WebNovels

Chapter 17 - You Do Not Belong Here

Suddenly, Basah's eyes turned pitch black. Rising from her chair, she slipped out from behind the heavy crimson drapes that hung from the ceiling rods and advanced toward Haman, who was standing with Hamail. Without warning, she lunged forward and seized Haman by the throat with an iron grip. In that moment, she no longer seemed like an old woman at all—it was as though some powerful entity had made her body its dwelling.

Haman shoved Basah back, coughing harshly as he struggled to catch his breath.

"Haman! Something has taken control of Basah's body!" Hamail screamed in terror.

Basah snatched up a knife and hurled it at Haman with all her strength. But Haman's strong hand caught it mid-air. He calmly handed it over to Hamail, who accepted it with great caution.

"Hamail, protect yourself with this knife," Haman said hoarsely, rubbing his bruised throat.

_________

Far away, Ajal's eyes opened inside a small, prison-like chamber. Heavy chains bound his limbs.

"Where am I? What is this place? Haman… yes, I was fighting Haman. Did I lose? Did he imprison me here? Where is Haman now?"

Questions churned restlessly in Ajal's mind.

Suddenly, footsteps echoed. From the shadows emerged a figure—head to toe draped in black, clutching a long bone in its hand, standing just beyond the bars.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Ajal demanded furiously.

"Your ruin, Haman's ruin, and the ruin of everyone who stands with you," the black figure replied in a chilling voice.

"Stay away from Haman, you wretch!" Ajal roared, struggling violently against his chains.

The dark entity erupted into hideous laughter, then swung the long bone in its hand. At once, smoke billowed, and within that haze appeared a vision—Haman locked in combat with Basah. Ajal's eyes fixed sharply on the scene.

Basah began chanting in a shrill voice, and at her incantation, shadowy creatures of pure darkness surged toward Haman, attacking him relentlessly. Hamail tried to strike one of them with his fist, but his blow passed straight through, as if the creature were nothing but air. Though visible to all, they could harm only Haman.

The black entity twisted the bone once more, and the smoke dissolved—the vision of Haman, Basah, Hamail, and the shadow-beasts vanished completely.

Its form then began to shift—at times resembling Azam, at others Momin, then transforming into a man haloed in green light—before reverting once more into its original, ominous blackness. It laughed again, the sound echoing with malice.

"I will reveal your true nature to Haman. None of your schemes will succeed," Ajal declared, his eyes burning with rage.

"Perhaps you should reveal your own truth to Haman first—if you can escape from here alive—before worrying about mine," the black figure sneered, then disappeared into the shadows.

"You vile creature! I will not spare you!" Ajal shouted, his voice echoing through the cell.

After long minutes of yelling and struggling, he sank down, resting his head against the cold stone wall, lost in memories long buried.

"Papa! Papa! When I grow up, I'll help others just like you. I want to be like you!" said a small boy, whose eyes bore an uncanny resemblance to those of the little girl Haman had once seen in his dream.

"Oh? My son wants to be like his father? May you grow into a kind-hearted man—one who feels the pain of others as his own, and who never hesitates to help them," Ajal had once told him, lifting the boy into his lap and planting a gentle kiss on his forehead.

Snapping back from the prison of memory, Ajal broke into tears.

"Forgive me, my son," he whispered. The tears streamed down his face without end.

_________

The black liquid inside the bowl suddenly turned red again, and Basah regained her senses. She began to breathe heavily, groaning as though her body were wracked with pain. The shadowy figures vanished into thin air. Basah collapsed onto the crimson floor. Haman and Hamail first exchanged a glance, then turned their eyes back to Basah.

Raising the index finger of her right hand toward Haman, Basah shrieked in a trembling voice:

"You do not belong here. Leave this place. Go… go!"

Haman froze in shock. Hamail grabbed his arm and pulled him away, dragging him out of that desolate place. They finally stopped by a small stream at some distance.

"That old woman has lost her mind," Hamail said, pulling a strange face.

"What does she mean by saying I don't belong here?" Haman asked, lost in thought.

"Don't take the words of a mad woman seriously. She has completely lost her sanity," Hamail replied, placing a hand on Haman's shoulder in an effort to calm him.

"I came here seeking answers to my questions, and look at what happened instead," Haman said sorrowfully.

"Don't let it weigh too heavily on your heart. If you are truly serious about finding something, whether today or tomorrow, you will eventually get it. One day, you will even discover the truth about your past," Hamail reassured him.

But Haman's mind was stuck on a single thought, haunted by the echo of Basah's words: "You do not belong here."

When the two of them returned to Hamail's house, Samad and Zahir were waiting.

"Where have you two been? Didn't you think it necessary to tell us anything? What's going on? Will you explain or not?" Samad asked angrily, glaring at them.

Haman and Hamail looked at each other. Then Hamail stepped forward and replied, "Oh, nothing—just the past and its stories. Sometimes you should also recall the past, whether to smile for a while or to weep a little. Anyway, leave it—let's eat, I'm starving. What's for dinner?"

Samad stared at him in confusion. "Remember the past to laugh or to weep? What are you even talking about? I don't understand."

"Don't think too much, or you'll grow old faster," Hamail teased, ruffling Samad's hair, which made Zahir burst into laughter.

Then the four of them sat down to eat together.

But just as Haman reached for his plate, he froze. His hand trembled. For a split second, he thought he saw the reflection of Basah's black eyes staring back at him in the water jug.

__________

More Chapters