Mistress Asthana

CHAPTER FIVE: BALL IN MY COURT

Chapter Five (Ball in my court)

Fannah

I was sitting in my room reciting the holy Qur'an after Zuhr Prayer. Mom and Dad were in their room. I needed time to myself after what happened in the morning so I decided to read the Qur'an to calm my heart.

I turned a new page when the distant sounds of the Royal trumpet filled my ears. What could the Royals be doing in this area? And why is the trumpet being blown? The trumpet escorts the king when there is a happy occasion.

I ignored the trumpet and continued my recitation. I read half of the page and then the trumpet became louder. The sound seemed to be moving and it was slowly coming closer to where I was. And then soon, the sound stopped moving. I think whoever was blowing that trumpet is right in front of our house.

I quickly closed the Qur'an and dropped it carefully. I peeked out of the window to see what was going on outside. Outside our House were Four white BMWs and a black one in the middle. The Trumpeter came out and blew his trumpet even louder. Guards came out one after the other from the white cars and organized themselves in two straight lines.

A guard hurried to the black car and opened the back door. The King of Toure alighted the car and then the queen followed. The front door opened and I squinted my eyes to see properly. Standing right there was Ahmad Santalma basking in all of his glory.

He was wearing a well tailored brown caftan that complemented his skin color. A brown Zanna cap perched on his head to complete the look. Every part of him screamed luxury. His Father the king patted his back and his mother, the queen looked at him with so much adoration in her eyes and the Almighty Ahmad Santalma had no emotions on his face.

The front door of our house opened and my parents rushed out. They looked a bit scared and judging by the look on their faces, they also were wondering what the Santalmas could possibly be doing here. They went straight to them and they both exchanged pleasantries. I couldn't hear what they were saying but all of them were smiling. They seemed warm to each other and they all seemed happy. But one thought that occupied my mind was what in God's name could they be doing here? Why did they even take the trouble to come all the way here?

The guards opened the rears of the cars and began to offload lots and lots of food stuffs. They had bags of rice, noodles, pasta, drinks and so many more things. My confusion even grew bigger. Curiosity fought self control and I found myself walking out of the door and heading outside to find out what was really happening. Why on earth would they want to give us gifts? Or were they here for charity? Maybe they want to give out food items to the people in our neighborhood. That was the only sensible explanation I could come up with. But even that didn't make any real sense to me. Quite alright, the royal family give out gifts to the poor once in a while, but they had never come by themselves.

I was outside in no time. I walked a little and soon I was standing in front of the party. The five of them turned to face me and the Magira (Queen) flashed a killer smile at me which got me all the more confused. What could possibly be going on?

I went over to greet her but she pulled me into a motherly hug instead and she even placed a kiss on my forehead. I froze due to actions but she didn't even seem to notice.

"Masha Allah, your daughter is really very beautiful. How are you Fannah?" She asked me with so much love. I couldn't understand what was happening. Why did she have to hug me? Plenty people had gathered to see what was happening but she chose to hug me instead? Something was definitely not right. My heart skipped numerous beats and I had to take a few deep breaths to keep myself calm

"Let's go inside" my father ushered them into the house. At this point, I was frustrated already. I felt like yelling "Will you all cut out the drama and explain what is going on here? Why are you guys in my house? But I knew better than to let it out, it's not like I had a death wish or something. Instead I quietly followed them inside.