FORGIVENESS
by Ahmed Ziadi
FORGIVENESS Written by
Ahmed Ziadi
To mom and dad... Thank you for always believing in me and always being with me in evry step of my life. I would never be the man I’m today without your love and support. With my love and respect, Ahmed
CHAPTER ONE
AL KHALIL Mustafa sat on the train by himself looking out of the window, the giant dark forest is looking huge as usual. The trees looked like a non-ending pattern wherever he looked and the light from the wagon reflecting on the trees would let him see some of the branches. The train was going at a great speed and the lights in the wagon were dimmed to make it easier for the tired passengers to get their eyes shut until the train arrives at its destination. He looked insi-
de the wagon and let his eyes wander around 1
the passengers inside the train, most of them were asleep, some were sitting and looking at their devices, and others sitting together and chatting happily with each other. His eyes rested on a couple discussing their vacation and what they are doing when they arrive. They look in love, he thought to himself. He started traveling on memory lane going back to the day he met the love of his life in his younger days, he opened his wallet and looked at her picture. He looked outside the window again and thought about the rich life he has lived until now. Mustafa was born in 1913 on the outskirts of Bagdad to Abbas Al Khalil. Abbas was one of Bagdad’s richest traders, an occupancy he inherited from Mustafa’s grandfather Al Kha2
lil. Al Khalil was born with the name Faisal. He lost his parents at a young age and had to live as an orphan in the house of his grandmother. After becoming 16 years old he moved to Bagdad to try his luck and worked in different parts of the big capital until he met Sheikh Abbas who was the Imam of the Al Kadhimayn Shrine in Al Kadhimiya which is one of the biggest honors you can get as a Shiite Imam. Sheikh Abbas was an honorable man and upon seeing the 16-year-old coming to the mosque every prayer not missing. The Imam got his eyes on the young man as he was always the first one coming in and the last one getting out after always gathering all the forgotten items by the other prayers and always 3
leaving them all at the entrance. He saw in him the son he never had and stopped him after the Friday prayer and asked him to follow him home for dinner. The young sixteen years old followed the Imam and had dinner with his family, after that the Imam asked the man about his story, and upon hearing it, he offered him to work at his store. Al Khalil hesitated at first as he didn’t want the Imam to offer him something because he is a poor orphan or because he felt sorry for him. The Imam laughed and told him something which made him tar up, he said I saw in you what I would have seen in my son if he was still alive. Imam Abbas’s son died at the age of 12 after getting sick and died in a short period after that. Faisal answered the Imam with ”May Allah let me be as well mannered as your son” to which 4
Abbas answered with ”Inshallah my son”. Faisal worked hard at the store which he opened in the morning and closed in the evening. He slept on its floor and never missed the prayers in the mosque during the first two years he worked there. One day he was called in by the Imam after the prayers where he asked him if he ever felt lonely in his life, Faisal answered the Imam with ”There is no loneliness in my heart as long as Allah is in there”. The Imam just nodded his head with a smile and asked Faisal if he was interested in getting married. Faisal with a shock on his face asked the Imam who would give away his daughter to someone like him who doesn’t have something to his name.
5
Upon hearing that, the Imam took out a paper from his pocket and gave it to Faisal, and asked him to open it. Faisal opened the paper and with a shocked face looked at the Imam and asked what the meaning of it is?, the Imam answered Faisal, in my life, I don’t have anyone to inherit me, and promised myself to give away all my belongings to someone who deserves it and I will never find someone like you my son. With tears in his eyes, Faisal asked the Imam what the name of his son was. The Imam looked at Faisal with a wondered face and said his name is Khalil. After being silent for a few seconds, Faisal gathered his courage and said, may I change my name to Khalil if you approve of it? The Imam looked at Faisal with a shocked face until his shock changed to a smile and hugged Faisal and shouted ”May 6
Allah protect you, Al Khalil”. Upon that day Faisal’s name changed to Al Khalil and started working in the same store in which he was just a servant a few days ago to be the new owner. Al Khalil worked as hard as before and his business started blooming and he started expanding his business more and more. With the Imam by his side, he got married to one of the most honorable families in Bagdad. Al Khalil’s life changed a lot from how it was before. The only thing that didn’t change is him going to every prayer before everyone and leaving after all has left and being with the Imam every day. A few months after his marriage, the Imam died and Al Khalil started feeling sadness upon losing his mentor and father figure. His 7
sadness didn’t stop until his wife came with the news of her bearing of a son. A son he called Abbas after his mentor. Abbas was the only child of Al Khalil and was as smart and hard-working as his father. He showed great interest in the family business from a young age and started working with his father every day after coming back from school. Upon his father’s request, he went to study economics to help in the family business and upon returning home, he took over after his father in developing the business and reaching new heights with it. Al Khalil got his son married as soon as he saw the maturity in his eyes and asked him to bring him a grandchild. Mustafa was born
8
one year after Abbas got married and was loved from the first day he was born. For Al Khalil, Mustafa was the most important of his accomplishment in his life, and promised to give Mustafa everything he didn’t have in his life. Only giving him the best of gifts and letting him be the young boy he could never be. Losing Mustafa’s mother at a young age made Al Khalil even more determined to overflow Mustafa with the love and affection he never had the opportunity to get from his mother. Upon growing up, Mustafa never took any consequences for his actions and was the spoiled little brat in the eyes of his dad. His grandfather let him do whatever he wanted. Abbas got jealous of his son as he could do things he never was allowed to do in his life and felt 9
he could never get to raise his son because of his father’s attachment to Mustafa. That made him despise his son even more and look down on him as a failure who could never do anything in his life. After the death of Al Khalil, Abbas got the chance to start correcting his son’s behavior by sending him abroad to study and maybe be able to become the man he wished him to be. For Mustafa to leave his current life was like a death sentence and to leave the place where he has grown up and go to a new place where he has to start a new life just to study was like a punishment. Mustafa knew he would never be able to pursue his father to change his mind and knew deep down that his father’s resentment of him would only make him happier 10
if he started begging for him to change his mind. That made him accept his father’s decision and go ahead with the plan.
11
THE AUTHOR Ahmed Ziadi is an Iraqi-born author living in Sweden. His first short novel The Bench was his first published story in 2017. Forgiveness is Ahmed’s first try at writing Historical Fiction.