That afternoon, Abal found herself moving through the back streets with yet another package. She went to the same wooden door which was her destination the day before. Mahmud answered the door and took the package. He looked her in the eyes and gave her a weak smile. She returned his smile this time but did not stay to talk. She returned to Sultan with his payment for both packages and sat once again in the room that smelled of men and incense. She sat next to Amar. Amar rarely sat down when she was around, he usually just lurked somewhere close by. He was in an extremely good mood. He propped his elbow on Abal’s thigh and was half sitting-half lounging. He was making her nervous. They were joking about someone who had come in earlier to ask them to do something.
“ And then he says, I cannot pay you but I can work. He was fatter than your king. What would I do with someone that round, Khubaib. No wonder he could not pay, he probably eats his gold too!” Sultan said and everyone laughed. Abal only smiled. She noticed how Amar had a hearty laugh, it was deep and masculine but there was something soft about it. She decided she liked the sound of his laugh. It was so odd to have a man lean on her like that. He was cutting off her circulation but she said nothing.
“Some people’s worth are not in their shell but in their mind.” Abal said with a small smile. The laughing eased and Sultan looked at her deeply.
“Are you saying that the minds in this room are not sufficient?” The laughing then came to a complete stop as Sultan began to frown at her.
“No, I was just thinking about a line I read in a book, it was from Gartoon I think.”
“That’s the problem with those Gartoons, they think too much. They sit and read while the women do all the work. Don’t read their nonsense anymore my boy, we wouldn’t want you to turn into a glorified woman like them.” This brought on another round of laughter. Amar did not laugh. He turned and stared into Abal’s face like he knew.
Her father had given her the Gartoon book. He wanted her to know that women’s jobs were not so set everywhere in the world. He wanted to teach her that in some places being a woman made you a valued member of society, not something to be played with, chased for sport or ridiculed. In some places, women work harder than men. It happens among the animals too. That was the only thing Abal did not like about Gartoon culture, they followed the animal ways too much. There was a reason that they were the humans and the animals were the animals. The part where they valued and looked up to their women however, she wished could be a custom transplanted into her society.
Amar sat up straight when the servant woman came in to bring the tea. She sauntered in and placed the tray on the little table. She poured the tea but left the tray in case anyone wanted more. While everyone leaned forward to get their share, Amar pulled at the woman and brought her to sit in his lap. He buried his head in her neck as she forced herself to giggle. Abal was disgusted. He grabbed at her flesh like a hungry dog. The other men in the room jeered and encouraged him. He pulled her hair to make her face him and kissed her although it looked sloppy, like he would swallow her. It was nothing like the loving kisses she had seen her parents share. This was just lust and male dominance. Sultan was laughing which meant everyone else would follow along and laugh too. Abal felt sick to her stomach.
When Amar was done with her he let her go with a slap to her rear. The men probably thought she enjoyed it with the way she smiled back at him but Abal saw how sad her eyes were. She could see the way her shoulders slumped slightly as she went through the thin pieces of cloth that covered the entry.
Abal found herself leaning away from Amar. She sipped her tea and hoped she would never have to see that again. She hoped even harder that nothing like that would ever happen to her or her sister.
“Isn’t the tea delicious, son?” Sultan asked. There was some kind of innuendo but Abal did not want to figure it out. The men laughed again. Abal finished the tea and rose politely, she shook hands with Sultan and left. Amar rose to escort her out. She could feel the sack of coins in her pocket already so she knew she had been paid. Amar placed a hand on her shoulder as she reached for the door. He handed her a note.
“Stop being so stupid. I had to make them forget what you said,” he scolded quietly. Before she could ask what he meant he was gone. Abal opened the door and stepped outside.
Abal sat and poured over the note again. She was horrified. The first thing she had done when she got home after washing her face was sit and read the note. Her worst fear was true. She had an inkling but she kept telling herself she was being paranoid. Amar knew . he knew who she was and who she was not. He was coming to see her, Abal. He was coming after the last prayers of the day. Abal’s heart raced. She needed her sister but her sister always chose others over her so she knew that after she insulted Mahmud she would find no comfort there.
