Читать книгу Rayan - Son of the Desert - Indira Jackson - Страница 16

Sheikh Sedat Suekran had followed the tracks of the fugitives until the hut of Eleonora and Youssef. It had not been too difficult. It had been his idea to open the gate for the rebels.

It had been his hope to find the settlement without bloodshed. And it had worked.

The threat of the gallows and having to watch what his men had done to Rayan had put the seven people into a state of panic. Some of them had fled directly to the location without hesitation.

He and his men just had to wait until morning and follow their tracks: the runaways had only partly bothered to try to wipe their tracks away. The lack of leadership was evident.

Sedat was surprised not to find Rayan along with them, but then it became clear to him that it had been too far to carry an unconscious person.

He quickly came to the same conclusion, like Sachra the night before: the house of Eleonora and Youssef was much nearer.

Although the rebels were taken completely by surprise, it had taken Sedat’s men some time to conquer the settlement. Subsequently it was almost nightfall when Sedat reached the grandparents hut.

He found Eleonora, drenched in tears at the table of the small room. “I tried everything, but it was too late”, she said repeatedly.

Suddenly she jumped to her feet, pointed her skinny forefinger at him and yelled: "You are the one who killed him! You should die of shame – you … monster! You killer!“

Her harsh reaction took Sedat by surprise as he could not grasp at first, what she was talking about. However, after a few seconds he went pale as he finally understood – and hurried outside.

About a hundred meters away from the house he found Youssef, who had just finished putting earth onto a freshly dug grave. Affectionately he arranged a vase with flowers on top of the little hill. There were also tears streaming down his face.

When Sedat reached the grave, Youssef just looked at him with desperation: "I really do hope he has finally found some peace, next to his mother“, and he pointed at the other grave, right beside them. The reminder was not necessary for Sedat.

He was very well aware that this place was the last resting place of his beloved wife Miriam, Rayan’s mother, who had died giving birth to his second son Daoud at the age of just 32.

The childbirth had been difficult and Daoud had lacked oxygen for too long, which was why he was mentally handicapped.

As a result, all his hopes had been set on his first-born Rayan, who now lay in this grave, along with all his plans for the future. Sobbing for the first time in decades he fell to his knees right in front of the grave.