A Silent Prayer

by Samreen Ahsan

  “How do you know all this?”

  “I have assigned someone to look after you. You can call it stalking or whatever you want, but since the first time I saw you, I feel like I’m supposed to protect you.” He is looking blankly at the wall. “Don’t ask me why I’m doing it. It’s not in my hands.” He looks at me. “Anyway, that person told me about Ethan’s intentions Monday morning, when you boarded the train. He informed me that Murray has been watching your every move.” Oh, that unknown number? “I had to rush after you, to protect you from his filthy hands. If I had told you right away, you wouldn’t have believed me because there was no trust relationship between us then. You didn’t even know him. I had to spend time with you in the train, to gain your trust.” He inhales deeply. “I brought you here with me because it was Murray who arranged your hotel, in the room next to his.” He inhales again and continues. “I have already seen my sister traumatized. I can’t see you like that.”

  “Do you trust me, Adam?” I place my hands over his.

  “More than anyone.”

  “Then, do you think I will get seduced by his words?”

  “I know he cannot charm you, but he possesses certain magnetic powers, Rania. He knows how to play. He fucks with his words.”

  “He is only playing a mind game with you, Adam. Let him do it. You know I don’t get easily carried away by men.”

  “Yes, that’s one of the things I love most about you. Even though you pushed me away, I knew that at least it meant you would not let him play with you.” I am finally able to put a smile on his face. I stand up, holding his hand.

  “Let’s go. You were taking me to a movie, remember?” I wink at him, smiling. He smiles back with sparkling eyes.

  I want to cheer him up. I had no idea what he had gone through all those years ago, and how suddenly seeing me with Murray would torture him. I know he cares about me greatly, and I will make sure that the trust remains between us. I will never let Murray cast his spell on me, with his filthy mind. Adam has given me enough insight into his personality to deal with him tomorrow.

  Meanwhile, while Adam relaxes, I excuse myself so I can dress casually for our movie night. I don’t care if someone catches us in the theater or posts a picture on any social media website; I just want Adam to have a good time. The man who saved his sister without telling his mother and taking no credit for himself, the man who made all this effort to follow me so he can protect me from Murray, totally deserves a happy memory. I want to make him forget about our discussion. My heart has raised him to the highest level of respect and trust. I can never feel about anyone the way I do for this man.

  A TRUE COMPANIONSHIP

  ♂

  I wait for her, relaxing on the couch, while finishing the last of my whiskey. How easily she has dealt with such a dramatic situation, pulling out all the knots. She is right, I should trust her. She is a woman of strong mind, and she will not let Murray get to her. A sun of my universe, which only emits light and energy, and doesn’t absorb anything because she is too powerful to be influenced by any negativity. Is it her past that has made her so protective of herself, or has she always been unlike other women? Her burn scars showed me a hint of her past, but I will never bring it up until she trusts me completely and tells me everything, like I did with her today. I have nothing to hide her from now, and my soul feels light and free, like it has been released from a death trap.

  She comes downstairs, wearing jeans and a white sequined top.

  “Is there anything that doesn’t look nice on you?” I stand up, meeting her at the staircase. She blushes and smiles shyly. Ah! What do I do with this pink blush shade?

  “You need to get your eyes tested, Mister.” She laughs at me, and heads toward the door. I follow her, smiling. When we get in the car, she checks her phone, and her expression changes. She turns it off and puts it in her jacket pocket.

  “So, which movie are we seeing?”

  “What do you think of going to Cineplex?”

  “Anywhere you want, Adam. Don’t worry about the crowd. I don’t think anyone will even notice us.” She speaks delightfully, warmth emanating from her.

  We reach the Cineplex within ten minutes, and find ourselves in line to buy tickets. Rania suggests we should go for a lighthearted animated movie to ease our minds, and I agree to her choice. A few couples notice us in line for popcorn, but we ignore everyone and stay in our own capsule. Two hours later we come out laughing like idiots, repeating lines of dialogue. Rania poses like Dracula, whose daughter has fallen in love with a human, when he wants to protect her from humans. We both laugh heartily, not caring who might be around, and head for the street. The theater is located in the main downtown area, so we leave the car and risk walking in the snow and -15-degree temperature. Rania stops at a few souvenir stores and buys some items to remember our evening. This is the first time I’ve been to a movie theater in ten years, and I haven’t realized what fun I’ve been missing. Watching a movie with a friend, with whom you can share all your worries, is a blessing, and I am enjoying it to the fullest. Rania is switched onto fun mode tonight. I wonder if she is doing it for me, or if she is really enjoying herself. Anyhow, I’m getting bewitched by her charms. She stops at some crazy hat store and tries on different types of funny hats, entertaining me and the crowd across the street. She puts some hats on my head and takes pictures from my phone, both of us proving that we’re complete idiots.

  We take a break at a pizza and wings take-out restaurant, where there are only four bar stools in the corner. We are actually dating like a typical teenage couple who can’t afford a fancy restaurant, but would rather spend the money on a movie. I follow her blindly, wherever she is taking me. I have the worst pizza of my entire life, but having Rania by my side, cracking jokes and making me laugh, is priceless. She tells me childhood stories—that she was the most destructive kid in her class during middle school. Even the boys were scared of her, but since she was at the top of her class, the teachers and school management ignored her playfulness. I also share some of my teenage stories with her, and tell her how the boys would talk behind the girls’ backs, about which girls ignore them and which ones come on to them. She enjoys my typical guy’s nonsense and laughs until her eyes water.

  After our extremely unhealthy, but blissfully crappy dinner, we walk through the streets again and she asks me for an ice cream. We head to the ice cream parlor and she takes around fifteen minutes trying different flavors. She savors each flavor, eyes closed, before trying the next. After quite some time, I whisper in her ear.

  “You are taking a lot more than the expected time to decide. The salesman is getting annoyed. Are you actually going to select a flavor or not?” To my surprise, she orders the largest choco-vanilla cone I have ever seen, and doesn’t pick any of the flavors she tried. “What was the point of trying all the flavors, when you were going to pick this?”

  She laughs at my question. “You are quite innocent, Mr. Gibson, when it comes to ice cream. That’s how it is done. You taste them all, even though you already know what you want. That’s the fun part.” She winks at me.

  “Are you sure you can eat all this? There are three scoops. You will get cold, girl.”

  “Aren’t you going to share with me?” she asks me, and I can’t help accepting her offer.

  She sits on a couch and I sit in an armchair opposite her, watching her lick the cone. I glance around the ice cream parlor and notice some boys staring at her hungrily. She ignores the atmosphere and continues licking her cone, as if she is on a treasure hunt. I gape at her; it’s the most erotic thing I’ve ever seen. I can’t blame these pricks for staring; I am on the same ride with them. Fuck! I can’t resist. She finally manages to look at me and gets up from her seat to sit on the arm rest of my chair.

  “Try it, Gibson. It’s heavenly.” She hands me the cone, putting one arm over my shoulder to support herself. I
can’t tell her I haven’t licked an ice cream cone since childhood. I manage okay, though I see the boys are still drooling over her or the ice cream, whichever. Rania is unconcerned. All she cares about is her ice cream.

  “You know, Mr. Gibson, females have a special relationship with chocolate and ice cream.” She takes the cone from me and starts licking the chocolate side of it. “They activate the hormones of happiness. Usually girls crave chocolate and ice creams during their menstrual cycle, to combat the depression that comes with it.” What? Is she serious? I never thought she would talk to me so openly about something like that. I give her a bewildered look. “Yes, in case you are wondering why I asked for three scoops, I wanted to come out of this shit hole too.” She smiles innocently, displaying her beautiful dimples behind the cone. Is she menstruating right now?

  I look at her from head to toe and she laughs openly. “What are you looking at? You haven’t seen a girl on her cycle?” She jerks me from the shoulders to avert my gaze from her. Is she drunk?

  Does this ice cream have liquor in it? She’s never talked to me like that. She hands me the cone and forces me to repeat the licking process. The boys are seated very close to us, and I wonder if they heard us or not. She looks up at the guys, while I fulfill her demand of licking the cone.

  “Hey! What are you looking at, you suckers? Haven’t seen a hot sexy guy licking a cone?” she calls out toward the boys. I’m startled and drop the cone. I really wasn’t expecting that. The guy behind the cash counter laughs hysterically. Rania gets up and walks up to the boys. “Now see what you’ve done. Stop drooling over him. He is not licking your popsicle, you sleaze balls. He is not one of you.” With that, she heads toward the counter to get napkins and comes back to me. She starts cleaning my shoes and the floor, picking up the broken pieces of the cone. I am totally shocked and speechless by her boldness.

  The boys are embarrassed at the attention she’s drawn to them, and they leave hastily. I am still in a state of shock. Rania is on her knees, wiping my shoes, so I grab her hand to stop her.

  “Let me clean it; it will melt inside your shoes,” she says. “You will have to learn how to do justice to an ice cream, Mr. Gibson.” She looks up with a childlike smile. “Did the boys scare you?” I still look at her, blown away. “They were gay. They were staring at you lustfully when you started licking the cone.” She purses her lips, trying to control her laughter.

  “What? No, they were looking at you.”

  “Are you kidding me, Mr. Gibson?” She finishes her task and gets up, the dirty napkins in her hand. “You really think a bunch of boys would come by themselves to an ice cream parlor, having strawberry cones? Did you check out their outfits? Their pink hats? It was so gay. Guys usually hang out at the bar at this hour. What were they doing here?” She laughs and throws away the napkins. “They were so into you. I noticed them when we came in. They followed you. You knocked them out with your sexiness.” She ruffles my hair gently and heads toward the exit. I look at the guy behind the counter, who winks at me with a smile.

  Oh no! Not another one.

  I hear Rania’s voice behind me, holding the door open. “Are you going to sit there the whole night, seducing that poor guy?” The ice cream man looks at me, embarrassed. Is she doing all this on purpose? The ice cream seems to have put her on a roller coaster ride and there is no stopping her. I shake my head and follow her toward the exit.

  “You are so unpredictable, Rania.”

  “Well, Mr. Gibson, you have no idea what you have got yourself into.” She nudges me slightly, winking at me. “You have a lot to see. Just wait and watch.” With that, she starts walking ahead of me, leaving me amazed. Her mischief has already surprised and shocked me; I can imagine how she would have been at school, when she told me she was the naughtiest among them all.

  “Let me call the driver.” I take out my phone. She takes the phone from me and puts it in her jacket.

  “Are you crazy? I can see the hotel from here. Let’s walk.” She offers me her arm.

  “It is shit cold, Rania, and the hotel is almost two kilometers from here. It will take us more than twenty minutes to walk.”

  “So what? Don’t worry. I won’t let you freeze to death. We will run.” She grabs my hand and pulls me onto the sidewalk. “Loosen up, Gibson. You are not on an official trip. Stop relying on cars. Normal people walk, regardless if it’s raining or snowing.” She starts walking briskly, pulling me along by the hand. I fall into step beside her, still holding her hand. She’s right; I won’t freeze to death. Her touch is keeping me warm, even in this harsh weather. The sun always emits warmth, no matter how cold it is.

  We almost slip a couple of times on black ice, but manage to support each other, laughing crazily like high school kids.

  I am on a magical journey, learning how normal people live, free from worries about meetings and business deals. This walk with her, hand in hand in the falling snow, is priceless, more valuable than a ride in any luxury car or my helicopter. She stops for a minute to look up at the snow-filled sky and feel the snowflakes falling over her face. She doesn’t blink, even for a single second, though some of the flakes dissolve in her eyes. I see tears dripping from the corners of her eyes, but she keeps looking at the sky. The moment is frozen within us. I wonder wildly what she is thinking, but she doesn’t say anything. She glances back at me, giving me a very strange look, and hugs me tightly. I am taken completely off-guard. I pull her closer to me, feeling her warmth and passion, and we stand in the midst of this white magical land. It is the best snowfall of my life. She pulls away all of a sudden and starts to jog, dragging me down the street.

  Whoa! What was that?

  We finally reach the hotel lobby around midnight, two snowmen in woolen coats. Some people stare at us, as if asking how this hotel can rent rooms to idiots. We continue running until we reach the elevator, where we meet a young couple with their five-year-old daughter, holding a doll. She hides behind her parents when she sees two snow creatures running toward her. Rania tilts her head to greet the child.

  “What’s your name?” She kneels down to talk to the girl.

  “Sandra.” The girl speaks from behind her father’s knees.

  “What a pretty name. You like your Rapunzel doll? Can you show it to me?” She knows how to communicate with kids. The girl steps out from behind her father and shows her doll to Rania. “You know, Sandra, I have a Rapunzel like this, with a huge tower. You wanna play with me someday?” She caresses the girl’s hair lovingly and stands up. Her parents watch Rania with delight.

  “She doesn’t talk to anyone. You made her smile.” The child’s mother breaks in.

  “You have a lovely child. God bless her.” Rania looks at the child affectionately.

  The elevator stops on our floor and we step out. The mother calls out, “Enjoy your honeymoon.” The door closes behind us, and Rania laughs.

  “Let’s get into the room, my new husband, and enjoy the honeymoon.” She runs toward the door. I know she isn’t serious, but I enjoy hearing it anyway.

  The room is warm; Rania flings off her jacket and burrows into the couch.

  “Oh my God, I am so tired.” She checks her watch. “And I have training tomorrow.” She closes her eyes. I bend down beside her and take off her shoes. She opens her eyes and winces.

  “Your boots are filled with snow. You will catch cold.”

  She stops me. “I can do it myself. Please!”

  “It doesn’t make any difference.”

  “It does to me. Please, sit down.” She pulls my hands away from her shoes and takes them off. Her demeanor has changed suddenly, as if I’m a stranger. She takes off her socks and stands up. “I am going to change. I have to get up early in the morning.” She heads to the bedroom without waiting for a reply. I take off my accessories and remember she put my phone inside her jacket. Since we both have the same
color iPhones, I mistakenly check her phone and find an unread message.

  No matter what wonders my eyes have seen, nothing amazes me more than when I look at you.

  Ethan.

  (P.S. looking forward to seeing you tomorrow)

  Pervert! I wonder if he picked up the words from a greeting card, hoping he would get into her panties. I notice the message was sent around seven, when we left for the movie. That was when she checked her phone in the car and her expression darkened. She was displeased with this message, not impressed, since I’d already warned her about Murray. I control my temper. She has assured me that she will handle him by herself, so I’ll trust her judgment. She probably hid the message so our evening wouldn’t be spoiled. I take both phones into the bedroom. She is still in the washroom with the door closed, so I decide to change in the room instead of waiting for her to come out. I put on my pajama trousers, and have just taken off my shirt when she steps out of the washroom. After a quick glance at my half-naked body, she crawls into the bed, avoiding looking at me. I quickly put on my T-shirt so as not to embarrass her, shut off the lamps and slip into bed. She picks up her phone, which I placed on her pillow, and begins setting the alarm. I shift to face her, resting my head on my hand, my elbow on the pillow.

  “Thanks for the wonderful evening,” I say sincerely. She looks up at me from the phone. “Every time we do something together, I think it’s the best time I’ve ever had, and then the next time is even better.”

  “I had fun too, though the pizza sucked big time.” She puts her eyes back on her phone.