticed Anne clasping her hands together to keep them from shaking too much while William kept a firm arm around his mother's shoulders. Feeling queasy, Asim followed the rest of them into the drawing room.

"Uh, hi!" Niall stood up, giving Alley, Ann and William a nervous smile as they entered. Asim notice his smile falter a little as his eyes rested on the curly haired boy. "I'm Niall. Zayn's friend."

Niall offered Alley a polite hand, "You may remember me from the meeting a few days ago."

"Yes," Asim and William, both said in unison. "Yes, we do!"

It took Asim a moment to realize that he and William had both jumped forward to grasp Niall's extended hand in an attempt to avoid an awkward situation, only to make it even more awkward. Niall stared at his hand getting distorted in his and William's eager grasp with his mouth hanging open slightly. Asim could see his mother and Anne trying to keep a straight face.

"Oh!" Asim released his hand immediately. "I'm sorry."

"It's just that, uh," William withdrew his hand too, scratching his forehead awkwardly as he explained. "Our ladies don't shake hands with the opposite gender. And vice versa."

"My apologies, I didn't know," Niall apologized, pulling his hand back quickly, "I didn't mean any disrespect with the handshake, ma'am."

"It's alright, son," Alley smiled. "Take a seat."

"It's not limited to just handshakes though," Asim muttered under breath, as they all settled down.

Having heard him, William bit his lips so as to not crack a smile, while Anne cleared her throat, avoiding their eyes. Asim could see her struggling to keep a straight face too.

A few years a go, Uncle Dawood was faced with a similar dilemma when a lady offered him his hand. Like William, Uncle Dawood had explained, "I'm sorry if this is rude but Muslim men are not allowed to shake hands with ladies,". The loving lady misunderstood what he meant and Uncle Dawood ended up getting hugged by her ("Oh no problem, honey!" she had said, "I love hugs better too!")

"So," his mother's voice broke into Asim's train of thoughts. "My son told us you are here with some news?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Niall replied, "Asim told me to call him if I hand any updates, but he wouldn't attend his phone when I called . . ." Niall trialed off, eyeing Asim questioningly.

"Yeah, my cell is off," Asim said, clearing his throat. "Battery discharged."

Truth was, he turned it off. James's attacks were becoming unbearable earlier, and then he forgot to turn it back on later.

"Right," Niall nodded, reaching for his phone. "So I decided to pay you a visit. I thought you guys would like to know about this."

Unlocking his phone, Niall swiped over the screen a bit before turning it around for them to see.