NORTON

Needing Mercy

CHAPTER 11

__________________

Kim let Pumla wash then sat in her room while she got dressed. For the very first time, Kim was amazed at how much Pumla had grown. She was taller, more developed and almost a woman. Pumla was no longer a child and her relaxed nature made her the perfect choice for a traditional man. Pumla's version of what happened at the Mina house was simple and straight forward. Kim knew that living in the Norton house trained her to leave the explanation of details to the man. Kim and Aayan didn't see the statement she made at the police station but Kim knew it was no longer than the three lines she gave them too.

"Three men were inside the house when we came back. One put me in a room upstairs and left me for an hour. Another one returned and told me to go home but I called the police because Kamran was bleeding."

Kim kept her face veil on and laid next to Pumla till she was asleep. Instead of joining Aayan, she took a shower, treated her bruises then curled up next to her daughters again, till she was asleep.

Aayan left for his mother's house very early the following day and Kim spent time taking care of Pumla like she was hurt or fragile but Pumla wasn't affected at all. Kim made lunch with Pumla quietly helping and Zam loudly singing. Half way through their lunch, the phone rang and Kim rushed to it, thinking it was Winnie but it was a voice she was not expecting. "Did Pumla make it home safe" Mercy asked coldly. "She did...wait. How did you know?" "No daughter of mine is ever going to share a bed with a man. Ever!"

*****

After a week long of nothing but purgatory, Kim especially enjoyed the new week although it brought nothing special. The usual house chores and religious TV were a delight for the now worry-free mother. The Mina family called to check on Pumla's wellbeing after the house break-in and Aayan apologised to them for the unfortunate incident. Kamren was nursing a cracked rib and his parents were awaiting the results of the police investigation with bated breath. Kim learned through her first conversation with the Minas that they were a good Muslim family and that they cared about her daughter. Confliction set in temporarily as she battled feelings of appreciation for the loving family and her desire for her daughter to marry a man of her choice much later in life.

Kim silently prayed they don't find finger prints of any of the men sent by Mercy. Pumla told her mother the criminals who walked away with nothing but a kettle and a snackwich maker, were wearing hoodie tops and black sunglasses. If one of them was Mercy, then surely Pumla would've recognised him. Every time her conscience tried to remind her of the evil deed Mercy did to Kamran, Kim suppressed the threatening feeling of guilt by thinking of Pumla. The love and protection Kim felt for her daughter over shadowed even her commitment to respect Ayaan.

Kim floated through the week with ease and joy and was no longer on board in the matter of marrying off her first daughter to Kamran. Mercy might have turned out to be a criminal now with his recent act but Kim had decided she wants someone as protective as him for Pumla. A man who will break laws to protect her. She wondered if Mercy was also acting out of love and care for her too and had to work really hard to suppress the sensual desire she was feeling for him. She desired for Aayan to do one act of love to help her refocus on her marriage but he was too consumed by his mother's annoyance. The lovely nurse they had met on Christmas day had quit after Suvika swore at her. The second carer resigned after three days of being harassed by the senior Mrs. When Suvika discovered her new care giver was a Muslim woman, she tried to pressure her to free her son from an awful marriage with Kim and marry him. When the care giver told Suvika that her actions were not of a true Muslim woman, Suvika refused to receive care from her for two days, forcing her to resign.

Suvika's dire situation was starting to take its toll on Aayan who summoned his brothers and their partners but only Asad showed up. Suvika demanded all the money she had gifted him and Asad explained how most of his share had already paid for his grand home and private education for his children. He later left his mother's house and has not been seen since. His wife, Purity, filed a missing person report a day later but Asad was still MIA when everyone got ready for Jumu'ah three days later. No member of the Mina family showed up for the Friday prayer, adding to the already enjoyable week for Kim. Whenever her in laws were absent for prayer, everyone at the mosque seemed to be warm toward her.