A Simple Meal

Mr T took out several clay bowls he had in a wood cupboard at the corner of the room and placed one in front of each person. Then he proceeded to scoop out some soup and fill everyone's bowls. The two Reys sat beside their father, snuggling with him.

"It isn't much," said Mr T, "but it is all we have. Me and Rey work at the only barn that will hire us for work, because many in the village dislike us, in turn they give us food. Today was special, meat is hard to come by. But as long as we have a roof over our heads, food in our belly and each other, we are fine."

"Yum! Yum! Yum!," said Mr T's Rey, "food is yummy. When daddy makes it, it always fills my tummy!"

"Daddy's food!," sang Miss Obama's Rey, "makes my belly go merry!"

The two Reys quickly gobbled down their soup and then ran out of the shed chasing each other around.

"They are so full of energy," said Mr T, "I am glad she is so happy. It is rare she has a friend to play with other than me."

"She seems so innocent and care free," said Johan, "so happy ..."

"Does she grow up to be a happy woman?," asked Mr T as he sipped his soup calmly, "does she get married and have children?"

Johan's mouth dropped.

Did Mr T know?

"She does," said Miss Obama, "but at the moment she isn't married. But there are many good men lined up. She becomes a doctor ... one of the best."

"A doctor!? wow, I would have never imagined," whispered Mr T, "I am glad. Such a difference from what we are now. "

"How do you know?," asked Johan.

"My wife told me this day would come," said Mr T, "she passed while giving birth to Rey. But she often saw glimpses of the future. She saw this. She said one day I would find a stone ..."

Mr T reached into his pocket and took out a shining pink heart shaped stone.

"Then," said Mr T, "war would break out. I would meet another version of my daughter and her care takers from the future. They would leave, and then I would die protecting Rey. My life for hers. An old man dies, a young girl lives. Then a women would come and take her away ... Take care of her and protect her. It was inevitable she said. Her clearest vision."

Johan took a sip of his soup and realised that Rey's mother may have been no ordinary person.

Mr T tossed the stone to Miss Obama.

She caught it and put it in her pocket.

"I believe this belongs to you," said Mr T.

"Thank you," said Miss Obama.

"I am ready," said Mr T, "I am ready to die protecting my beloved Rey and join my wife. My life for hers, I will gladly give it. Take care of her. She has no one else, the rest of my relatives abandoned us, because they didn't approve of her mother. We wed out of love and I rebelled against my parents to do it. She was of low caste."

"I see," said Miss Obama, "I will take care of her well. But till I come back to get her, protect her with all you have."

Mr T laughed as a tear rolled down his face.

"I regret that I will not be able to see her grow up," said Mr T, "see her first date, her wedding, my grandchildren. But if she is happy and lives a long life with good friends, that is enough for me."

Johan felt his heart sink.

Rey's father was all she had left and at the age of five she would loose him. Yet her father knew this.

Johan couldn't help but want to change things.

Johan looked at Miss Obama. Perhaps, they could.

"No," said Miss Obama, "if we do, Rey's future will be uncertain, too many things can and may go awry. The natural order rebels harshly when you effect its flow. The cost is usually much higher than its gain."

"Boy," said Mr T looking at Johan, "as a man and her caretaker, I give you the task of protecting her in my leave. Do not let any harm come to my darling child. She is innocent and the world is a harsh place. She will need protection."

"and she never looses that innocence," added Miss Obama.

"I will," said Johan.

"Now sir," said Miss Obama, "we must leave. But I will return. Till then, fight and survive."

"Farewell," said Mr T.

Miss Obama got up and nodded for Johan to follow her.

Johan got up following Miss Obama out of the shed leaving Mr T behind.

"I never realised that Rey came from such poor beginnings," said Johan.

"Luckily," said Miss Obama, "she didn't have to stay here for too long. I took good care of her ... But she never truly got over the trauma of her youth She never forgot ... even though it was only five years. We are only seeing a fraction of her hardships."

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!"

Johan looked down the street and saw the two Reys. They were crying as they were getting pushed around by older children as they threw dirt from the street at them.

The villagers nearby laughing.

"Go," said Miss Obama, "help her. Her father doesn't usually let her out of his sight, otherwise he would do something."

Johan ran to the Reys.

"Where is your daddy?," yelled one of the boys, "he isn't here to protect you like usual. Your mommy is dead and you two are ugly and no one likes you."

"Make the children of a slut know their place son," said an older Indian man.

"This dirt suits you," said the boys, "reveals what you are made of."

"Waaaa!," sobbed the Reys, "daddy is great, mommy loved me a lot! I hate you.! You are a meany! Leave us alone!"

"Your mom was a dirty insane street whore," laughed a woman nearby, "of the lowest caste. She sullied you family name and they disowned you. Because you are her child, you will grow into one too. You will always be of low caste. Do you remember how we had your father beaten up before? We pissed on him? Trash. He is weak and pathetic."

Johan was shocked by the cruelty that these adults and children were subjecting mere children to.

Anger boiled up within Johan's gut hearing these comments directed towards innocent children.

Every ounce of him screamed that what was happening here was injustice. It was cruel to subject a child that had lost her mother and would soon loose her last loving relative, her father to such ruthless bullying and subjugation.

"STOP THIS AT ONCE!," roared Johan as veins popped out of his forehead.

These types of people were the worst. The source of everything wrong in the world. Johan felt instant hatred from them and felt deeply offended and disgusted by their behavior.

The adults and children stopped in their tracks and stared at Johan surprised.

"Who the hell are you foreigner?," hissed one of the men, "mind your own or we will beat you and piss on you leaving you on the corner of the street. These children are trash of the lowest caste. Children of uneducated parasites."

"These girls are not worth protecting," said a woman pointing her nose in the air arrogantly, "one is the child of a slut of the lowest caste and the other is probably another illegitimate daughter that they hid from us. Dishonorable and should be wiped from this towns existence. We are all of high caste. Brahmans. They are mere trashy Muslims who don't even follow their faith. The source of everything wrong in India. So many are killed by these Muslim's insanity."

"You have no right to decide that," said Johan, "not with children. How dare you even whisper a fraction of the things you said to children."

One of the men walked towards Johan. He glanced back at the other men while snickering. He was larger than the rest.

"Big words for a small man," said the man.

Johan snapped and for the first time in his life, he unleashed a lightening fast swing kick as the man walked into his range. The man didn't know what happened as the bones in his leg caved in like toothpicks.

The surrounding villagers mouth's dropped in shock.

"I'll be staying in this village for the next little while," said Johan, "if you mess with Rey or her father, I'll end you. Things like this are unforgivable."

The man whose legs had just been shattered collapsed to the floor shocked. As he looked down at his broken leg the pain suddenly reached his head.

"YEAWWWWWWHHHHHHH!!!," cried the man in pain.

Johan felt no regret having hurt a man as vile as this.

"Come Reys," said Johan. "The bad people wont bother you anymore."

The Reys ran towards and hugged him still sobbing. The children who had been bullying them ran away terrified.

Mr T ran out of the shed hearing the man's screams. He looked and saw the man lying on the ground and the Reys hugging Johan. Miss Obama walked up to Johan and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"They may be coming back," said Miss Obama, "you might have made things worse. But it doesn't matter, this afternoon the Bangladesh Liberation war will start with this village becoming a battle ground, many will pass. The Pakistani soldiers will launch an attack against the people of this area later tonight. They will be preoccupied."

Mr T ran and hugged the Reys.

"We must go now," said Miss Obama waving her hand and opening a rift in space.

Mr T looked up and looked up in awe at the rift.

The other villagers didn't seem to see it.

"Bye daddy," said Rey looking up at her father, "I love you more than anything in the world."

"I love you too honey," said Mr T, "become a great doctor."

"I will daddy!," said Rey.

"Take care of my daughter," said Mr T looking at Johan.

"I will," said Johan, "and good bye."

"Come Rey," said Miss Obama, "good bye you two."

"Good bye," said Rey and Mr T.

Rey stopped hugging her father, kissed her father and the other Rey and then went and held Miss Obama's hand.

"Bye Rey," said Miss Obama's Rey, "I love you!"

"Bye Rey," said Mr T's Rey, "I love you too."

Miss Obama walked into the rift with Rey.

Johan followed looking back sadly at the man he knew was destined to die and his daughter.