Free A Deconstructed Heart by Shaheen Ashraf-Ahmed Page B

then Amal called out, “Uncle? Would you like some lunch?” Khan Sahib became very still an d as the tent flap opened, Mirza saw that the bright sunlight entering the tent seemed to wash out Khan Sahib’s face and body. Only the faint outline of Sahib’s feet were clear to him in the gloom.
    “Is everything okay ?” asked Amal worriedly. Her eyes darted around the tent.
    “Do you see anything?” asked Mirza, looking directly at Khan Sahib, who was rolling his eyes in contempt.
    “What am I supposed to be looking at?” She stared around the tent and then back at her uncle’s face.
    “Never mind. Yes, lunch would be wonderful, thank you, beti.”
    She stood for a moment, looking at him, then left. There was a moment’s silence as Mirza listened to her steps as she walked back to the house. Khan Sahib snorted.
    “You are the one who cannot see.”
    “Enough!” shouted Mirza, upending the chessboard. He pushed through the tent flaps and walked quickly around the garden, tearing leaves off the bushes that grew against the fence and throwing them to the ground.
    As he turned back up the side fence, he saw Amal peering out at him from the patio door. Through the kitchen window, he saw several figures that were standing still, and although he could not make out their faces, he wheeled around and ducked back into the tent.
     
     
    “He’s lost it,” said Sven, running tap water over lettuce leaves in the sink.
    Rehan had invited a few friends over for lunch. Vanessa showed up with a duffel bag. “I’m staying the night, remember?” She had said. “Rehan thought you might need some moral support.”
    So that’s how it’s going to be, Amal thought.
    “Is he violent?” Vanessa was asking her as she sliced a cucumber.
    “It’s just not in his nature. He’s had a blow, that’s all.”
    They all stared out at the tent, but there was no sign of movement. Rehan was making omelettes, and Amal watched his elbow shaking as he whipped the eggs. She had not noticed that he had put on a thick jacket and looked as if he were dressed for an outdoor hike. He looked at her and smiled.
    Amal stepped out to invite her uncle to join them, but he had only taken the plate and shaken his head. When she returned to the house, everyone was lazing on the living room sofas, and Kiran was spearing the last tranche of omelette on the serving plate, his jacket halfway off his arms. He mumbled his hello, through a mouthful of food.
    Vanessa was lying on the floor, her head propped up against the base of the sofa. Sven stood up and reached for a packet of cigarettes from his backpack. As he moved to step outside to light a cigarette, Vanessa held onto his leg. “Unhand me woman,” he shook his foot.
    “That’s another six minutes of your life you’re taking from me.”
    “Hey, be grateful. I’ve given you the best years of my life. This is from my discretionary account.” She let go of him, rolling her eyes. Rehan stood up.
    “Got a new habit?” asked Vanessa.
    “No. Just the old one,” he made a gesture with his hands out in front of him, in supplication.
    After he  had stepped out, Amal sat down next to Vanessa and placed her head on her friend’s shoulder.
    “Are you alright, love?”
    “I suppose so. This is new. I haven’t seen him like this before.”
    “I’m glad you have us, now especially.” There was a moment’s silence. Vanessa tapped her toes together.
    That evening, Kiran pulled out a packet of cards, and they played a few rounds of snap and whist.  Sven made a card tower, which Amal accidentally knocked down when she opened the door into the room quickly, sending a draft that scattered the cards over the room. They laughed at her, and made her improvise a dessert for them as penance, and she fried some oats in butter and brown sugar, which they ate with their fingers from the hot pan.
    Rehan and Sven stepped out briefly to check on Uncle Mirza, but they reported that he was sleeping, and had drawn an