The Siege of Haniya [ONC2024] ✔

7. Crimes of Akkadiyah

CHAPTER SEVEN : CRIMES OF AKKADIYAH

Everything went away in a flash. Prof. El-Azizi and Leila left Haniya a few days ago and headed to the nearest city in the Aman region. Meanwhile, I stayed in the safe house, burying my nose in the books and articles that I wrote during the previous years of my life in Haniya, hoping to get a clue as to how I got here in the first place. And why did the damned government of Akkadiyah decide to banish me into the desert.

'The Kingdom of Akkadiyah is known for its incredible architecture of palaces and buildings, structured roads and highways, historical landmarks dating back half a century, and rich supply of gold. However, underneath the perfect outer surface lies an ambition full of greed.

A powerful man is a king, and a king loves power. Power for a king means influence, wealth, and land.

A tyrant doesn't care if his subjects need to be sacrificed in order to achieve his ambition. The lives of innocent people are as important as the dust on his crown. Those annoying speckles should be brushed away to keep his symbol of power shining with radiance. Everything is fair in war and love, they say. But in morality and justice, it is far from the truth. No one can justify the eradication of a harmless living being, the annexation of a region after an unfair battle, or the elimination of anyone who opposes the tyrannical rule. It is the absolute crime-'

A knock on the door interrupted my reading. Sarah peeked from the door after she opened it slightly ajar. "Sorry to bother you. But Salam insisted on meeting you."

"Of course not. Let her in." I smiled, standing up from the chair. "I need to rest after all the readings. It's too much to take in."

"Why don't we sit down for tea and talk a bit? We haven't had a proper chat since you got here." Sarah suggested as she opened the door wider for Salam.

"Yeah, that would be nice."

Sarah excused herself to make some tea as Salam skipped into the room with her hands behind her back. The pink floral dress bounced with her jolly steps, as if the whole world had worked in her favour. The gloomy room immediately brightened when the little figure of sunshine entered. The mental exhaustion I had from the previous reading subsided at the sight of her smile.

"Hello, Aunty Salwa, How are you?" Salam beamed, showing her teeth.

I blinked at Salam, taken aback by her words of choice. "You can speak English?"

Salam gave me a pointed look before she took my right hand and kissed it. "My mama teach me English. She teach me another language, too. But Baba didn't want me to say it to you."

I furrowed my eyebrows. Why would Hamza forbid their child from speaking another language?

"What? Why?"

Salam shrugged, rolling her wide eyes. "Baba is weird."

I giggled at that. I only met the little girl for a few minutes, but I was pretty sure the sassiness wasn't inherited from her father.

Then, she moved her hands from behind her back and showed me a handful of red peonies in her little hands. "Here are some peonies for you. I pick them up when I am walking with Baba. I hope you like it."

I grinned at her, taking the red peonies and smelling them. "Aw, thank you so much, Salam. I love peonies!"

She giggled before hopping onto the sofa. Her legs dangled from the sofa as her eyes flickered back and forth at the books and papers scattered on the coffee table. I stacked the books together and put the papers in one pile.