Integrity Of Violence

Chapter Five - Ali

“Why does this Muslim man annoy you so much? He looks like a thief to me. Have you seen his clothes? He lives in a small shabby apartment.” The woman next in line said to the shopkeeper, Afjal.

“Probably because apart from him, I am the only Muslim here in Shibuya.” He replied.

Ali was grateful on his way home as the bread in his hand felt good. It reminded him that he would not have to starve to bed once again. Ali smiled. His way home was led by a dark open alley where there was an abandoned amusement park. There was a headless statue of a horse, a disarmed deer, and a few sculpted dolls.

Whenever Ali passed by them, it made him wonder. Was this meant for children? It could easily come off as a set for a horror movie. It was rather a place made for ghosts. Ali laughed at his thoughts.

There are no ghosts more horrifying than humans. He thought. “Maybe I should write a movie on this.” Whispering to himself, he looked at the abandoned park one last time.

The ghosts appeared in the form of a gang wearing school shirts and a cigarette in their hands. Their hair was pitifully colored by the random colors of the rainbow and cut as if their head were to be used as a broom.

A scream was heard by Ali from that direction. Those bastards were surrounding their victims. Ali ticked his tongue at those school bullies and the ones being bystanders in the situation.

He safely tucked his bread in his jeans and made his way there. One of them saw him approaching. Spitting in Ali’s direction the guy turned to him as his hands were in his pocket. “Oy, isn't this the same Islamic guy?” He grabbed the attention of the others.

All of them looked at Ali who looked at them with a tired expression. “Let the kid go.” He pointed at the kid on the ground who was showered with his blood.

A few silent moments passed by. The wind blew out as dry leaves danced on the ground. The silence was soon broken as all of them burst out laughing. They held their tummy, losing their mind.

Ali sighed and went to the kid to pick him up from the ground. Terrified– The kid took his chance and ran away from the scene. Ali saw him leave the park completely as he turned to leave. The laughter had stopped.

One of them held his shoulders. “Who the fuck do you think you are, meathead?”

Ali removed his hands from his shoulders. Crouching on the ground he picked some sand and washed his hands with the dirt as if cleansing himself after touching them.

He pissed them off. Ali looked at them. “Ali,” He said and organized his hair calmly.

The school bullies who were ready to go all out with him had stopped breathing. Their eyes were on his wrist where the scar was fresh. Their eyes widened. A few of them stepped back. They cursed under their breath.

Danger. They messed with the menace. The eyes were glued to his hand and the scar there.

Ali matched eyes with the one who spat in his direction. “Are y'all leaving?”

Their shaking bodies raked in sweat as they bowed 90 degrees and ran away as fast as they could.

Seeing them leave, Ali took his bread and made his way to his house. Horrible kids, he thought.

Ali reached his flat. It was time for Isha's prayer. After performing the last prayer of the day Ali made his dinner which only consisted of bread and expired tuna which was left for the cats outside in public. The cats were not poor like him so they easily avoided the smelly fish. Ali was grateful for that.

He turned on his phone to see the news for the day. Thankfully he had fixed the crack screen so he could see what was going on in the world. He would have normally avoided ruining his appetite by watching the all-day-everyday bad news of the world but he figured he should stay up to date with the current news. Before he could munch on his dinner, a familiar figure popped on the screen. Ali’s eyes darkened as he slowly put down his dinner. Gritting his teeth he tried to control himself.

The reporter started reporting the news of a man in the position of the highest stockholder of Marin F&B group, who made his speech regarding his position on the company and firm holding onto public opinion. The man was no one else but Ali Akbar the father of Ali Faisal who sat holding his broken phone with some expired bread in his hands not being able to tolerate the sight of his father.

Ali changed the video. Taking a deep breath he calmly tried to organize his mind. The video was now about the event of a billionaire's son’s birthday event which was titled as the biggest event organized by anyone this year. Ali munched on his bread while boringly gazing at his phone.

When the camera zoomed towards the son, something ticked in Ali as he stopped chewing. The background voice of the video said that the son was studying in a top-class Elite school and that his age did not justify his handsome face and stuff. That was the whole purpose of the video and at the end, the camera zoomed towards Hunter Barren.

Ali paused the screen. Tilting his head he zoomed even further at the boy’s face. “Hiding,” He whispered, smiling. “Secrets,”