CHAPTER TWO

He kept the vision to himself, and it became vivid and fresh every time he thought about it.

One afternoon he took Ninny for a walk. He usually did that on weekends. Mostly to refresh his mind from the exhausting tertiary school work. He was enrolled by the Somali High School of Justice, where he was pursuing a Criminal Law degree. The course demanded excessive study. He loved this course for some, and his lecturers loved him, too because he was a well-performing student. Ninny began to enjoy going with him to the stream because she loved swimming and fishing. One Saturday afternoon, when the sky was so clear, it was neither hot nor cold. It was generally a good day for any outdoor activities. Ninny was swimming while Jr was basking in the sun.

While reclining there, he had another vision where he saw Jad beating his mother. He immediately hurried home with Ninny. He wondered whether the vision was about what would happen in the future, or about what was happening at that moment.

On his arrival, he hurried to his mother’s bedroom and knocked. He could hear her mother snivelling and sobbing. Umbrage and anger intensified within him. He knocked again and again, swearing and breathing heavily. The door opened, his mother’s face had red bruises, and blood from her cracked lip crystallized. Jad was there sited on the couch. He didn’t bother to turn around. He ignored the swearing that Jr was making.

“How could you wound my mother like this?” His mom softly calmed him. But his grievous look silenced her. She had never seen before that vile persona of his son.

“Watch your tongue.” He muttered in Arabic.

“Ooh, what happens if I don’t?” He was making his last steps into the bedroom. Jad was tall and muscular, with strong arms and Jr always envied his physic.

“I said if I don’t mind my tongue, what will happen? You going to get your ass up and try to slap me, as you did to my mom?” Jad slowly stood up and released a thunderous punch.

Jr diverted the punch away from his face, swiftly moved away, and punched him harder on the rib. He yelled out. With a hasty uppercut and a sidekick, he knocked him down. Like a fainted man, he lay there prone for a moment. Mary gasped while dragging herself to scrutinize Jad. Jr pulled her away from Jad. “Mom, this monster bruised your face.

Jr poked him with his shoe. Jad opened his eyes and dragged himself to the couch. Jr threw him a cloth to stop the bleeding. He was badly cut.

“My father never laid a hand on my mom. What gave you the audacity to do so? If you don’t want to stay with her anymore get out of her life.” Jad then went away, perhaps to his friends while Jr and Ninny sat there beside their mother, sympathizing with her. Ninny’s eyes were red. She cried a lot, and she lost the respect and love she had for Jad.

Jr wanted to tell his mother about the vision. But it wasn’t the best day for it, so he kept it to himself. For many years it hadn’t been clear about the genealogy of his mother. He was told that his mother never saw her mother, her mother died after giving birth. As for her father, the story was more baffling. It wasn’t clear what happened to him. He raised Mary, and when she was old enough to take care of herself, he disappeared and was never seen again.

Perhaps the old man who kept interacting with him in the vision was his maternal grandfather. Her mother looked more like an African and also looked like an Arabian. Jr got a sense from that vision that the old man was alive. He had to know the truth. Maria was supposed to tell him the truth. A sickening thought sunk in him. ‘What if the family got a dark secret? A secret that may have led to the death of my father.’ Ninny called Jr, disturbing his wandering mind. He rose and went into the house. Jad then sent a message to Mary that he had decided to leave for good. A tremendous relief.