Asima in a bear hug that almost crushed the wind from her.
“You are brave, my little jewel.”
Asima laughed.
“I was not looking forward to Calphoris anyway, father. The boys there are said to be pigs.”
He pulled his head back for a moment and stared at her in surprise. Then, suddenly, in a burst of unexpected and rare emotion, he burst into raucous laughter. As he laughed, he rocked back and forth, still gripping her tightly. Slowly the mirth subsided and he released her and sat back in his chair.
“Very well, my dear. I can see that in recent months while I have been chasing gold coronas with open hands, my little girl has grown wise and strong. Where I have failed alone, we shall now succeed together. If we are to make a go and survive in M’Dahz, we will have to work hard and I shall need you.”
Asima nodded thoughtfully.
“Do you trust me, father?”
For a moment the man’s brow furrowed as though he failed to understand the question. Finally, he nodded and smiled.
“I have always trusted you, Asima. Enough to allow you to make your own entertainment around the town without my supervision. But now? For certain, I trust you more than ever, my girl. What have you in mind?”
Asima gave an enigmatic smile.
“It is time to work out what we have; an inventory of everything.”
Her father nodded.
“I shall do so…” he raised an eyebrow at his daughter.
“I, too, have my sources” she replied.
Still with that enigmatic smile, she turned and left her father in his study while she ran down the stairs and out into the street. Padding through empty alleyways and down numerous flights of steps, she made her way to the house of Nadia and her boys.
As was her custom, she approached the house from a rear street, climbed a ramp to a second tier of buildings and sidled along a ledge formed by ill-planned housing until she finally reached the window of Samir and Ghassan’s room. The boys were sitting on one of the beds, throwing small darts carved from cedar wood into a cork board. They looked up at the noise from the window and smiled.
“Asima? We thought you would be packing. We were going to come and see you after dark.”
The girl grinned.
“You were worried that I would sneak away to Calphoris without saying goodbye to the boys I love?”
She ignore both the looks the boys gave her at those words and the small wicked feeling of satisfaction they elicited from deep within her. Smiling, she took a deep breath.
“I shall not be leaving M’Dahz. Father and I are to stay here.”
Ghassan blinked.
“But your father’s business…”
Samir grasped his wrist.
“… has failed, hasn’t it Asima?”
She nodded. Of course clever Samir would be a step ahead as always.
The smaller brother nodded thoughtfully.
“Looters or the military?”
She shrugged.
“A mix of them both, unfortunately, along with some bad luck.”
She straightened and folded her arms.
“However, I look at this as not so much an end as a beginning. Where there is chaos and desperation, there is always an opportunity. Father still has some resources and inventory. What we need to do is build on that; to find a market for the things we have left. But father only knows of finance and trade, whereas you and I know M’Dahz; the real M’Dahz, not the one that rich traders know. I know that between the three of us we can turn a small store into a large profit.”
Ghassan smiled.
“So you need our help? You’ll have it, of course.”
Samir nodded emphatically, but Asima shook her head, smiling.
“My father will not understand such a thing, but employees he understands. I am here on his behalf to offer you a job. The three of us will work for father.”
She sighed.
“Of course, at the moment, he cannot afford to pay you. You would have to wait until we are successful for a wage, but I truly believe we can do this.”
Samir shook his head.
“I have no need of your father’s money. You both need it more than us.”
Their friend gave a short,
“You are brave, my little jewel.”
Asima laughed.
“I was not looking forward to Calphoris anyway, father. The boys there are said to be pigs.”
He pulled his head back for a moment and stared at her in surprise. Then, suddenly, in a burst of unexpected and rare emotion, he burst into raucous laughter. As he laughed, he rocked back and forth, still gripping her tightly. Slowly the mirth subsided and he released her and sat back in his chair.
“Very well, my dear. I can see that in recent months while I have been chasing gold coronas with open hands, my little girl has grown wise and strong. Where I have failed alone, we shall now succeed together. If we are to make a go and survive in M’Dahz, we will have to work hard and I shall need you.”
Asima nodded thoughtfully.
“Do you trust me, father?”
For a moment the man’s brow furrowed as though he failed to understand the question. Finally, he nodded and smiled.
“I have always trusted you, Asima. Enough to allow you to make your own entertainment around the town without my supervision. But now? For certain, I trust you more than ever, my girl. What have you in mind?”
Asima gave an enigmatic smile.
“It is time to work out what we have; an inventory of everything.”
Her father nodded.
“I shall do so…” he raised an eyebrow at his daughter.
“I, too, have my sources” she replied.
Still with that enigmatic smile, she turned and left her father in his study while she ran down the stairs and out into the street. Padding through empty alleyways and down numerous flights of steps, she made her way to the house of Nadia and her boys.
As was her custom, she approached the house from a rear street, climbed a ramp to a second tier of buildings and sidled along a ledge formed by ill-planned housing until she finally reached the window of Samir and Ghassan’s room. The boys were sitting on one of the beds, throwing small darts carved from cedar wood into a cork board. They looked up at the noise from the window and smiled.
“Asima? We thought you would be packing. We were going to come and see you after dark.”
The girl grinned.
“You were worried that I would sneak away to Calphoris without saying goodbye to the boys I love?”
She ignore both the looks the boys gave her at those words and the small wicked feeling of satisfaction they elicited from deep within her. Smiling, she took a deep breath.
“I shall not be leaving M’Dahz. Father and I are to stay here.”
Ghassan blinked.
“But your father’s business…”
Samir grasped his wrist.
“… has failed, hasn’t it Asima?”
She nodded. Of course clever Samir would be a step ahead as always.
The smaller brother nodded thoughtfully.
“Looters or the military?”
She shrugged.
“A mix of them both, unfortunately, along with some bad luck.”
She straightened and folded her arms.
“However, I look at this as not so much an end as a beginning. Where there is chaos and desperation, there is always an opportunity. Father still has some resources and inventory. What we need to do is build on that; to find a market for the things we have left. But father only knows of finance and trade, whereas you and I know M’Dahz; the real M’Dahz, not the one that rich traders know. I know that between the three of us we can turn a small store into a large profit.”
Ghassan smiled.
“So you need our help? You’ll have it, of course.”
Samir nodded emphatically, but Asima shook her head, smiling.
“My father will not understand such a thing, but employees he understands. I am here on his behalf to offer you a job. The three of us will work for father.”
She sighed.
“Of course, at the moment, he cannot afford to pay you. You would have to wait until we are successful for a wage, but I truly believe we can do this.”
Samir shook his head.
“I have no need of your father’s money. You both need it more than us.”
Their friend gave a short,
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