Free Ravi the Unknown Prince by Rookmin Cassim Page A

that,” he told her.
    “At least I tried,” she said as she got up from the sofa. “Who is this girl, Hasan.? Do I know her?” she questioned.
    I was looking at Harun, “Tell her,” he said.
    “She is a school friend and I don’t think you know her,” I answered.
    When she left I said to Harun when Asma mentioned Hasan I was wondering who this guy was and where she had met him, until you mentioned a girl from back home; then I realised that it was me she was talking about.
    “She is becoming like the girls over-here,” he said. “Have you noticed how the girls behaved in the class-room with their teacher?
    No matter how well parents teach morality and behaviour to their children at home, when they go out into the outside world, the society they live in, does not do them justice.”
    I nodded my head, I did not want to make any comment regarding Asma but I was happy to see her get married.
    I had a few encounters with her when I first became Hasan, one evening I came home from work early and went upstairs to finish my home work.
    She knew that I was in or she must have seen me go upstairs. She stood at the bottom of the steps calling me to come downstairs to have some tea with her.
    She was not allowed upstairs in the flat where Harun and I shared unless her father gave his permission.
    I told her that I would be down in a few minutes I quickly put my coat back on and knocked on the door on my way out and told her I had to go out in a hurry.
    It was a cold evening; I had to go into a shop to keep warm just to keep away from her.
    Another time a similar incident took place I would not answer when she called out to me.
    I locked my bedroom until I heard Harun come home from work. I felt intimidated by her.
    She had a simple wedding with family and friends; and she looked beautiful and happy on her wedding day.
    Life continued as usual in the Baccus’s house-hold, but much quieter without Asma around.
    The following year, Harun and I both graduated from college. Harun went to Egypt to memorise the Quran.
    I went to work full time to save enough money to do my PhD at Harvard University in Boston where my South African friend had gone a year ahead of me to do his PhD.
    Ahmad had the ambition and zeal to succeed and not forgetting who he was.
    He was poor like me but humble even though he was living through apartheid, and that did not deter him from success.
    Uncle Ismael was missing his son Harun, sometimes he would come upstairs and sleep on his bed when he was on his days off.
    He and I bonded like father and son, but I knew my place; that he was not my blood line.
    Six months later, I went on to Harvard and met up with Ahmad, he was an intelligent student.
    We would pray together and share the food we had between us to save money.
    He graduated ahead of me, and decided to fly back home to his family and parents in Durban, South Africa.
    We kept in touch and hopefully someday we would meet up again for a reunion.
    After I graduated from Harvard, Ishaq got me a job where he worked in the research laboratory.
    My salary was much higher than his, due to the fact that I graduated from Harvard University.
    As I got to know him I found him to be helpful and a pleasant guy. He would invite home to see Asma, but each time I would come up with an excuse not to go there.
    One day he said to me “Why don’t you come to see your sister Hasan? Is there anything wrong between you two?”
    “No,” I answered quickly. “I like to get home when it is busy with other commuters going home.
    I was held at gun point once with another student when we were taking a short cut home late one evening.
    I do not want this type of incident to happen to me again I might die on the spot this time.”
    “I am sorry” he said “I thought you were avoiding Asma, she always talked about her brothers.”
    I felt awful and did not want him to get the wrong impression that I kept away from Asma because she once had a crush on me.
    After a few