Chapter 10 10: B

"You re going to stay here for a while," he began, and the sound of his voice made her turn her attention to him. She didn t want to have his men lift her up in those soldiers barrack and he would break all her feeble bones. So, she stayed attentive to be able to understand all that he had said. "I'll take you to my house later on. And while I'm away, don t ever go out of this door, okay? Even if someone knocks, unless you hear my voice, don t ever unlock it, heard me?" It took her almost to two minutes before everything became clear to her brain and she nodded her head at him, she had understood. "Will you be able to recognize my voice?" He knew if it were a normal and smart girl, she certainly would, but at the rate at which she even understood what he said, Na im doubted if she would. Maryam closed her eyes and did the only thing she could to have his voice memorized into her brain. What she had always done whenever she wanted to remember something, someone or just anything she found worthy. "Speak again," she said with her eyes closed and all her life, she had never focused on something and became so attentive like she was today. Na im stared at her unbelievably, did she have to do that? He shrugged his shoulder and began to speak like she had asked him to, "I said you should not open the door for anyone expect you hear my voice, okay? I'll bring food for you, so you don t have to starve and always eat and pray on time. Even if you weren t able to recognize my voice, whenever you heard..." He stayed silent, not knowing what code would be easily remembered between them that she would know everywhere she heard it, that it was him. He wanted to give them something unique, yet simple to her complicated brain. "Hoor. Then that s me, okay?" He stayed silent, waiting for her to finish whatever it was she was doing and she slowly opened her eyes and laid them on his. Na im found two worlds in her eyes, two different universes that he wasn't ready to explore, so he took his eyes off her and stood up. "Come, I'll show you how to lock the door from inside." She followed him silently to the door and he showed her how to lock the door and asked her to lock it while he went out. He knocked, knowing how childish this looked as though they were playing house; but he had done even more ridiculous things with this girl and he knew more were yet to come so he didn t bother himself. "You have to ask who it was before unlocking, okay?" He said the moment she had unlocked the door for him and Maryam nodded before she took few steps away from him. Na im sighed, he wanted to see his father. He had missed him and it had been over a week since the last time he saw him. And dealing with this difficult creature here made him want to see his father so that he would at least be pampered, too. He looked at her and went to where he had kept his phone, took it before he aimed at the door. "I'm leaving, eat your meal and sleep after you pray Isha, okay?" She only nodded her head and waited until he was about to walk out of the door before she took a hold of his shirt. Maryam realized she was scared just when he was about to leave. This place seemed too huge and too luxurious for her that she felt it would as well fall over her with any wrong move she made. She didn t want him to leave, not just because she was terrified, but because she knew he might not come back and she would only get to see him when she was at the brink of death, again. "Don t leave." It was hard pushing these words out, but with this man, she got to do all the things she had never done with Intisar for him to be able to understand her. Just like he didn t understand her, she didn t understand him either, for he was forcing her to do the things she had to breath so hard for. It wasn t like Intisar or Baaba, with whom she was certain knew what she wanted by just staring at him, and she knew what they meant with just a look. Maryam realized that with this man, she had to speak just like he spoke to her all the time too. Na im stared at her face then to the hand that held his shirt. He sighed and turned to face her. She saw him lifting his eyes and from his body language, Maryam knew he was about to touch her and she instantly took a step back. He forgot, "I m not going to harm you," he assured and saw her stayed still, her eyes still fixed on his moving hands until he placed them on her shoulders and slightly shook her to get her attention back to his face. "Look here," and she did, but he wished she hadn t shot those eyes right into his. "I have to go back home, okay? You can t ask me to stay here, I have no place to sleep, do I?" She thought about that, there was only one bed and she wasn t willing to sleep on the floor if he was going to stay, just that she was never going to be able to voice this to him. "My father waits for me at home, I'm someone that can t do whatever I like because there are eyes of people on me and I have to be careful of my movements and actions all the times. It s due to that that you re here, not home with my family." It seemed to him that she wasn t understanding, and he knew even if she were smart and sharp, she might hardly understand what he meant. "So, I have to leave. But I'll stop by tomorrow before I leave to work. I'll come everyday," the tears he saw on her face was evident enough that she didn t believe him and he knew why. He had promised to her that he would come to see her in the refugee camp but he didn t keep up to his promise. He had noticed how hard it was for her to speak and even with that, she might've tried to ask about him at the camp but got no response. "I promise, okay? I won't leave you here all alone." He released her shoulder and watched her eyes got filled with tears he walked out of the room. He didn t know why he was feeling sympathetic towards her, knowing so well that it wasn t a good start to things. As he walked into the elevator, Na im silently wished she had locked the door after he walked out. Because he wouldn t have another case upon which he was hooked on. He waited until his arrival was announced to the King. Not everyone came to His Majesty s room at night, but Na im did, and it seemed everyone knew that he was the only one amongst the princes who could do that. He was ushered in at once and a small smile spread across his face when he saw his father, on a sofa as he reclined while he read a newspaper. "I extend my greetings to you, Alan Gubro," he was called that Royally, and no matter how Na im wanted to speak to his father not the king, he had to extend these greetings with the royal ethics he had been taught since after birth. Abba waved his hand at him and patted the space beside him on the sofa. "Look at who s here, the greatest Captain Maiduguri has ever been blessed with. Come and seat here, you don't have to stand at ceremony." He was instantly eased at the manner he had found his father and that only meant he would be able to ease his mind and get some rest for the time being. Na im walked and sat beside him and before he even spoke, he rested his head on his shoulder and closed his eyes. Abba stared at him from his shoulder and smiled, giving him the silence he wanted. They stayed like that for over five minutes before Na im found his voice, choked with emotions as it was, he didn t filter it from his father. "Abba, everything is so hard on me. I just want to drop everything and run away." Abba chuckled at that, and not once did Na im appreciated the sense of humor of his father. Because if it hadn t been for that, he wouldn t have been who he was today. That knot in his chest wouldn t have laid dormant, even though it had been in his heart for what seemed like forever-it wouldn t have felt like it wasn t. He would forever be thankful for the father he had. Abba fondled his hair and smiled again, "How can a prince run away from the palace? You can t do that, Na im. And I understand how things may be hard for you, traumatic even, judging with the things you deal with now. But you have to be strong, okay? I won't forbade you from taking a space, a day or two break is okay, but don t ever think of throwing away all that you have and run away forever, you d even be bored if you do that." Na im chuckled at that, he always had a way of saying no to you, scolding you for saying or doing something you shouldn't have, yet in a humorous way that you wouldn t feel bad. Na im believed that Sadeeq got his sense of humor from their father, as annoying as believing that may seem. "Can I take the two days break then?" He asked, his heart wavering even though what he had in mind for those two days wasn t in anywhere close to a break. Even though it may seem that he could take days before he came to visit his father, but a day spent out of the palace, and he would know. He knew everything about him that he couldn t do whatever he liked. Abba smiled when Na im looked into his face to ask for that permission. "Yes, two days break is okay. I ll have them to stop checking up on you for those days, you re all on your own to do whatever you want to. I know I shouldn t keep tabs on you, but first it was because I was worried for your safety, and then it became a habit that I can t stop."