"Arsal! Arsal! You won't believe what happened yesterday! It was just another day and then Idris hugged me out of nowhere and said that we'll always be brothers-"
"Can it."
Dawud tripped over his words. And his feet.
"W-what did you say?" He was in total shock.
"I said... can it."
Dawud gritted his teeth and started groaning in pain. His nose started bleeding.
"I-I can't believe I'm hearing this, Arsal..."
"Yeah, well believe it, big guy."
"What's going on?! Tell me! I can help-"
"You can't do shit, Dawud. No-one can."
Dawud's legs started wobbling. His face went pale.
"But-but"
"Idris left the family."
Dawud collapsed and coughed out blood on the carpet.
"Th-this can't be happening!"
I turned off my computer and stood up, over Dawud. He was a broken man.
"Dawud... I told you, when we first met, that day with the ice-cream..."
Dawud gazed up at me, his face wet with tears, snot and blood.
"You told me to always believe in myself. Even an ogre can find friends among men."
"The fuck? I never said that!"
Dawud looked at the floor.
"Well, it's what I heard."
I shook my head.
"I told you the family wasn't worth fighting for. And now it's broken."
"You're wrong..."
"Really? Idris is gone. Illyas is gone. Inayat is gone. Sara too. Need I say more?"
"YOU STILL HAVE ME AND MOBO!"
I laughed lightly.
"Case... in... point..."
Dawud struggled to his feet.
"Arsal, the family isn't over. We can fix this."
"They've all moved on. I suggest you do the same, Dawud."
I made my way to the door. Dawud was deep in thought, muttering to himself like a lunatic. He turned around and yelled, "NO! It's not over yet."
"Jesus, man. I'm three feet away from you. Stop fucking shouting."
Dawud began again, whispering, "Arsal. It's not over yet. You're still here."
"Not for long, Dawud."
I waved a piece of paper in his face.
"What's that?"
"It's just a scrap of paper. But I got an e-mail today about my appointment with my foster family. I'm going there this afternoon."
"Foster... family?"
I smiled and nodded.
"It is over, big guy. Even I'm... moving on."
I left the room as Dawud fell to his knees again and started crying bloody tears. Jesus, that guy needs to see a doctor.
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I took a train and two buses. The sky was clear or as clear as it could be in London. The forecast was sunny with a chance of profound happiness. I got off at my stop and walked the rest of the way. I entered the cafe and looked around. Clark waved his hand at me from a table on the far side. I went over and shook his hand.
