2 Chapter 2

Inam was asleep when the tea boy brought chai form cha-cha Saleem's shop. He was the primary supplier of chai in this market and had been for the last 12 years.

"I was here when there was no market, I saw the first shop that was built in this place and I will see the last shop too" he would use to say whenever someone would tell him to retire and let one of his son take over, but he was like inam's father addicted to work. "That is why they were so close friends" Salman would use to think, whenever he would find both of them together.

When the boy found Salman asleep he gave the chai to Inam, and inam being inam took it for himself and gulped it all down. When Salman woke up, he waited for the chai but when the boy came Salman noticed his hands were empty."where is the chai" Salman wanted to protest but the boy just looked at inam. Inam noticed and in response Inam from nowhere brought out an empty teapot and placed it in front of himself. Salman stared at the teapot like it was holy relic sent from the heavens for him and inam had stolen it, in his state it was the same Inam compared. The smug grin that Inam gave was so smug that Inam thought his face will split into two and he wished that it should split into two. He continued grinning smugly and ignored Salman not meeting his raised eye brows and wide gaping mouth. The boy started toward inam and picked the teapot up. Then collected the money and went out. He wanted to strangle inam at that point and he would have strangled him if he was not so tired so he just ordered more chai. All the while Inam wore his stupid smug grin like he had pulled a hilarious joke. It was a good joke and would have been even a better joke if he had pulled it any other time because Salman was serious about his studies and Inam didn't know that, only his uncle knew about it because he was their guardian without his approval there was nothing much he could do. When Salman told him that he wanted to continue his studies his uncle was happy and told him that he would support him financially, and if he was interested in being a lawyer. He knew some people who could pull a few strings and get him admission in law collage…..if…..he wanted to become a lawyer, his uncle was not forcing…..off course, just mentioning it.

Salman saw hope in his eyes that may be his dream will come true, maybe he will have a lawyer in his house after all but Salman was not his son; in fact he was no one's son. He didn't want to become someone's hope again and show them dreams that were just dreams. His mothers always told him that his face looked like his father and he was her hope, and she believed that his father will come if not for her then he will come for them, but he didn't. He thought that it was his fault entirely that his father had not come, he thought that maybe there was something wrong with him. May be he was just a broken symbol of hope.

Salman didn't wanted to lose his uncle as well, he didn't want to show him dreams that were just dreams So he did what he thought was right, he broke his dreams.

"No…No...No...No…No…No," Salman shook his head violently denying the idea "I DON'T WANT TO BE A....LAWYER!" he spat the word like it was a disgusting insect crawling in his mouth "it is because of THOSE people he.…"Inam exaggerated the word those and avoided the word father "left her and us! He had a 7 of them….7 and she" he also avoided the word mother now too. He thought he would feel sad if he would remember her mother but only felt fear envelop his body like a blanket "had one and she also left her because of the....the….the…". He was thinking of a word that was suitable for the politics that the rich played, no specific word came into his mind so he yelled "GAMES!"

He would have felt pride on his acting but he had done such an amazing job and that he could see its effects instantly. The small ounce of hope fled from his uncle's face like shadow from light. Salman could see his uncle's hurt and could feel the scars on his heart that his words made clearly. He felt so ashamed, and ungrateful. That after everything that his uncle did for him and his sister he still hurt his feelings like that he forced himself to not apologize. He wanted to but he didn't and this took quite a lot from him. It was not his uncle's fault that his mother committed suicide and his father didn't want anything to do with his children….or her children. He had made it clear that they were not his children when he threw them from their house and he kept his words. Now Salman wanted to keep his words that one day he will take revenge from his father by becoming successful a person, in order to do that he should be willing to sacrifice anything...anything.

A loud wooden THUMB shook the whole table on which Salman lay. He woke up with a start and blinked violently "did I fall asleep again?" he thought to himself. He was awake in an instant but still he could fell sleep lingering behind him like an assassin stalking its pray waiting for the right opportunity to strike. When he was done blinking he looked toward the source of the sound and noticed a blurred figure sitting on the other side of the table, Salman couldn't recognize the figure and unconsciously raised his hand to correct his glasses but he only managed to take hold of thin air. "Where are my glasses?" he mumbeled to himself.

"I am quite sure, that I had them on when I fell asleep" he thought then started to look with his hands, gently brushing the things so that he may not hurt his hands.

The blurred figure shifted but didn't utter a single word. "The teaboy" Salman remembered "chai is here" he thought. Then hurriedly tried to find his glasses, after searching for a while he found them immersed in the bottom of a jug, "how did they get in there?" he thought. If it was not for the transparent material of jug Salman would have never been able to find his glasses.

He quickly wiped the glasses with his kamis (shirt tail) and started to verbalize a sentence angrily to the boy "there are a million better ways to wake a sleeping man". He was not particularly angry at the boy but waking someone by slamming your fist at the table on which he is sleeping was quite rude. The blurred figure came into focus as soon as he wore the glasses and the words died in his mouth. It was not the boy but his uncle who sat opposite on the opposite side. He had ledger in one hand and the other was hidden behind the table. His uncle ignored him and his mistake, and didn't raise his head until he had a question about a trade that they had done. Salman explained in detail and his uncle asked a thing or two from Inam too.

Thirty minutes had passed and no one had spoken a single word in the presence of Sheraz khan. Salman sat straight, his back stiff like a pole but still his shoulders felt heavy, he wanted to lie down and sleep. He forced himself to stay awake but it was getting harder by the time. He resisted the urge to sleep and failed. His eyes closed.

He would have not slept if not for the music that formed by the slow conversation, laughter and shouts of the shop keepers. It flowed into the shop like water and filled it completely. To other people it would seem liked noise but to them or to the people who worked at the market it was calming music, which represented a normal day. The music soothed Salman nerves and he drifted into sleep, like a pray sinking in quick sand.

He would have slept for about 5 seconds or to him it seemed at least 5. When suddenly from nowhere water fell on his head breaking his sleep like a stone to the mirror. He jerked back from the table on which his head lay. Some of the water had gotten into his neck and back, and some in his nose. He coughed violently trying to breath. He was dimly aware of what was happening but he could hear laughter coming from the sides. When his breathing became normal he again couldn't see anything. There was water on his glasses but still he could see his uncle holding the transparent jug in his hand and could hear Inam and two other laughing.

"sorry uncle" Salman said

"That's the third time" his uncle replied to his apology, then continued "but then that idiot" he pointed toward Inam and Inam stopped grinning "had gotten this from me and his brothers for about 12 times" to this inam replied "well I started working when I was just 14 and 10 hours work is quite a lot for a child"

"You were the one who said that you wanted to earn money and get ahead of your brothers" his father pointed out this to inam and he was speechless because that was the truth. Inam ignored the point and gestured the towel and Adil, Inam's nephew from nowhere got up, picked it and brought it to Salman. "When did you get here?" Salman asked in Pashto, "When you were sleeping!" he chuckled and his twin brother also laughed from the side but an angry look from Sheraz khan silenced the two. Inam noticed and told them to go back to their work before they also get a jug full of water on their head from his father.

Now that Salman was fully awake and everyone had laughed. Sheraz khan picked up another ledger and started to go through it, Salman silently slid his book underneath the table still hidden from everyone's view and opened it so that he can go through the components once again. He knew no one will notice because inam would not dare to ignore his work when his father was here and his uncle always had to make sure that he had checked everything thrice before he can retire to home, it would take him about another 40 minutes. So Salman put his down and pretended like he was in a deep thought. As Sheraz khan went through the pages, he raised his hand that was hidden underneath the table and brought out a ceramic tea cup full of chai. Salman didn't notice, his uncle sipped in the irritating loud manner but Salman had gotten use to it and ignore it. The voice came again but he again ignored it and didn't raise his head but when his uncle sipped again he jerked his head up straight, like he had touched a live wire. He stared with wide eyes at the ceramic cup and the tea. His uncle looked at him once but lowered his eyes, when Salman didn't lowered his eyes didn't close his gaping mouth. His uncle looked again and asked

"Do you want some?"

"NO…..NO...NO...NO…." he shook his head and laughed wickedly " I hate chai....I...HATE…..CHAI" he said sarcastically but his uncle never understood sarcasm no matter how smart he at business.

"OK…."his uncle replied confused because Salman liked chai not as much as inam but still they had quite close competition when it came to chai his uncle thought. Salman looked at Inam and the smug grin was back,

"One day, I am going to strangle you Inam" Salman said in English smiling like he was commenting about a trade. His uncle looked at him confused about what did he just say and why did he say it in English. His uncle didn't know English and looked at inam because it his time to respond.

"Yes, the person paid the bill when you were drinking chai…..you forgot" Inam said in Pashto so that his father could understand.

"Yes…..yes…I forgot" Salman smiled but irritation was plain on his face. His uncle frowned on both of them. Then mumbled "idiots" loud enough so both of them can hear, then continued with his work.

Inam still grinned and Salman sighed "I hate chai", then he was back to studying.

As soon as he turned the 2nd page, a scream startled him. He looked toward the direction of the sound but a giant rat, the size of a brick jumped on him and clung to his collar. Slaman screamed involuntarily and took hold of the rats' body with both of his hands. The rats screeched on contact with his hands and started biting. The rat aimed for his fingers But Salman's was grabbing the rat from its neck so it could not move it. So it continued biting violently at anything that it could get its mouth on. The rat managed to bit one of Salman's kamis button and it came right off. The rat still screeched and bit violently. When Salman balance shifted and he fell down. The rat found an opportunity to bit Salmans hand and the rat took it. Salman screamed as the rat dug its teeth into his hand. He squeezed the rat so hard from the pain that it finally let go; involuntarily he slammed the rat on the table. The rat hit the wooden table with a squeak but managed to get to its feet in a second, like nothing had happened. Salman clenched his bloody hand tight and beads of blood made thick lines on both sides of his hand. The rat dashed in one direction not knowing what lay ahead, he moved toward Sheraz khan and was going to jump on him but suddenly a sandal smashed in front of the rat and it stopped. The rat started running again in another direction but the tea pot from which his uncle was drinking chai lay ahead. The rat didn't care and jumped between the C shaped handle and got stuck. As soon as the rat got stuck another sandal hit the teapot and the rat with it. Both of them went airborne and fell about 10 paces away from the shop. For some time the rat stay still but suddenly it moved and went running through the street. The teapot rattled like a bell and people made way for the rat. Some laughed, some pointed and all looked at it. Salman also looked at the rat too and was still clenching his hand.

"Father!" Inam screamed and Salman looked at his uncle for the first time, as he lay still on the ground.

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