The Hour of the Oryx

by Farah Zaman

  As they passed by Ms. Tubaa and the stranger, the man stared at Adam again.

  “Heba, who’s that visitor talking with Ms. Tubaa?” Adam whispered.

  Heba glanced over at the man. As they walked out of earshot, she said, “That’s Mr. Iqbal. He works for Fatima Hazni. She’s one of the richest women in Wijdan and a great supporter of the orphanage. She and her late husband were former wards and are two of its success stories. Mr. Iqbal must be here about the Orphans Evening Out. It’s a dinner that Mrs. Hazni holds once a year for the students. I didn’t think she would go ahead with it since her son’s kidnapping.”

  “Is that kidnapped boy, Danyal Hazni, her son?” Zaid asked.

  “Yes, he is. You look a lot like him, Adam.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Adam went on to tell her about the mix-up at the Marzuqah Mall.

  “How dreadful and bizarre,” Heba said when he was done.

  “Did you know Danyal well?” Layla asked her.

  “Not really. He came here a few times with his mother but hasn’t visited since his father died.”

  “The news mentioned he has a stepfather,” Zahra said.

  “Yes, Mrs. Hazni remarried a year ago. She and her new husband must be so worried for Danyal. It’s so generous of them to go ahead with the Orphans Evening Out. You must attend it with us. You’ll enjoy it.”

  “We’d love to,” Layla said.

  Once they were away from the crowd, Heba asked, “Well, did you find anything in Ms. Rima’s office?”

  “No, nothing suspicious.” Zahra repeated what she had told the others.

  “I’m glad,” Heba said. “I like Ms. Rima.”

  Zaid handed over the bunch of keys to her and they made their way back to the crowd.

  At the conclusion of the games, there was a tug-of-war between the paired students. After the line of demarcation was drawn, both sides pulled with all their might on a thick length of rope. There were chuckles of amusement as Muk-Muk, the monkey, leaped upon the rope on the home orphanage’s side and clung to it with his paws. It looked for all the world as if he was helping them to tug it. After a tense minute of grunting with the strain, the home orphanage finally prevailed, with much cheering from their cohorts.

  After that, everyone made a beeline for the refreshment tables. Adam glimpsed Mahmood heading away with a disposable plate piled high with goodies. The sight amused him. Who would have thought the boy had a sweet tooth when he was as thin as a rail?

  Adam’s amusement turned sour when Mahmood passed by Haysam, Luay and Fadi, the three troublemakers, who also held plates of snacks. With devilish looks on their faces, they leaned over and whispered in Mahmood’s ear. He flinched and hurried away while the three louts cackled with glee. Adam’s jaw tightened. Everyone else seemed to treat the boy with a tolerant indifference but those three were picking on him every chance they got. He could not stand by and do nothing.

  “I’m going to talk to Haysam, Luay and Fadi,” he said to Zaid. “I just saw them being mean to Mahmood. This is the second time I’ve witnessed it.”

  Zaid frowned. “I’ll come with you.”

  The youths strode over to the trio.

  “Excuse me,” Adam said. “Can I have a word with you?”

  Haysam scowled. “What do you want?”

  “Twice now I’ve seen the three of you being mean to Mahmood,” Adam said. “You have to stop picking on him. Can’t you see you’re making him miserable?”

  “It’s none of your business,” Luay said with a glare.

  “Yes, who do you think you are?” Fadi curled his lips at them.

  “Get lost and leave us alone,” Haysam said. “You’ve got some nerve acting as if you own the place.”

  Before Adam or Zaid could make a rejoinder, Haysam’s pair from the visiting orphanage joined the trio, carrying a plate of snacks. Sensing the tension, the boy looked from one of them to the other, a puzzled expression on his face. With a last glare, the Troublesome Trio hurried away, the boy following behind them.

  Adam and Zaid stared after them in frustration.

  “If I see them harassing Mahmood again, I’m going to report them,” Adam said.

  “Yes, I think that’s the best thing to do,” Zaid said.

  The next presentation in the event hall was a quiz presided over by the husband and wife team, Mr. Talish and Ms. Mahveen.

  “Salaams, everyone,” Ms. Mahveen chirped, a wide smile on her round face. “Are you having fun?”

  “Yes!” The students roared out their reply.

  “As soon as you settle down, we’re going to start,” Mr. Talish said in his raspy voice.

  Five minutes into the quiz, Adam was bored. The couple was witty and entertaining, but the questions were predictable. “Let’s go check out the vaults now,” he whispered to Zaid.

  “Alright,” Zaid whispered back.

  They rounded up the girls and headed out the door.

  “We have to come back in time for Find Your Treasure,” Layla said. “I don’t want to miss it.”

  “We’ve got plenty of time,” Adam said. “We’ll just take a peek and come back.”

  In the main corridor, the teenagers came upon Ms. Tubaa talking with one of the childminders, who was gesturing and speaking in an agitated voice. As they drew close, Ms. Tubaa held up a hand, signaling them to stop.

  “I need your help,” she told them, a frazzled expression on her face.

  “Sure,” Layla said. “What can we help with?”

  “Baby Lina is missing from the nursery. Sumaiya said she’s searched the whole first floor and Lina cannot be found. I want you girls to go with her and search the female dorms. You boys will help me search the male dorms. We’ll meet right here after we’re done.”

  “Of course, Ms. Tubaa,” Adam said, worried for the little girl.

  Where could Baby Lina be?

  He and Zaid followed Ms. Tubaa’s short, broad figure up the staircase to the male dorms. Each room held two beds, with a wooden divider in the middle for privacy. After searching the rooms on the second and third floors, they headed up to the fourth floor, Ms. Tubaa huffing and puffing behind them.

  The sound of gibbering came to their ears from the first room on the right.

  “It’s Muk-Muk,” Zaid said. “This must be Mahmood’s room.”

  Adam rapped on the door. “Mahmood, are you in there?”

  The monkey screeched but there was no answer from Mahmood.

  “He must be downstairs,” Zaid said. “Let’s move on to the next room.”

  “Open the door and look inside,” Ms. Tubaa snapped. Climbing three sets of stairs had put her in an ill temper. She was out of breath, her face wearing a thin sheet of sweat.

  Does she think Baby Lina is keeping Muk-Muk company in there?

  Annoyed at her imperious tone, Adam opened the door and poked his head inside. Muk-Muk capered about the room like a whirlwind, chattering up a storm. Mahmood sat on the floor next to the monkey’s cage, his eyes wide and scared. Lying fast asleep inside it was Baby Lina.

  Adam’s mouth opened in shock. Before he could say anything, Ms. Tubaa let out a furious screech behind him, almost piercing his eardrums. Squeezing past him, she catapulted into the room like a whirlwind, shouting, “You wicked boy! How dare you do this?”

  Mahmood stared at the floor, his mouth puckered as if he was about to cry.

  Muk-Muk sprang onto Ms. Tubaa’s shoulder with a screech.

  “Get away from me, you vile animal.” She shoved him off. “I’ll see that you go to the zoo if it’s the last thing I do. As for you,” she spat at the cowering Mahmood, “you’ll be punished for this monstrous deed.”

  Mahmood gave the boys a beseeching look, his eyes shiny with tears.

  “I don’t think Mahmood did this,” Adam said, helping the boy
to his feet.

  “Someone probably did it as a prank,” Zaid said, leading Mahmood to sit on the bed.

  Ms. Tubaa snorted. “Nonsense. He and that monkey have been stealing food from the kitchen. Now they’re stealing babies.”

  Adam felt like rolling his eyes the way Layla did sometimes. “I think we should hear what Mahmood has to say.”

  “In case you hadn’t noticed, the boy can’t speak.” Ms. Tubaa’s tone was icy. “But you can see the guilt written all over his face.”

  Gritting his teeth so he would not say something rude, Adam said to Zaid, “Help me get Lina out.”

  The culprit who had caged her had shoved her in slantwise. As his friend held open the cage, Adam gently removed the little girl. As Lina cleared the cage, her eyes fluttered open and she stared at Adam wide-eyed. Then her lips quivered, and she let out a loud squall.

  “Hush,” Adam said, rocking her like he used to do with Hassan and Hakeem when they were babies. “It’s alright.” After a few more rocks, Lina calmed down and stuck a thumb into her mouth.

  “Let’s take her back to Sumaiya,” Ms. Tubaa said. Turning a thunderous face to Mahmood, she said, “We’ll deal with you later.”

  When they returned downstairs, they found Heba with the girls and the childminder.

  “You’ve found her,” Sumaiya cried, taking the baby from Adam. “Where was she?”

  “In the monkey’s cage,” Ms. Tubaa growled before stalking away.

  Sumaiya and the girls gasped. Clutching Lina tenderly, the childminder left.

  “Is it true what Ms. Tubaa said?” Zahra asked with wide eyes.

  Adam grimaced. “Yeah.”

  “Oh my goodness, tell us what happened,” Layla said.

  The youths told them, concluding with their suspicion that someone had set Mahmood up.

  “You’re right,” Heba said. “Mahmood wouldn’t do something like that. I wonder who could have done it.”

  “I saw those three troublesome boys picking on him a few times,” Adam said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if they did it.”

  Heba nodded. “I can see them pulling a stunt like that.”

  “Ms. Tubaa threatened to send Muk-Muk to the zoo,” Zaid said.

  “She’s always doing that,” Heba said. “She took a dislike to him from the beginning, ever since he snatched her reading glasses and chewed them up. He’s a mischievous little fella, like all monkeys.”

  “She also said Mahmood and Muk-Muk have been stealing food from the kitchen,” Adam said.

  Heba sighed. “Muk-Muk acts up in the night sometimes, disturbing everyone. He only calms down when Mahmood takes him outside to the trees. The administration gave Mahmood his own key to come and go as he liked. Sometimes, when they get hungry, Mahmood would help himself to food from the kitchen. I don’t see why Ms. Tubaa has to make a big deal of it. This is Mahmood’s home and he shouldn’t have to go hungry.”

  “When we speak to him about the sketch tonight, we’ll talk to him about Baby Lina in the cage,” Zaid said. “He might have seen who put her there.”

  “Good idea,” Heba said. “Are you still going to the vaults? After the quiz, we’ll have a short break and then the treasure game will start.”

  “I guess we’ll go to the vaults another time,” Adam said. “We’ll go wash up and then come to the event room.”

  After making ablution, the youths headed back to the gathering. As they approached the main corridor, Mr. Talish hurried past. He and Ms. Mahveen must have finished their quiz. Turning the corner, Adam stared after the teacher’s small-built figure. He seemed to be heading outside.

  “Mr. Talish seems to be in an awful hurry,” he said. “I wonder why he’s going outside.”

  “Let’s follow him and see.”

  The youths hurried to the back of the orphanage. They were just in time to see Mr. Talish going out the door. When they opened it and peeked out, he was heading to a pathway on the right.

  “Let’s go after him,” Adam said. “We can hide behind the trees and bushes, so he doesn’t see us.”

  Ducking from tree to bush and bush to tree, they followed Mr. Talish down the twisting pathway. At last, he came to a wooden pavilion covered with vines, tendrils of them hanging down like green snakes. The youths paused behind a thick trunk and peered out. A man in a white robe rose up from one of the benches under the structure. He and Mr. Talish conversed in low voices.

  “I wonder who that is,” Zaid whispered.

  “Let’s go closer to hear what they’re saying.”

  As they slinked away from the trunk and crouched behind a dense shrub, Adam stepped on a twig. He flinched as it snapped like a firecracker exploding.

  Chapter Seven:

  Light Across the Lake

  “Oh crap,” Adam muttered as Mr. Talish swung around, a startled look on his face.

  “Who’s there?” the teacher called out, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

  Adam held his breath as Mr. Talish took a few steps towards the shrub. Had he seen them? Maybe their clothes were sticking out? Should they make a run for it, or should they stay and weasel their way out if he caught them? Adam breathed again when the man in the pavilion called out and Mr. Talish returned to him.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Adam whispered. “I’ve had enough of an adrenaline rush for one day.”

  The youths crept back to the door, glancing over their shoulders every now and again to make sure Mr. Talish was not behind them. When they returned to the event room, groups were being formed for Find Your Treasure. Adam and Zaid were assigned to different groups, but Layla and Zahra were together. Mr. Rakin, with a light in his eyes and a curve to his lips, handed out the clues. It was clear that he was enjoying himself.

  When Adam’s group was given their clue, they opened it eagerly. It read:

  Angels do not fear to tread,

  Where the faithful one bows his head.

  What you seek may not be within sight,

  But still you must continue to seek the light.

  For very soon you shall come to realize,

  Your treasure is a different shape and size.

  Adam knew at once where they had to search for their treasure. Just as he was about to say it, one of the girls said, “It’s in the prayer hall.”

  Once there, they narrowed down the location to the three bookshelves. Moving the tomes aside, they searched the spaces in between but there was nothing to be found. They stood looking at their clue in puzzlement until Adam got a brainwave. Turning to his teammates, he said, “Those who still have their ablution and can touch the Qur’ans open them and find the chapter entitled The Light.”

  There was a murmur of excitement as the students caught on. They went through four mushafs before they found success in the fifth. Ten one-dirham notes lay concealed within the pages. There were whoops of delight as they took a note each and ran back to the event room. Zaid’s group and the girls’ groups were already there. Oh well, we came in third. I can live with that.

  At dinner, Adam and Zaid snagged seats next to two of the paired boys. As they feasted on curried lamb with basmati rice, Junaid, one of the boys from the visiting orphanage, said to Adam, “Hey, you look a lot like Danyal Hazni, the boy who was kidnapped.”

  “Yes, I was nearly grabbed yesterday by two men at the Marzuqah Mall who mistook me for him. I guess they wanted the reward Danyal’s family is offering.”

  “Since when do kidnapped boys hang out at the mall?” said Ridwan, Junaid’s pair from the home orphanage.

  “The whole thing was kind of weird,” Adam said. “The only explanation is that they must have thought that Danyal had escaped his kidnappers.”

  “I think Danyal is dead,” Junaid said, chewing noisily. “Otherwise the kidnappers would have returned him once they got the money.”

 
“Maybe they’re holding out for more money,” Ridwan said, sucking a piece of bone. “They probably know that two million dirhams is just a drop in the ocean to Fatima Hazni.”

  “Wouldn’t they have made another demand by now if they wanted more money?” Zaid said.

  “Yes, that’s why I think Danyal is dead,” Junaid repeated with ghoulish relish.

  The entertainment session that night was presided over by Ms. Yusra and Ms. Rima, who sat in chairs at the side of the makeshift stage.

  “Alright everyone, sit back and enjoy,” Ms. Rima called out, her eyes kindling with good humor.

  “We’d like you to be quiet and attentive, with no talking during the performances,” Ms. Yusra said. Her face was a bit ashy, as if she was ill.

  The students performed a few songs and short skits. Then Ridwan, from the home orphanage, took the stage.

  “I’m going to do an impression of the teachers,” he told them. His announcement was met with titters and giggles. For the next fifteen minutes, he kept them in stitches with the skill of a stand-up comedian. Ms. Rima and Ms. Yusra were good sports when he imitated them. Ms. Rima giggled, and Ms. Yusra managed a slight smile though her face still looked haggard.

  Ridwan’s funniest impression was that of Ms. Tubaa. As he mimicked her talking, he would punctuate his words with a camel’s bleat. “Students, this is an orphanage, not a five-star hotel. Bleat. You must eat the goo the kitchen calls food and pretend it’s delicious. Bleat. So, what if you don’t have enough time for a shower, Nadir? I bathe once a month and I’m fine, aren’t I? Bleat. That monkey needs to be in a zoo. There’s only room for one ape here and I have seniority. Bleat. Arab students, why are you saying that Arabic grammar is difficult? You’re already speaking the language. It’s like the camel saying the desert is too hot. Bleat.”

  Everyone had tears of mirth in their eyes by the time the entertainment session ended.

  When Adam and Zaid looked for Mahmood later, they could not find him. The boy was neither upstairs nor downstairs. Frustrated, they went to tell the girls in the atrium.

  “He might be playing his flute outside in the pavilion,” Heba said. “It’s the wooden structure at the back of the orphanage.”