Kitabı oku: «Palmist», sayfa 2
CHAPTER 2
In Laos, Amir was waiting for the same life as before. Nothing has changed except for himself. The parents immediately noticed the change, but did not say anything. In the evening, at dinner, the father made a speech and praised his son, saying that the year of study had done him good. The mother did not say anything, she immediately noticed a change in him, and felt the danger that was coming, just like her son. After dinner, Amir and his father locked themselves in the study.
– Tell me, are you using your inherited gift for its intended purpose.
– Yes, Father, I use it. But I need to talk to you very seriously.
– What happened?
– It is okay so far. But, my gift, it’s much stronger than I expected.
– How does it manifest itself?
– When I see the lines of people, along with their fate, I also see the exact time and date of what is going to happen. I can predict it, and I am good at it. I have already put this into practice.
– “Is that all?”
– No. In addition to all this, when I am next to a person, I see his lines of fate without examining his legs. True, these are still blurry lines, they are not clear, but I can see.
– You are doing great. I am proud of you. But you said its okay so far. I hope nothing should happen, or I am wrong. Amir stood confused and did not know how to tell his father that he was scared.
– Father. I am scared. Sometimes, I feel like something is going to happen to me. This fear does not go away, and the more time passes, the closer my feelings get.
– This is normal. You are much stronger than your grandfather or me and that is why you are scared. Do not be afraid. You are a strong boy. My boy, I am proud of you. His father hugged Amir, and they left the office.
The mother had been eavesdropping on the conversation all this time. She realized that her fears were not in vain. The son could not tell his father everything, and she took a picture of Amir’s legs while sleeping. The next day, the father arranged a reception at their house and decided to advertise his son’s abilities. Amir considered many of the feet of notable people and predicted to them the exact dates of the conclusion of profitable deals, to some he called the dates where they are waiting for failures and deals that need to be abandoned. He predicted bankruptcy for one of the guests. Many people did not like it, but there was nothing to be done, his prediction soon came true.
– Son. Soon you will take my place. Learn how to receive visitors. Amir listened to his father’s instructions with pride. The next day, a woman and her daughter came to them; she asked them to predict when her daughter would finally get married. The father carefully examined the girl, and walked from side to side. Then he called Amir over and said, “It’s time for you to find a bride. I take it you are not in love yet. Amir wanted to object, but listened to his father to the end. – This girl is very well mannered; she comes from a good family. I know her late father.
– Dad, I did not even have time to read her fate.
– And you do not need to read her fate. I read it.
– I am not ready for such an acquaintance. I am still too young. I study.
– And no one is forcing you to get married right now. You will just be wooed and that is it. And over time, you will love the bride and marry her. We will celebrate this event and arrange a holiday in our house. Amir had no choice but to agree. This event, which happened so unexpectedly in his life, was not to his liking. Besides the fact that he was not ready to get married, he did not like the bride herself. Although she was pretty, but she did not sink into his soul, and could not hook him in the way that usually happens when you meet your love at first sight. Amir could not tell his parents about this, and decided to leave everything as it is. There was time, he thought. Everything will have time to change before the wedding. Alternatively, maybe my father is right, maybe I will fall in love with her and we will have a strong family. Especially since my father watched her feet, so he knows what is best for me. Rashid decided that if he married his son in his homeland, he would be able to move him back, and this would solve the problem that loomed.
The family was preparing for the engagement. On the appointed day, the groom’s family had to go to the bride’s house to ask for her hand in marriage. Deep down, Amir hoped that this wedding would not take place. Still he went to this engagement. The bride’s family welcomed the guests as befits this celebration. Everything was prepared for the arrival of the welcome guests. While both families were celebrating the holiday, the Sultan’s girlfriend lived in another country, in the same provincial city. And at the moment she wasn’t having as much fun as about the aforementioned newly-made bride.
Sultana was born in the country of Cambodia, the city of Poipet. The religion is Islam. She was born into a poor family, and grew up in complete poverty. Unlike Amir, she had a completely different relationship with her father. They were friends. Sultana told her father everything, shared secrets, asked for advice. It was a full-fledged happy family, despite the fact that it was poor. Sultana, just like Amir, was spoiled, and despite the fact that she grew up in complete poverty, she possessed beauty and greatness. It was given to her from above, and it was very becoming to her. This girl looked like an empress, but her poor background left an imprint on her, and she knew about it. Her mother died when she was twelve years old. Her father never married again, he devoted himself to his daughter, and they lived together. Ahmed earned his living by working as a handkerchief seller. He worked for well-known people, and this money was enough for them to live. One day this man had problems, and he had to bury his store for a while, Ahmed, out of respect for his friend, was waiting for the store to open, but it all dragged on and poverty set in in the family. At that time, Sultana was sixteen years old, and she went to work as a dancer. Her father was categorically against it, she managed to persuade him, and this allowed her and her father to improve their financial situation. Sultana has been dancing since childhood, her mother taught her to dance. A year later, she became the best dancer in the city and was offered to go to Phnom Penh. She was against it. From that moment on, people began to come to their house and threaten. At first, these threats were not taken seriously. But the Sultan’s last threat did not want to leave, and even more so to leave her father alone horrified her, she was told that if she did not agree, her father would be killed, and she would never be able to dance again, much less get married. Sultana agreed, and reluctantly left her home.
Sultana danced better and better, and gathered a huge audience. Cafes and restaurants were crowded. It was ordered for private banquets. Over time, Sultana began to regret that she had once gone dancing. She wanted so much to return home, to her father, to her poverty. But nothing could be returned. She felt so alienated and rejected in this city, she had no one to tell about her condition and this made her stronger. One day Sultana overheard a conversation that concerned her. The mercenary for whom she worked opened several restaurants in Moscow, and she had to attend the opening, and in the future earn an audience for these restaurants. Having overheard this conversation, Sultana decided to run away. She had money, but she did not know where, her master was such an influential man, she was afraid of him all the time. She could not imagine living in a foreign country without knowing the language. Not knowing where to run and who to turn to for help. He had her documents, and she was thinking how to steal them. The main problem was that she did not know where her passport was. All these problems suffocated the poor girl, and Sultana drowned in her grief.
To some extent, Sultana did not live as badly as it seemed. She did not need anything, her work was well paid, she sent the main part to her father, and she kept less for herself. Sultana lived in good conditions, and a guard was assigned to her to protect her beauty. The owner himself did not encroach on it, he needed it for business. The Sultan was afraid of her future, and even more so she did not want to fly to Russia. She wanted to escape from reality, to start all over again, she already wanted to get married more than to work as a dancer, and Sultana decided to escape. Sultana noticed that one of the guards was not indifferent to her and decided to use feminine charm. She was right, the guard succumbed to her charms, and after a few dates, and the poor girl was already asking him for help.
– Of course I will help you. I do not want you to leave either. I will not let you die. To be alone in a foreign country, with this dark man. You will disappear there, or he will get rid of you eventually. Let us run away together. I am going to marry you. You and I will leave and live with me. At first, the Sultan was frightened by this proposal, but after a little reflection, she agreed. It was a chance to start life over. Having accepted his offer, she completely trusted the guard and her life was in his hands. It was decided that the passport would be seized at night while the owner was watching Sultana’s performance. I had exactly a month left before leaving for Russia. Sultana could not believe her luck. There was a man who would help her get rid of this slavery.
– After I steal your passport, we will run away early in the morning when everyone is asleep. We will hide at my friends’ place in the market and sit out until night. And at night we will be taken to my city, and we will be safe. Sultana was elated with happiness. She thought for a minute that she was in love with this guard. Who is capable of madness for her sake? But the guard was not just in love, he loved, and loved with all his heart.
Night was falling, and Sultana was preparing to perform. She was beautiful. Just gorgeous. She was bold and at the same time gentle and these oriental costumes simply emphasized the curve of her waist and complemented her oriental beauty. Early in the morning, the girl had already packed her things; it was a small bag and hid it under the bed. After the performance, she was to be brought home, and two guards were to guard the entrance to her house. When she was brought back, she looked for her friend with her eyes, but for some reason he was not in his place. There was another one instead. Her heart was pounding. What could have happened? She did not show that she was worried, but inside her soul was all in tears. In the morning, Sultana went to the door and tried to eavesdrop on the conversation, tried to hear a familiar voice, but it was in vain, she did not hear anything. Realizing that something had happened, and deciding not to find out what had happened to her savior, Sultana began to eavesdrop on every word.
Sultana was allowed to leave the walls of her house on certain days, strictly accompanied by guards, and of course, so that her master was notified of this. Sultana worked every evening, and sometimes at night. She no longer liked dancing as much as it once began in her hometown. When it all started, Sultana was a very young girl, and was under the wing of her father. She always came home, and was not afraid of anything. Now the dance meant nothing to her, it was just a reminder of her mother, sometimes she danced so expressively and this made the dance even more spectacular and attractive, at these moments she remembered how her mother taught her. Sometimes she liked to dance for the audience, because it was her only entertainment. Sultana loved dancing, but lately she believed that dancing had ruined her life, and now her life will never be the same.
Exactly a week has passed, and every evening, returning home, Sultana looked imploringly and questioningly into the eyes of each guard. But there was silence in response. Sometimes she tried to talk to each of them, but all her attempts were in vain. Each of the guards was working his shift, but none of them said a word. Deep down, she hoped that her lover would find her and they would run away, as he promised, but her heart told her something completely different. Every morning there was a change of post, and Sultana eavesdropped on their conversation, hoping that someday they would blab. One shift was too harsh, she did not like them, and she never went shopping with them. Sultana studied each of them, and waited for the others, who were constantly whispering, and thus she sometimes learned news, including those that concerned her.
– God forbid anyone such a fate. She heard.
– It is your own fault. Contacted a woman. So I got it.
– May Allah rest his soul. Hearing these words, Sultana’s legs gave way and the girl realized that her savior would not come again. She covered her mouth with her hands and continued to listen so as not to miss a word.
– May he arrive in paradise. He died for love, and is worthy of paradise.
– Yes, yes, he will arrive in paradise. The lesson to be learned from this is that our host Arthur does not forgive such tricks. We need to be extremely careful.
– “You’re right. And what will happen to her? To be honest, I feel extremely sorry for her. He’s got to get rid of her, too.
– I think so too. As soon as he does not need her, she will face the same fate as her fiance. I feel sorry for her too, but I do not want a bullet in the forehead. Sultana pressed herself against the door and tears flowed down her cheeks. After hearing everything she needed to know, and realizing that she would no longer see her own father, and that she was no longer a tenant in general. Sultana realized that she was just a temporary bait for money. She sat on the edge of her bed and hung her head on her hands.
– I will not give up. I will run away, even without a passport. I will run away anyway. She decided so and lay down on the bed. Her thoughts were confused, tears choked her, she could not afford to cry, so as not to swell her eyes, pain tore her chest, and the girl fell asleep. Waking up, Sultana quickly came to her senses, and immediately decided that she was running at the first exit to the street. – I will run away to my city and tell the police everything, they know me there, and they will protect me there, even without a passport. I will hitch a ride, she thought, and warmed up her food. The evening was as boring as all the previous ones yesterday, Sultana brightly made up her eyes to cover up the traces of emotions. – Although he already knows about everything. Sultan was taken away to perform. She prayed to God that God would spare her from unnecessary meetings with Arthur.
In the morning everything was according to the standard, Sultana had breakfast, cleaned herself up and asked to take her to the shopping center. As usual, two guards accompanied her. They were the ones she did not like. Sultana could not wait any longer and decided to try her luck and escape today. There were few people in the mall, she looked around nervously, and feeling her helplessness, she wanted to call for help. But quickly recovering, she continued the hike. Her body was trembling, but the girl did not show it, and did everything on autopilot so as not to arouse suspicion. They went into a clothing store, and she picked up a whole bunch of things.
– Why does she need so many clothes? She does not go anywhere. Is she going to get married?
– Yes! To the late groom!
– I will go to him myself soon!
– Quiet. We are in public.
– Exactly. I forgot. She probably took it with her to Moscow. It will be like a madam walking there!
– That is right. If he has time. Sultana listened attentively to every word, and pretended that she did not even hear what they were talking about. She laughed sweetly with them, pretending that she did not understand what they were laughing at.
Sultana went into the booth, closed the curtain and let out the air that had accumulated in her chest. The next booth was occupied on one side, on the other was empty. Thinking how she could escape, she bent down and tried to see the guards’ legs, and not seeing them, she was afraid to look out, so as not to attract attention. Sultana tried to see them through the curtains, but they were dense and nothing could be seen. Deciding to go to the extreme, she began to look through the crack. There were no guards in sight, and she had to look out even more, they were standing to the side and for some reason with their backs to her. She began to shake even more, or she was just confused, or it was fright, but Sultana hesitated and did not know what to do.
– “She won’t run away from us?” One of them said, and turned to face the booth.
– If he wants to die prematurely, then let him run.
– Let her die, but I do not want to die because of some girl.
– She has many rags, let her measure. Relax. And if she runs away, we’ll catch her and get praise from the boss.
– A good option. I like the way you think. The partner smiled contentedly and looked at the fitting room. They were still standing with their backs to each other, but this time Sultana did not hear their conversation. She hung a fitting room door with rags, quickly changed clothes, wrapped herself in a long shawl, put on glasses and quickly left the booth, leaving the curtains closed and silently slipped into the rows of clothes. Sultana was choking with fear and confusion, not knowing where to run. She quickly and silently made her way to the exit and walked at a brisk pace, and then ran and ran out into the street.
During the year of living here, Sultana had studied this area well and already knew from which bus stop and where the bus goes. Jumping into the first oncoming minibus, and all, trembling with fear, she sat down in the farthest corner, the door slammed shut, and the minibus drove off. Having reached the final stop, the girl got out of the gazelle with fear, and realizing that she was on the outskirts of the city, she breathed a sigh of relief. Now she had to get to her hometown and tell her father and the authorities everything. – How to do it? Go by bus or hitchhiking? Therefore, and so dangerous? Sultana understood the danger she was in, and if she were found, she would face the same fate as her fiance. She did not have a passport, so they will not put me on the bus. We will have to get there on our own. But Sultana was a woman, a Muslim woman, and hitchhiking was much scarier. Moreover, many men of the capital knew her by sight. Sultana went to the suburbs, she had money, and she rented a room from a single woman. A day later, she told her everything and asked for help. The woman believed her and with tears in her eyes promised to help.
Two guards, who discovered the loss, turned themselves in to their boss. – Look for yourself. Alive or dead. Better alive. I need her for the case. You are two of my best guards; I would not like to see you with a hole in your forehead. The guards came out of the office briskly. A whole search party was assigned to search for Sultana.
Arthur was a terrible man. His power was much greater than anyone suspected was. Not many people knew about it, and those who knew it were a few. His main official field of activity was cafes and restaurants. He himself did not like nightclubs, and therefore did not open them. Arthur liked to look after young girls and dancers, and later they found themselves in his slavery. It was his weakness. Only a few people knew about his slavery, the bulk of the workers believed that he was just a cruel restaurant owner who loves girls.
By nature, yes, Arthur was very cruel. This cruelty had developed in him over the years, even his harsh features on his face spoke about it. He had such an evil face that, looking at him, you could tell a lot about this man. Arthur was not tall, about one hundred and sixty-five centimeters. A solid build, his skin was dark, and flabby, despite the fact that he was not old. He was about fifty years old. His eyes and hair were black, the arrangement of the hair on his head was similar to a lion’s mane, and they were stiff and not pleasant to the touch. His habit of combing his hair back with his left hand has developed over the years and over time, he did it so mechanically that the hair took a certain pose. His gaze was aquiline, his eyes glittered maliciously, and nothing could escape his gaze. His rough skin on his face and sunken dimples indicated that he smoked too much, and he always smelled unpleasantly of cigarettes. Despite all his rudeness, Arthur was always clean-shaven, and always wore the same suit and never changed it for another.
Despite his hobby of looking after girls, Arthur did not like women, including Sultan. In his entire life, he has never been married, he has no children, and any woman has not yet conquered his heart. For him, women were a source of income, a living commodity, nothing more. And when he didn’t need the product, he just got rid of it without any regret. Its activities have been developed in several countries, including Russia. In addition, Arthur got rid not only of girls, this also applied to the male sex. As soon as he did not need a person, he saw him as a threat and the person disappeared without a trace. Everyone was afraid of him, and not everyone went to work for him. Those who went to work for him received good money and did not complain, they had no idea where they were. Many have already talked about his dark deeds, but no one opened his mouth more than necessary, everyone was afraid to disappear without a trace. Those who helped disappear without a trace disappeared after, so that there would be less talk. Arthur was afraid of unnecessary gossip, he considered it a threat, and thus covered his tracks.
These two guards knew their outcome, so they prayed to God for help to find this escaped dancer. Meanwhile, Sultana was having a nice breakfast in the company of a kind woman who sheltered her. Sultana always cooked the food herself. She was not accustomed to ready-made food, and did not like it. For breakfast, she always mostly cooked scrambled eggs with tomatoes; it was their favorite dish with her father. At breakfast, Sultana always remembered her father and ate slowly to prolong the pleasure. This lovely woman listened to Sultana’s stories about her childhood, about the death of her mother, and finally about how she fell into slavery. – It seems to me that your master is a dark man. This woman was not so young, perhaps she understood people.
– I think so too. He killed my fiance.
– So you had a fiance? I did not know about it, but I was. I had a truly devoted person. He died for me. God did not give us the happiness to be happy, but I found out that I was loved. Sultana told the woman about the guy who tried to save her.
– It is a sign that you can handle it. You will still be happy. You managed to escape. You are so young, so beautiful, and so smart. I feel that you will succeed. What city are you from?
– Poypet.
– Not very close. We need to think about how to transport you. My friends can take you to a nearby town and buy a bus ticket, but you are so young, I am afraid to let you go alone without documents.
– I have no other choice. At least I will see my father there, and I will be safe. The whole town knows me there. And here the whole town knows this killer. No one will believe me.
– I know. I know.
– When your friends can take me.
– Tomorrow. I will ask them, and they will take you tomorrow. Sultana’s eyes lit up with fire. She was already at home and did not think about the danger that lay in wait for her.
A great danger awaited the Sultan, but she did not suspect it. Arthur was beside himself with anger, he was tearing and throwing. He did not kill his guilty guards, in principle, so that they would look better. Everyone was looking for Sultan, everyone wanted to live, and finally everyone concluded that they should look for her in her hometown of Poipet.
– Go there and guard her house until she shows up. But when she shows up, grab her and bring her. Not really. I will personally go to her house. I will surprise her. And when the surprise is done, I will personally take her to Moscow, and I will send her father to hell. Arthur shouted these words and angrily walked around the room. His black shirt was sweating all over and gave off an unpleasant smell. His people listened to him and thought with regret about Sultana’s father. They understood that the father of a woman like her should have been a respected man, and did not deserve such a death. No one dared to contradict Arthur and everyone obeyed the decree stupidly and silently. Everything was ready for departure, Arthur and his men left for Poipet.
