Pearls of Umra

It was a small village called Umra on the coast of the sea nestled between the water and mountains on the other side, isolated by nature , but not by men. Traders would regularly cross the mountain to reach the town to supply the town with their goods. That was not the only reason why the mountains were braved everyday. The town had one and one recognition.
The pearls of Umra were pearls from heaven. They were sought after by rich and wealthy around the country for they were pure and most of all … very rare. The wind from the mountains clashed with the sea winds and Umra was blessed with a sometimes pleasant sometimes cold weather. But the beach was white and water was crystal clear and that is all the people needed.
The people of the village respected the sea and offered prayers to it, for it was their sole provider. Every family in Umra had a clammer - Somebody who knew the art of finding pearls.It was a tradition handed down generations not only cause of the great wealth associated with it but more so it was something the people of Umra were proud of and they did not hesitate to display it to the rest of the world.
Every century-old folklore of the village was associated with the sea, for the sea was a part of every person in the village. If legend was to be believed it is said that every pearl knew who its clammer would be, and that the pearl told the clammer how to reach it.
People from outside the village thought that these were tall tales but the villagers believed every word for they were the clammers who would go out to sea. Life was simple in Umra where people went out to sea and came in the evenings to spend the time with their familities outside their homes taking in the fresh sea breeze. They did not ask for much from their lives hence they were happy with their clamming and lived a life of tranquility and contentment.
But not all were happy and content .Right on the shore a few paces from the sand lived Rafeek. A short scraggy man, with a dark tan and a balding head with white hair.
He went out in the day into the sea to collect pearls and in the evenings would quell his sadness in the comforts of alcohol. One might wonder what his sorrow was when he lived on heaven on earth and collected pearls. Rafeek had before him a sad past, a past filled with pain and sorrow and something much worse…..regret. You see, since the age of seventeen Rafeek had been the best clammer of the village. He would collect almost twice the number of pearls the other clammers would collect in a month. Some said that he was just a better swimmer than the rest but the older and wiser people knew and believed that the pearls would beckon him.
He married his village belle at the age of 22. His wife’s parents were overjoyed that their daughter had chosen the best clammer in the village. Soon they had a son. They named him Abdul and doted on him. Abdul grew up healthy and in love with the sea. But there was a problem. Abdul did not take to clamming like his father had. He liked to wade around in the sea close to home in the day and would return in the evenings. He was ten years old then.
At first Rafeek thought that his child was still young and let him have his way. But gradually he got more and more perturbed by this fact. How could his son not like clamming? Clamming was Rafeek’s whole life. It was his passion and his daily bread. As the days went by Rafeek’s tolerance began to thin and there came a day when he could not take it any more. One evening back from work and drinking, in a drunken rage he hit Abdul. One slap: one slap that changed his future forever. For that very night, when his parents had gone to bed, Abdul took his favourite toy and his pocket money and ran away from home.
Rafeek and his wife never heard of him again.
Time passed and every day Rafeek regretted his action of that fateful night. He prayed to Allah that Abdul would return to his home but in vain. This had taken a toll on his wife. She had been grief stricken ever since Abdul had left. Both of them looked older than their years.
The village was, if you remember, a hub of traders who would come and go, primarily because of the clamming and the wealth that the pearls would bring. Traders bought the pearls from the clammers and travelled across the region and sold them to whoever could afford to pay such a high price. In spite of all its beauty and simplicity the village had one Achilles heel. Because every household had pearls from their clamming, gradually people from outside the village came into the village disguised as traders and at night indulged in theft.
Hence villagers were recently, often robbed of their precious pearls which they sought to acquire with so much work. After all what could a simple clammer, a man of the ocean do against robbers who had knives pointed at himself and his family? There was no question of revolt.
Soon the village chief sprung up with the idea of guards who would patrol the lanes at night, but they were far outnumbered by the conspiring robbers. Occasionally the guards would surprise a robber and take him into custody but it was not enough. This led the village chief to declare the severest punishment for theft of pearls: death by hanging.
Then the villages sprung upon a safer alternative to protect their pearls. The village chief had the biggest house in the village with walls made of concrete and a real roof over. What better place to protect the people’s pearls than this fortified enclosure? Hence it was decided that their would be a concentration of guards around the village chief’s house so that the pearls could be deposited by the villagers at regular intervals.
Hence the villagers found solace by the fact that their life’s earnings would be protected until the traders arrived and bought their merchandise. A certain level of tranquility returned to the village again. No one would dare think of robbing the chief’s house. Not with all the guards present and the fortified walls.
Life went on in the village and traders bought the pearls and clamming was as usual.
Until the day the marketplace erupted into flames.
Nobody knew how it happened. One moment the village was basking in moonlight and the next the fire lit the village like a torch. Pandemonium reigned. Though the marketplace was empty, the village was losing its goods. Everybody was summoned to quell the flames. Young and old alike, women filled up the water and children filled up small mugs and gave it to their fathers. All the guards were summoned to help and they did. All night the people of the village battled the flames to douse them but the flames were persistent . Finally in the wee hours of the morning they were conquered . But all that was left of the marketplace was ash and smoke. The people returned home, exhausted and dejected, for some had lost their goods.
The chief felt that he had let his people down. After all he was in charge of the safety of the people and the village. With a heavy heart he returned to his home . As he approached his house he sensed trouble in the air. Something was not right. Their was something wrong at home. He could sense it. Upon sighting his house he realized that his fears were justified. His front door lay on the ground and his home was open.
Somebody had broken in the house that night!!!
His head was spinning. “This could not be. It could not.”
He rushed inside dreading and hoping that his fears were not justified.
But in vain.
There in is room, tampered and dented with the door open lay the safe that had housed all the villages’ pearls!
“No, God no.” He thought.
“This could not be. This is a dream.
         This cannot be happening. The pearls ,the pearls are the villagers’ wealth. How could I let this happen.”
Then the truth of the matter struck him and he felt a knot in his stomach.
“The fire in the marketplace…that was a distraction , whoever robbed my house of the pearls did that on purpose so that the guards and the entire village would be preoccupied with dousing the flames. Oh God, why did not I understand this before, why did not I keep one guard here to protect the jewels…. Thinking so he stepped out in his backyard , I cannot think in the house , I need some air.”
         As he stepped out and took a few paces ,he came crashing down. He was at his nerve’s ends.
“ What just happened? Why did I fall?” He thought.
  There, with all the pearls in a velvet bag ,unconscious and with clothes tattered, lay a young man.
“ It is he . This is the man that robbed my home.”
With a beating heart and wild with expectation he grabbed the bag.
“Please God, let all the pearls be there.”
As he went through the bag he found that all of the pearls were there. He was ecstatic. The villagers’ pearls were safe after all.  He rushed in his home and deposited the pearls. He then dragged the man inside his home and tied him to a chair with a rope. Immediately he summoned some of the guards to return to his home to guard the thief he had just apprehended.

Next morning, the news was announced with the beating sound of drums in the town hall. How the chief found his safe broken and how he found the young thief unconscious in his backyard. The villagers thanked their stars for the almost mishap, and praised the chief for his concern for the village. The thief’s fortunes were not as bright. Theft of pearls was a crime punishable by death in this village. People wondered what made a man so desperate that he would risk facing death for theft .He must be a depressed soul, they said.
         The date of his hanging was announced. It was in two days at the break of dawn. The town was abuzz. Witnessing a death was not the town’s favorite activity and all were at their nerve’s ends. But the Law of the land was the law of the land.
         The thief lay in his cell that night wondering what would befall him. So near and yet so far he thought. So near…..
On the other side of the village , Rafeek was settling in to call it a night. He was getting old . “How much longer do I have to work so hard? ”, he thought.
His wife was dousing the fire to save the remaining logs of wood. Sleep…..sleep was a friend who would always be around the corner for Rafeek but never at his home. He found it hard to sleep that night ,what with all the commotion lately in the village. But what was nagging him was a strange uneasiness . A strange feeling of some inevitable event. He didn’t know what it was but the feeling persisted. He looked at the stars and thought how peaceful they were. The soft sounds of the waves were like the rocking of a cradle and soon he was asleep with the fresh breeze bringing the scent of the sea.
The prisoner lay down too, but sleep was not on his mind.
“The pearls , the pearls, people think I wanted to getaway with the pearls and become rich. Ha! What do they know?”
He had been a thief for as long as he could remember. His heart was ablaze with rage, “They thought I wanted sell the pearls, what do they know, those who have no honor!”
Pearls, pearls ,pearls …..Rage and pain and …..Pearls……
He had to get out . It was not going to be difficult. Thieves often kept accessories hidden in their clothes for contingencies just like these. He took out his file and slowly began cutting the bars of the window of his cell. Wait till they find out, he thought, wait…..
He filed and filed at the rusty bars , the moonlight shone brightly , an accomplice to his act. Finally he cut three of the bars. That was just enough for him to wriggle out of the window. He did just that. He jumped down on the cobblestone pavement.
In the other side of the village, Rafeek was fast asleep when he heard a scuffling sound. He awoke with a start. The sound came from his home. He slept outside because it was cooler hence he always left his door ajar . His heart fluttered. Is there somebody in there , or is it my wife who has woken up? He tiptoed to his door and opened it. The creaking of the door was loud and long . There , as he opened the door ,the silver moonlight rushed in and in its white light he noticed .. A  man….a thief!!!!
The thief noticed him too. He was much taller than Rafeek and younger . “What do you want ?” Rafeek yelled. “What are you doing in my home ?”
“ Do not scream or I will slice your throat”, he screamed, holding a gleaming knife. Saying so, the man lunged forward and held Rafeek by the neck. Rafeek was in shock.
“Take whatever you want but leave me and my wife alone” he said.
“The pearls” ,the thief screamed , “Where are the pearls ?”
Rafeek could notice the man’s eyes. There was madness in his eyes !!! Sheer  madness !!!
“This is it”, Rafeek thought. “This is my end.” The madman’s grip grew tighter. I cant breathe, Rafeek thought. Allah, Help me.  He noticed the madman raise his hand ready to strike with the knife.
“No!” , Rafeek thought, “It cant end like this. Help me. Oh Allah help me !” 
Then , he felt something swish past his ear. Something fast.  And the next moment , he felt the madman’s grip losen. The man fell to the ground with a thud ! “What just happened ?” he thought.
There , on the ground of his home, lay the assailant , dead ,  with a knife in his chest !
He instinctively turned around to see who had thrown the knife . What he saw , he did not believe.
It was Abdul.
Rafeek , rushed forward, not knowing if his eyes were playing tricks with him. “Yes ,yes Allah, it was Abdul!”  he thought.
“Abdul”, he screamed, “You are back. You are back. Oh Allah I knew You would send him back to me. You are back !”
  Tears were streaming down his face. He could not believe the joy . He could not believe his fate.
“Where have you been for so long? “He asked Abdul. “Why , why did you not return sooner.?”
Then the reality of the situation struck him.
“ Oh ! You , were the one who threw the knife.  You were the one who saved my life. Where were you ? All these days..all these days.”

Questions  were plaguing his mind, faster than he could ask them.
But then Abdul spoke.
“ Abba”, he said. I am sorry , I ran away Abba. I could not stay here Abba, knowing that every day I would be a burden on you . I never like clamming Abba. And I knew I could never do it well , even if I wanted to . I knew , that I  would break your heart, everyday, staying here.”
“But then I came back, I came back ,for my hatred towards the pearls , was stronger than anything I’ve ever known. I came back to dispose of the pearls of this village once and for all , and not to sell them and become rich. I came  so that my hate could simmer down ,and sanity return to my mind. So that I could move on , move on and not at every moment remind myself of the failure of which I was a part. And the failure ,which brought pain to you and my dear mother.”
At that  moment , Rafeek realized , as he froze. The thief , the thief who was trying to steal the pearls was Abdul.  Rafeek’s head was spinning. He tried to utter a word but Abdul interrupted.
“Don’t speak Abba. Don’t speak. I don’t want to ruin this moment. Allah made me meet you. I escaped from the prison and was rushing away from town when I noticed somebody entering the house. Our house.  I could not just let him enter and hurt you and mother. So I rushed here , knowing that even though I did not want to come here and let you see me like this, I could not also let something happen to you. Allah wanted us to meet, even though I did not.”
A faint smile broke on Abdul’s lips. A melancholy look in his eyes.
“But I am glad I came here , I am glad and thank Allah that He send me to save you. I would have never forgiven myself . Never.”
“Abba, I know by now the guards will be looking everywhere and I know that I will be caught. But I am not afraid. I do not wish to run. I have saved you and mother , and that is all I can ever ask for.”
         
“That is all that I ever needed to do.”

Rafeek had tears in his eyes as he kissed his son on his head.
“My son, I know I wronged you . You are  my pearl. You are my pearl which nobody can ever take away from me , wherever you are.”
The moment had come. The guards had tracked Abdul down and reached Rafeek’s home.
“Do not wake , mother”, Abdul pleaded.
“It is time”, said Abdul, as a guard approached and handcuffed him.
Both Rafeek and Abdul knew that this was the last time they would see each other. Abdul would be hung. It was inevitable. Theft, and now a murder.

Rafeek smiled with all the strength he had. He did not want to part showing his pain for he knew that Abdul would be weakened by it.
With tears streaming down his eyes, Rafeek smiled, and Abdul needed no more. He was at peace; Abdul returned his abba’s smile. No words between them could have replaced this moment.

As the first rays of the sun began coloring the night sky , Abdul was taken away by the guards , his father standing at the door , tears in his eyes , pain in his heart ,  but a pride  and joy to call the man walking away from him,  his son.

THE END