I wanted to hide.

I could not face Master Omar, not after what I had done to him. I hadn't even apologized.

We were all standing in front of his room. Master Wali stood before us, his hand formed in a fist as he softly knocked. I glanced at Asad and he simply shrugged, he had no idea what was happening.

"What is it?" An annoyed groan sounded from the other side of the room.

"It is me, your nemesis and I bring guests." Master Wali said, his voice calm yet full of mischief. He had a small smirk on his face and I could not comprehend the reason behind it. It felt like he knew something that we did not and he enjoyed that fact.

Master Wali maybe a disabled, but that did not in any way lessen the sense of strength one felt being around me. He was still young, in his early thirties, with broad shoulder and black-brown hair. Even in his satin night robe, he looked noble.

"What guests?" The door suddenly opened and Master Omar peeked from inside. Master Wali, in response, only smiled broadly with a knowing look.

Master Omar looked from Asad to me, once his gaze met mine, his eyes widened. He wore a simple white plain and a loose shirt with gray pants. He looked almost normal with his unkempt hair if it were not for his black intelligent eyes. I wanted to look away, I wanted to run, but a major part of my mind wanted to know why were brought here. How did Master Wali know me?

"Ayah." Master Omar was evidently surprised.

"The people we meet in the dark of the night, amusing, isn't it?" Master Wali said with an exaggerated sigh, however, his eyes sparkled in amusement. He walked inside Master Omar's room as if it was his room.

I looked at Asad and he looked at me.

"We should be going, Master. It is late." Asad said politely.

"Oh no. I am not done with you, Asad Beizeen." Master Wali said from inside, almost taunting.

"Our parents will be worried, Master," Asad said pointedly at Master Omar, hoping that he would understand. I was surprised that Asad so blatantly ignored Master Wali.

Master Omar straightened his back as he regained his senses from the initial surprise.

"What do you want from them, Wali?" Master Omar asked, and I noticed how he did not refer to Master Wali with his title. In my eyes, Master Omar held himself above everyone, even a courtier of the Monarch. I did not know whether to classify it as arrogance or confidence.

"A bit of fun, I was bored." Was Master Wali's clever reply.

Master Omar sighed and rolled his eyes. He acted as if he had had enough of Master Wali's mischief.

"You can leave." Master Omar told Asad.

My brother nodded in response, visibly relieved, even I took a deep breath. This night was proving to be very long.

"Before you leave, Ayah," Master Wali appeared beside Master Omar, "Can I have a look at your hand? I can do a bit of palm reading and I am genuinely curious about you." He stretched his small hand in front of me, but before I could do anything --

"No!" Master Omar and Asad said in unison. The former a bit louder than the latter. I looked up in surprise and even Master Wali and Asad looked alarmed. Master Omar may have been loud but he did not lose his composure as he looked at me with a small smile.

"Do you believe in such things, Miss Ayah?" He asked knowingly.

I shook my head. I did believe in destiny, I did believe that we had a role to play in the world, but I did not believe that any human could foresee my future for me. The future, in my opinion, was unforeseeable.

"Well, that answers your question, Wali." Master Omar and with a curt nod to Asad, he turned to his room, closing the door behind him.

"Master Wali is so weird," Asad said when we were out of earshot.

I nodded, as we headed to the staircase. However, one small thought nagged in my head. Why wasn't Master Omar angry with me? Why was he still nice? I had raised my hand at him. An action that was completely inexcusable, no matter who the person was. While, he had been nothing but good to me and my family.

"What is it?" Asad asked as we climbed the stairs.

Do you think I should apologize? I asked my brother.

"Sorry Ayah did not see that. Can you do it again?" Asad said.

I repeated my question and his face contorted in confusion.

"Why?" Asad asked, "And who, exactly?"

Before I could raise my hands to reply, he said -

"If you are going to say, Master Wali, the answer is no. We did nothing inappropriate besides," he hesitated and I smiled, "breaking and entering. The man is crazy! He took us to Master Omar because he was bored. Also, this house does not belong to him. We are only liable to Master Maha and no one else."

Not him, I signed, Master Omar.

Asad furrowed his eyebrows, opened his mouth to ask me why and then realization dawned upon him. He finally understood what I was saying and he looked at his feet.

"He did not look so angry."

I know.

"Yet, what you did was wrong. Father would tell you to go apologize so I think I will do the same."

I nodded. Father never hesitated when it came to apologizing. He always told us to do it first, even if sometimes it was not our mistake. He told us that this taught us humility.

Asad smiled and everything seemed like old times again. I missed those years when we were young and carefree. I missed the years when he did not shoulder so many responsibilities. In that moment, I almost felt like I got my real brother back, not the emotionless wordless person that had been around me in the past month.

"You have grown up, Ayah." He said, soundly strangely old.

You too, brother. I told him. I meant it. It may not be a bad thing, maybe I was simply holding on too much, everyone had to grow. Asad was nineteen, he had to too.

He nodded, understanding what I wanted to imply, that was our relationship. He understood me even more than I did.

"Let's go, come on, we need to reach home too." We climbed the steps again, Asad leading the way while I trailed behind thinking how would I possibly convey my apology to make Master Omar understand. I wanted to do it in person, I did not want Asad to translate it for me.

Asad knocked at the door again, louder than Master Wali.

"What is it now?" Master Omar opened the door. We could see Master Wali behind him looking at us. Asad cleared his throat, uncomfortable.

"Ayah wanted to talk to you, Master." Master Omar's confused face relaxed as he looks at me. A small smile appeared on his lips.

"What is it?"

In private, only me and him. I told Asad and he raised an eyebrow but conveyed my message anyway.

"She wants to talk to you, in person." The last two words were slow and forced.

"Ah, interesting!" Master Wali piped in from behind and Master Omar threw him a glare.

"Get out." He told Master Wali, who scowled like a spoilt brat but complied. I was surprised that he listened to Master Omar. I was almost expecting a sarcastic response from him and a tantrum. However, it did strike me odd how easily he complied as if he was somehow used to being bossed around by Master Omar.

"Come in, Miss Ayah." Master Omar smiled, trying to reassure me, but I felt very uncomfortable as I stepped in. I had never been close and personal with any man before. I always had someone around me whenever I had to talk with a strange man. 

"Do you want me to close the door?" He asked, his hands on the brass doorknob. I glanced at Asad and Master Wali on the other side of the door. I did not want them to listen in, especially Master Wali, but then I did not want Master Omar to close the door.

"We will go," Asad said, again understanding what I wanted. "I will wait for you on the stairs." He did not sound comfortable with this idea either, but he was letting me do what I wanted. He was giving me my freedom to make my own decision. My brother was letting me grow up. Something, that was not the case before. 

"I should leave then too, I believe." Master Wali spoke up, the smirk on his face.

"Yes, that would be a relief to all of us." Master Omar remarked.

"Right." Master Wali threw him a look and then smiled at me, "It has been a pleasure, Miss Ayah." With that, the small man walked away whistling loudly a strange tune.

Now that everyone was gone, I realized it would have been a good idea to let Asad stay, I would have been more comfortable and Master Omar would get a translator. I stood there awkward and the perturbing fact was that Master Omar took no initiative to talk or say anything. He just stood there near the door, waiting patiently.

I looked around the room. It was small, in terms of a Master's room, but tidy except for the bed that was unmade. There was a small table at the center of the room, which had some assortment of snacks and something to drink.

"Do you want something?" Master Omar suddenly asked, maybe he was following my gaze.

I shook my head as he turned to face him. He now wore a maroon satin robe on top of a plain white shirt. His hair was still unkempt which made him look younger. It gave him a strange look, the man looks roguishly handsome.

"What is it then, Ayah. You don't have any need to be scared of me." He took a small step towards me but maintained a healthy distance. He was polite and steady. I wondered if I ever got the chance to speak, would I sound like him? I wanted to. He had this effect on people that made people like him. He was almost charming in his own way.

I really looked at the man, observed him, he was a mystery. He looked arrogant, but he had been nothing but kind. Some people might even consider him vain, but there was nothing he had said or done to prove it. He could have acted haughty, he had every reason too, but he did not. He could have denied my father's request to be Imad's bearer, but he did not. He agreed. I found that I secretly admired this man. He was strange, a bit arrogant, yet gentle. He was nothing like men of his stature, yet he was like them. Nothing was simple with Master Omar, he was a contradiction. A man of both worlds.

"Ayah," He said with a wider smile, "You are staring."

I looked away, horrified. I did not realize I had been staring so blatantly.

"Sit down, Ayah," he told politely, "You are not punished."

I nodded and sat on one of the chairs. He pulled another chair and sat on it. He was closer to me now, but still away.

I took a deep breath, he waited and then closing my eyes, I raised my right hand and pulled down my earlobe softly and then looked at him. It was now or never. I could not delay it any further due to my weird sense of pride. However, my gesture was not received very well. Master Omar looked confused.

"I am sorry, Ayah, I do not understand." He really looked sorry.  I wanted to smile, I was used to people not getting me. It was a part of my life, it had made me patient with people.

I raised my other hand and did the same action with my other ear. It was one of the few hand gestures that I had learned when I was very young. A gesture. my father had told me, that was of immense importance. He told me that this gesture could heal any wound, it could stop fights, it could stop people from crying. He had told me that it was something that was not easy to do, but if people did it often, a lot of problems could be solved.

I looked at Master Omar, ashamed and embarrassed.

"Why are you sorry?" He looked alarmed, he moved closer to me and I thought he was going to remove my hand from my ears or something. But then, he checked himself and moved away.

How could I tell the reason? I could but I was not too sure if he could understand. How could he not know why I was sorry? Had he already forgiven me? The burden of the guilt was too heavy on me and I wanted him to tell me that he had forgiven me. I just wanted to hear it.

"You have done nothing to apologize to me, Ayah." He told me, but I could see his mind working, trying to find a situation where I had done something wrong. I could see it in his eyes.

I waited patiently. He was a smart man, he could connect the dots.

It took him a while, but he finally did and raised an eyebrow at me, looking amused.

"Ayah, is that what is bothering you? Is that why you won't look me in my eyes?"

I wanted to tell him that I could not read minds. I had no idea what he was thinking.

He stood up, "Ayah!" he said with a sigh and rubbed both of his hands on his face. He looked defeated or fed up, maybe by my naivety. But, there was also the twinkle in his eyes and when he looked at me, his curved up in his signature small smile.

"I may seem weak, Miss Ayah, but it takes a lot to really hurt me. Also, I did deserve it."

I shook my head, almost too strongly, in denial.

"Of course I did! I was in a wrong place at a wrong time. I did not belong there, I had no reason remaining there. I am not good with emotions. I should have left when I had got the chance. I was simply being this huge pain, a stranger in your grief. I should be the one that should be doing the apologizing, Ayah, not you." He said strongly.

Do you forgive me? I stood up and signed.

He looked at my hands, trying to decipher what I had just said. He smiled.

"There is nothing to forgive."

Do you? I took a step at him and then pointed forcefully. I wanted to hear those words.

He sighed loudly again. I was afraid he would kick me out of his room. 

"You are very stubborn, Miss Ayah." His eyes twinkled, "I do forgive you."

I smiled widely, I could feel the guilt lifting. I could feel myself relax and a strange warmth spread through my body when I saw him smile back at me. My mind was clear, it was no more clouded, I was no more ashamed. We stood in silence, beaming at each other. I was beaming, he simply looked amused or entertained. It could be both.

"Does that make us friends, Miss Ayah?" He said out of nowhere breaking the comfortable silence that had surrounded us.

I blinked, taken by surprise. He wanted to be friends with me. Why? He was a Master and I was a mere servant.

"I forgave you, Miss Ayah because you wanted me to. I expect something in return." He was smiling, his eyes twinkling. He was the same Master Omar that I had met for the first time - sly. He stretched his hand, offering me to take it. I looked at it and then nervously glanced at the door. It was open and there was no one outside.

My small hand met his big one and his long warm fingers wrapped around mine.

"Let's hope we remain friends for life."

A friendship is forming. Did you find Omar cute? Or was this too abrupt? What are your thoughts regarding Ayah? :o Thoughts on Master Wali? :O He is a sneaky sly ridiculously lovely man. I hope I am not the only one who thinks that way! PLEASE LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS, YOU CAN CRITICISE, PLEASE DO NOT BE PLAIN RUDE THO. I am human :P