CHAPTER FOUR

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Earlier in the morning, Ibrahim and his parents left for the airport. Not knowing exactly how Abu spent his night got Ibrahim a bit depressed and in pain. His mother told him about the real plan behind their journey and how long it'll take them with tourism as an inclusion to the journey. He replied calmly and went silent for some minutes until they reached the airport, they boarded their plane and took off.

Abu on the other hand got beaten drastically and in an uncompassionate manner. It got to the extent that his leg was injured and his movements were limited, despite the whole explanation he made and that of Ibrahim, they gave no heed and continued with their devastating punishment. His younger brother cried harshly over what happened to his brother but still that wasn't of any help to both of them. He was released and dumped with many injuries and nothing was applied on them despite being very young and with such alarming cold temperature.

In the morning he was reported to the head teacher about what he did, even though there wasn't much sign outside, one could tell how the boy suffered from the severe punishment he received. The head teacher warned them about how they beat the boy up and also warned Abu about what he did. He was warned never to allow anybody to do such things like dropping him up to school, another thing is that he should never stay late outside the school for any reason. He cried severely and showed the head teacher all his injuries but to no avail.

Abu was detained in the school for over a week due to his injuries and also as a punishment for what he did, to them it was all about punishment, beating or detention not knowing really that it doesn't make much positive difference to the lives of such kids, because they lack love and care from their parents which serve as the first punishment in their lives. So the detention was to Abu's favor, even though he worked so much at the head teacher's house, doing things that were normally above his age, he used to get food for both of them from the house, so it was kind of ease he gained and was relieved throughout the detention period. Many people appreciated his efforts and despite being so underage, he worked diligently and proved himself trustworthy.

Later on, he was kicked out to the street again, he cried hopelessly and helplessly because he knew that things would turned rough again but had nothing other than to moved to the street searching for what to do, how to survive, a house to work or a place to hawk but with no success because many people looked at him as a small boy that can't handle their stuffs, so most of them offered him some little help and sent him away.

He finally got a place to work after some harsh days, it was at a place of one fruit seller that pitied his struggle and asked him to fetched water for him on daily basis from a nearby tap. He then added that Abu should wash oranges for him just for him to learn and to avoid the street completely. He got used to the work after some few trials and lessons. So knowing where to work and get food from after school was a relief to him and he always went there on time to avoid being banned as he was told by his master.

Few days after starting the work, he had quarrel with his master's assistant over a small issue, just because he got late even after explaining his reasons to him, he sent him away and asked him never to return to that place, he cried non-stop but was left with no other way than the routine life he's used to. He went back to the street as usual and continued the struggle all in the name of his little brother. He faced many challenges and the most terrifying was when he got hit by a car in a hit-and-run scenario.

He fainted on the spot and didn't know where he was. He woke up in the hospital with a blurred vision and at the moment his injuries were dressed neatly but the pain was all over his body. He looked at the woman standing by his side, he wanted to talk but couldn't due to the stitches on his jaws and lips. The woman said to him after she pressed down his shoulder for stability "my name is Mama Asabe and I'm the one that brought you here after the person that hit you ran away, so calm down so that you won't sustain further injuries than these". he looked at his body and realized that he sustained a fracture on his leg and shoulder dislocation. Tears ran down his cheeks and he just turned around and slept again.

Mama Asabe went out to meet her doctor when she realized that he went to sleep again. She was on her way to hospital when she encountered him on the foot goer lane lying down unconsciously and decided to help him. After seeing her doctor, she went back to where Abu was admitted and sat down by his side, he woke up after few minutes again due to the intense pain and the fact that the anesthesia he was given reached its limited active time. So the pain was back even though reduced, he woke up and shed tears for some minutes, he tried again to talk but still couldn't because at that moment there was nothing to ease his pain, so Mama Asabe asked the nurse to administer some pain reliever to him to reduce pain if possible and she agreed to do so after some minutes so that it cannot exceed the limited dose he should be given.

The head teacher on the other hand received the information that Abu is yet to return but all he said was "this boy is stubborn, and I'll punish him in a more severe manner, give food to his little brother and we'll punish him tomorrow morning." He went to his house and left them there, he neither cared for the reasons behind it nor asked anybody to go and look for him.

It was late already and Mama Asabe returned with a food flask and fed him, it was a soft food, noodles and a cup of custard because of his condition, she fed him gently and gave the rest to the nurse on duty and left for home after she told him they would talk about his parents in the morning. On her way home she remembered about the police report and went to the nearby station and reported the case to them.

She went home with many thoughts about this little boy, not knowing Whether he's a beggar, orphan or his parents are alive and healthy. She pitied his situation and wish to help him in whatever way possible. Seeing his torn clothes made her think that even if he's not a beggar, he's a helpless kid possibly from poor background or careless parents. She reached her gate and entered.

In the hospital, after the administration of the drugs, he fell into a deep sleep because the pain was less compared to when he wasn't on drug. The nurse caters for him throughout the night not only because he's her patient but because she was requested to give him extra care. So she tried her best but due to the fracture and dislocation in addition to many mild injuries on the skin he was in so much pain and got moved to pediatric ward.

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