National Exile: A 21st Century Novel about Nobility, Poverty, and Cruelty

by Rusul A. Altaay

  Chapter 8

  The Orphanage

  After a while, things calmed down. The crews from the Burj were able to resume their lives as before. The bombing on the civilians did not stop. It got worse. No one from the administration came asking for Sidra. She could not regain her energy so easily. She had to convince herself that what happened in that underground prison was over. She never spoke of it. She never even wanted to talk about it.

  She woke up one morning feeling a bit better. She decided to take a walk outside the Burj. She went outside and looked at the running river right beside the Burj. It was cold and windy. She wondered if there were more children like Amal and his friends out there. She thought her life was not fair. Not because of what happened, but because she had a warm place, warm food, and clean water. Not everyone was as lucky as her.

  “Someone, somewhere, must be suffering and dying because of cold and hunger.” She thought.

  She walked over a small-wooden bridge on the running river. It’s where she always used to go when she needed to be alone. She sat on the bridge and kept looking at the river. The sound of the running water always gave her joy. It was quiet. She liked that. She looked at the sky realizing that it might rain. She closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath. A voice from behind interrupted that moment.

  “Good… The fresh air is very good for you.” Rain said.

  She did not reply. She just looked at him for a second and turned away. He kept his distance. And he decided to break the awkward silence. He said,

  “I thought I might find you here. It is cold. You should come inside. I need to speak with you for a moment.”

  “Can we not talk about what happened, please? I don’t want to waste time talking about the problem instead of its solution.” She said while looking at the running river.

  “I did not know that there was a solution.” Rain thought and did not comment on her statement.

  “Did you ask Mai about the song she saw me reading? 8 flames? Does that ring a bell?” Sidra asked as she kept looking at the river.

  “Yes, we concluded that the password is 1000.” Rain said.

  “You did what? And why on earth did you not think that the password was simply ‘8 flames’?” She said as she turned to him.

  “Ahhh… I don’t know… If that was the case, why did you refer to the song?” He asked her.

  “Because you needed to play the song after you put the password. I hid the code inside the song. The sound waves are the…. Never mind… I wonder who received the message then. Anyhow, it is over now. I don’t want to think about it. I’m out of prison. That is all I care about.” Sidra said as she tried going inside.

  “Wait, I want to know what that was all about. What is Orb?” Rain stopped her.

  “Orb? What’s that?” She pretended to be as surprised as he was.

  “The computer said that a message was sent to Orb.” Rain explained.

  “I don’t know. Maybe you got a different message because you entered 1000 instead of ‘8 flames’ like I had told you.”

  “Interesting…” Rain thought.

  “Anyway, there is something I have been meaning to ask you. Do you remember the people under the bridge?” Sidra asked.

  “Yes, they were attacked, and a lot of them have died. I wanted to go and help out. However, we were too busy looking for you.” Rain said.

  “I have something to take care of. Then, I think we should go for a visit. We need to try helping who’s left of them. I’m going to visit someone tomorrow morning. I think I will stop by the bridge and see what is going on.” Sidra said.

  “Are you visiting the Seven Skies orphanage?” He asked confidently.

  “How did you know about that?” Sidra was really surprised that Rain knew about it.

  “When you were arrested, I looked everywhere for you. I thought you were not even in a prison. So I hacked your bank accounts. I found out that you are indeed broke. It did not make any sense. The federal administration still pays our salaries. I was kind of surprised to find almost zero dollars in your account. So, I traced the money. I found out that most of it went back to the orphanage.” Rain explained.

  “You had no right… You should not have done that.” Sidra said with a mad tone.

  “I did what I had to do. You cannot keep hiding the real you inside. There is nothing wrong with showing how caring of a woman you are.” Rain tried explaining.

  “I’m not doing anything that any human would not.” Sidra said as she looked away. “Besides, I don’t have my salary anymore. I heard they’re cutting us off completely.”

  “They are.” Rain said.

  “I have no idea how the kids are going to live. Those kids are everything I was terrified of being. They are living the childhood that I did not want to live... I HATE rich people. They have the money, and they never do anything. Look at us.” She said and turned at him. “We live in one of the riches countries on earth, literally, and our people are dying out of cold and hunger… COLD… which is100% preventable.” She said with a passion.

  “Not all rich people are the same, you know.” He replied.

  “I don’t care. I don’t see them doing anything but making more money.” Sidra added.

  “Let me come with you tomorrow, and we will also go visit the people under the bridge. The weather is supposed to be worm tomorrow.” Raid said.

  “You don’t have to go. I was going to take Emma. She said that she would love to help.”

  “Then, I will go with you and Emma. It’s final. Do not argue. I can serve and a physician to the kids and make sure they’re in a good health.”

  “Fine, fine… you can come.” She said and asked, “By the way, when did you learn how to hack? It needed some skills to have access to my bank accounts.”

  “I learned few things here and there. Also, I had some help.” Rain said.

  “Interesting… I did not know that about you.” Sidra said.

  “There is a lot about me that you don’t know. Perhaps even more than what I don’t know about you.” He said with a smile. “Now, let us go inside and tell Emma to get ready for tomorrow. You know we can’t drive. They have closed most of the roads. So, we are going to walk.”

  “I love walking. I know this small town we can stop by.” Sidra said. “Rain…”

  “Yeah?” Rain replied.

  “No, not you. It started to rain.” She said with a smile.

  It was probably the first time she smiled in a very long time. She closed her eyes for a second a said,

  “You know… When I was in prison, I could not hear or see anything. I thought I was dead for a while. The only thing kept going was the sound of the rain falling. I don’t know why… But the rain gave me some hope.”

  “I’m sorry you had to go through that.” Rain said.

  -------------------------------

  It was a rainy night. However, the next morning was sunny. In the main common area of the Burj, Emma said,

  “Miss Sidra…Mr. Rain… are you sure it is ok for me to be out of the Burj for an entire day?”

  “Please just drop the Miss and Mr. And yes, we are sure. I spoke to Yazan, and he assured me that it is totally fine. He said to take our time.” Rain said, “They are not kids, you know. They can take care of themselves without the need for a house keeper.”

  “Thank you… Mr. Rain.”

  “I just said… never mind. Let’s go.”

  It was a beautiful morning. Everything was so quiet. People were walking in the streets like nothing was going on. In reality, people just started adjusting their lives to the situations they lived. They just got used to it. The fact that people were getting killed daily became such a normal matter. In another word, they just got over it. Rain, Sidra and Emma walked for nearly an hour. As they walked, Rain tried to make small talks.

  “Sidra? You never told me how you ended up working for the Burj?” Rain asked.

  “That is a long story. Pl
ease don’t ruin my mood.” Sidra said, “By the way, your shirt is silly. What is up with this green? It does not suit you.”

  Rain just laughed at her response and said, “Yep, you are totally back to normal. I’m really glad.”

  “Sometimes… I feel like you two act like an old married couple.” Emma said with a smile.

  “Like I would ever marry him... Did I tell you that he left me in that underground prison? It was awful. He just never came back.” Sidra commented.

  “Can we change the subject, please? No one is good enough for Sidra anyway.” Rain said as he pointed, “Hey, look… Someone is selling grilled corn. I’m really hungry. Let’s get some. It is my treat.” He said and started running towards the corn boy.

  “He is just a boy. I wonder what happened to his parents that made him work at such a young age.” Sidra wondered.

  “Hello there… How much is the corn?” Rain asked.

  “Five dollars each, Sir.”

  “Wow… Food prices are going really high. I will take six. And do not call me Sir. My name is Rain.”

  “Well, corn is a rare item these days. And sure, six grilled corns…coming right up.” The boy said with an energetic voice.

  “I know it’s not that cold today, but you should still wear a jacket. You don’t want to get sick.” Emma said to the little kid.

  “I used to have a jacket. Few days ago, it just burned. It happened when I was grilling. It’s ok. The weather is nice today. Here is your corn, Sir. I mean Rain.”

  “And here is your $40. Thank you and stay warm.” Rain said smiling.

  “No, Sir. It is only $30. Let me get your change.”

  “Keep the change.”

  “No, I can’t do that. Please take your $10.”

  “I told you… you could keep it.”

  “My Mom always told me to never accept charity. She says food taste so good when I make the money myself. The corn I’m selling is a gift from some man. I convinced my Mom to let me sell it. The man come every other day and bring me corn. She wants me to depend on myself.” The boy said.

  “Your mother sounds like an awesome person. Please give us two more pieces with Rain’s change. We will have them for the road.” Sidra said with a smile.

  The kid was really excited. He happily replied,

  “Yes, ma’am. That would be the last two pieces I have.”

  Since they were in the middle of the street, there was no place to sit. So they sat down on the side walk. While they were eating their corn, they saw a little girl running towards them. She quickly stole the corn right from Emma’s hand. She started running away as fast as she could. Rain managed to run after her and caught her.

  “I’m really sorry…Please don’t hit me.” The little girl said as she started crying.

  “I was not going to. I would have happily given you one if you just asked.” Rain said as he got down on his knees to reach her height.

  “Really? You will do that?” The girl said as she sniffed.

  “Sure, but first, apologize to the lady whose corn you stole.” Rain said as he pointed at Emma.

  “I’m really sorry lady. I was brining water from the river all day. I didn’t have anything to eat. I was just so hungry.”

  “Do not worry little one. You can have it, and you can take this other one as well.” Emma said with a kind smile.

  “Thank you very much.” The girl politely took the corn and started eating it.

  “Where are you taking the water to?” Rain asked.

  “To my father. He said we need to get as much water as we can before the summer come and the river dry.” She said pointing at her water containers. “Here… Look at all the water I brought.”

  “That does not make any sense. This water is not drinkable. Besides, the river never dries.” Rain whispered to Emma and Sidra.

  “Let’s help you with that. Where do you live?” Sidra asked the little girl.

  “Just over there.” She pointed.

  The girl seemed to have many water containers. So, they each held a container and walked to the little girl’s house. She had her corn while they made small talks. It was not long until they got to her house. It was a very small place made with old aluminum containers. All of the walls of the house were hand made. The girl went inside yelling,

  “Daddy… I bring so much water… Also, we have people here.” The girl said with such a pride.

  The man got outside and looked at the guys. He seemed like a very old man. He looked more of a grandfather than a father. He could barely move. They gave him the water containers. And asked why he needed that much water from the river.

  “We heard rumors that the administration will close the dam on the river up north… Which means… We will not get enough water during the summer. But I never told my grand-daughter to get anything. She must’ve heard us talking. I thought she was playing outside all day.” The old man said.

  “We thought you were her father.” Rain said.

  “That’s what she thinks too. Her parents were killed few years ago. I have been taking care of her ever since.”

  “I’m really sorry to ask, but how do you make a living?” Rain had to ask.

  “There is a man that comes by every once in a while and brings us food. As you can see, I can barely move let a long work myself.”

  “So some rich people are actually helping the poor ones. Interesting…” Sidra said.

  “Right, thank you, Sir. Please accept this corn. It is all we have at the moment.”

  They left after leaving him and the girl with some money. It should have been enough for a while. They realized that things were getting a lot worse than before. Children on the streets were selling what they could. Many parents had left this world leaving their kids behind. An entire generation is being lost.

  “By the way, Rain, where is your jacket?” Sidra asked.

  “Oh, I must have left it somewhere. It doesn’t matter. It’s not cold today.”

  Sidra smiled and kept walking. She knew that he left his jacket for the corn boy. She was happy knowing that she had such carrying friends. Friends who love to help as much as she did. It was a long walk, but after a while, they finally got to the orphanage. The entire way, Sidra was worried about the kids. She needed to tell Ms. Amani, the director of the orphanage, about her money problems. At that point, Sidra could not support the orphanage financially like she used to. They walked inside and said hello to the front desk lady.

  “I thought I heard your voice. Oh my God, Ms. Sidra I’m very happy to see you. I was expecting a phone call, but you being here is even better.” Ms. Amani said after she came by the front desk.

  “Why were you expecting a phone call?” Sidra asked.

  “What do you mean? After the generous donation we received yesterday, I was sure you would call.”

  “But I have not sent any money for few months now.”

  “Oh, we received more than $20,000 just last night.”

  “I’m not sure what to say... This is great… Maybe rich people are finally helping out.” She said.

  “You look good. Last time I saw you… It was when you brought the four kids. You were in a very bad shape. I’m glad you are ok now.” Ms. Amani said.

  “Yeah, it is hard to believe that it has been couple of months already. Speaking of whom, where are Amal and his friends?” Sidra asked.

  Ms. Amani took them to the kids’ rooms. They were very happy to see her. They seemed fine and in a good shape. Amal, the boy she had rescued, ran towards her and hugged her tightly.

  “Who knew that Sidra is that popular with the kids?” Rain commented.

  “I know… I’m as surprised as you are.” Emma said.

  “I will ask Ms. Amani to get the kids ready for a checkup. Emma, do you want to help?” Rain asked.

  “Of course, this is why I’m here.” Emma replied.

  After the kids were all lined up, Rain, Emma, and Sidra got each one in a private room
for a checkup. Most kids seemed in good health. Some of them looked tried as if they were working all day.

  “Ok, little one, I promise this does not hurt. I just want you to open your mouth for me.” Rain asked a little girl.

  “Ok, you are a very handsome doctor. Not like the scary one. He was here last time. He was very mean.” The girl said.

  “Oh, so you think I’m handsome? I’m very flattered my princess.” Rain said with a childish voice.

  “When I grow up, I want to marry someone just like you, smart and handsome.”

  “Rain, please do not start flirting with little girls. It is creepy.” Sidra said with a smile.

  Rain just laughed and asked,

  “Why? Jealous much? Besides, how do you call this flirting? I’m not that kind of a guy.”

  Emma thought that was funny as well. She said,

  “Yes, little girl, I also happened to think that Dr. Rain is handsome. If I were not his Mom’s age, I probably would have asked him to marry me.”

  “Rain, what did you do to them?” Sidra asked rhetorically.

  Rain and Emma both started laughing. Rain gave the little girl a small candy that he had. He told her to grow up and become a smart woman. He told her to do what she can to help people like he was doing. They finally finished checking all kids and making sure they were ok. It was getting dark, so they thought about spending the night at the orphanage. They planned on going back to the Burj in the morning.

  Ms. Amani asked if they could sleep in the kids’ rooms. They had no extra rooms for any guests. The orphanage had only few rooms. Some rooms were for the girls and few others for the boys. Something kept bothering Rain. He was very worried about the kids. He knew something was going on. He had no proof that the kids might have being mistreated. They showed no signs of bruises. Also, Ms. Amani seemed like a very nice person, and she would not hurt the kids in anyway.

  Next morning, Rain, Emma, and Sidra had a very nice breakfast with the kids. As they were getting ready to leave, Amal came and asked them if they could stay longer. Sidra explained that they had to get back to the Burj, but they would be back soon enough. Rain asked Amal if there was a reason he wanted them to stay. He told him that he just liked them. The kid did not say anything after that. After saying goodbyes, they left and started their walk back.

  Not long after they left,

  “Kids, I gave you the afternoon as a break yesterday because we had visitors. You are going to work harder today. Have I made myself clear?” Ms. Amani’s husband shouted.