Chapter Twenty Seven – Game

As Alaya walked inside looking all around her, she heard coughing of an old man from one of the rooms she passed. For some reason, that voice sounded familiar to her. She went near that door out of curiosity. When she opened it, her eyes grew wide.

The white-haired man who was sitting on the bed had coughed up blood and his hand was red from it. As Alaya looked, he coughed again and blood came oozing out of his mouth. Alaya could not stand to see any longer so she opened the door wide.

“What’s wrong uncle? Have you being sick for a long time?” Alaya ran into the room and bent down near the bed.

“I don’t think I have much time. Please let me speak to my son.” the man spoke in Egyptian Arabic.

“Where is your son? Does he live in this house?” Alaya asked in his language. Just then, Alaya found him passing out. At once she yelled for help.

**

Within half an hour, Alaya found herself in a ward of a small clinic. She’d gotten the man admitted there with the help of the housekeeper. Alaya had asked about the man from the housekeeper while they were on their way to the clinic in the ambulance.

“I don’t really know much about him. He was brought to the house under our madam’s order. I’ve been taking care of him since then.” the housekeeper replied.

“Who’s your madam?” Alaya asked curiously. Suddenly, she saw nervousness on her face. As though she regretted what she just said. Alaya awaited her answer impatiently but didn’t get to hear it as the lying in front of them started to cough again.

Alaya still wondered about the madam the housekeeper spoke of, as she looked at her keeping everything in order in the side cupboard near the bed. Alaya turned her eyes towards the man who was now in a deep sleep after an emergency treatment. He looked familiar to her as she stared at him. She felt like she saw him from somewhere but had a hard time remembering where.

As she was thinking about it, the doctor walked in. The doctor came in and checked his pulse.

“How is he doctor?” Alaya asked.

“He is much better now. It was a fatal attack. Especially since he just had his last chemo session quite recently.” the doctor said.

“Chemo session?” Alaya asked. The doctor nodded.

“He is close to reaching the third stage of blood cancer. There isn’t much hope that he will get better due to his extremely weakened body. But we are trying ever since he moved to this area around 6 months ago.” the doctor explained.

“Oh! Is there anything we can do to help?” Alaya inquired as the last thing. The doctor recommended to ensure that he takes his medicine on time and that he has a proper diet. Alaya promised herself to fulfill the recommendations for that old man as she realized that he might have been all on his own for a long time.

Few minutes after the doctor left the ward, Alaya came out of the room due to the thoughts she just could not keep to herself. The questions that came to her mind made her dial Layaan’s number on her phone. She listened to the rings outside the ward. Layaan picked up the phone as she was just about to give up on the call.

“Hello darling! Miss me already?” Layaan asked.

“No….Layaan I have something to ask you.” Alaya said.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Who is that old man who lives in your house? In the house you left me in?” she asked.

“Old man?” he seemed surprised.

“Yeah….I heard him coughing from one of the rooms. When I opened the door he was coughing up blood and he fainted after a short while. I’ve brought him to a clinic nearby with the help of the housekeeper. It happens to be that he has cancer! Who is he Layaan?”

Alaya asked, yearning for an explanation as detailed as her description of what happened. But she got no response from the other side for more than 10 seconds.

“Hello?” Alaya called out when she heard nothing. Instantly, the phone got disconnected from the other side. Alaya looked at her phone, puzzled.

**

“Did you happen to transfer him from where I kept him myself?” Layaan asked in a dissatisfied tone as he drove the car.

“I did! Because Raphael visited him too much when he was here in Boston. I pretty much heard how the father and son were planning against us.” Laana spoke, as she kept a card on the poker table.

“What the hell can that old man do to us? I can finish him in less than a minute and both he and his son know that very clearly. They couldn’t have done anything. But now that you have changed him without asking me or telling me about it, we might get in trouble. I just left Alaya in that house and Alaya found out about him!” Layaan explained.

“Oh! Does the **** know that he is Raphael’s father?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Then darling! Don’t you think you are making a huge deal out of nothing?”

“Why isn’t this a big deal? What if Raphael goes to meet his father, gets back his girlfriend and the is brainwashed by her to stand up against us.”

“Haha! That ain’t happening in a million years. Raphael’s wife is just too stubborn to let him meet his father. He contacts his father through phone every day. That too just for 5 minutes. Thanks to his wife. If a son is talking to his father enough not to feel guilty about not having any contact with him, why would he try the difficult way if he knows he has to face the wrath of his loving and adoring wife?” Laana half smiled as she said it and she saw herself winning the poker game at the same time.

“Hehe…you are just too good. And have I told you what I’ve got the Raphael guy into? I told him that Alaya is still lost. Poor guy is making rounds all around Boston searching for the love of his life. That’s going to distract him for quite a bit.” Layaan said.

“Yep! Until we win our game.” Laana said as she saw the tiny towers of coins pushed towards her.