said, smiling at me. ‘I sang him a song my mother used to sing to me when I was a child, about the Himalayan peaks and the ascent of the lords of the high rises, the majestic eagles. I hope it gave him peace for a little while. He also spoke about you, Bilal, and confirmed for me what I have already learnt about you in such a short time. I must go now, child, but you have reminded me of a few things I thought India had lost.’
Handing the talwar to his man, the prince positioned himself in front of us and bowed gracefully, his turban almost touching the ground. We all shuffled our feet, confused as to what we ought to do in return, but Manjeet stepped forward and returned the bow which, if not as graceful, was a good attempt. Chota almost fell over in his attempt to bow but righted himself with Saleem’s help. The prince and the manservant watched us, big smiles on their faces. Blinking my eyes, I took another photo – of the strange sight in that narrow street of a prince bowing, dust swirling around us.
Chapter 14
I promised to meet Chota on the rooftop later and went to see if Bapuji was still awake. The darkened room always soothed me and I grabbed my stool and set it down next to Bapuji’s bed. He looked as if he was dozing but I couldn’t be sure so I leant in close to listen to his breathing.
‘Boo!’ He sat up suddenly, almost making me jump out of my skin. ‘Ha! Got you, didn’t I?’
‘You really did, Bapuji. Just take it easy.’
‘Bah. I’ve had enough of taking it easy, Bilal. I need some excitement to keep this heart ticking.’
He slipped me a sidelong glance. I sighed. He clearly wanted to say something but was waiting for me to speak. Smiling, I folded my arms across my chest. I knew what was coming next.
‘What?’ I asked, grinning.
‘What?’ Bapuji said, rolling his eyes exaggeratedly and throwing his arms in the air. ‘A prince of Jaisikander visits me and sings me an old song of the eagles and the mountains and you say what? Ha!’
Shrugging my shoulders, I shoved another pillow behind his head. I felt his forehead with the back of my hand and he caught me frowning.
‘Stop your frowning, Bilal. Now, tell me where and how did you meet a prince and how on earth did you convince him to visit me?’
‘OK, I’ll tell you the story if you promise to take your medicine now and lie back down. You’re burning up, you know.’
Bapuji sighed and signalled for the medicine. I quickly moved to get some water with which to wash it down. He made gurgling sounds as he reluctantly drank the medicine. I made sure he drank one more spoonful while he glared at me but he then visibly relaxed and settled into the pile of cushions. Bapuji loved the ritual of storytelling almost as much as the story itself so I made sure to take my time using all the tricks he’d shown me – dropping in dramatic pauses and exaggerating some of the actions, filling in the gaps with colours, sounds and smells. Bapuji closed his eyes and rocked ever so gently, a little smile lifting the edges of his mouth. I finished the story and went to refill the glass with some water. I hadn’t realised how thirsty I was and I drained the glass and sat back down. Bapuji struggled to keep his drooping eyes open. The medicine worked extremely quickly.
‘The prince spoke of you. What did you say to him?’ asked Bapuji.
‘Just the usual, you know, about the market and us. I may have mentioned Grandfather a few times but nothing else.’
I began to fuss around the bed making sure Bapuji was covered properly. He narrowed his eyes but the medicine was taking effect and any suspicions he might have had were fading fast. Closing his eyes, he began to breathe deeply.
‘He was very impressed with you, Bilal. If I didn’t know any better, he’d snatch you up and take you away to work in some far-off kingdom. Would you like that?’
I watched his face and stood up.
‘Is that what you spoke about? Me going away?’
Bapuji
Handing the talwar to his man, the prince positioned himself in front of us and bowed gracefully, his turban almost touching the ground. We all shuffled our feet, confused as to what we ought to do in return, but Manjeet stepped forward and returned the bow which, if not as graceful, was a good attempt. Chota almost fell over in his attempt to bow but righted himself with Saleem’s help. The prince and the manservant watched us, big smiles on their faces. Blinking my eyes, I took another photo – of the strange sight in that narrow street of a prince bowing, dust swirling around us.
Chapter 14
I promised to meet Chota on the rooftop later and went to see if Bapuji was still awake. The darkened room always soothed me and I grabbed my stool and set it down next to Bapuji’s bed. He looked as if he was dozing but I couldn’t be sure so I leant in close to listen to his breathing.
‘Boo!’ He sat up suddenly, almost making me jump out of my skin. ‘Ha! Got you, didn’t I?’
‘You really did, Bapuji. Just take it easy.’
‘Bah. I’ve had enough of taking it easy, Bilal. I need some excitement to keep this heart ticking.’
He slipped me a sidelong glance. I sighed. He clearly wanted to say something but was waiting for me to speak. Smiling, I folded my arms across my chest. I knew what was coming next.
‘What?’ I asked, grinning.
‘What?’ Bapuji said, rolling his eyes exaggeratedly and throwing his arms in the air. ‘A prince of Jaisikander visits me and sings me an old song of the eagles and the mountains and you say what? Ha!’
Shrugging my shoulders, I shoved another pillow behind his head. I felt his forehead with the back of my hand and he caught me frowning.
‘Stop your frowning, Bilal. Now, tell me where and how did you meet a prince and how on earth did you convince him to visit me?’
‘OK, I’ll tell you the story if you promise to take your medicine now and lie back down. You’re burning up, you know.’
Bapuji sighed and signalled for the medicine. I quickly moved to get some water with which to wash it down. He made gurgling sounds as he reluctantly drank the medicine. I made sure he drank one more spoonful while he glared at me but he then visibly relaxed and settled into the pile of cushions. Bapuji loved the ritual of storytelling almost as much as the story itself so I made sure to take my time using all the tricks he’d shown me – dropping in dramatic pauses and exaggerating some of the actions, filling in the gaps with colours, sounds and smells. Bapuji closed his eyes and rocked ever so gently, a little smile lifting the edges of his mouth. I finished the story and went to refill the glass with some water. I hadn’t realised how thirsty I was and I drained the glass and sat back down. Bapuji struggled to keep his drooping eyes open. The medicine worked extremely quickly.
‘The prince spoke of you. What did you say to him?’ asked Bapuji.
‘Just the usual, you know, about the market and us. I may have mentioned Grandfather a few times but nothing else.’
I began to fuss around the bed making sure Bapuji was covered properly. He narrowed his eyes but the medicine was taking effect and any suspicions he might have had were fading fast. Closing his eyes, he began to breathe deeply.
‘He was very impressed with you, Bilal. If I didn’t know any better, he’d snatch you up and take you away to work in some far-off kingdom. Would you like that?’
I watched his face and stood up.
‘Is that what you spoke about? Me going away?’
Bapuji
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