Malikati

chapter 3

Chapter 3

Saleem’s disappearance

Hamama Umar Farouk

“Help me please, I cannot find my Saleem!” she said again this time louder, her hope dimming at each passing moment. Her son, her pride and joy. “Calm down Sayidati, where did you leave him?” Jafar’s mother asked, the other women now crowding around her. She had lost her breath now. Clutching her chest and desperately trying to breath even though she felt suffocated. “i..w..with J..Jafar” she answered. “Ya Qalbi, come here for a second, where did your friend Saleem run off to?” Jafar’s mother asked her son, drawing him close. The young boy looked up at his mother and then at his friend’s crying mess of a mother. “He left with his bigger friend”

Hamama lost it then, her tear duct could no longer keep her tears in, she wailed like a child, shameless and unapologetic. Almost pushing Jafar’s mother away, she knelt in front of the four-year-old, very confused boy. “Habibi, p..please tell me, who is this bigger friend?” who could this person be? The only person Saleem termed a bigger friend was Hamza and even then, he wouldn’t follow him anywhere she’s not. “I do not know Amma” she bowed her head in hopelessness, sobs escaping from her lips as she repeatedly called ‘Ya Allah’.

“Describe this person for us Jafar” Jafar’s mother asked, patting her son calmly, seeing that he was distraught now. “Tall…he was looking like a warrior Ummi, he had long hair which he tied, kohl around his eyes…. he looked scary. He had a scar across his left eye and was on a big brown horse”

Hamama stopped weeping, she froze. Shock, panic, resentment flooded into her like a closed dam finally opened. The descriptions fit the man in her dreams perfectly. But it was impossible. “Describe him again Jafar” she asked, her tone now took a desperate turn. “He had kohl around his eyes, a long hair and he sat atop a big brown horse” Jafar said again, this time hiding behind his mother.

It was impossible, it couldn’t have been possible. He couldn’t have known…but that description fits him so perfectly. How…? She never told him she was with his child; she never even had the chance to, after she was taken away from the palace, his shadow never crossed her path even after Saleem was born. She knew Saleem longed for his father, she saw it in the way his eyes lit up like bright stars when Hamza played that role for few minutes but she thought he would come to realize that she could play both roles…why did he follow a stranger and leave her behind? “Do you know of such man Sayidati?” Hamza asked, his eyes staring at her intently, watching every reaction. “No…I don’t know anyone by that description” she finally answered after several seconds of silence. She really didn’t. it was impossible to even think about that man leaving the capital to play the game of tag and find with his unloved concubine’s son.

“Ya Qalbi, I will give you anything your heart desires when we get home but please tell us… did Saleem’s bigger friend say anything to you before leaving with Saleem?” this time Jafar’s father, Ameed, did the asking. Hamama herself was starting to pity the young boy, at this point he was almost at the point of tears, one more question and he would be a bowling mess. “He didn’t talk to us baba, he just allowed us play with his horse, Saleem told us the horse’s name is Bubba and it was a female…and she almost bit Aishat the cattle man’s daughter.”

It was him.

The man she had spent her years running and finally believing she had escaped from, the man she had loved wholeheartedly until that love destroyed her, the man she had waited for, day by day, night by night. The man her soul had yearned for but he chose another woman.

Her betrayer, her traitor.

It really was the Sultan Ibrahim Khan.

She covered her mouth with her hands to muffle her scream.

she had freed him, why did he come back? Is this his way of sick revenge? “Calm down Umm Saleem, we will find him”. Someone else said. They didn’t understand, he will never allow them find Saleem if he doesn’t want to. He was the master of Schemes; he was the man that went to war and his enemies shudder. “I have spoken to the other men, one man saw a man with a brown horse ride towards your tent but this one covered his face so the man couldn’t see if the description fits” Hamza said.

Her house? How did he know where she lived, could it be that this secret meeting between her son and her traitor had lasted longer than she thought? without questioning anything, she got up and quickly ran towards her tent, she could feel stares on her, she could hear whispers every corner she turned but she couldn’t bring herself to care. Not now when she has realized, when she has finally realized that she wasn’t the player in this game of chess. She was the pawn.

She thought she had hidden herself so well, that he didn’t know about his son. That he didn’t know anything about her, that he couldn’t find her. She was the joke, he was always going to find her, no…he had always watched her. This, this was his way of telling her that, of reminding her who exactly she belonged to. “Curse you, curse you heartless man” she muttered as she ran, her scarf had slipped and fallen but she left it there and kept running. Finally, the small tent finally came into view, she hesitated.

Her heart, her beating piece of flesh almost stopped beating in anticipation. She became unsure. “Is he inside?” Jafar’s mother asked breathlessly. She had ran after her friend too. This question finally gave Hamama the courage to walk into her tent. Her eyes scanned the dim tent, her water jugs, folded clothes and earthen pot was just as she had left them. Sure, enough the one that caused her this great heartache was sprawled out like he had no care in the world. He was sleeping. The darn child!

“Saleem is here” she said and everyone who had gathered outside of her tent breathe a sigh of relief. “I am sorry to cause so much disruption” she apologised, folding her hands together in apology. They had left the feast to join in her search for Saleem, meanwhile the boy was sleeping in her tent as peaceful as ever. “And the man?” “there’s no one here” she answered. Hamza didn’t believe her; with his unsheathed sword he entered into the tent. He searched every corner and finally sheathed his word when he couldn’t find anyone. If the situation wasn’t so dire, Hamama might have laughed at his show of dominance, was he thinking he could wrestle against a man that took over the caliphate on his own?

“You should rest Umm Saleem, perhaps the man on the horse just wanted to help him find his way. Go in and rest” the sheik said, eager to return to his daughter’s side and continue the wedding feast Hamama ruined. “I apologise for this, I will make it up to Raghad tomorrow” “no!” Raghad’s mother screamed and only when she got concerning stares from other people around her did she lower her voice. This lady and her darn child has already done enough damage “don’t bother about Raghad, we have explained to her and she is fine, she would have joined us but it is ominous for a new bride” “I understand Amma, thank you everyone, good bye” she said, folding her hands together until the last person left, except Hamza. “You know that man” he stated.

“You should leave too Hamza, your sister needs you…” “who is he Hamama?” she stared at him, at this man that has cared for her at the detriment of his mother’s anger “I do not owe you an answer Hamza son of the Shiek”. She watched the hurt etch in his face before it was quickly replaced by anger, she felt for him but she wanted everything to be over quickly, the moon by now had replaced the sun completely and the darkness was quickly spreading through the sky. She wanted to close her eye and pretend this day never happened. Now that he knows about his son, she would have to leave the northern border, perhaps, it was time to go to the western border this time. He nodded and then turned to leave without saying anything “He is Saleem’s father…”

He stopped walking, his back turned to her but she knew he was listening. “I was married, son of the sheik, to a powerful man in the capital. I had begged my father for a union with that man in exchange of saving his life, my father couldn’t say no after I had cried for many days and refused eating. After the wedding feast this man left to the capital and invited me after four years…but he was already married to someone else” she finally got his attention as he turned and stared at her intently.

She relived those moments, the hurt, the shame, the anger. And with tears flowing down her face, she continued “she became the main wife and even though I had married him first, I was his other woman. His concubine. But I loved that man son of the sheik, so every night he came to me, I thought I had him. Until I got pregnant with Saleem, his wife got pregnant too…I couldn’t tell him. One day, his wife was poisoned and lost the baby, he suspected me and threw me out.” she couldn’t tell him more than that or he would figure out. he would know that the person he was up against was no ordinary man.

“Please unlove me Hamza, your mother was right, I am a broken woman” he covered the distance between them, stared deeply into her eyes and kissed her fore-head and just when he wanted to cover her lips with his, when she had closed her eyes in anticipation…her earthen pot crashed and broke into pieces creating a loud noise that shocked them both.

“Please leave Son of the Shiek” she said creating that distance again “but…” “Tomorrow, I will see you tomorrow.” She wasn’t going to keep that promise, tomorrow as early as possible she would be on her way to the western border with Saleem. He nodded and kissed her again gently on her fore-head and walked away.

She watched him leave and bid him farewell for the last time. Her heart breaking with every step he took further. She had liked him, maybe a little bit too deeply than she preferred...

“Was I so evil in your eyes that you cried in front of another?”

She stopped breathing…

“Ibrahim...”