by Rose Fox
“Doesn’t it seem suspicious to you that the guy turns up to see you all of a sudden? Especially, when you’re loading cargo?”
“Understood, the matter is closed. Thanks.”
Jalal returned to his place in the chain of people and signaled them to continue passing the packages and cartons while he considered the point Bill had made in his last remark.
Just then, Karma noticed out of the corner of his eye how the muscular man, who stood on the deck of the boat, pushed two large cartons under a pile. He made an effort to cover them with rags. He stopped and stared at him while the box was still in his hands.
“Hey, what’s up, have you fallen asleep standing up?!” Jalal jabbed his elbow into Karma’s side and then noticed the boy was staring in the direction of the boat and understood that he had seen something. His face showed concern and his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as his anxiety grew greater.
He put the package he was holding down on the ground, moved closer to Karma, who drew back in confusion, pointed to the boat and remarked hesitantly:
“That man, the one standing on the ship is covering them. Yes, I saw him covering packages.”
“What? What did you see? Who was hiding the boxes?”
Something in the way Jalal looked at him and in the tone of voice frightened Karma and he decided there was no point in remaining there. He passed the package to the man ahead of him and turned to walk away, but the scrawny man held Karma’s arm and blocked his way with his foot.
Until this point, he had thought Karma would strengthen his team but Bill’s comment about Karma’s behavior made him realize that perhaps there was something to fear from him. He didn’t let go of his arm and pulled Karma aside. Right away, it occurred to Jalal to try and lure him. He hoped to delay him to allow him time to decide what to do about him later on.
“Can I offer you a ride?” he asked.
“Ah, I don’t know. No, I don’t think so, thank you.”
“Where are you going to from here, boy?” Jalal inquired pleasantly.
“It doesn’t matter, I’ll be going now.”
Karma looked at his arm, which was still in Jalal’s grip as if he was asking to be released and Jalal realized that he needed to try a different approach. He smiled at Karma, revealing yellowing teeth below his black mustache. He released his grip but instead of letting him go, turned it into a handshake.
“I’m Jalal and you are Hamis’ Karma, right?” His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down when he saw the amazement that spread on the boy’s face and he also noticed how he was taken aback.
Karma was really surprised and also frightened and decided to end the matter there and then. He sensed something strange was going on and it would be better to get away. He nodded his head at him and began to walk, but the slim man would not let go.
“Where did you intend to go, Karma, my friend? What are your plans?”
Karma hesitated whether it made sense to tell him and decided not to share his thoughts. He shrugged, whistled to call his dog and turned his back on Jalal, but Jalal did everything to stop him any way he could and called out to him:
“Hey, boy, we can take you anywhere you want to go! I’m not joking, Karma. Just say where you want to go and we’ll get you there.”
Suddenly, Jalal knew he wouldn’t let the boy get out of his clutches. He was so concerned that he had even considered the possibility of killing him on the boat and throwing his body into the river. There is a point where the Wan River meets and mixes with the enormous ‘Shat-el’ Arab River. There, no one would notice a body floating on the raging waters. And he knew that no one would care if they did see Karma’s body. He, too, had noticed bodies of dead people and animals that were dragged and swept away down the steep drop of the waterfall more than once.
Meanwhile, Karma had put more distance between them and Jalal shouted after him:
“Hey, isn’t it worth it to you to work with us and earn some money with a pleasant cruise, included?”
Karma stopped.
“Wait, what did you say? Do you need a laborer on your boat?”
“Yes, you give the impression of being a diligent fellow and I need someone exactly like you!” He yelled back at him and noticed Karma hesitating.
“Hey, you know what?” Karma said and came close again. “That suits me, but I will only get on the boat if Abdul, my dog, comes too.”
“Come on. (Let it go) Leave the dog here and someone will eventually take him back to Hamis.”
“Abdul comes with me!” Karma insisted and since he was still far away, Jalal feared he might carry on, so he called out to him right away:
“Ya'llah, (come on) so, get on board and sail wherever your heart desires, both you and your dog.” He muttered a curse and resisted the urge to spit on the sand.
“Really? I wonder if it’s possible to sail with you to the United States,” Karma laughed and noticed how the smile on Jalal’s lips froze.
“What?! Where did you say you want to go?” Jalal asked
“I was just pulling your leg,” Karma replied, “I heard that there’s a country with a name like that and I sometimes even dream of going there.” Since Jalal had still not responded, he continued:
“But, I know that’s really far away and there’s no chance I will succeed in getting there.”
“Ahh, I’m not so sure. If you want to get there badly enough, you will probably make it,” Jalal muttered.
The two boxes that Mahmoud, the muscle man, hid on the deck of the boat contained parts that had been specially developed and manufactured by experts who lived there. Today, Jalal and his team had arrived to transfer them to the merchant ship, “Oratorio”. This vessel was cruising in the Indian Ocean, awaiting these goods.
It was top secret and also groundbreaking equipment, and that is why Jalal was unusually tense.
The truth is that till then, electricity was produced by large nuclear reactors. But, after the disaster at Chernobyl in Russia, when radiation leaked into residential areas, many abandoned plans to generate electricity with such reactors.
An American company had succeeded in developing a minimized nuclear reactor that met all the safety requirements and made it possible to build as well as operate it in residential areas. This was the reason the Americans began equipping themselves with parts like these and adapting them to work on submarines and aircraft carriers and attached primary importance to them.
The parts that were being transferred to the boat were designed to fit the miniature reactors on the ship to reduce the risk of technical failures.
Jalal understood their critical importance and that was the reason he was in fear of the very shadow of himself lest he be found in possession of them. Huge lead plates were sent, together with the parts, to protect them from possible radiation.
Today they would sail on the Wan River. It would cross the small waterfall to where it merges in a place where the water flows and is swallowed up by the great Shat-el-Arab River, which continues till it spills out into the Indian Ocean. At this point, it splits into two tongues and creates a Y-shaped bay. There are those who say that at the point where the sweet waters of the river mix with the salt water of the ocean, one can even see the shade of the water changing from blue to green.
The pick-up truck roared behind them. It progressed slowly, increased speed and disappeared in the smoke as it droned loudly.
The five people jumped, fully clothed, into the muddy waters of the river and swam to the boat as they swim round planks and branches to avoid getting hurt. Jalal remained standing on the riverbank with Karma and his dog.
“Okay, come, jump in after me,” Jalal yelled and jumped into the water as he grabbed and pulled on Karma’s shirt, pulling him into the depths.
The water was cold and Karma immediately began to swim as he once swam in his childhood in the waters of the river that flowed in the sand between the Kurds’ tents. Jalal glanced at him and continued swimming as he enjoyed hearing the yelps
of the shaggy-eared dog left running alone on the bank as it barked and whined. All of a sudden, the dog jumped into the water, straining to go to his master, his hairy ears floating on either side of his head.
Jalal climbed onto the deck and Karma reached the ship’s side, put out his arm to grab his dog and climbed up with him.
The sun disappeared behind clouds and the wind grew icy cold. Drenched to the bone, Karma shivered, his teeth chattered in his mouth. He beat his hands on his chest and then rubbed his body to speed up the flow of blood in his veins. Gray clouds gathered in the darkening sky and Karma figured it would rain soon.
The other members of the group were also wet and had prepared for the rain. They knew from experience that they were facing a storm and they went below into the belly of the ship and left Jalal and Karma on the deck.
The boat increased its speed as it moved away from the bank, cutting the waves and enormous drops sprayed out in all directions. Overhead, a white bird screeched and tried to get a grip on the tall mast but the wind was so strong that it fluttered its wings and pulled it away with powerful gusts.
The sea churned and the waters grew dark, almost black. Rising waves crashed down on the side of the boat, spraying everywhere as they broke and splashed on the deck. Abdul, his dog, shook himself wildly from the top of his black nose to the tip of his bushy tail and went below the bridge, yelping. Karma followed him and wondered whether his animal foresaw the beginning of the storm that was on its way.
Jalal also knew that he should hurry and get off the deck, but he thought it was also an opportune moment to get rid of the boy. He reached into his pocket, grabbed hold of his flick knife and slowly approached Karma from behind.
Just then, the shadow of a gigantic wave rose over them and blocked out the light of day. The breaker appeared to stand still momentarily like a deep blue wall, its head touching the sky and then broke all at once, hit the deck and almost overturned the boat.
Karma fell forward, lost his breath and rolled in the water. Jalal lost his balance and, at the last minute, grabbed at the pipes that formed the balustrade rails before he was washed along the deck towards the sea by the backwash of the wave.
From the force of his fall, the flick knife Jalal was holding penetrated the palm of his hand and cut deep into his flesh.
The whole matter lasted just a little more than a minute.
Karma crawled and dragged himself to Jalal and then stopped beside him. He saw his bleeding hand and the knife that had slipped from between his fingers and grasped the situation. He recoiled, crawling backward and stared at the man who had just tried to kill him.
The blood flowed from Jalal’s hand in a thin stream, mixing with and reddening the considerable amount of water around them. It colored his pants red and the blood had even run into his shoes. The pool of blood drained beside him and reached the shiny blade of the flick knife. Karma bent forward and picked up the knife, wrapped his fingers around the handle and Jalal held his breath. At that second, their eyes met but then, Karma retreated and Jalal allowed himself to continue breathing.
The wind whistled as high waves rose up and washed over them and Jalal closed his eyes. Karma ignored him, then noticed that the pool of blood was growing larger. He looked for something with which to stop the bleeding when he saw a wooden barrel wrapped in cloth. He tore off a piece of cloth from it, went to Jalal and bound his hand. The red pool continued growing steadily and it was clear that something else needed to be done. Karma picked up Jalal and supporting him under his armpits led him to the rope ladder that went below deck. It was then that Karma saw the cut in Jalal’s pants and the bleeding from his thigh.
When they were below, Mohammed emerged from one of the cabins, supported Jalal to a wooden bunk attached to the wall and yelled:
“Khaled, Ta’al l’hon (come here). Someone’s wounded!”
Khaled came with a First Aid kit and sat down beside Jalal, who was barely conscious. Together they tore off his bloodied pants and found that the wound was much deeper than they first thought and blood was trickling out in small streams.
“We have to suture his leg, the wound is deep and blood vessels have been cut,” Khaled concluded and scratched his head.
“Who’s going to stitch up the wound? You?” Mohammed asked.
Karma glanced at both of them.
“Y’allah (come on), I’ll stitch his leg,” he blurted out, surprising even himself.
Khaled gave him a puzzled look but went out and returned with a cloth bag and threw it to him. He stared at Jalal, who was lying there, white in the face, his eyes closed and his breathing slow.
“Do we have anything to calm him or stop the pain?” Karma asked.
“Yes, sure, we have a magic potion,” Khaled claimed and pulled a circular bottle out from under the bed. “This is excellent. It’ll do the job.”
“What is it?” Karma inquired.
“It’s fine whiskey, the best ‘Chivas’ from someone’s freight, but I’m sure they’ll forgive us for taking it if we tell them the reason we opened it.”
Suddenly, the boat jerked wildly and Mohammed came running.
“Quickly, go up to the deck, the cargo is slipping and falling down!” He shouted and ran to the ladder leading to the bridge, and Jalal opened his eyes. Khaled handed the bottle to Karma and rushed up to the deck with all of them.
Karma stared at the bottle. It looked like someone had already drunk from it. He opened the stopper and proffered it to Jalal.
“Drink!” He ordered.
Jalal rose on his elbow, took a gulp, pulled a face and lay back again. Karma took the bottle from him and turned it towards his mouth and drank, twisted his face and spat out a quiet curse. He straightened up, threaded the needle and stood beside Jalal, staring at the open wound that continued bleeding. All at once, Karma began singing on top of his voice, saw how Jalal peeped at him, but ignored him completely and knelt beside him.
Outside, the storm continued to rage, rocking the boat on the swirling water as if it were an empty nutshell. Huge waves, which kept rising and falling, suddenly tossed the ship, putting mortal fear in the trembling hearts of the people on board.
Karma gritted his teeth, jabbed the needle into the flesh and pulled the thread through Jalal’s thigh, making him groan. Karma felt he was about to throw up and bit his lower lip, tasted blood on his tongue but continued sewing up the cut. He used his other hand to hold the edges of the wound together and forced the needle through them and pulled the blood-stained thread to the other side.
Then, as if controlled by an unseen hand, the wind changed direction. Torrential rains hit the water for a long time and whipped the air, creating a transparent screen. A half hour later, yellow sunlight shone through the scraps of clouds and lit up the universe as if bringing comfort and mercy to the creatures of the world.
This was the moment Khaled had been waiting for. He went down to the engine room, increased the flow of fuel to the engines and listened to their increasing revs. He was determined to make up for the hour of lost time caused by the storm. He began yelling, banging on the counter and cursing his boat as if he was a coachman goading his horse to run faster:
“Y’allah, (come on) giddy up, old nag! Rip through the water, sail, and fly; miserable wreck that you are!”
An hour and a half later they entered the vast ‘Shat-el’ Arab River. Other ships sailed around them, making their way to the great Straits of Hormuz. They continued sailing up the arm of the river through almost all the daylight hours till they sighted the large delta. When darkness fell on the water, many points of light twinkled yellow and green from the antennas of the gigantic ship in the distance. It stood high over the masts of the boats in the area that marked trails of light in the water.
Jalal opened his eyes and he awakened from the induced torpor of the anesthetic effects of the whiskey. He sat up and groaned with pain. His pants were stiff and stained with dried blood. He tried to get down from the bunk and when
he was unable to, he screamed like a madman.
“Mohammed! Come here, ya’kalb (you dog)!
All at once he saw Karma’s face and flinched. Karma came closer, held and supported him to stand and without a word and without looking at him, Jalal glanced at him in embarrassment. He wanted to ask where everyone was, but then he heard Karma mumble something about a giant ship below them and that everyone had gone on board.
“Shukran, (thank you), ya’Karma,” Jalal muttered. He paced slowly to the rope ladder that dangled down from above and climbed up to the deck with great difficulty. Karma remained staring at Jalal and refrained from helping him.
Members of the crew stood pressed to the railing and stared at the distant spotlights that were drawing nearer. Above loomed the enormous shadow of the American aircraft carrier and their boat looked like a pin beside it
This massive vessel, the “Enterprise”, the pinnacle of American workmanship and engineering, was the pride of the U.S. Marine Corps. It was driven by nuclear power and stationed in the Indian Ocean as a show of American strength in that part of the world, where it sailed on a fixed route. At present, it was located there to defend the merchant ship, the “Oratorio”, whose lights sparkled at a distance of 500 yards from it.
Here, in fact, Jalal’s boat had reached its destination. The spare parts on its deck were intended for another aircraft carrier. A system of miniature nuclear reactors and lead plates had been installed on it and these were the same spare parts, which had almost been lost in the raging sea during the terrifying storm.
A small transporter boat was lowered from the “Oratorio” and it rocked gently when it touched the water. The small vessel sailed to their ship and Jalal went down the gangplank and climbed on board. It then sailed to the enormous American ship and Jalal boarded it. His team watched him until he disappeared from view.
Backwash waves beat the enormous bulkhead and rocked Jalal’s vessel as if it were a toy boat in a kid’s bathtub. Karma raised his eyes and looked at the thick letters lit up by the searchlight