WILLOCK 33

A glass of wine in the opposite direction, some books well placed, as if they had been placed there just for one to read. An elegant bed stood, with the most amazing of colourful clothing, as if set and designed from Egypt, as it was all known that Egypt designed the best and most colorful of clothes when it came to the Arabian culture. The room was quite elegant, whose essence and its smell, look, and appearance would make someone truly accept that it was meant for no one but a royal person. We had really tried our best to make this room as elegant as possible, thanks to our other members, my fellow colleagues.

"Sit." Amir stated, extending his hand towards the chair that was right next to the bed, and so I did, as told, and sat as he made himself comfortable in the bed.

"Lock, as you said your name to be. What does it mean?" He started, and honestly, I would love to say, dear reader, that this was the most weird start of a conversation that anyone on earth would have. Truth be told, I even had no idea what Lock meant; furthermore, why would I step on the deeds or dig deep in the treasures of books to want to learn what it is about that name, especially in words of meaning?

"I am not sure; I have never quite searched or looked forward to knowing what my name means." I stated, as I saw him stand up, to serve himself some tea.

"You like tea?" He asked, and even before I could answer, he just put another cup in, maybe for me. But of course I would say no to the offer, because those were the rules in this hotel. Despite one of the clients offering a cup, a plate, or a stake, it is for you, as a member, to learn to decline in the politest of ways. He placed the cup of tea near the little table that set a stand point for the electric lighting and sat in the spot where he was earlier.

"So Lock, I... I have a liking for you." He stated this, and I was somehow confused as I sipped the quite hot tea in front of me. "What I mean is, I have a job offer for you." He continued, watching my reactions as I set the cup down. I had no idea what to reply or say—what kind of job was all that played in my mind? I had no papers about myself here in Iraq; everything that I entered with was all fake. My papers and everything else are still back on Lake Tigris, at my father's house. I did not have a chance to carry any, as if you all can recall, it was a fast departure, which none had actually anticipated.

"I saw the way you play the piano; it is quite elegant." He continued after the long pause. "I may not have an idea about you, but I had a liking for you since I saw you play the chords quite peacefully and as if you loved what you did, even though it meant staying behind the piano for as many hours as possible. That's what intrigued me, and I knew you were the best character and the best fit for this job offer."

"What am I to do?" I asked for the first time, as if finding my voice, which had somehow been lost a while ago. After my statement, he smiled a bit and then sipped his tea, looked at me, and stated it in a very calm and composed voice.

"You are from the British lands, and we happen to host a party, but the problem is we are not quite sure how to entertain our guests. However, seeing you, I knew you would aid with the problem." Hearing the word British..., hearing him state the lands I was running away from, made me a little bit shiver, and a voice suddenly told me to decline the offer, as another stated that it was time that I told Amir who I was. I had not even planned my homecoming; it was something way out of my mind, far away for the seas and lands to embrace. I was already quite comfortable here, and I did not want any discomfort, especially if it happened that one of the dukes, viscounts, or kings were to set foot in this place. I was not ready.

"You will wear a mask. No one will see you." Amir stated that, which caught me off guard.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I know you are on the run; I knew you were on the run; I knew." And suddenly, my attention diverted to this man speaking; he was watching me with quite a smile and a few raised eyebrows.

"A hand to nine, a broken leg for fine, a raised doubt to spill, a broken heart to heal. Oh, God Willock, you caught me there." He added, standing up on his feet and walking towards the left-side window, which clearly showed the view of the land surrounding this magnificent hotel. I suddenly had no words to say. That poem was always the one I loved saying when I was drunk. I was never heartbroken, but I still felt empty.

"Amir.. I..." I tried explaining, but he raised his hand as if telling me to stop and then turned from the window back to his sitting position.

"Who told you Iraqi lands can be entered quite cheaply with no papers?" He asked, making me, at the moment, question even my existence. "Who told you the gates were quite open, that a hotel such as this, led by the bourgeoisie of this country, would accept to employ just mere peasants, with no papers, dirty, scattered, with no food, just living, hoping the next day they could survive?" Amir added, and it seemed he was suddenly becoming mad, maybe mad, about things—things I could not say or determine.

"I quite thought the security was not as tight." I stated

"Tightness is a simple word, Willock, a very simple word. It can happen anywhere, but this hotel belongs to the royals. Maybe you should have clicked your mind and thought of that. What if somebody had caught you? What if someone realized you were the son of the Duke? Willock, I know that you understand some things better than I do, but in one game, one card that you played wrong was this one. So when were you planning to see me, tell me, or greet me? When?" He asked, with his eyes sharply gazing at my eyes, which, of course, made me suddenly feel like a bad person. A very bad one, indeed.

"I had my reasons." I stated in the most precise statement that would at least cover everything.

"There now, the real you steps in. Simple statements that can move the wind, change the course of the rain, and make every human whimper." He added. "After I heard the news, I searched for you everywhere, not in any single city, until my father told me maybe you had died."

"You told your father?"

"Yes, why not? Father has a liking for bastards, especially you. You are a threat to the crown; you are quite a gold, a priceless gift."

"So you want me for your wants?" I asked, suddenly becoming furious after the statement he had made earlier.

"Your gains and your importance are of no importance to me. What matters to me is that I found you at the right time, on the ship, before you were deported back to the land. I don't know how many days and nights you have taken on the run." He added.

"I wanted to tell you about my origins yesterday, but something just stopped me." I stated.

"When I asked you your name, I expected the most honest of all answers. My name is Willock, the Duke's son of Bravdon." He stated. Of course, he was not thinking about my perspective; he was just thinking about how I had somehow betrayed him by not stating my name.

"I couldn't just say that." I stated

"Of course you couldn't, because maybe you felt I, Amir, would snitch you out back to your country. Anyway, I have that job offer for you; it is not a bargain, Willock; you will take it, and then we can decide on your future. We are buddies; we are all in this together; you don't have to run alone."

"I have a friend." I stated.

"Ezron,.. yeah. I'll deal with him later, but for you, it is now. You do not belong here; you never did. They should regret doing this to you. All I want to know is the story of how all this happened. How did you end up on the Iraqi ship? We'll listen to all this as we nurture you into the person you deserve to become." And with that, he finished off his cup and left, leaving me in his room, wondering and confused at the same time. So he knew me all along, my mind conversed. How stupid of me to think he had forgotten me! I am not even sure about all that he had told me today. I needed to tell Ezron about this, tell him what had happened, and maybe here his view, side of the story, or whatever, but I needed to here, and with that I also left, leaving the guards wondering what had happened inside, as I saw the confusion that was written all along in their faces.