Life was bad. The next day it was worse. Samira’s father phoned. He wanted to speak to my father. I looked at my father while he took the call. After a minute or two he put his hand over the phone and turned to me. He asked me to leave the room. Ten minutes later he called me back and told me the bad news. I’m very sorry my son. When they arrested me ,I thought about your engagement. I was afraid of this. Samira’s father has just phoned. He said that his plans have changed. He said that he thinks Samira is too young. I’m so sorry. I’ve done nothing wrong and neither have you, but that’s not important now.
Samira’s father knows that you’re a good man. How can he do this to you, to our family? It’s not right, I said angrily. ‘We know that I’m not a thief and I think that he knows that, too. But he’s thinking about his daughter. How can he agree to this engagement now? Nobody wants to know a thief or the family of a thief. He doesn’t want his daughter to marry into a family that nobody wants to know. You’ll see He won’t be the only one to think that way.
My father was right . We usually had a lot of visitors: my mother’s family and friends, our friend, my father’s family ,friends and business colleagues. There was always someone in the house. Now the house was empty. Nobody came to visit. Nobody came for dinner or for coffee. I spoke to my friends on the phone, but, strangely, they were always busy. Amira and Ibrahim said the same. Luckily it was the summer. There was no school for my youngest brother. We were happy about that.
We didn’t want him to hear bad things about his father from the other children. But Mohammed wasn’t happy. He was bored. He didn’t have anyone to play with. He stayed in his bedroom and played on his computer. He only left his room to eat and to tell us that he was bored.
We didn’t see much of my father either. He lived in his own world. Day after day, he set in his office, seeing nobody, talking to nobody. He stopped eating with us, so my mother took food to him. He ate very little. My mother didn’t say anything to me, but I knew that she was very worried about him and the family. Sometimes at night, when she thought that we were all in bed, I could hear her downstairs, crying.
Not every stopped calling. The day after Samira’s father phoned, I had a phone call from Samira.
I’m so sorry, she said. She was crying. I don’t want to end our engagement, but my father won’t listen. I told my father that there has been a terrible mistake. I know that your father isn’t a thief and I’m sure that my father knows that too, but he says it’s not important what he or I think. He told me that he spoke to your father.
‘yes, he did, I said quietly.
‘One day the police will catch the real thief and everyone will be sorry, she said.
I’ll never forget your trust in my family, I said quietly Thank you.
‘Perhaps we can help my father change his plans again, she went on , and she wasn’t crying now. ‘We must fine the real thief. Your father didn’t take the jewellery, so we must find the person who did. She made it sound so easy.
‘But how are we going to do that?’ I asked.
‘Let’s think. Sheikh bin Salem says that he didn’t leave the parcel. He says that he didn’t ask his secretary to type it. Perhaps he didn’t ask him to type it but perhaps he left the parcel.
‘What do you mean? I asked.
‘Perhaps he typed the note himself. Perhaps he stole his wife’s jewellery.
I was shocked at her words. ‘I know you want to help my father, but Sheikh Bin Salem isn’t a thief,’ I said.
‘Why not? He can sell the jewelry and get money from the insurance company at the same time. Then he can buy his wife new jewellery and have the rest of the money for himself.’
‘He doesn’t need to do that. He’s a very rich man.’
‘Perhaps he is, perhaps he isn’t. How do we know? Perhaps he has money problems. Perhaps he just thinks it is exciting to be a thief. I don’t know why he did it, but we have to find out more about him – and everyone who went into your father’s office on that day,’ she said.
Life was bad. The next day it was worse. Samira’s father phoned. He wanted to speak to my father. I looked at my father while he took the call. After a minute or two he put his hand over the phone and turned to me. He asked me to leave the room. Ten minutes later he called me back and told me the bad news. I’m very sorry my son. When they arrested me ,I thought about your engagement. I was afraid of this. Samira’s father has just phoned. He said that his plans have changed. He said that he thinks Samira is too young. I’m so sorry. I’ve done nothing wrong and neither have you, but that’s not important now.
Samira’s father knows that you’re a good man. How can he do this to you, to our family? It’s not right, I said angrily. ‘We know that I’m not a thief and I think that he knows that, too. But he’s thinking about his daughter. How can he agree to this engagement now? Nobody wants to know a thief or the family of a thief. He doesn’t want his daughter to marry into a family that nobody wants to know. You’ll see He won’t be the only one to think that way.
My father was right . We usually had a lot of visitors: my mother’s family and friends, our friend, my father’s family ,friends and business colleagues. There was always someone in the house. Now the house was empty. Nobody came to visit. Nobody came for dinner or for coffee. I spoke to my friends on the phone, but, strangely, they were always busy. Amira and Ibrahim said the same. Luckily it was the summer. There was no school for my youngest brother. We were happy about that.
We didn’t want him to hear bad things about his father from the other children. But Mohammed wasn’t happy. He was bored. He didn’t have anyone to play with. He stayed in his bedroom and played on his computer. He only left his room to eat and to tell us that he was bored.
We didn’t see much of my father either. He lived in his own world. Day after day, he set in his office, seeing nobody, talking to nobody. He stopped eating with us, so my mother took food to him. He ate very little. My mother didn’t say anything to me, but I knew that she was very worried about him and the family. Sometimes at night, when she thought that we were all in bed, I could hear her downstairs, crying.
Not every stopped calling. The day after Samira’s father phoned, I had a phone call from Samira.
I’m so sorry, she said. She was crying. I don’t want to end our engagement, but my father won’t listen. I told my father that there has been a terrible mistake. I know that your father isn’t a thief and I’m sure that my father knows that too, but he says it’s not important what he or I think. He told me that he spoke to your father.
‘yes, he did, I said quietly.
‘One day the police will catch the real thief and everyone will be sorry, she said.
I’ll never forget your trust in my family, I said quietly Thank you.
‘Perhaps we can help my father change his plans again, she went on , and she wasn’t crying now. ‘We must fine the real thief. Your father didn’t take the jewellery, so we must find the person who did. She made it sound so easy.
‘But how are we going to do that?’ I asked.
‘Let’s think. Sheikh bin Salem says that he didn’t leave the parcel. He says that he didn’t ask his secretary to type it. Perhaps he didn’t ask him to type it but perhaps he left the parcel.
‘What do you mean? I asked.
‘Perhaps he typed the note himself. Perhaps he stole his wife’s jewellery.
I was shocked at her words. ‘I know you want to help my father, but Sheikh Bin Salem isn’t a thief,’ I said.
‘Why not? He can sell the jewelry and get money from the insurance company at the same time. Then he can buy his wife new jewellery and have the rest of the money for himself.’
‘He doesn’t need to do that. He’s a very rich man.’
‘Perhaps he is, perhaps he isn’t. How do we know? Perhaps he has money problems. Perhaps he just thinks it is exciting to be a thief. I don’t know why he did it, but we have to find out more about him – and everyone who went into your father’s office on that day,’ she said.
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