Tension in the Manor

"Sir, your honorable name?" Suddenly, Anwar addressed the traveler.

"Clear Sharif," the traveler replied with great seriousness.

Both burst into laughter.

"Oh! What's so funny about that!" the traveler said.

"I was asking for your name," Anwar said.

"Ali Imran. MSC, PhD," Imran replied.

"MSC, PhD too," Aarif chuckled.

"Why are you laughing?" Imran asked.

"Oh—I laughed at something else," Aarif quickly replied.

"Alright, now permit me to laugh at the third thing," Imran said, and laughed like fools.

They all laughed heartily! Imran also burst into quick laughter... and shortly after, Anwar and Aarif felt as if they had become fools themselves.

The car continued to wind its way through mountain roads.

For a while, silence fell.... Imran hadn't asked their names.

Anwar thought it would be a special amusement! Colonel Sahib's humor would be worth seeing! This foolish man will close their debate. And they will spin around like madmen.

Anwar was thinking exactly right! The Colonel was also a quirky man! If he had to repeat something, he would get angry!.... What a companion like Imran!

Within half an hour, the car covered the distance to the Colonel's mansion!.... The Colonel was still pacing anxiously in that room, and Sophia was there too.

The Colonel looked Imran up and down with critical eyes!.... Then he smiled and said.

"Captain Fayyaz is good."

"Oh my God! Is he incredibly irrational?" Imran said, sitting on the sofa. He took the gun off his shoulder and hung it from Sophia's hand.

"Why incredibly irrational?" The Colonel said in surprise.

"Just like that," Imran said seriously. "I believe irrationality has no reason."

"Good!" The Colonel started glaring at him. "Your name?"

"Heh.. heh.. heh... How can I praise myself?" Imran said shyly.

Anwar couldn't hold it in anymore! He started laughing! And as soon as he did, Arif also began to laugh.

"What is this misbehavior?" The Colonel turned towards them.

Both fell silent immediately and began looking down... Sophia was watching Imran with strange eyes.

"I asked your name." The Colonel cleared his throat and said.

"When did you ask?" Imran said, startled.

"Just now," the Colonel blurted out, and the two brothers stuffed handkerchiefs into their mouths to suppress their laughter and left the room.

"These boys are in for trouble," the Colonel said angrily... and he also quickly left the room. It seemed as if he was going to run after them and hit them.

Imran sat there like a fool, completely indifferent as if he hadn't seen or heard anything... Sophia remained in the room and her eyes started to sparkle mischievously.

"You haven't told your name," Sophia said.

In response, Imran recited his name along with his degrees. From Sophia's manner, it seemed she didn't believe him.

"Do you know the purpose of your visit here?" Sophia asked.

"Purpose?" Imran said, startled. "Yes, I know the purpose. That's why I brought my air gun with me."

"Air gun?" Sophia repeated in surprise.

"Yes," Imran said seriously. "I don't swat flies with my hands."

The Colonel, who was standing at the back door listening to their conversation, moved forward in frustration.

"I don't understand why Fayyaz did this nonsense?" he said harshly, glaring at Imran.

"See, isn't he... an unreasonable person! I said it from the beginning!" Imran chirped.

"You will return on the first train tomorrow," the Colonel said.

"No!" Imran replied seriously. "I have planned for a week-long stay."

"No, thank you!" the Colonel said irritably. "I'm willing to give you half your fee and send you off. What would half the fee be?"

"That depends on the number of flies," Imran said, nodding. "By the way, I kill about eighteen flies in an hour, and..."

"Enough! Enough!" the Colonel said, raising his hand. "I don't have time for nonsense!"

"Daddy—please!" Sophia said quickly. "Don't you remember the telegram's content?"

"Hmm!" The Colonel began to think, his eyes fixed on Imran's face, who was sitting there blinking like a fool.

"Hmm. You are right," the Colonel said. Now his eyes shifted from Imran's face to his gun.

He stepped forward, picked up the gun, and as soon as he took it out of its case, he was filled with rage!

"What nonsense is this?" he yelled at the top of his lungs. "This is indeed an air gun!"

Imran's calmness did not waver in the slightest.

He nodded and said, "I never lie."

The Colonel was so furious that his daughter had to push him out of the room! The Colonel respected no one but Sophia; if someone else had done this, he would have strangled them. As soon as they left, Imran started smiling as if the incident had been very pleasant.

A little while later, Sophia returned and asked him to follow her to another room.

Imran silently got up and followed her. Sophia did not say anything else. Perhaps the room had already been prepared for Imran.

*******

The clock struck one, and Imran got up from the bed. He opened the door and stepped outside. It was dark all around... but the lights in the rooms of the mansion were still on.

He stopped in the porch and listened for a moment, then swiftly moved towards the room where the Colonel's family was gathered. Except for Sophia, each person had a rifle in front of them. Anwar and Arif looked extremely bored. Sophia's eyes were red from lack of sleep, and the Colonel was sitting rigidly on the sofa, as if he was very important. He wasn't even blinking.

Seeing Imran, the Colonel stirred.

"What is it? Why are you here?" he asked sternly.

"I don't understand something!" Imran said.

"What?" The Colonel's tone didn't soften.

"If you are afraid of some unknown men, why don't you inform the police?"

"I know the police can't do anything."

"Are those people really unknown to you?"

"Yes."

"I don't understand."

"Why?"

"It's simple. If you know them, why would you be afraid of them?"

Instead of replying, the Colonel just glared at Imran.

"Sit down!" he said after a while. Imran sat down.

"I know them," the Colonel said.

"Then why not... the police... it's obvious."

"Do you think I'm a fool?" the Colonel snapped.

"Yes!" Imran nodded seriously.

"What?" The Colonel jumped to his feet.

"Sit down!" Imran said nonchalantly, raising his hand. "I said that because you all could be targeted by their bullets at any time."

"Why?"

"They could enter this building at any moment."