Un-Shattering Happiness: Chapter 4

 

Nicholas happily walked back home. Now, father won’t be causing any trouble, right? He smiled. He whistled, kicking a rock in his way when he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and was greeted by a punch on his face.

“WHAT WAS THA-”

Another punch.

“ARGH!” he stepped back, covering his bleeding nose with his hand.

The man seemed to be one of his father’s men. He wore a black suit and a pair of black rectangular glasses. Oh, shoot! Did he follow me? Fudge! Nicholas knew better than anyone to never talk back to his father’s subordinates. So, he stood helplessly, mouth zipped.

“The President has seen through your scheme,” he said in a gruff voice*.

Nicholas’ eyes widened. How was father able to find out so soon?

“I’ll be taking you to the basement,” he said and took out handcuffs from his side pocket.

Nicholas thought of running away, but where would he run off to? Going back home would be the same as presenting himself as a sacrifice to the devil. He hung his head and closed his eyes. Sorry, Remedios. The man put handcuffs on his hands and pushed him in the front. Nicholas held in his anger. Seeing Nicholas’ subtle resistance, the man raised his hand and hit his neck. Nicholas, who was unaware of the attack, fainted. The man murmured something. A black Sedan quietly came on the spot out of nowhere. The man opened the back door and threw Nicholas in. He slammed the door shut and then took a seat next to the driver’s seat.

 

 

The food court was noisy and busy. There were people everywhere. There were lots of food shops standing next to each other. The mall she had last toured was the one in Pakistan with Nicholas. And that mall was nothing compared to this one. Or maybe because she had gone to the mall when it had been newly built. The mall had a prism design exterior. It was what had attracted her to grab Nicholas’ hand and drag him along with her while their parents attended an important meeting with the Prime Minister at the time. There was nothing attractive inside the mall, though. It was plain, boring, and overpriced. Despite being a President’s daughter, Hawwa never spent money extravagantly.

“What do you want to try first?” Maira’s voice rang a bell in her head.

Back then, the food court only had one shop called Em See Donald’s. It had a yellow clown sitting next to it. But Hawwa couldn’t explore the contents because Nicholas was a scaredy-cat. He was afraid of clowns.

“Uhmm…em see Donald's?” she said, unsure on how the name was pronounced.

Maira looked at her in wonder. Poor child. Has she been living under a rock all this time?

“Meck Donald’s is how it’s pronounced,” she smiled. “Wow, it’s surprising you know about this one!”

Aah, so embarrassing, thought Hawwa.

“Well yes, but no…” she said, still embarrassed, her cheeks turning red.

“No worries,” chuckled Maira.

 

Maira ordered two cheeseburgers and two glasses of Coca Cola from McDonald’s.

“What about potato chips?”

“Fries. We are getting them from California Fries. It’s a new shop that opened up recently. It only sells fries. And the taste is just…heavenly!”

I was wrong. Miss Maira isn’t outdated. I am the outdated person, thought Hawwa as she followed Maira. Will she ever be able to belong to this place? Back home, no matter how much she tried to mingle with people, she would be labeled as the President’s daughter. She thought that attending a public school might help her out a bit, but even at school, everyone just treated her as the President’s daughter. No one saw her. They saw Argon Pothemus’ daughter. That turned her into a lonely outcast. Well, things got better when those girls at the library had approached her.

“…Wa…Hawwa…hey…Hawwa!”

“Huh?” she looked up and saw Maira waving her hand in front of her eyes.

“The burger is getting cold. What are you thinking so deeply about?”

“Nothing…just…I don’t know much about the outside world.”

Maira bit her lower lip. “Well, now you know some of it. Think of it as an adventure,” she smiled.

Hawwa nodded.

“Don’t get too addicted to the coke,” said Maira as Hawwa took a sip of the black fizzy drink.

“It tastes better than wine,” she laughed. “It’s too sweet.”

 

After lunch, the two shopped for abayas. Maira bought a couple of black abayas, black scarves, and colorful scarves. Then, the two did groceries. This was a new experience, as well.

“Was it fun?” asked Maira as she wheeled the trolley to the parking lot.

“Yeah!”

When they reached their parking spot, a different car rested instead of the Cadillac. It was an oldie as well.

“Oh, my favorite!” said Maira as she opened the bumper of the car.

A faded brown 1969 Dodge Hemi Coronet R/T Convertible rested on the parking lot. It looked like the ones Hawwa had seen in movies.

Hawwa helped in putting the stuff in the bumper. Finishing up everything, Maira wheeled the trolley to a corner, and then the two sat in the car. It was six in the evening. The sun was setting. The evening colors were slowly dissolving into the night sky. The red traffic light switched to green. Maira stepped on the accelerator and drove home.

 

 

Nicholas slowly opened his eyes. It was pitch black. He tried to move but felt as if he had been tied to the wall. He felt stiff but not hurt. That was good for now. But what kind of father would treat his own child like this? Was this the price of trying to save his own sister?

“You are awake.” It was his father. “You dare defy me?” his tone flat.

Nicholas remained silent, waiting for what else his father had to say.

“I gave you a simple task, but you made things complicated. Are you ready to take responsibility?”

His heart sank.

“Bring her in.”

He heard someone dragging in something. Is she…dead? He closed his eyes, trying to sense for any delicate sounds.

“Ah…he…lp…kill...me…hu…rts…” he heard a hoarse whimper.

“Light the candles,” ordered his father. “Look what you have done,” he said to Nicholas.

It was the lady he had met at school earlier this morning. Her hair was a mess. Her clothes were torn, and there were bruises all over her body. The face that was once beautiful and unscathed was now covered with scratches and blood. She wasn’t moving as if saving energy for later or had given up on hope to see another sunrise. He couldn’t say anything. He didn’t even know her name.

“Let her go, father,” he said after a few seconds, looking right into his father’s eyes.

Argon’s lips curved up into a cold smile. He raised his hand, signaling to one of his men.

“No…NO!!” screamed Nicholas. She can still be saved! “I WILL HELP OUT, SO LET HER GO!!”

Argon snickered. “Too late.”

A man appeared in the candlelit room, carrying a chainsaw.

“Death is never an easy deal,” said Argon, as if life and death were in his hands. “Keep your eyes open and watch what you have done, my little godson,” he mocked.

The man started the chainsaw and slowly grated it on the lady’s neck. She writhed in pain, screaming with all her might as blood splattered and oozed from her delicate neck. Her scream was no longer that of a human, nor was what his father had done. Remedios must never return.

“Release him.”

The men cut the ropes, and Nicholas fell on the ground. Argon grabbed his face and lifted it up, pressing his cheeks roughly.

“Now, be a good boy and proceed with the investigation. One wrong move and there could be mass murder in your name,” he said softly. “This is what you call the power of God.” He let go of his face with force*.  “Oh, and make sure to clean the head. Hang it in your room as a prize from God himself.” with that, Argon and his men left the room.

Nicholas sat in shock, his hands trembling, his mind gone completely blank.

God? He thought. If Father is a God, then I am a God, too, right?

He got up and gently picked up the lady’s head. He placed his hand on her eyes, closing them.

“I am sorry that you had to go through this. Your death will not go in vain.”

He then picked up the rest of her body and walked out of the room, following the candle trail.

 

 

Another sunrise, another morning, another day to be grateful to God. Hawwa heard a soft knock on the door. That was all to her up for the day. She removed the covers off her face and sat up. She looked at the wall clock, yawning. It was 9 o’clock.

“Late again,” she sighed.

She got off the bed and walked to the window. For the last time, she looked around the room, appreciating darkness, and then bravely opened the curtains, facing the conquering sunshine. She freshened up and went downstairs.

“Good Morning!” she said as soon as she stepped in the kitchen.

“Assalam-u-Alaikum,” said Maira. “It’s more blessed this day.”

Hawwa nodded. “Assalam-u-Alaikum,” she copied. Omg! I got it right without any mistakes! Yay!

“Walai-ku-Mussalam.”

“So, what’s the plan for today?” asked Hawwa, grabbing a chair.

“Well, we’ll start off with the basics,” said Maira as she expertly flipped an egg in the frying pan.

“Alphabets and sounds?”

“Yes. And then, I want you to memorize the opening chapter of the Qur’an.”

“Oh, lucky me! I know the basics,” Hawwa grinned.

“Your friends?”

“Mmm.”

“That’s great then. I can add one more thing to our plan then,” Maira smiled.

“What is it?” asked Hawwa excitedly.

“I’ll briefly explain what the opening chapter is about. It’s important to understand what is being recited,” said Maira, as she placed a plate of naan and a plate of fried egg in front of Hawwa

“Can’t wait!”

“Don’t wait for me. Start eating so that by the time I finish eating, you are done too,” she chuckled.

“Yes,” said Hawwa, laughing.

 

 

Another sunrise, another morning, another start of a hellish day. Once again, Argon Pothemus was having breakfast with Nicholas.

“It’s one headache after another,” he complained.

Nicholas looked up from his plate.

“Your mother has gone to her brother’s house.”

“Oh.”

“It’s not, oh! It’s oh no!” he slammed his hand on the table.

Nicholas nodded obediently.

“You better take care of what I have told you to do. I have to go and get your mother before she causes any extra trouble.” He wiped his face with the white napkin and got up. “Your every move is being watched. Remember that.” With that, he left the room, leaving Nicholas in the company of the deaf and mute servants.

 

Nicholas finished his meal and walked outside the mansion. He couldn’t bear to go back to his room, for he would have to see the innocent lady’s head hanging in the place of the wall clock.

Should I really go to the mosque? He thought. Is it really okay to sacrifice so many people for Remedios? No, no, no, no, no, I can’t have blood on my hands. Life is precious. Nicholas struggled to find justice between his sister and his people. In the end, he made his way to the mosque. If he knew where Remedios was, he could make better plans. He made his way to the Big Mosque. There were two signs on a board when he reached the mosque—ladies to the right, men to the left. Upon reaching the men’s prayer room, he saw lots of sandals and boots on the floor. He peeked in the prayer room. It was carpeted. He took off his sneakers and stepped inside, unsure whether he would be recognized or not.

“Wow!” he said under his breath.

The prayer room was beautiful and smelt good. It had some writings embedded all over the walls. The place was quiet, maybe because it was daytime. Nicholas felt so calm in the prayer room that he felt like crying. No, wait, I don’t have time for emotions and exploring… I need to find the main guy, he thought, focusing on what he came for. A man in a white dress sat near the mic. He had a white beard and wore a round white cap. He looks like the main guy, he thought and walked to the man. Nicholas sat in front of the man to pay respects to the elder.

“Hello!”

The man looked up from the book he was reading.

“Assalam-u-Alaikum,” the man replied. “How may I help you, brother?”

“I am Nicholas Argon.”

The man didn’t seem to be cautious of Nicholas and hinted him to go on.

“I am looking for my sister, Remedios. Did she… come here?”

The man nodded. “She did, but she’s not here anymore. She left.”

 “What do you mean she left? Do you know where she could have gone?” He was relieved and worried at the same time.

“She went to Oman with Maira Bint Said.”

Maira Bint Said? Is she someone I am supposed to know?

“The President’s power will not work there,” the man whispered.

“Is there any way I can contact her?”

The man looked at Nicholas for a moment then shook his head. “She left in a hurry.”

Nicholas licked his lower lip, swallowing his saliva. “Thank you.” He bowed his head and then left the prayer room.

A man in black approached him. “You can go home now.”

Nicholas glared at him and then made his way back home. He hoped he was only being watched and not heard. And who was this Maira person? Was she an important figure that even that man looked at him in shock? Well, all’s good if Remedios is safe.

 

 

“You have done a good job today, Hawwa. You are a fast learner. But reading in a flow will take time. So, keep practicing it every day,” said Maira, encouraging Hawwa to do better in the future too.

Hawwa nodded and smiled broadly.

“Now, I will give you a brief explanation of what is Surah Fatiha or, The Opening chapter is about. I can talk volumes on it, but I will try to make it short and interesting for you. So, stay attentive.”

“Yes!”

“Surah Fatiha is the opening chapter of the Qur’an. So, it’s basically like a preface, like an introduction to the Qur’an. We recite this Surah in every unit of our prayer. So, that’s why it is crucial to understand what the Surah conveys. What is so important about it that we recite it at least 30 times per day?

The Surah is divided into three parts. The first three verses are about Allah. He introduces Himself as the Rabb of all the universes. What does Rabb mean? Well, the English vocabulary isn’t enough to describe the word. He’s the Cherisher, the Creator, the Controller of everything that exists.  And then, He moves on to describe Himself in verse 2 and verse 3. He is the Most Merciful, and He is the Master of the Day of Judgement. Now, a lot of people have two different extreme concepts about Allah. He is the Most Merciful. What does that mean? He is the most Forgiving.

You see, there’s a point system in our religion. You do a good deed, and you get lots of extra points. You do a bad deed, and you get only one point taken away or how much the sin weighs. And that sin, too, gets forgiven if you sincerely ask for His forgiveness. This is how much Merciful and Forgiving He is! But this is where problems arise. People take advantage of His Mercy. Ya Akhi, it’s okay to do some sins because He will forgive us! Do you think Allah doesn’t know what you are planning? Do you think you can play tricks with the one who created you and gave you life? And that is why, after describing Himself as Merciful, He also tells us that He is the Master of the Day of Judgement, that there will be a day we will be held accountable for our actions. Okay, so that’s one kind of extreme people, who think they can fool Allah. The other type is people have a scary picture of Allah in their minds. He is cruel for throwing people in hell. These people don’t worship Allah because they love Him; they worship Him because they fear Him. Too much fear can create misunderstandings, and that’s why, as you can see how these two verses complement each other. They are a pair. Those who believe in Allah’s limitless Mercy now know that they will be held accountable for their actions. And those who believe in Allah’s anger now see that He is also the most Merciful.

Verse 4 is about Allah and us. The first part of the verse is a conclusion to the first three verses of the Surah. To you alone, I worship. It’s like, after reading Allah’s self-introduction, we are so impressed that we have signed up to be His slave for eternity! And after claiming to be His faithful servant, we ask for His help. The second part of verse 4 is us asking for His help. From you alone, we seek help. This is an introduction to the last three verses of Surah Fatiha. We are giving Allah our slavery, and what do we want from Him? His help. And what kind of help? In the last part of Surah Fatiha, the last three verses are about us. Us, asking Allah for the sort of help we want from him. To guide us to the straight path. And what is that straight path? The path of those who earned Allah’s favor and not those who evoked His wrath and nor those who went astray. Amen.

The thing that’s so great about this Surah is that not only does Prophet Muhammad (SAW) comments on this, but Allah, the Almighty Himself, does as well.  Abu Huraira(RA) reported that the Prophet(SAW) said, “Allah Almighty said: I have divided prayer between Myself and My servant into two halves, and my servant shall have what he has asked for. When the servant says, ‘all praise is due to Allah the Lord of the worlds,’ Allah says: My servant has praised me. When he says, ‘the Gracious, the Merciful,’ Allah says: My servant has exalted me. When he says, ‘the Master of the Day of Judgment,’ Allah says: My servant has glorified Me, and My servant has submitted to Me. When he says, ‘you alone we worship, you alone we ask for help,’ Allah says: This is between My servant and Me, and My servant will have what he has asked for. When he says ‘guide us to the straight path, the path of those whom you have favored, not those who went astray,’ Allah says: This is for My servant, and My servant will have what he has asked for.” Isn’t this amazing? Like how Allah answers to every verse we recite?

Well, this is it for today. I hope you enjoyed this lesson, Hawwa.”

Maira drank a glass of water after talking for 15 minutes.

“Thank you. I learned so many new things from this lecture today,” she smiled shyly.

Maira nodded. “Good. I would like it more if you write down what you learned at the end of each lecture and try to use it in your daily life.”

“Mm!”

 

 

              Jade told her brother, the Prime Minister of Zephania, to find her daughter before Argon does. He had spent an entire night to find clues as to where she could be. All he found was a footage of an old car in a parking lot near the mosque. Remedios and a lady in black clothes had sat in the car. But when he tried locating the car, it seemed as if it had disappeared from the face of Earth. There was no sign of such a car in Zephania. Another interesting thing that had happened was that the Royal Guest had suddenly gone back to her country the night after Remedios had left home. He tapped the table with his index finger. Am I overthinking or is there really a relation between these events? There was a soft knock on the door.

              “Sir. The President is here,” said a man in a white suit.

              He sighed heavily and got up. Is he here to take back Jade?

              “Good Afternoon, Argon,” he said, stepping out of his office, extending his hand.

              Argon shook his hand. “Good Afternoon, Pzeyma.”

              “Please, come inside,” said Pzeyma, opening the door to his office.

              Argon smiled politely and walked inside, sitting on the black sofa.

“So, what brings you here today, Argon? Are you here to take back Jade already? Let her stay a few more days. She’s depressed.”

“I don’t want you meddling in our family issue.”

Pzeyma smirked. “The day you put a bounty on her head was the day when it was more than just a family issue.”

“Are you doing this for money or-”

“Ah, Argon, you know me very well. I am a businessman before anything else.”

A servant came in the office, left a tray of cookies and tea, and hurriedly scurried away.

“Oh, that reminds me, I haven’t had the time to meet with the Royal Guest. It would be bad for us if she were offended by this. Should we invite her over tomorrow?” asked Argon, taking a sip of the bitter tea.

Pzeyma shifted and sat cross-legged. “I think she’s already offended then. She’s gone back home.”

“But she was supposed to stay here for a week. How could she leave right after a day? Isn’t she a little unreasonable?”

Pzeyma lifted his right eyebrow and looked at Argon as if he were an idiot. “She’s a Princess, Argon. You don’t make Princesses wait.”

“Isn’t she a half princess? Her mother is SriLankan.”

Pzeyma screamed in his mind. Argon, why are you the President! You brainless position holder!

“Yes, indeed. Her mother is the daughter of the former President of Sri Lanka. That makes her equivalent to a Princess in a kingdom. And do you know what’s even more shocking?”

“What?”

“The disappearance of Remedios could be linked to the Princess.”

“So, you are saying that the Princess illegally kidnapped Remedios and took her as her hostage because we made the Princess wait?” he asked skeptically. 

Pzeyma nodded. “Could be.” He took a bite of the overly sweet chocolate cookie. “Why do you want her back anyway if you let her go in the first place?”

Argon remained silent. He hadn’t been serious when he had told her to leave because he thought that a sheltered Remedios would never leave. He was trying to protect her from the outside world. She was the root of his power. A thousand years old dying Witch had helped him out in exchange to keep her daughter safe forever. You must never let this child leave Zephania without you, the Witch had said. Remedios was that child. Child of a Witch. Source of his Power. A Replacement of his Dead Daughter.

 

 

 Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading this chapter! 

Look forward to the next chapter!!