Free Ravi the Unknown Prince by Rookmin Cassim Page B

weeks had passed I said to him, “Tell my sister that I will come to see her on Saturday afternoon if she was not busy.”
    That Saturday morning on our way to work I told uncle Ismael that I would be home late; Ishaq had invited me over for supper.
    Before I got to work I stopped at a candy shop and bought Asma a box of Cadbury milk chocolate, which had written on the box ‘made in England.’
    I kept the chocolate in my locker and was hoping they would not melt before she got them.
    After we left work Ishaq drove me to his parent’s house, where he and Asma lived on the top floor apartment.
    When we arrived he opened the door and greeted Asma with the Islamic greetings.
    “I am home,” he said, and look who I brought with me today,” she came running out from a room and suddenly she stopped.
    She looked surprised, before she gave me a hug, I handed her the box of chocolate I had in my hand.
    She said, “Thank you, Hasan” and put the box to one side and gave me a hug.
    Ishaq left us and she took me into their sitting room and she was still hanging on to me.
    “Steady on girl, I said to her. Are you alright, Asma?” I asked.
    I was worried for a moment as she was looking paler than usual and I moved away slowly from her grip.
    “I want to tell you a little secret,” she said, “I am pregnant I only found out today and you are the first to know.”
    “Congratulations” I said in response. “But you must tell your husband now.”
    We talked about her parents and her brother Harun and the job I was doing when Ishaq returned and sat with us.
    She said, “Ishaq I got some news for you. I went to the doctors today; we are going to have a baby.”
    He was so excited he got up from his seat and rushed forward and gave her a hug.
    “I am so happy” he said,”We must tell all the family.”
    I repeated my congratulations to Asma and gave her a kiss on the cheek like a brother should do.
    Then was sat down to have supper; the delicious meal she had prepared; while we were eating she asked me about Muna the girl back home.
    She wanted to find out her name and her family name, but I refused to tell her.
    Ishaq then said,” Asma, leave your brother alone he would tell you when he was ready to talk.”
    I laughed and said, “I don’t want to talk about her.”
    “There is no girl,” she said. “You and Harun made that one up.”
    The rest of the evening me and Ishaq spent chatting while Asma was making phone calls to everyone she knew to tell them of her good news.
    After she had finish conversing with family and friends Ishaq was ready to drive me home and Asma came along with us.
    It was late when we arrived home and they decided to spend the night with her parents.
    Next morning at breakfast the subject was about her baby and they were all selecting names of both girls and boys.
    Shortly after lunch that day they left us and went back home.
    I continued to work at the research laboratory for another six months but I was not happy with that job.
    I wanted to teach, but not in a New York school or any-where in America.
    The children mainly girls, did not have a childhood. They grew up too quickly, and the boys carried guns and knives around with them.
    They took drugs and sold drugs and would confront their teachers and argue with them.
    It was a society with the good, bad, and ugly in it, with people from all walks of life.
    A society on the brink of collapsing with a very low moral standard compared to where I was born and grew up.
    It was a melting pot with people from all parts of world one could find in New York and elsewhere in America, land of the free and home of the brave.
    A few months later we all decided to visit Harun in Egypt, he was doing well working and studying.
    He told me that I could get a job in a University in Cairo, and learn the Arabic language like he was doing.
    I decided to take up the offer and began to write out my CV and applied in a few Universities in Cairo and Alexandria.
    Many