Namal (English Translation) By Nimra Ahmed

Chpt 25: The Aquarium

(PART 2)

"What does it matter if it's dark? We're not hopeless; dawn will come," Haneen thought as she paced anxiously from one side of the lounge to the other. The night was dragging on, and everywhere there was a feeling of desolation. The walls seemed to flow like a waterfall, and tiny brushes and paint cans scattered across the floor were ignored as she glanced at her watch repeatedly. "Where is Faris? Where is Zumar?" These two questions had echoed in her mind for the last hour, when suddenly a voice broke through the silence.

"Where is Saadi?" She hurried upstairs, opened his room, and found it empty and dark. She rushed to the window and pulled aside the curtains. His car was missing from the porch. "Where did he go? Why hasn't he come home? How did I not realize?" Standing there, she quickly dialed his number.

The call went to voicemail, and she felt a new wave of anxiety wash over her. The silent phone on the dashboard of Ahmad Shafiq's car sat in the parking lot of the apartment building, but no one was there to notice its flashing light.

When she looked up at the building, she saw light spilling from Ahmad's flat. Inside, three figures stood in the lounge, quietly discussing something. The leader of the group soon moved away and entered another room. As he opened the door, the light revealed two people tied up on the floor near the bed, their hands bound, sitting in a huddled position. At the sound of footsteps, they both looked up.

"Fifteen minutes have passed. The police will arrive in half an hour. Reporters will likely be here even sooner. Get me in touch with your boss," the leader said with an air of authority. "You haven't filed a report at any station; the police aren't coming. We've checked."

"Don't be too clever," he added arrogantly, glancing at Ahmad, who instinctively looked at Saadi. However, Saadi did not appear surprised. "I don't want to have you arrested; I just want to talk to your boss. Either get her on the line or take us to her before the police arrive," he insisted. "I'm telling you, we've checked-there's no police coming. Now tell us directly what your purpose is for coming here."Standing over him, he growled at him, Ahmad glanced at Saadi this time with anger. "I just want to talk to your mistress. Just tell her to check her email. She'll understand the rest."

He stared at Saadi for a few moments, then shoved him hard on the shoulder with his boot. Saadi lost his balance and stumbled to the side. The leader of the group then stormed out, leaving Saadi gritting his teeth in frustration. Ahmad, still fuming, began cursing the man.

"You called the police, you fool! You've put yourself in danger!" Ahmad shouted. Saadi winced as he rubbed his elbow, which had scraped against the fall. He bitterly shrugged off the dirt from his shirt and sleeves, trying to hide his discomfort.

"The people who have held you for three days are not going to kill you. They're just low-level guards-drivers and gardeners-who are here to teach you a lesson and rob you. They have no intention of killing me. I didn't come here for no reason. I checked the building's CCTV. I remember your track record too. These women are not family killers. She's alone. Because of your actions, their family has abandoned her, and her political position is lost. She can't go back to her hometown. She have no support from male relatives. A woman like that won't order a murder; she just wants to vent her frustration."

"When? By the time they've killed us both?"

"I've seen empty syringes in the trash can. They couldn't even kill you with a gun. They used a tranquilizer to put you to sleep. They aren't killers; they are trapped by the orders of a woman suffering from depression. I don't just want to get you out; I want to end this problem once and for all."

"I should have run away a long time ago," Ahmad said, shaking his head in regret. "I've harmed many people in this city. This is my doing!"

"That's true," Saadi replied without denying it formally. Ahmad lowered his head, holding his forehead. "I've become such a fraud, such a deceiver, such a compulsive liar that I can't even fix myself now."