Page 84 of A Festive Surprise

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Farid

With hours of nothingness ahead, Farid attempted a call home. He sat in bed surrounded by soft cushions with his phone propped on his legs. Even hearing Mama’s voice would comfort him. He couldn’t tell her about the pain in his soul but listening to her stories about the family would transport him into their world for a while. If the Christmas magic was real, it would spit them out of the screen and make them materialise in his house. Mama would put her arm around his back and tell him he’d been a silly boy, then hug him better. His father would tut and remind him how he’d told him about this and warned him it would happen. Nadda would scoff at the ways of Western women and Sadira would sneak up beside him and ask him to spill the gory details.

‘Do you have snow?’ Sadira pushed her way onto the screen.

‘No, but it’s icy. A man I work with told me snow is more usual in February.’

‘And where is your girlfriend?’

‘Sadira,’ said their mother. ‘Don’t be so nosey.’

‘Yes,’ said Farid. ‘Listen to Mama.’

As they chatted, he continued to navigate around the Holly questions, steering the conversation back to the family. Was that a car coming up? Switching off his camera, he jumped off the bed and padded through to the living room. He never bothered drawing the curtains; the darkness was so absolute at night.

‘I’m still here, Mama. I just thought I heard something.’ Keeping the light off, he squinted out the window into the pitch black. His eyes adjusted and he could make out the shape of the pickup at the end of the path, but Holly’s car wasn’t there. His ears were hearing the sound they wanted to hear. Whatever Georgia might think, he was sure Holly had left. He returned to his room and put his camera back on.

‘Baba has something to tell you,’ said Mama.

‘What’s that?’

‘We might try to move to Scotland with you,’ said his father.

‘Really?’ said Farid. ‘You know how hard it will be?’

‘Yes,’ said his father. ‘It means much paperwork and possibly even then it will not be accepted. I will have to prove I can work and earn enough to keep my family. None of it will be easy.’

‘Then why?’

‘Life is hard here too,’ said his father. ‘I feel we must try this. If we can reunite our family, it will be worth it.’

Farid nodded and smiled, his chest filling with a bittersweet mix of pain and hope. The likelihood of the request getting through the authorities was miniscule, especially for a man of Khalif’s age whose working life was almost over, but Farid recognised the effort on his father’s part. Even if his application didn’t succeed, perhaps he would be more accepting of Farid’s choice. Because this was his home now. ‘Thank you, Baba. I know how hard a move like that would be for you.’

‘Maybe, my son, but you’ve shown us it can be done and the place you live looks so beautiful in all your photographs.’

‘But a bit too cold,’ said Sadira.

‘Yes. It can be cold,’ said Farid. ‘But that has upsides too. Warm fires and blankets are very nice.’

‘Is that what you do with your girlfriend?’ Sadira giggled.

‘Please, don’t be so rude.’ Khalif half closed his eyes. ‘Whatever happens, Farid, you are a young man with your life ahead of you. What is most important is that you’re happy. If being with this young woman is what that takes, then we will be fine with that. Your life has taken a different path from ours and you have to find the way that suits you.’

‘Thank you, Baba.’ If only the future with Holly was guaranteed. Farid had never expected a blessing from his father, yet there it was. Now, he’d have to break the news somewhere down the line that Holly wasn’t his girlfriend anymore, confirming his father’s suspicions about Western girls and throwing them back several degrees in his thinking. Something to worry about later. Not now.

Ending the call was a wrench and Farid stared at the ceiling, holding back tears. Everything was quiet and the icy fingers of loneliness took hold, crushing him and breaking him a little more.

His head slumped and he turned to the side, switched off the bedside lamp and let a tear fall onto his pillow.

∞∞∞

Disorientated and a little shaky, Farid woke. His neck hurt from lying in an awkward position. A soft mattress was beneath him. He was safe. This wasn’t the hostile bed of unfriendly places but the warmth and comfort of Ardnish, his island home. As his senses came around, his ears pricked at a sound. Before he could lift his head from the pillow, his heart rate picked up, pounding in his ears. He lay perfectly still, waiting for another sound. Silence. But he’d heard something. Real? Or the remnant of a dream? Someone searching for him? Friend or foe?

His brain unravelled a string of unrelated thoughts, trying to pick out something that made sense of the noise. The faint shuffling and a slight bump from the room next door. He reached for his phone and checked the time. Nine-thirty. He’d slept for a while. There it was again. He sat up. That was definitely something. It was still Christmas Eve. Would a child in this country hear the sound and believe it was Santa Claus? Was it Holly next door? His bedroom was on the outer edge of the cottage and didn’t back onto her house. If she was home, he wouldn’t hear her from this room.

What then? Burglars? Did people rob houses out here, on a remote island on Christmas Eve? Farid had seen enough in life to make him cautious. He got to his feet, scanning the room in the darkness, his eyes settling on a roll of wrapping paper propped in the corner. Not the most effective weapon but better than nothing. He snatched it up, holding it in front of him like a lightsaber and tiptoeing out the door. Creeping across the corridor, he held his breath. Please, no creaky floorboards. The living room door was ajar. Farid stopped outside it, held his wrapping paper roll in front of him and peered around. His heart hammered. On the floor in front of the fireplace was a dark shape.

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