Tring!!! Tring!!! The land phone rang. I, with great difficulty, opened my stoned eyes, reached out to my cellphone to look at the time. It showed 8.26 AM.
"Who the f*** is calling me this early in the morning?"
I dragged myself to the corner stand where the land phone was kept and answered the phone, "Hello"
"Hello sir, this is Tabor speaking, may I speak to Mr.Gabriel Pasha?"
"Tell me Tabor, why the f*** are you calling me this early in the morning?
"Sir, you asked for a servant maid, there is one Syrian lady, shall I bring her over?
"How old is she?"
"She must be in or 26, not more than that"
"Have you told her all my conditions? I don't want another troublesome one like the last one"
"Don't worry sir, I have told her all your conditions, she will take care of you day and night" giggled Tabor.
"I'll come in the evening and see if she is good then I'll take her home." said Gabriel sternly
I am a young landlord who lost his parents when I was just 22. My parents have left behind a huge inheritance that I have everything that I need for my lifetime. I am 27 years old now, who enjoys life in all the possible ways.
My daily routine is to wake up when the sun is already up in the sky, with a typical why-the-f***-did-I-drink-so-much kind of a hangover. The day starts with a mug of beer, my favorite hangover drink and then I attend to the morning ablutions. My breakfast time is lunch time for most others living in the same time-zone, but I never missed the gym before my breakfast. I have set up a small gym at home. It is very important for me to stay in good shape, it helps me during the later part of the days. I visit a recreation club regularly, play poker all day long, and the lucky lad that I am, I always win. Late in the evening, I go to a pub and keep drinking until Tabor finds me a companion for that night.
I was getting bored of this hooking up every day that I once told Tabor that I am looking for a FULL-TIME-MAID to take care of ALL MY REQUIREMENTS during the day and at night. So, Tabor, my loyal pimp finds this lady for me.
"You sure must be doing some kind of a trick, don't you?" asked one of my buddies at the club.
"Do you really think I have to? I just use a bit of my brain and your bad luck takes care of the rest" I insulted him without him realizing it.
Filling my wallet, paying a hefty tip to the bouncers and waiters at the club, I came out and got into my car and drove straight down to Tabor's house.
"Please come, Efendi!!!" said Tabor addressing me as Lord in the Turkish language. I instantly knew why he is cajoling me so hard.
"Stop all this coaxing and just tell me where that lady is. You know very well that if the service is good, you will be paid a handful"
"Sir, I had carefully chosen this girl for you. I brought her from the refugee camp, but I had to pay a huge amount to the officers there, I am sure you must be aware of all these." continued Tabor.
I stopped him with a hand gesture and extended a bundle of 10 Lira notes. Tabor was all ecstatic and walked close to me to grab the bundle when I pulled my hands back and said, "First, show me the girl then take the money" That's the way I always work.
"Sir, she hadn't slept at the camp for over 2 days so she is taking rest in the room upstairs, I'll go and get her right now, you please relax yourself, I'll be back in a moment" said Tabor, pointing to the recliner in his living room.
When I looked around his house, he had almost every damn luxury that I had in my house. A 40" LED TV, a plush sofa set, a leather recliner. I smiled to myself thinking that more than half of what I saw was bought with my money.
I heard footsteps at a distance, I knew they were coming, I relaxed on the recliner and looked towards the entrance, Tabor first walked in followed by a beautiful looking lady with flawlessly clear skin, and very fair complexion. The black burkha that was exposing only her face only added to my curiosity.
Tabor introduced her to me saying "Abidah, this is Gabriel sir, your new master, and Sir, this is Abidah, I've told her all your requirements and she is well aware of all of them"
I walked up to get a closer look of the Angelic lady standing in front of me and said "Will you please remove your burkha?" I asked. She immediately obliged with a smile and removed her burkha to reveal her silky black hair and a stunning body type. She was wearing a purple color top and a beige pajama. The word Beautiful must have been coined only for this girl. I instantly decided that I have to reward Tabor handsomely this time.
"Are you clear about all your responsibilities?" I asked her looking at her face, she looked straight into my eyes and said "Yes, sir. I am aware and agree to it wholeheartedly"
I lurched to the other side to avoid eye contact with her. She had such powerful eyes. "Am I falling in love? This has never happened to me before. I have a feeling that I need this girl in my life, at any cost"
I just made Tabor a wealthier person than he was a few minutes back and started driving down to my house with the lovely lady by my side. I didn't speak a word to her but within me I was rehearsing her name "Abidah,,,, A-a-bidah,,,,, A-a-bi-d-aah... Oh my freakin god, however I call her name, it sounds so sweet"
We reached home, I opened the door and showed her in (ofcourse without looking into her eyes.) Like an obedient house maid, she asked me what I would want for dinner? I have never prepared dinner at home. I don't even know if the kitchen is adequately stocked. I just told her that there is someone who will bring dinner for me.
I was shocked by what she asked me next, "So, should I make the bed for us now or do you want me to make your drink for you first"
Why was I shocked? Tabor already told me that he has informed her about all my requirements. I didn't respond and just walked into my room and locked it from the inside. My mind was completely disturbed. I went to the bathroom and stood under the running shower for a while then dressed up and came out to see that the dinner had arrived and was nicely spread on the dining table. There, by the side of the table was my angel Abidah, standing there to serve my dinner. I took the center chair and gestured her to sit in one of the chairs. She served my dinner. I quickly finished it and went back into my room and again locked it from inside. I didn't drink that night, neither did I sleep.
It should have been around 1 AM when I realized that I had not shown Abidah her room, I have never been so considerate towards a woman in my life. I haven't spoken much to this lady. I don't know anything about her other than her name but for some strange reason, I missed my mom today. I needed a warm motherly hug.
I stepped out of my room to check on Abidah, she was not to be seen in the living room, I checked the other bedrooms in my house, but she was not to be seen there either. I observed that the lawn lights were still glowing so I walked up to the lawn to see Abidah sitting in a state of oblivion at the lawn chair. I went close to her to notice that her eyes were open, staring off into space without even taking notice of me who is standing right next to her by now.
I called her name "Abidah!!!" but, she was lost in her own world. I thought for a while and gathered all my courage to reach out to her shoulders, touched her. She twitched and stood up instantly and looked straight into my eyes. This time, I kept staring back. I have never seen such peaceful eyes.
"Sorry sir, I was lost in some thoughts, do you need something? Should we move inside?" she asked.
"Call me Gabriel. I like it that way and let me also pull a chair and sit here for some time with you, if it is okay with you?" I said relatively with some level of comfort from now that I attained from looking into her peaceful eyes.
"Ofcourse Gabriel, let me pull a chair for you"
Before she could move, I stretched my arms to pull a chair and place it exactly opposite to her so that I can continue admiring the beautiful creation.
After treating myself to the comfort of the chair and also gesturing the angel to sit, I started "So Abidah, tell me something about yourself. Please don't think this is an interview but I am just curious to know"
"I am just another immigrant who had to flee from my homeland" as she said this, she again went back to looking into space. She was visibly uncomfortable.
"Its okay if you are not comfortable telling me, I just asked because I was also not getting sleep and thought we'll chat for some time before retiring to our respective rooms" I said reassuringly and also conveying the message that we'll be sleeping in separate rooms.
"No Gabriel, I have now come to your place having understood all your requirements. The only way I'll be happy is by seeing you happy, I don't have any other agenda in my life. I will also feel light if I share my story with you"
Interrupting her mid-way "Abidah, please understand that, though I wanted a house-maid who would play multiple roles in my house, my perceptions changed the moment I saw you. Don't ask me why, I will not be able to answer because I don't know it myself. Probably, by the end of this conversation, I hope to identify and name this feeling"
She smiled a bit and looked more angelic than ever and continued "Thanks, Gabriel, Tabor did tell me a lot about you before I said okay to take up this job, but I see a completely different person than what he actually described."
"Neither is Tabor wrong nor are you and I really have no clue about when and how this transformation happened. Anyways, tell me about you Abidah"
"Can I call you Gabby? it is much easier" she sluggishly inquired
"Ofcourse, please feel free," said an ecstatic me. I could feel butterflies in my stomach realizing the fact that my angel is getting comfortable with me.
"Thanks, Gabby. I had a friend in my college whose name was Gabriel and I used to call him Gabby."
"I am a friend too" (am I flirting now???)
"Ofcourse you are" she smiled and started off with her story "Gabby, my father was employed with Bena Properties as a Senior Manager and my mother was a teacher. I had a younger brother Jafar, who was doing his Masters at the University of Kalamoon which is one of the top universities of our country."
"I have heard about Bena properties, they are one of the top real estate companies in Syria, ain't they?"
"Yes, they are. We were quite comfortable with our livelihood. A small family, a small house that my father had built with his limited earning and a loving mother who ensured that we both got best of the education. She completely believed that education is the only thing that can secure our future" she sighed after saying this and that had a million meanings.
She continued "I have done my Masters in Electrical and Communication Engineering from IUST, one of the prestigious universities" the same sigh again but this time another million.
I leaned forward to listen and also to get a closer look of the angelic face. I just couldn't take my eyes off her. I just loved every movement of hers.
Abidah continued "After finishing my Masters, I landed a good paying job at Gulfsands. The day I got the job is the only day I saw my mom crying. Tears of joy flowed from her eyes. My dad's eyes were welled up too, but being the man of the house, he focussed on comforting my mom than emoting himself"
I saw the prettiest pair of eyes on the planet welling up in front of me but did not attempt to comfort her. I promised myself that this is the last time this angel is going to cry.
She took a deep breath and continued "After one month when I received my first salary, I wanted to give it to mom and see the happiness on her face. On my way home, I withdrew the entire salary. I was shocked and frozen on the sight that welcomed me when I neared my locality. The complete locality was blown off by a suicide bombing military tank. Looks like this happened a few hours ago. Amidst all the debris and commotion, I went around looking for my family."
By this time, Abidah was crying uncontrollably. So was I. I wanted to console myself before consoling her, but she reconciled much before me and continued narrating her tale
"I saw my mom lying in one of the corners, she was barely breathing. The roads were deserted, I tried to lift my mom, but I could not. She gathered all her energy to gesture me to put her down and called me closer, she wanted to tell me something but fell dead in my arms. I cried aloud, but there was no one to hear me out. With a heavy heart, I put my mom down and ran around looking for my dad and finally found his head alone lying outside the place where our house used to be. All my happiness got shattered, I wanted to take my life off but wanted to check on Jafar before I do anything else, I looked for him everywhere for a couple of hours but could not find him. I had run quite a distance looking for him, by the time I returned to the place where mom and dad were lying, it was very dark. To my utter dismay, I could not find their bodies, I cried and cried till my tear glands got dried up and did not realize that I had slept right there."
After a short pause, she continued "I woke up to the cries of dogs, I knew this place wasn't safe so I walked towards the main road and found a place where they had made makeshift tents, I understood that these tents were for victims of the bombing. I sought shelter there and found a corner to sleep. I was too tired of running around and crying that I instantly slept. When I woke up, I had a strong pain in my lower abdomen. It was not the same place where I slept, it looked like an abandoned toilet. I was completely naked. It didn't take long for me to understand that I was drugged and raped. I don't even know who did this to me, I cried for help. After a few hours, a few ladies who were passing by (or were sent by my rapists) found me and shifted me to a hospital. I was at the hospital for a few days, my uterus had to be surgically removed due to multiple infections."
By this time, I was choking. My parents died at a very young age so I could not contemplate their loss. I was cursing myself for not paying attention to these kinds of injustices around me. I was ashamed to have lived such a life. If only Abidah had not come into my life, I would have killed myself, but now, I have found a reason to correct myself and live a meaningful life. I have to start living to keep the angel in my life happy forever.
I interrupted Abidah in the middle and inquired about Jafar. She paused for some time and told me
"I told you about the military tank suicide bombing right? The suicide bomber was Jafar, I got to know this only after a few days. We never had an idea that he was recruited by a terrorist outfit to kill his own people"
I really wanted to hug her and give her the much-needed comfort but realized that it is not the right time so stayed silent and just looked into her eyes.
After a brief silence, I asked, "How did you end up being here? That too accepting a job like this?"
She chuckled and said "Life kept chasing me. I along with many others crossed borders and at every point, all men wanted from me was my body. This phase of my life made me realize that there is nothing as brittle as life. This job is probably the best thing to happen for me. All I had to do is take care of one man in every way possible than becoming a public property"
It was the break of dawn, by this time, I was completely bowled over. I went on my knees and professed, " Abidah, I was living the life of a monster all these years. When I saw you for first time itself, I got transformed into a human being, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to experience happiness with you. I want to see you smiling till I breathe last, will you be my wife?"
Hearing this, she fell on her knees too and started crying loudly. I knew they were tears of joy but little did she know that it was blissful for me than her. This was the right time for a hug. A hug had never been so comforting earlier. Thank you mom!!!
GABRIEL WEDS ABIDAH!!!
I saw a very disturbing video today and wanted to write a story on it. Some of my friends have been asking me to write a love story so here is a combination of love and the one thing that has been disturbing me for some time.
Here is the link to the video that disturbed me,
